After leaving Howard Park and Ione, you will warm up with an easy climb to Willow Creek Road (photo below left), which treats you to quiet, oak covered hills and is a favorite of mine.
After a quick jog on Highway 16 and Latrobe Road (photo above right), you will enjoy an easy, bucolic climb up Old Sacramento Road (photo below) to Plymouth.
Water and rest rooms usually are functional in Plymouth City Park on the left.
Six more miles brings you to Fiddletown (photo right), where the 56 and 93 mile routes separate.
The 56 mile option ascends Fiddletown and Hale Roads and then descends to Dry Creek; at the end of this descent, take care (slow down!), as there is a 90º turn immediately prior to Dry Creek (not dry [usually shallow] in winter and spring).
You next will encounter the hardest climb of this option as you climb up Hale Road to Shake Ridge Road.
Then jog over to Charleston Road; use extreme caution on the terminal portion of the descent to Volcano: the grade is at least 18%, and it would be easy to lose control of your speed (slow down!).
From Fiddletown, the 93 mile option follows Tyler Road and subsequently Bridgeport School and Cedar Creek Roads (CAUTION: frequent, sometimes severe, bumps). This stretch is scenic, quiet, remote, shady and is another favorite of mine.
Mt Aukum hosts Rest Stop #1: do take the time to eat and rehydrate here, as you soon will start the major climbs of the day.
Turn right off Mt Aukum Road (photo above) onto Fairplay Road. At the junction of Fairplay and Perry Creek Roads you will find toilet facilities in Pioneer Park (on your right).
You next will encounter a brief but sharp descent and climb on Perry Creek Road. Scenic vineyards are scattered along Perry Creek and Slug Gulch Roads.
Slug Gulch Road (photo left) requires a moderately hard climb; at the top, consider you've earned your virtual Slug Gulch pin (below; real pins offered to Sierra Century participants who made it up Slug Gulch Road - when the ride was held in Amador county)!
Rest Stop #2 is at Indian Diggings Elementary School in Omo Ranch. Stop to eat and rehydrate (drinking fountain, east side of school in back). Top off your water reservoirs!
I love the gradual, scenic climb through the El Dorado National Forest on Omo Ranch Road (photo left); this is an especially lovely road, possibly the nicest of the day.
Be careful on Highway 88; it is narrow, and traffic can be heavy.
Previously I scheduled a left turn to Cook's Station (photo right) at Highway 88; however, services at Cook's Station are minimal, and I now regard the section of Highway 88 between Omo Ranch Road and Cook's Station as especially hazardous. Therefore I now advise against riding this section.
Turning right onto Highway 88 you now begin a long descent on the way to Volcano (Elev 2,000' and Sutter Creek (Elev 1,200'). Do (!) take care along Highway 88; traffic is fast and can be heavy. Shake Ridge Road, at its start, feels intimate: narrow and shady, trees crowding the roadside; I especially enjoy this section.
Just past Daffodil Hill you will descend Ram's Horn Grade on the approach to Volcano: watch out for loose gravel on the many turns.
Volcano hosts Rest Stop #3 (note: restrooms - just north of the post office - but no potable water!).
The General Store in Volcano (photos above) states itself to be the "Oldest continuously operated store in Calif. - since 1852"
After the rest stop in Volcano, you will enjoy a gradual, 12 mile scenic descent down Sutter Creek-Volcano Road (enjoy the sounds of the creek) to Sutter Creek.
About 0.3 mile along Sutter Creek-Volcano Road, on your right, you will see a mine opening (photo below). This region is riddled with mines; cattle occasionally disappear down unmarked mine shafts.
In Sutter Creek you will take Sutter Creek-Ione Road on the return to Ione and ride's end.
