The Chico Wildflower Century is a one-day, 100 mile bike ride in northern California. A generous winter and spring rainfall meant there were indeed plenty of wildflowers.

This is the top of volcanic Table Mesa, which my friends Sam and Silas and I, along with several thousand other riders, gained after some serious pedaling that took us up 1,200 feet above the floor of the Sacramento Valley. It was a mostly cool day, with overcast, but it didn't rain the finish of the ride.

All that is left is the almost 500 mile drive back to my home in Los Angeles, in the southern half of the Golden State.