Day 59: Woodfords, CA to Placerville, CA Total Distance: 76.6 mi Moving Avg: 9.2 mph Moving Time: 8:19 Ouch. Ouch ouch ouch. Although there wasn't as much climbing as in the Rockies, it was MUCH steeper. Getting up to Carson Pass was probably the hardest part of the trip. My knees managed to hurt through 400 mg of ibuprofen (ibuprofen is amazing stuff, btw) since it was too steep to spin at a decent rate, even in my granny gear. On the way down, there was far too much up. If they had just redistributed the land somewhat, I could have cruised all the way to Sacramento. As it is, I only made it to Placerville. There were some pretty damn cool downhills though. I got to 40+ mph many times. The road was nice enough that I felt pretty safe in the 30-40 mph range. It really is quite a rush, going downhill that fast. The road I was taking down most of the mountain (Mormon Emigrant Trail) seemed to be pretty popular with the local bikers. One of them recommended a different route for me that involved less climbing. Although he was right about the climbing, it was not a very fun route at all, and was a bit longer. I'm not sure if it was a win overall, but it was close. From here, it would be a stretch to make it to the beach for sure on Saturday. I probably could do it, but it would be really tight. However, my parents are going to come and pick up the trailer tomorrow morning. Traveling really light, I should be able to make it to Stinson on Saturday with no problems.