Day 22

Sunday, 20 June 2004
  Santa Rosa, CA to Napa, CA
53.9 miles, 4h15m, 12.7 mph
Elapsed Time: 6h10m, Max speed: 42.0mph
Total Climbing: 2270ft, Max elevation: 1081ft
Total mileage: 1271.3


Copyright 2002 DeLorme. Topo USA. Data copyright of content owner.



Sunday was supposed to be easy, but there were a couple of bumps in the road...big bumps. I figured that there would be some hills to get from the Sonoma Valley and to the Napa Valley, but I think we went a little higher than necessary. Who would have thought that Franz Valley Road would go straight up?
 
Anyway, the weather was perfect--clear, sunny, dry. This area is much drier than the coast. I would call it semi-arid.


This is what Bob calls semi-arid. Just so you know.

The first town we encountered was Calistoga. Ten years ago, Linda and I spent a night here on our tandem tour honeymoon in 1993. Neither of us has any recollection of the place. This time we stopped for coffee. By tomorrow, I won't remember that.


Calistoga: Nothing familiar about it.

Calistoga is most famous for its mineral water. Perhaps you've seen it in a convenience store near you. There's an amusing piece of artwork outside of their headquarters. It's a metal sculpture of a Calistoga water truck hitting a bump and spilling its cargo.


You had to be there.

We rode a few miles down the Silverado Trail, which is a road that runs down the east side of the Napa Valley. We stopped at a convenient vineyard, but they charged for tasting so we moved on. It turns out that nearly all of them charge these days. I used to know something about wine but it wouldn't be worth it for me anymore to pay to have some guy try to sell me his grape juice.


We rolled past lots of this.

We ate lunch at a deli in St. Helena and then got back on the Silverado Trail and headed for Napa. But by now a stiff headwind had developed and our easy day turned into a long grind to the finish. I seem to recall afternoon headwinds for the past few days. Hmm.  We stopped at a produce stand along the way and bought strawberries, snap peas, and apricots. Then it was off to the motel pool. Woo-hoo!

Tomorrow we see San Francisco.


Previous | Next

"JT and BC's 2004 Pacific Coast Ride" Copyright © 2004 By Bob Clemons. All rights reserved.