The Noble Century

Our Saturday adventure began with an early AM rendezvous at Pete’s Coffee in Santa Rosa. It was a cool morning and perfect weather for another century challenge. Susan Noble, Paul, and I headed out West Third Street towards Graton via the usual route (Hall, Sanford, and Occidental). At downtown Graton, we took the west county leg of the Joe Rodota Trail to Forestville and exited on Covey. The morning dew glistened off the numerous, well pruned vineyards along the roadside. Our little peloton kept a strong and speedy pace as we made our way to Lake Sonoma by way of River Road, Wohler, Westside, and West Dry Creek. The sprint up Dry Creek Road was exhilarating and the morning sun began to peek over the horizon. Simply Magnificent. We filled up our water bottles at the Warm Springs Dam Visitors Center and proceeded up Skaggs Springs toward Rockpile Road. This ascent is beautifully engineered over a perfectly paved road with no traffic. The moderate grade made for enjoyable climbing as we were treated with stunning views of Lake Sonoma and the coastal foothills. Paul was a monster climber, far outpacing the group. After 11 miles (and 2,000 feet of elevation) we reached the top of Rockpile, and turned back for some screaming descents. The cool breeze on the rollercoaster downhill felt great against the warming sun. We reached speeds of 45+ mph on our final descent back to the visitor’s center. After refilling our water bottles (see photo of Susan doing some wicked multi-tasking; stretching, hydrating, and making client real-estate calls all at once), we cycled to Geyserville on Highway 128 through Geysers, Red Winery, and Pine Flat Roads. The vineyards were gorgeous with multicolored ripe fruit. We stopped at the Jimtown Store for some eats, running into the Santa Rosa Cycling Club gang. After some brief visiting (and a bag of spiced nuts), we cycled towards Chalk Hill via 128 through the Alexander Valley. We climbed up Chalk Hill Road exiting on Pleasant/Faught and made our way to Old Redwood Highway towards downtown Santa Rosa. After cycling 100 miles, Susan led the pack, keeping a rapid pace to the very end. We finished our jaunt in Santa Rosa with a visit to the Russian River Brewing Company for some real hydration and celebratory toast (see photo). Today’s journey covered 104 miles and 6,930 feet of climbing. Another picture perfect summer day with friends in Sonoma County! Ahhh, life is good.