After rolling down Schnell School Road, you will take Broadway and Newtown Road out of Placerville. 

 

In no time you will find tall pine trees lining both sides of Newtown Road; pine forests will be omnipresent throughout the day. 

 

Fort Jim Road is pleasantly vertical and leads back to Newtown Road.

 

The section of Newtown Road between Fort Jim and Starkes Grade Roads is narrow and curvy:  be alert! 

 

 

Starkes Grade Road (photo above) feels secluded:  quiet, narrow, forested, more like a bike trail than a road.  More often than not I view a flock of wild turkeys on this road (photo right). 

Gear-down when you turn right onto Five Spot Road:  the next (mercifully short) section is the steepest climb of the day. 

The next few miles will take you up and down through the Sierra Springs development. 

Watch for loose gravel (!) as you round curves on Sierra Springs Drive. 

Turn left onto Sly Park Road; take care the next 1.8 miles, as traffic can be heavy.

Mormon Emigrant Trail (Forest Service Road # 4) is a great road (photo below right):  good pavement, relatively little traffic, wide shoulder, nicely forested, a slow and steady climb.  Once on it, almost immediately you will ride over the first and second (photo below left) Jenkinson Reservoir dam crossings.  Continue to and turn right on North-South Road, where you will be rewarded by an initial descent.

Although there usually is little traffic on the Forest Service roads on this course, be alert for logging trucks, which can appear at any time, move rapidly, and may display hostility to bicyclists!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North-South Road (F. S. Road # 6) is a favorite of mine (photos above):  shady, wooded, quiet. 

At mile 35.6 you will arrive at Capps-Crossing Campground, just after crossing a highway bridge.  Dismount and walk across an old bridge to the campground (water, toilets) and Rest Stop #1. 

WARNING:  water is available only during summer months!

Just after leaving the campground, 97 mile riders turn left onto F. S. # 52 (69 mile riders continue straight on F. S. # 6).  F. S. # 52 gradually gains altitude (up to elev 5,900').  Do watch for potholes, gravel, and short, unpaved sections.

These areas are very remote:  I have ridden the entirety of F. S. Roads # 52 (photo left) and # 63 (photo right) without encountering a single motor vehicle (unusual in California!).

Turn right onto Cat Creek Road (F. S. # 63) and enjoy another secluded, woodsy bicycling experience.  This road offers more downhill than climbing. 

 

WATCH OUT for a severe bump just before the right turn back onto North-South Road (F. S. #  6); this bump easily could cause a crash.  Slow down (!) when you see the stop sign. 

 

This junction is a timely location to rest, eat, and regroup (Rest Stop #2; no services).  

Back on North-South Road you will get in the climbing mode once again as you head north to a left turn onto Capps-Crossing Road (F. S. # 62) (photo below).  At this turn the 97 and 69 mile rides rejoin.  Now, at last, all that climbing will reward you with a long descent, which continues all the way to Grizzly Flat Road.  Do watch for potholes.   

Take care on Grizzly Flat Road (photo left); some sections are narrow and curvy.  It is more downhill than uphill. 

 

Somerset offers Rest Stop #3 (2). 

 

The initial section of Buck's Bar Road is a fast downhill to the Cosumnes River.  You then will have a significant grind uphill to Pleasant Valley Road. 

 

CAUTION:  I regard Buck's Bar Road to be dangerous, as it is narrow and curvy, and traffic often roars by faster than seems safe.  

After a quick jog on Pleasant Valley Road (CAUTION:  heavy traffic!), an easy climb up Cedar Ravine Road will bring you back to Placerville, where the ride ends at Schnell School.