Section 1 of the Western Express Route begins in San Francisco, California, and ends in Fallon, Nevada. Cyclists will encounter a wide variety of riding conditions from urban to rural while using state highways, county roads and separate bike paths. From Golden Gate Bridge the route takes a ferry across the bay to Vallejo and winds its way through the hills to Davis, widely known as the "Bicycle Capital of the World" and Sacramento. To traverse the state capital you'll ride a large portion of the Jedediah Smith National Recreation Trail, also known as the American River Bike Trail. Southeast of Folsom the route climbs the Sierra Nevada range and enters Nevada at Stateline, located on Lake Tahoe. Nevada is Great Basin country. From Carson City, the route heads east on U.S. Highway 50, known as the "Loneliest Road in America."
Out of Placerville we went to Lake Jenson (beautiful) and then rode up Iron Mt. Rd. at local's suggestion. Was a beautiful ride with little traffic, a lot of day riders, and was a more direct route to S. Lake Tahoe than the map provided. I would therefore reccommend this route over the mapped route.