Ladies Wine Country Get Away

May 28-31.  Thanks to Leticia and Gail for organizing a group of women to have a long cycling weekend around the wine country.  We were centered first in Healdsburg and then Guerneville.  The weather was warm to nice in Healdsburg and a little cooler in Guerneville.

5/28: To manage the logistics, several of us rode from Domain Chandon in Yountville to Healdsburg while others drove the cars to Healdsburg and then saddled up and rode back toward the first group.  I drove.  I had hoped to have enough time to get to Calistoga before turning back, but I think I ended up about 6 miles outside of town.  Once we were all together, we returned to Healdsburg with a snack stop at the Jimtown store on the way.

Both groups meeting on the highway.

5/29:  From our hotel we rode through town to Westside Rd., across Wohler bridge, and out to Windsor. We headed up Chalk Hill Rd (the reverse direction of the Wine Country Century) to highway 128, Alexander Valley, and then to the intersection of Lytton Station and Lytton Springs where we stopped for lunch at an excellent taco truck. Getting back on the bike after a large sized lunch and sitting down for a while was challenging, but not very long.  We continued on Lytton Springs Rd back to Dry Creek and the hotel.

At the taco truck.

5/30:  We did one more ride before leaving Healdsburg.  From the hotel to Westside Rd., W. Dry Creek to Yoakim Bridge (part of the Wine Country Century), continue on Dry Creek to Canyon to highway 128 through Geyserville, Geyers Rd, Red Winery Rd., Pine Flat Rd. back to highway 128 (all from the century). At 128 we headed back toward town but first a quick stop at the Jimtown store. We followed yesterday's route of Lytton Station and Lytton Springs, but then took a turn onto Chiquita Rd., then Grove to downtown Healdsburg. We all had lunch together at market (where one of the other patrons was heard to remark when she saw us that there must be a "lesbian bike group" in town.) then rode back to hotel and departed to Guerneville by car.

Group at the Jimtown Store.

 5/31:  The route four of us started on was dubbed "A Taste of the 200K," referring to the 200 kilometer route offered during the Wine Country Century. From our rental house in Guerneville we rode to highway 116 and took that to Green Valley Rd (hill climb).  We continued through vineyards and ranches and them climbed up Graton Rd.  At the stop sign at the end of Graton, we took a left, were briefly on Bohemian Hwy., and then quickly turned on to Coleman Valley Rd. The weather here was cool and damp enough that it felt like rain was falling.  Quite a change from the sunshine the previous days. 

Vineyard scenery from the ride.

Part way up the first climb of Coleman Valley Rd., Debra and I got a call that the other two were turning back.  Thinking that we were almost at the top, we continued on.  It was a top, but not the top.  We went up and down on Coleman for a while.  Some of it was quite steep and much of it was wet and dripping from the mist. Eventually, we got to the final rise and had quite a view down to the ocean. There was a fast down hill descent to highway 1 and the coast.  

Old Barn on Coleman Valley Rd.

We stopped at the Schoolhouse Beach turnout to take in the view of the ocean, then returned to highway 1 to go north to Jenner.  We had a close shave with a truck towing a trailer; it got extremely close in a curve where there was no shoulder, just a ditch.  We were fine, but that incident that was enough to put some pep in our tired legs to get over the rolling hills and on to highway 116.

Gopher at Schoolhouse Beach turnout.

 

Schoolhouse Beach

Schoolhouse Beach

 We had a lunch stop in Duncan's Mills where we relaxed on the patio at the bakery. We met two people from my cycling club (Grizzly Peak Cyclists). After lunch we continued east on 116 to Mays Canyon Rd and our rental house. There was a long walk up the steep and winding driveway, but we had planned ahead and left our regular shoes in a bag at the bottom of the driveway for the walk up.  This was the most challenging of the four rides and also covered some different territory.  Stats for this ride: 52.9 miles and 4,063 feet of elevation gain.

On the patio at the bakery in Duncan's Mills.