The total footage climbed from Colusa to Davis, California was 35 feet. Just a few days before we had climbed over 6,400 feet over Lassen, which made the 56 mile ride into Davis a breeze.
Wanna know a secret*? There are 8 cross-country Bike & Build routes, but SC2SC is the best one. We go through so many great city capitals, we avoid Nevada entirely, have the most build days, highest total mileage, the longest route duration, you name it. This is also the newest route, so I'm in the first ~150 people to cycle this route ever, which makes everything feel new and unexplored by bike. And rumor has it that one of the three full-time employees working in the Bike & Build office designed SC2SC as his "baby," making sure we go through some really awesome places.
Davis, California is one of those really awesome places. It's deemed the cycling capital, and even has the Cycling Hall of Fame. Every single street has a marked bike path, and I even saw street lights specifically for the bike lane. According to a local historian I talked to, at UC Davis there are 50,000 students and 40,000 bikes. 40,000 bikes is a cycling city, where the bike racks are so congested that you worry about forgetting where you locked your bike. But there is thievery, and just last year a Bike & Builder's bike was taken (just days before Santa Cruz!), so our bikes are staying inside.
Our first night in Davis was spent hanging out with the local Bike & Build alums and celebrating Elaina's birthday. Then we spent our last build day here. We worked with A Brush With Kindness at a boarding home for people with mental illnesses. The work today included demolishing a shed, laying the groundwork for a patio in the shed's place, lead abatement, painting, and lots of yardwork such as pruning, raking, weeding, and mulching. The team was happy to be there, though we are all fighting feelings of fatigue after 13 consecutive riding days about 850 miles.
It's day 78 of our trip. We have three more riding days until we arrive in Santa Cruz. We can't believe the end of trip is so near, and we are all beginning to think about transitioning to life after Bike & Build. As much as I want to finally reach Santa Cruz and see the Pacific Ocean, I also don't want this experience to be over!
*This is not really a secret, it's just my personal opinion.
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