Today we rode from Santa Rosa (in the Sonoma valley) into Calistoga (in the Napa valley) but instead of taking the direct short route over the mountain, we took a longer (70 mile) route with some hills. The first third of the ride was hair-raising as we were on high-traffic roads with little to no shoulder, and also hit a stretch of road construction, reduced to one lane with no shoulder. We needed to stop and wait till we had our chance to go and it was no fun. Once we got off this road, we started going through Napa Valley on our way to Calistoga. These roads are what we've come to appreciate on most tours -- lightly traveled, scenic, secondary roads. Dry Creek Road was the best stretch we've
traveled since the tour begin, with beautiful scenery, rolling hills, and little traffic. After lunch, we returned to heavily traveled roads, but with good wide shoulders, and a nice tailwind! This has been a hot week, and by early afternoon it was well into the 90s. The heat actually felt good -- my body felt loose and comfortable on the bike. Support for the ride today was very good with two water stops in addition to lunch which kept us all going. My endurolytes were also a big help. Our dinner tonight was sensational. We had NY strip steak with caprese salad and another lentil with goat cheese salad that was sensational. Dessert was scones with raspberry/blueberry/blackberry sauce and whipped cream. I had a taste for a steak so I (Mark) was delighted with tonight's menu. The group continues to be a joy with lots of good, engaging people.
No comments:
Post a Comment