# One Ride In The Wine Country



## crashbowman (Sep 28, 2008)

I will be taking a trip to the Northwest this Summer and will be driving through the Northern California Wine Country. I will be able to have one ride of 2-3 hours in length. I was really wanting to find a website or something that had maps of routes along with information about the routes. Since this will be the one ride I get here for a long time I would like to kind of maximize the opportunity. Thanks for any help.

John


----------



## ukiahb (Jan 26, 2003)

here ya' go, one or more of these should work
http://srcc.memberlodge.com/TGR


----------



## 180 (Jan 10, 2009)

Go to Sonoma. Totally bike friendly and absolutely beautiful. The people there say its the most beautiful place in CA, and the best place. I loved it there. You could ride up to Jack London State park and vineyard in nearby Glen Ellen and over to Sonoma State Regional Park. I stayed at the Best Western there and it was really nice - right across from a Whole Foods and right next to the square. There's a cycling group online for Sonoma that can probably help as well:

http://www.cyclesonoma.com

Have a great trip!!


----------



## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

Yes, yes, Sonoma indeed. Napa just isn’t quite the same.


----------



## moschika (Feb 1, 2004)

crashbowman said:


> I will be taking a trip to the Northwest this Summer and will be driving through the Northern California Wine Country. I will be able to have one ride of 2-3 hours in length. I was really wanting to find a website or something that had maps of routes along with information about the routes. Since this will be the one ride I get here for a long time I would like to kind of maximize the opportunity. Thanks for any help.
> 
> John


depends on where you'll be staying could depend on where to ride. 

http://srcc.memberlodge.com/archive lists a ton of rides with ride sheets and maps.

of course most of these rides are in Sonoma County.


----------



## crashbowman (Sep 28, 2008)

Thanks for all the great info guys. Definately looks like it will be Sonoma, now it will just be a matter of finding the exat route. Thanks again.


----------



## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

A real fun, yet challenging ride would be riding out of Healdsburg (in Sonoma County) up Dry Creek Road, over to Skaggs Spring Road, and then out to Annapolis Road, ending out at Highway 1 in The Sea Ranch, CA. Ride another 8 miles north, and you’re in Gualala, CA, with plenty of lodging, food, groceries, etc.


----------



## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> A real fun, yet challenging ride would be riding out of Healdsburg (in Sonoma County) up Dry Creek Road, over to Skaggs Spring Road, and then out to Annapolis Road, ending out at Highway 1 in The Sea Ranch, CA. Ride another 8 miles north, and you’re in Gualala, CA, with plenty of lodging, food, groceries, etc.


Given he said he had 2-3 hours Scaggs is way too much. It is an awesome ride. The climb up to Tin Barn Road is challenging to say the least. 

The ride up Geyser Peak is doable in 3 hours and will provide nice scenery. Just do it clockwise so as to climb the crapy roads to the north and descend the nice roads to the south. Oh, there are 2 or 3 gravel stretches (50 yards long) on the descent so you do have to be careful. They do have warning signs.

Go to Map My Ride and do a search for Geyserville.


----------



## strathconaman (Jul 3, 2003)

+1 Sonoma.

I was down there in February: roads are smooth, drivers are bike friendly.


----------



## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

crashbowman said:


> Thanks for all the great info guys. Definately looks like it will be Sonoma, now it will just be a matter of finding the exat route. Thanks again.


From Sonoma, get on Arnold and go up to Warm Springs, Sonoma Mountain Road, and Bennett Valley. Do Jack London on the way back. That would probably take close to two hours. 

When I was last there, in 2006, Sonoma Mountain Road was closed to traffic near the top because of a slide, but it was no big deal because you could walk or ride across it.


----------



## moschika (Feb 1, 2004)

mohair_chair said:


> When I was last there, in 2006, Sonoma Mountain Road was closed to traffic near the top because of a slide, but it was no big deal because you could walk or ride across it.


it's still closed and fenced off and no way to go through. I was just up there about a month ago and it looks like they've started repairing it.


----------



## moschika (Feb 1, 2004)

a nice 2.5-3 hour loop I do out of santa rosa is out the joe rodota/west county trail to green valley road, harrison grade, occidental, boho hwy, bodega hwy, barnett valley, burnside, bloomfield, 116 back to joe rodota.

it's a bit over 40 miles and about 3k climbing.


----------



## ucancallmejoe (May 17, 2006)

I live in Sonoma and let the weather dictate where I ride. If it is foggy, the western parts of Sonoma can get very windy. Then I book over to Napa. To me, the Ink Grade, Pope Valley, Silverado Trail loop is the quintessential Napa/Sonoma ride. As a native up here that is the one ride I cannot get enough of -as long as the temps are below 90....Two hours or so -maybe 2000' of climbing, few if any cars in Pope Valley. Look up pope valley in Map My Ride or whatever that site is.


----------



## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

Damn I wished I lived up in those parts. And not just for the bold zins!


----------



## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Are there any campsites people recommend within a days bike ride from either SF or the East Bay? I'd like to ride up for a three day weekend sometime, camp, and do some riding in the area.


----------



## Squizzle (Apr 12, 2003)

*Ink Grade, Pope Valley: Clockwise or Counter Clockwise?*



ucancallmejoe said:


> I live in Sonoma and let the weather dictate where I ride. If it is foggy, the western parts of Sonoma can get very windy. Then I book over to Napa. To me, the Ink Grade, Pope Valley, Silverado Trail loop is the quintessential Napa/Sonoma ride. As a native up here that is the one ride I cannot get enough of -as long as the temps are below 90....Two hours or so -maybe 2000' of climbing, few if any cars in Pope Valley. Look up pope valley in Map My Ride or whatever that site is.


I'll be down in Napa this weekend and have about 2-3 hours to ride. This looks like a great loop. I've seen it mapped a couple of different ways. Just wondering what's the best direction to ride it from St. Helena. Clockwise or Counter clockwise.

Thanks, J


----------

