An Afternoon Napa

6.19.11 - San Fran to Napa - 74miles - First official day of riding.
We left San Francisco with full stomachs after Annie served up a wicked breakfast of eggs, bacon and hash browns and headed toward the Golden Gate Bridge. We wound our way through the bike lanes along the bay and dipped our tires in the water near the base of the Bridge to make the Coast to Coast trip official and we continued off into the notorious bay fog which completely enshrouded the bridge. We caught the occasional glimpses of the top as we dodged tourists and every once in a while the fog would break and we would look out on the clear blue sky and and pristine looking bay of both San Fran and Sausalito(on the north side of the bay). After the bridge, we continued north through the hills and towns and ogled the beautiful landscapes and houses. We were also greeted by our first big (well, at the time we thought so) climb of the trip and we crept up the long windy hills and raced down the backside. While we rolled through the countryside on our way to Petaluma, we caught a whiff of California's most recent, and rapidly growing, pharmaceutical product. The aroma of the medicinal herb was particularly strong near a "spiritual center" near the intersection of Sir Francis Drake and Nacosio Valley Roads.

As the sun climbed high into the sky, nature seemed to hit the pause button on the sun's progression and we labored under the direct sun for hours, spinning up the long hills of Northern California. Combining the endless hours we spent in the Health Center studying for exams with the progression of spring storms the Northeast has seen lately, and the number of continuous hours of sun we've seen lately was dwarfed by our first morning of biking alone. We felt as parched and scorched as the cacti lining the roads.
The other thing we noted as we coasted downhill into Petaluma was how the concept of giving back played out on our trip. Each of us wanted to do this ride so that we could, in some small way, give back a little of our fortune to a worthwhile cause. That sense of giving continued today as we climbed and climbed and gained at times a thousand or so feet of elevation, we gave it all right back as we crossed the Petaluma city limits. We started out at sea level and by the time we stopped for lunch in downtown Petaluma, we had only kept 17 of those feet we climbed. As we approach the Sierras and Rockies, we hope to be a bit more selfish with the altitude we gain.

We made an extended stop to eat lunch, rehydrate and refill our water which also enabled us to sit out some of the hottest parts of the day. From Petaluma to Napa (our goal for the day) was only about 20 miles and thankfully much less hilly so we rolled through the wine country in the late afternoon, and admired the acres of perfectly lined grapevines, longing to sit in the shade of the trees with a bottle of wine. Once we got to downtown Napa, we found a local brew pub, Downtown Joe's Brewery and Restaurant, and were graciously offered a free dinner. We sat by the river and ate outside soaking up the evening atmosphere. As we were leaaving the restaurant, a lovely couple, Steve and Karen Sager, stopped us and asked us about Lea's Foundation and our ride. We stopped to talk with them and when they heard that we were planning on camping at the local fairground, they kindly offered up their guesthouse for us to stay in. Fittingly, the neighborhood road to their house was near vertical (seriously, the road looked ready to peel back off the earth) and their house was at the top of the hill. We dragged ourselves to the top and found ourselves looking out over Napa Valley with the last red embers of the sunset hanging over the hills. Everything we went through was suddenly worth it.
We unpacked our gear, showered, got a few things together for the morning and hit the sack as quickly as possible. And by sack, I mean king sized bed. And by we, I mean all three of us squeezed into the phenomenally comfortable bed.


Day 2 - Napa to Davis - 50 miles
With temperatures expected to reach the mid 90s, we wanted to ride as much as we could before the heat moved in so we got an early start to the day and we were geared up and ready to go by 6am. We met Steve outside, who himself was off for his morning ride (he could kick our asses up his neighborhood road despite being in his 70s) and chatted to him before we all headed off. We have been struck by how friendly and accommodating people have been even in just our first day of riding. Maybe it's the year-round nice weather that puts people in a good mood. Either way, Steve and Karen were incredibly kind and friendly and we were grateful for their kindness.
We carefully, carefully, made our way back down the hill (80+ lbs of weight on your bike will cause you to doubt even the sturdiest of brakes) and headed northeast to Davis. We knew today would be tough because of two very big climbs. Right off the bat we were faced with a 1000+ ft climb over about 2.5 miles and although we were totally gased at the top, we continued down the other side and our effort was repayed with an exciting, thrilling downhill course that wound its way along the hillsides. We were leaning into the turns and felt like proper cycists as we followed the spaghetti-like road.


We continued through the valleys and up the second major climb of the day and at the top of that climb, we met a very nice couple of riders, Chuck and Tor (short for Victoria), who were keen to hear about our ride and as they were from Davis (out on a nice morning ride), they wanted to know how we were planning on getting there. They offered to meet us 30 min down the road in a town called Winters (it was, in fact, the opposite) in a local coffee shop and give us advice on the best route into Davis to take. We took off downhill and were lucky to find that from that point out, it was either downhill or flat and we cruised into the town, taking shelter from the heat in Steady Eddy's coffee shop. We sat and ate with Chuck and Tor and I learned that Tor was from the same county in England as I am. Small world. We couldn't stay long though as we had plans to stay at the home of Dr. Wilkes, a UCONN SOM alum who kindly opens his home to the riders each year, and we needed to get a move on. While Tor had to head back to Davis, Chuck offered to guide us along the back roads to Davis. Chuck took us through the areas of the country where we would be sheltered from the particularly strong winds of the day and his navigational skills were matched equally well with his knowledge of area. He filled us in on local flora, what farm products were grown where and a little bit of history mixed in. Before we knew it, we were cruising through Davis and arrived just before 1pm at the Wilkes' home, sweaty, exhausted and ready for some rest. We were a bit early so we enjoyed a cool breeze as we sat under a tree in the front yard until Maggie Wilkes arrived and let us crash in the house. We spent the afternoon eating (such good food) swimming, and lounging, trying to soak up all the hospitality Maggie showered us with since we probably won't be seeing much for a while to come.