A Day in Davis
Sunday, August 4, 2019
After a lovely few days in fog-bound Monterey, I went northeast to visit a friend in the city of Davis which is in the frying pan that is the Central Valley. My friend Stacy is new to the city so a little ride around town was a fun exploration for both of us.
UC Davis is a world-renowned university too, and it sits right up against the town. The Davis area is also very flat. So that means there are a lot of bicycles there and a lot of great bicycling infrastructure. In fact, Davis led the way on designing bike infrastructure in the US based on those smart people in the Netherlands.
Stacy and I started out on a bike path that runs along a branch of Putah Creek, the main watershed in this area, and which runs through the UC Davis arboretum. We stopped here and there to admire the plants and the displays on sustainable farming (UC Davis has a strong agricultural school) and meander through a wonderful grove of oaks from around the world. Then back into town for brunch, and more exploration after. I had gotten up at the crack of dawn so we could ride before the worst of the heat. We didn’t ride very much after our meal.
Oh, and Davis hosts the US Bicycling Hall of Fame. A special place that’s having a hard time financially. It wasn’t open when we stopped by.
Kathleen Jones
tricycle tricycle tricycle I want to ride my tricycle tricycle tricycle I want to ride my tricycle I want to ride my trike I want to ride my tricycle I want to ride it where I like (And I like to ride my bicycle too)
10 response to "A Day in Davis"
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Looks like a wonderful place to live! I think I could live there.
It’s got a lot going for it. Just if you can stand the heat in summer.
What a shame the Bicycling Hall of Fame was closed. I would love to know what is in there.
I think it’s mostly competitive cycling memorabilia if I remember correctly. Not enough, if anything, of touring trikes. 😉
Impressive obelisk of bicycle parts — and 150 species of oak!
That obelisk is da bomb. Very cool. A bike counter is on a corner nearby. They’re only up to about 25K so far this year. Not bad for a college town though.
Looks like you had a very nice visit 🙂 My best friend from uni did her vet degree there and lived/worked at the Equine Centre. I got to visit her in 1998 and tag along on her rounds, plus explore town. It was a really nice place, though, yeah, too hot for me (says she living in inland Oz).
Must have been cool to live/work in the equine center. I was last in Davis about 10 years ago. It hasn’t really changed but it has expanded. The homes in the northern part of town were built since then. I was always puzzled that the oenology school is there, in the hot flatlands instead of somewhere in Napa or San Francisco. But it is UC’s ag school, and the immigrants that settled the land have always grown wine not that far from there in Lodi.
Cool obelisk of bike parts! We have one very similar in Santa Rosa, known as the “Cyclisk.” Probably built by same sculptor(s)?
See http://bike365.org/bike/20181103/
We rode in Davis for the first time last October with two Grands — 6 and 9 years old. Had a great ride and really enjoyed riding around the area. We want to go back when we visit them again in Elk Grove — where they moved to last summer. Heat in summer would be way too much for me!