I had gotten the Adventure Cycling Association's Western Express maps for Christmas, 2005 and was anxious try out the route. The Western Express route goes all the way to Pueblo, Colorado and is a connector to the TransAmerica route. I didn't want to go that far. Instead, I decided that I would follow the route to Carson City, NV and then return to San Francisco via the same route.
I knew that this route involved lots of climbing and I didn't want to take any unnecessary weight. As a result, I decided to leave the camping gear at home and only stay in motels (what's called a credit card ride). I also left the cooking gear at home. I figure I saved about 20 pounds by doing this. Here is a picture of my loaded bike just before I headed off. Note specifically that the top of the back rack is empty.
My planned itinerary:
Monday, September 11: San Francisco to Davis
Tuesday, September 12: Davis to Placerville
Wednesday, September 13: Placerville to Kirkwood
Thursday, September 14: Kirkwood to Carson City
Friday, September 15: Rest day in Carson City
Saturday, September 16: Carson City to Woodfords
Sunday, September 17: Woodfords to Placerville
Monday, September 18: Placerville to Davis
Tuesday, September 19: Davis to San Francisco