After a good night’s sleep, I felt better in the morning. Even though I had crossed Carson Pass yesterday, I still had a couple of humps to get over before I started to descend. Once again, the mountains were beautiful and a pleasure to ride through.

There is always a downhill after a climb. Sometimes it just takes a while to get to it. Today, I got to it. I dropped from over 8000 feet to just above sea level in about 70 miles. The rapid change in air pressure crushed my water bottles.

I had planned to stop in Plymouth, CA, and wait out the storm tomorrow. When I reached Plymouth, I was still feeling good and pushed on. Several miles down the road, I stopped for a break and met Lawry, a local cyclist. We chatted for about an hour. By the time we finished talking, it was dark. I have avoided riding in the dark for the most part on this journey. However, tonight I really didn’t have a choice. Fortunately, a few miles down the highway, I turned onto a bicycle path that led me into a suburb of Sacramento.

By the time I finished pedaling today, I had ridden just over 90 miles. It was the most distance I rode in one day. Of course, it was helped by the drop out of the mountains into the Sacramento Valley, but I was still pretty wiped out by the time I finished.