Monday, June 27, 2016

Cycling the vineyards

I decided to use the campground's showers instead of the one we have for a change. When I walked out of the shower, Mike was standing at the sink. He asked what I was doing in the Men's showers. I did some quick thinking and told him "now that there are new laws I can use which ever restrooms I please." He didn't buy it.


We are loving riding these country roads. We drove to Geyserville  to check out their roads on a Saturday and there were plenty of cyclists to be found. Two vans full of Backroads Cycle Tours pulled up as we left Starbucks.

The shaded roads along the vineyards were great since things were heating up after a couple of rainy days. I enjoy when there are clouds and sprinkles while riding. But the sunshine felt good after the morning fog lifted.

Sonoma's art along the roads. This one is called cartwheels, a grocery cart filled with bike rims?
 


I have to make myself pay attention to the road for obstacles. It is too easy to get distracted out here. 



This old store from the 1880s is one of the few delis on the country roads and Saturday there were many cyclists stopping for a pit stop and snacks. A small sandwich is $13. They kept filling the counter with them.
There is a huge amount of baby grapes. Looks like it will be a fruitful harvest.




We stopped at a couple of wineries but they were serving Zins which are not a favorite of ours. We will have to check and see what is offered next time we stop. There are so many wineries, it can be overwhelming.


Several wineries have made caves in the side of their hills.



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 It has been so nice to wake up in the morning and walk along the Russian River before the kids get out on their inner tubes and float. Actually, watching them is pretty good too.








 
Friday nights in Cloverdale's plaza has a farmer's market with food vendors and a band. The band was from San Francisco and quite good. There was an eclectic group of fun local people that many looked that they have moved here after the 60s in San Francisco. The towns here have had a nice small town feel.

It has been such a good week here in the Russian River and Alexander Valleys. We are excited to see what is next down the road.

4 comments:

  1. Good comeback on the restroom!

    It is crazy how expensive the wine country of California is! We spent a week in Napa and didn't eat out once...too rich for our wallets!

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    Replies
    1. Once I gathered my things and walked out of the shower, I thought that the lady with jumbo feet in the next shower maybe wasn't a lady after all.

      We shared an expensive mini sandwich to get us home for real food.

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  2. That looks like so much fun! I'd love to bike through the vineyards—although I probably wouldn't feel too much like biking if I made too many stops for wine tasting. Where have you guys been staying? (p.s. I see you're heading to Ashland—that's our hometown, so if you want any insider's tips, email me.) :-)

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  3. We didn't do much wine tasting @ $18 for 3 samples. We have been staying at some Thousand Trails and this was one of the better Thousand Trails. We have stayed at a couple for one night and moved on. We stayed in the national forest while in Lassen Volcano National Park. No hookups but had so much fun.

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