Cavedale And Spring Mountain

Leslie, Odessa, and I departed at sunrise on wet roads from last night's rain. Our bikes splattered each other with dirt/mud as we made our way up Bennett Valley Road to Sonoma Mountain. As we started our climb, we observed a bunch of road kill (including a dead fawn; awwwww, poor Bambi). Then, we encountered a closed road sign, which we ignored, and made our way to Cavedale. This monster road climbs over 2,000 feet in the first five miles, truly exhausting! We huffed and puffed our way to the very top, turning on Trinity, and then descending into the beautiful Napa Valley. The downhill trip was amazing and landed our fatigued bodies at the Ugly Corner Cafe' in Napa. Once refreshed with blueberry and banana nut muffins, we continued along the never-ending flats of the Silverado Trail until we arrived in downtown St. Helena. After a well needed lunch of Panini and Pizza (Yum!) at the Model Bakery, we refilled our water bottles and began the journey back home. Our final climb up Spring Mountain Road was ruthless! This non-stop, five mile incline kicked our collective butts; and we stopped and rested often. Finally, Spring Mountain turned into St. Helena Road and took us down a wild, wet, and cold descent into Sonoma County. We carefully navigated our way into Santa Rosa via the treacherous and traffic-laden Calistoga Road. . I am so proud of these amazing gals who rode nearly 70 miles and climbed over 4,600 feet. Today's cycling trek was an absolute blast! Wahoo!

Check out the Cavedale elevation chart (click below)
http://www.srcc.com/profiles_html/cavedale_rd.HTM

Martin Luther King Climb

Odessa and I met at sunrise for a Martin Luther King Day ride to Guerneville. It was a cold winter morning (39 degrees) and we were sporting three layers of cycling clothes, gloves, and warm hats. We rode out to Piner High School and began by climbing up Trenton-Healdsburg/Eastside/Westside Roads. We were a little concerned about how the recent floods had affected the West County Roads. After a half mile of turning on to Sweetwater Springs, we encountered a closed road sign due to a landslide. With determination (and total disregard for the Sonoma County public works sign), we picked up our bikes and walked through the muddy barricade. Our bikes and shoes were a dirty mess, but our ride continued. The next 10 miles of Sweetwater Springs got progressively difficult (and beautiful) until we reached the top (and no walking, Wahoo!). We were exhausted, but soon rewarded with several miles of downhill scenic views (and tricky turns). At the bottom, we navigated to downtown Guerneville and Coffee Bazaar for Almond Croissants and Pecan Rolls. Yum! The ride continued and proceeded to taunt us with climb after climb after climb. (Mays Canyon Road, Green Valley Road, Harrison Grade, and Green Hill Road). We made our way through Sebastopol and the roads finally flattened out. We then traveled back to Santa Rosa via the bike trail.

Today we cycled 75 miles, climbed some of the County's toughest hills, and made excellent time! It doesn't get better than this!

Alexander Valley

After being rained out last week, Leslie, Odessa, and I were determined to cycle today (despite the gloomy, wet morning). We waited for the rain to subside and headed up Old Redwood Highway amid the heavy mist. Faught Road was wet but we proceeded on to Chalk Hill. The first few miles were OK, but as we climbed it was apparent that Chalk Hill would be too slick for climbing/descending. We turned back, headed towards the Sonoma County Airport for a break at a local coffee shop. We waited for the sun to dry things out (while enjoying refreshments) and took Faught Road right back to Chalk Hill. This time, we completed the climb and headed down Alexander Valley Road towards the Jimtown Store (which was closed for remodeling). We stopped at the next store on Alexander Valley Road, refilled our water bottles, got a quick snack, and headed back toward Chalk Hill. The final climb up the back side of Chalk Hill was brutal. We were so grateful that the roads dried out and our final descent was safe. We headed towards Santa Rosa via Faught Road and finally on to Redwood Highway. Today's winter ride covered 51 miles and 1,000+ feet of climbing. Wahoo!