The Concord Wheels Of Steel plans a group ride from Pittsburg, California to the North American Handmade Bicycle Show 2019 in Sacramento this Saturday.
They’ll start from Pittsburg / Bay Point BART at 9 AM on Saturday and bike the 68 miles to the Sacramento Convention Center, with estimated 4 PM arrival. The last time NAHBS took place in Sacramento, I watched a guy on a beer-hauling bike arrive with this crew.
They’ll have regroups every 10 miles, and lunch regroups at Rio Vista Bridge and Steamboat Slough. I’m not sure if this is strictly a “no drop” ride, but if the group is large enough I expect it might split off into a fast group and a casual group. See the Facebook event page for rules, route map, and other details.
Antioch is that closest you can get to Sacramento on BART, using the newly opened DMU line from Bay Point BART. From there, it’s 50 miles by bike to the Sacramento light rail Blue Line station at Cosumnes River College. That’s just a thought if a metric century plus is too daunting for an early spring ride. Sacramento Light Rail allows bikes on board with limitations.
The transit option for the full distance is the Capitol Corridor train. Fare from San Jose to Sac is $39, but this train has all kinds of deals and promotions, especially on the weekends. Advance purchase may be required for these deals. It’s a mile from Sacramento Amtrak to the convention center.
I’m curious about anybody who plans to drive out on Friday afternoon and return on Sunday. The Tahoe region has epic snow this season, so I expect I-80 and every back road between the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento will test the patience of many drivers.
