Three of use went on this Valley Spokesmen ride, which I lead. The first half of the ride was pleasant. The ride around the Delta Loop (Brannan Island) was my favorite part of the ride. There was no wind. The water was calm. We rode through Isleton and looked at the many old buildings on the main street.
Then the north wind picked up, and made for a difficult ride up to the Cosumnes River Preserve and all the way to Courtland.
We saw an incredible number of birds at the preserve - including flocks of Sandhill Cranes (among the oldest bird species). The preserve has an interesting visitors center, and a viewing scope was set up for bird watching.
We saw the snow capped Sierras and Mt. Diablo off in the distance (it was a clear day).
We stopped at the Courtland Market for food and water.
The ride back was primarily downwind, but we did suffer some strong, gusty crosswinds at times. We passed by the Grand Island Mansion and some well kept old Victorian homes on the way to the J-Mac ferry.
Afterwards, on the map I counted 9 islands on the ride; Brannan, Twitchell, Andrus, Tyler, Staten, Randall, Sutter, Grand, and Ryer. We crossed many bridges and waterways. The two ferry rides were fun. The route is posted at http://ridewithgps.com/routes/10946; 65 miles and very little climbing (up levees, mainly).
