Goin' Back To Cali

Each year around February, the winter cycling blues really set in. It’s no coincidence then that this is when most riders begin dreaming of warmer climes. Andrew did more than just that this year – he organized a ride through the bike-friendly confines of Marin and Sonoma counties, north of San Francisco, CA. Solo rides from SF to Santa Rosa and back would be sandwiched around a killer group ride around Santa Rosa fantastic enough to offset any amount of east coast slush. Thanks to great legwork by some friends of the shop, he was able to put some real road miles under his legs to kick off the season:

The trip got off to an inauspicious start when I landed in SF and my bike did not. JetBlue did not know where it was specifically, but it was clear that it wasn’t going to be in California any time soon. I wearily left the airport empty-handed at midnight (3am EDT) and headed to NYC Velo/Team Murder racer Chris McNally‘s apt. A few “welcome-to-SF beers” lasted another 2 hrs, since with no bike to ride, my AM plans were canceled.

The next morning I finally learned that the bike was en route, with an ETA of noon. Chris shepherded me to Trouble Coffee in outer Sunset for killer espresso, then over to airport to get bike. The bike arrived safe and sound, so we assembled it and headed off to lunch.

On the way back from sandwiches, I got a phone call that I was expected in Santa Rosa that evening for a pre-ride dinner with my hosts – my lost bike had scrambled our schedules – so bus options were suggested. I went to CA to ride my bike, not the bus, so Chris and I switched into planning mode. We planned a down & dirty direct route to SR and got the gear on in 15 mins (it’s now 4pm), grabbed some light sets and headed out the door. Two-plus hours later in Novato, it was dark, and with the planned route taking the “shoulder” of Hwy 101 for the last 35 miles to Santa Rosa, I caved and took the car ride my SR hosts insisted was the better option. I ended up having a great dinner with an extended version of the Chilcott family, my hosts in Santa Rosa, with the dinner conversation ranged from riding in Sonoma County, to the BMC Pro team, to carbon wheel aerodynamics.

A lot had been said about riding in the Santa Rosa area, specifically about the King Ridge ride. Levi uses it on his Gran Fondo, and visitors and locals alike revere it. My first stop, not surprisingly, was what turned out to be a very reliable espresso purveyor; the Centro Espresso Bar downtown provided the needed caffeine courtesy of local roasters Ecco Caffe.

I met up with a crew of Santa Rosa’s cycling elite and headed west. We climbed through the foothills to Occidental before turning north on Bohemian Hwy, up to Cazadero. Based on schedule limitations of the group, we ended up riding the Fort Ross route instead of King Ridge, which cut off 45 minutes or so – the resulting climb was steeper but shorter. Either route ends up on Meyer’s grade, a 2+ mile, 18% descent to the Pacific Ocean. By the time we got to the Coleman Valley road climb, I was cracked (double-cracked, actually). I coasted (quite literally) into Occidental for a sandwich and some electrolytes before riding back into Santa Rosa. Dinner at a taco hut was the perfect ending to a great day.

I got up at 6:30a to get the next day started – after packing up a box to ship my change of clothes back to NYC, I put my “tourist hat” on. A plastic bag malfunction in town lead to gear scattered across the street, a tweaked spoke, and a wobbly rim. My Leatherman CX tool came in very handy to true the wheel. Crisis averted.

Centro Espresso again provided the needed courage to tackle the day’s mileage. I hopped onto the bike path to Sebastopol and on to the West County Revolution bike shop, where I got some good route advice and topped off the water bottles. I kept going west on Bodega Highway to Hwy 1 before turning south to Point Reyes Station. I stopped to check out the vintage MTB’s (bikes from Cunningham, Otis Guy, Steve Potts) at Black Mountain Cycles and grabbed some more coffee and baked goods at Bovine Bakery before hitting the road to Stinson Beach. From there, I climbed up and over the ridge to Sausalito and Studio Velo. The guys at SV have a great Independent Fabrication representation and they also have tons of info on off-road rides in Marin. After a short visit I was back on the bike to meet Jason at De La Paz roasters in the Mission (back in SF) to pick up an espresso order for the shop. Jason recommended some java around the corner at Haus to give me the energy to make it back to the Richmond district for dinner, sleep, and a return to east coast.

The best way to get some sleep on the redeye is wear yourself our before the flight, and this Cali trip did the job in spades.

Thanks to Chris, Rona, and all of NYC Velo’s west coast friends!