# Ride recommendations in Santa Rosa area



## mimason (Oct 7, 2006)

I have been doing some research on local rides for an upcoming vacation but am becoming overwhelmed at the opportunites you have here. The time frame is 11 days at the tail of July and beginning of August. For the first 3 days we will be in Yosemite and have all but ruled this area out due to safety and crowed roads but....the silver lining appear to be the week long stay near Bodega Bay(if that is in fact where we book). Side note, if you have a rental or knowlege of a house for rent please PM me.

During my research I found the following options but would like to find the best ride options or a group to mix in with if possible. I am looking for challenging rides with great scenery and hard climbing. I live in FL so naturally I would like to mix it up in the hills. Even though I'm s flatlander I still consider myself a good climber. I will be doing BSG in Boone in June and rode the Gross Glockener route (2011 Giro stage) etc etc.

Short list: In no particular order so please help me rate them or add more:

1. Levi's Gran Fondo route - to include King Ringe - likely start in Monte Rio
2. The Geysers - start at City Hall Healdsburg
3. Cavedale, Mt Veeder - start in Sonoma
4. Mt. Tam - where do you start

Also, it is possible I will be riding these solo if I can't pick up a group along the way. I ask because if these are very remote areas I will need to come fully prepared with enough fuel/hydration.

Thanks all for any other suggestions/recommendations.


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## norton55 (Jan 10, 2006)

mimason, the routes you have listed are some of the hardest rides in Sonoma county. You are right that they are remote and water is hard to find and if you have a mechanical, you are a long way from help. 

Since you are from Florida and staying in Bodega Bay I think a better ride might be Bodega Highway to Joy road to Coleman Valley road into Occidental. Then you can head into Freestone and back to Bodega Highway and back to Bodega Bay.

Or, from Bodega Bay stay south on Highway 1 to Middle road in Valley Ford. Stay on that until you get to Marshal road. Go left to the town of Tomales. Reverse you route back to Bodega Bay.

These routes provide plenty of climbing and good rest stops with great bakeries with good coffee and water.

I hope this helps.


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## mimason (Oct 7, 2006)

Big thanks for the advice.

I will likely do your recommendation but would also like to do a few of these hard scenarios. I ride with a lot of Pro 1,2 riders(in our hills) and race Masters 35+ so I am not affraid of a hard efforts. Perhaps I should not have even mentioned I am from Florida. The ride I did in Austria was extreme at 8.5% average grade. IIRC it was 25k and it went straits up with no flat section(only switch backs).

I really like to idea of the bakeries and coffee shops after a hard effort. After all it is vacation.


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

Some recommended rides from the Santa Rosa Cycling Club web site:

http://srcc.memberlodge.com/TGR

I recommend getting a Kreb's Cycle map. Every bike shop sells them.


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## mimason (Oct 7, 2006)

I will be shipping my bike to a San Francisco bike shop so will look for the Kreb's map there. Thank you.


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## WeakSister (Oct 30, 2009)

*What's the traffic like on weekdays?*

I'm gonna be in Santa Rosa in a couple of weeks, and will have one day for riding --- a Monday. I'm considering the Sonoma Coast ride or the Cavedale, Mt Veeder, but I would prefer to not have to deal with a lot of car traffic.


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

*whale watching*

The ride to the lighthouse at the Point Reyes National Seashore is great. You can see gray whales migrating this time of year. It's 50 miles from Bodega Bay, or 35 miles from Tomales. There's a good bakery, Bovine Bakery, in Point Reyes Station. The ride around Tomales Bay is scenic.

Edit: Oops, whale watching is December through May. Never mind.


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