California Cycling

Bicycling in California's Wine County

For the past few years Susan and I have contemplated a trip to France or Italy to bicycle through wine country. After checking prices and total costs we figured it would be smarter to cycle around the wine country north of San Francisco. Vineyards are vineyards, right? Plus, we keep our money the good old USA.

We flew into San Francisco on Sunday, May 20th, and picked up our rented Chrysler Town and Country 7-person passenger van. Seven people? Wait! We folded down all the rear seats and now it was built for two people, two bikes, and lots of luggage. After a short visit with TC, Leo's fiance, in Berkeley we headed an hour north to Sabastopol and checked into the very comfortable Fairfield Inn. This was to be home for the next few days. The following morning we drove a short distance to Santa Rosa and picked up our rented Specialized road bikes at NorCal bicycle shop. Very nice equipment, indeed!

The Santa Rosa Cycling Club have posted online their favorite rides with links to maps, cue sheets and a description of the rides. Thanks SRCC, what a great service. Monday's ride was the nice and easy Windsor Plain route which started only a few miles from the bike shop and took us through picturesque areas of the Russian River wine country. Many wineries went to extremes to provide a pleasant view of their vineyards from the roads. Halfway through the ride was the town of Windsor where we stopped for lunch and watched a Western Bluebird fly to our table for a snack. The weather provided us with plenty of sun and temps in the upper-70's, however it was a bit gusty. The wind stayed with us and even strengthened as the week progressed, which made even short rides a bit tiring. After the ride we dined with Bill and Betty Bowles, two of Newt's Air Force friends, at Bodega Bay on the Ocean.

Organic gardening in wine country

Day two we opted for the Dry Creek/Alexander Valley ride that included an 8-mile cruise up West Dry Creek Road, often cited as one of the best wine country rides in California. This scenic route started in Healdsburg with relatively flat roads but included a nice optional climb. At the far end of West Dry Creek Road we missed a turn and soon passed by a nice organic garden in front of a small winery. 

Bella Winery

This mistake fortunately took us to the Bella Winery where we stopped for a short break and took in the beautiful scenery. After back tracking a few miles we continued through the Russian River valley before taking the optional "out-and-back" to Sonoma Lake. We passed the closed visitor's center and then turned the "suggested" easy option into an invigorating 2-mile/500' foot climb to the bridge overlooking the lake.

Overlooking Sonoma Lake

At rides end in Healdsburg we ate a late lunch at the Oakville Grocery on the village square before visiting with a couple who were friends of friends. They own 20 acres atop a knoll next to the Alexander Winery where they maintain a four-acre vineyard of Syrah grapes, along with a few olive trees. Susan and I were quite envious of their awesome view and lifestyle but not envious about the amount of work it takes to produce a few cases of wine.

Windswept plains of Northern Marin County

Day three was our most challenging ride due to both the climbs and the wind. Fortunately the Sebastopol/Valley Ford ride didn't require a drive to the starting point. We just jumped on our bikes and pedaled out of the hotel parking lot. A wrong turn almost doubled the long ascent from Sebastopol to Occidental but that just made the Latte and Mocha at Howard's Cafe in Occidental that much tastier. After a short break in this little Bohemian village we started a long descent southeast towards Marin County where numerous left over hippies from the 60's still call home. This was not a winery ride but a hilly ride through redwoods and other trees before entering the open plains of dairy and sheep farms. The grasslands of Marin County gave us many rollers but it was the wind that almost wore us out. Nearby Petaluma, California reported sustained winds of up to 26mph and gusts as high as 37mph. Fortunately there was little traffic as we struggled to keep upright in the crosswinds. Finally, we returned to the friendly confines of Sabastopol, cleaned up, and ended the day with a delicious dinner with Newt's high school classmate, Carol Killian, in downtown Petaluma.

Benziger Winery. Glen Ellen, CA

Our final ride of the week was to be the Valley of the Moon ride out of Glen Ellen. This looked like a nice wrap-up ride but after driving over part of the bike route on our way to Glen Ellen we found that many of the roads were narrow and full of potholes and drop-offs. Instead of biking the entire route we did a few shorter loops out of Glen Ellen and one took us up a nice grade to Jack London State Park. On the way we passed the Benziger winery which friends had suggested we tour. Later in the day we drove back to this winery and experienced an excellent tour followed by wine tasting. The Benziger family practices both organic and biodiversity practices to grow their grapes. We would suggest this tour to anyone who has the opportunity to visit the area.

That wrapped up our four days of riding in wine country. On Friday Susan and I hiked about six miles in the Armstrong Woods State Nature Preserve. We passed large redwoods and saw wild turkeys, ducks, a rattlesnake, one busy Pileated Woodpecker tearing up a dead log, and a tick that became overly enamored with Susan's wrist. Afterwards we drove south to Berkeley for the rest of our stay. Saturday was spent hiking and just enjoying Leo and Tracy and their eclectic neighborhood of groceries, shops and coffee houses. Late Sunday morning we were off to the San Francisco airport for the flight back to Atlanta.