Point Reyes/Mount Vision

Peloton: Sarah, Adam, Phillip, Michael, Sarah, Renee, Steve, Graham, Jen, Michael, Will, Eric, Ben, Linda, Gayle, Phil R, John, Theresa, Mark, Jean, and Shaun.
Place: Olema, Inverness, Marshall, Tomales Bay, Point Reyes, and Mount Vision.
Particulars: It was a cool overcast day (we dodged the rain again) perfect for climbing but very windy. I was testing my new Trek Madone (with compact double gearing) and latest Garmin GPS unit. Without stopping, we passed the Busy Bee Bakery outbound as we made our way through Point Reyes National Seashore. There was lots of climbing with awesome coastal ocean views. Our crew had several technical difficulties including Phil’s traveling chain and Steve’s busted frame with a road closure (which we bypassed) on our way to the lighthouse. (luckily, we had the bike repairing talents of Eric) Sarah and I feasted on burgers and sweet potato fries on our way home through Petaluma. A great day!
Performance: We cycled for 5 hours covering 67.83 miles reaching speeds of 42.2 mph (13.5 average speed) with 8,580 feet of climbing.

Tomales Sticky Bun Ride

A dozen riders for a dozen sticky buns! Today’s peloton of Adam, Ben, Eric, Gayle, Jean, Jen Linda, Mike, Phil B, Phil R, Shaun, and Steve began our adventure from Santa Rosa’s Finley Park on College Avenue and headed towards Graton via Fulton/Hall/Sanford and Occidental Roads. At the Mills Station Road turn off, we stopped briefly to shed some extra clothing as the weather warmed up early. It was nice having Len Allaire providing premium SAG support (thanks, buddy). We began the 900 foot climb up Cherry Ridge and Occidental Roads. Eric and Ben effortlessly zoomed ahead while the rest of our pack gradually navigated the climb to the top. The resulting descent was beautiful and the cool breeze felt great as we made our way speeding into the charming town of Occidental. Jen and Steve found themselves with “pinch flats” due to a particularly sharp bump in the Union Hotel parking lot. After a quick tire changing break, our peloton continued the route with another fabulous descent on Bohemian Highway towards Freestone. Herds of cows and sheep populated the countless farms along the route past Bodega Highway into Valley Ford. The road became noticeably smoother as we crossed into Marin County. We ascended the steep incline of Middle Road and enjoyed the resulting rolling terrain and traffic-free roads as we made our way towards Dillon Beach. A final 40+ mph descent took us right into the quaint bayside town of Tomales. Their world famous bakery had prepared a dozen sticky-buns just for our group (by previous arrangement). We rested up, inhaled some pastry, rehydrated, and began another climb onto Shoreline Highway. The area views were magnificent and we enjoyed several mini climbs/descents on Fallon, Gericke, and Valley Ford Roads. We broke into a few pace line packs as we passed the town of Bloomfield on Roblar Road. A slight crosswind made our cycling on Canfield Road a bit more labored, but Phil Bourke strongly took the lead of our pack, pulling us for almost five miles (must be that good Australian blood). We made our way into residential Sebastopol via Pleasant Hill and Lynch Roads with a final, tricky turn onto Gravenstein Highway. We all met up at the Joe Rodota Trail, a beautiful multipurpose off-road pathway, which took us right into Santa Rosa. We cycled back to Finley Park just in time for lunch. Today’s ride was a blast (and delicious) covering 52 miles and 4,700+ feet of climbing though the best of rural Sonoma and Marin Counties. Life is good!

Check out today’s Garmin GPS ride details.

Trinity / Mount Veeder / Napa

Today’s motley cycling crew met at Depot Park in the town of Sonoma and included Cassie, Gayle, Jean, Jen, John, Jon, Linda, Mark, Michael, Phil, Phillip, Rene, Sarah, Shaun, Steve, Theresa, and Will (along with Gary, Sarah, and Emily Burke on SAG). We departed Sonoma via Highway 12 making a gradual climb as we passed through the charming towns of Boyes Hot Springs, Fetters Hot Springs, and Agua Caliente. We took turns leading the speedy pace line and practicing our group riding technique until we arrived at Glen Ellen. The weather warmed up early and our riding group shed the extra jackets, arm warmers, and winter gloves in preparation for a big old climb. A noisy flock of turkeys greeted us as we turned onto the backside of Trinity Road. This high-grade 2,000 foot climb was part of February’s Tour of California Stage 1 Route. As we climbed up Trinity, the names of last month’s racers were still visible (spray painted by fans) on the road. It was encouraging to read, “Go Levi”, “Cancellara”, Cozza, Cozza, Cozza”, “Zabriskie’, and “Hincapie” below our wheels while we navigated our way uphill. The very thought that these world-class racers had just been here made the climb that much more special. The view from atop Trinity was almost as stunning as the screaming descent that followed. At times our downhill speeds reached in excess of 40 mph (Cassie took a little spill navigating the quick, winding descents, but is doing fine now). Our peloton continued on Dry Creek Road and Oakville Grade making our way into Yountville via Highway 29. We enjoyed the relatively flat, well-paved Napa County roads and continued our pace line practice while heading back onto Dry Creek Road in pursuit of our next climb. The temperature warmed significantly as we headed up Mount Veeder Road. With our legs now more acclimated to climbing, the 1,500 foot ascent up this monster seemed almost reasonable. Gayle, Theresa, Jennifer, and I chatted the whole way up. After our final SAG stop, we enjoyed another rollercoaster descent before making our way back to Napa Road via Sonoma Highway. Our peloton of 15 riders reconnected for a final (and dramatic) pace line effort into Sonoma County. We arrived at Depot Park just in time for a delicious potluck lunch to celebrate our climbing victory of 5,959 feet covering 58.7 miles. I feel so privileged to be with such a wonderful group of strong riders in Northern California’s cycling Mecca. Someboday pinch me!! Check out today's Garmin GPS ride details.