Central California's valley floor is flat in a way that has to be seen to be believed. The land around Dixon and Davis, in the Sacramento Valley, is a table of irrigated fields stretching in all directions, with rice, tomatoes, sunflowers, almonds and sugar beets laid out in squares, and the Vaca Mountains rising to the west. A rider coming from the Bay Area crosses the Carquinez Strait, then drops onto this plain, and the change is abrupt: the fog and the redwoods give way to dry air, big skies and long straight roads.
Davis is the dominant town of the area, a university community of nearly seventy thousand that is proud of its bicycles. It has more bike paths per head than almost anywhere in the United States, and the university's agricultural and veterinary schools help to make the surrounding countryside a laboratory for crops and cattle. Dixon, a smaller farm town, is known for its dairy and for its annual May Fair. A drive through the area in spring, with almond blossom in the orchards, is a sight.
The roads follow a section grid, running dead straight between irrigation ditches and fields, with sudden corners at the section lines. The surface is usually good, though truck traffic is heavy on the main routes, and tule fog can reduce visibility to a few metres on winter mornings. Summer afternoons are hot, often above thirty-five degrees, and the wind can be strong. Early starts are wise.
Fuel and services are easy, with stations at every junction along the interstate and in both towns, as well as plenty of cafes and fast food. For a better meal, Davis has a good farmers' market and a range of restaurants. The Yolo Bypass, a flood-control channel to the east, becomes a shallow lake in wet winters, and thousands of waterfowl gather there, including snow geese and sandhill cranes.
This is the gateway to the wine country of Napa and Sonoma to the west, and the Silverado Trail is a short ride through the hills. The contrast between the dull valley and the beautiful vine-covered slopes is a delight, and an early start in the cool of the morning makes the transition a pleasure.