Rattlesnakes, Mexicans, Bridges - Oh My!

Leslie, Scott, Rich, Odessa, Len and I departed San Miguel School for a hot wine country ride. We left at 7am just in time to catch the last of the cool morning air. Our six member peloton cycled up Faught Road, making our way onto Chalk Hill to enjoy our first climb of the day. The group stayed together as we continued into Alexander Valley, stopping at the Jimtown Store for some goodies (their spiced nuts are the BEST). Leslie, Scott, and Odessa split off to take on the challenge of Pine Flat Road, one of Sonoma County’s toughest climbs (congratulations, kids). Rich, Len, and I proceeded on to Geyserville via 128 to cycle some of the Healdsburg Harvest Ride back roads. As we approached the closed Geyserville Bridge, Len figured that he would just bypass the construction workers—that was definitely a “no-go” (as the workers made that quite clear) . So, without a detour alternative, we made our way back towards Healdsburg via Alexander Valley Road turning onto Geysers Road, Red Winery Road, and back to Jimtown. Our re-route took us another 13 miles off-course. The weather began to heat up, so we refilled our water, restocked on spiced nuts and began our second ride via Healdsburg Avenue through downtown and onto Limerick Lane. This great road parallels Old Redwood Highway and has some moderate climbs. We continued on towards Windsor via Arata and Hembree Lanes. After another few miles on Old Red, we returned to San Miguel School via Faught Road. During our ride, Rich “flipped off” some Mexicans in a car for swerving into our lane. When they turned around to confront Rich, I thought we were toast. Luckily, they were all talk and no action. Despite the closed bridge, rattlesnake warnings, and angry drivers, we cycled over 45 miles today and had a blast. Wahoo!