Recreational & Family - Riding in Napa or Sonoma? 40-50 Miles?

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Geslien
11-05-10, 05:45 PM
So the wives want to do wine tasting and I thought it would be fun to have the riding crew do a loop so we can kill two birds with one stone. The plan is to have the cyclists roll up first and then have the wives meet later.

Can anyone suggest a place to start, and a solid 40-50 mile loop?

Thank you.

Also, do you know if it is cool to park at a winery and then ride off?

-Eric

RonH
11-06-10, 07:22 AM
Not sure where Napa or Sonoma are, but why not ask the folks in the NorCal or SoCal forums? They live there and can give you great advice.
http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?235-Northern-California
http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?236-Southern-California
prathmann
11-06-10, 08:33 AM
Route sheets used by our bike club are available on our website at:
http://www.valleyspokesmen.org/routes.php

Select either the Napa or Sonoma county areas to see applicable routes.
The numeric rating of the rides refers to the amount of climbing - 1 is flat, 5 is very hilly.
Most of these start at places with larger parking lots - local colleges or shopping centers. I would ask for permission before leaving a car at a vineyard since many have limited space.

turkey9186
11-06-10, 09:21 AM
Check out the Tour de Cure Napa Valley course.
Hwy 29 on the west side of the valley has a rideable shoulder for most of it. Silverado trail on the east side both directions has a wide shoulder. The loop from Napa to Calistoga and back is around 70 miles. There are crossroads every three to four miles though.
I you want to throw in hills there are a few choices. MT Veeder west of Napa, Okaville grade, Deerpark road to Angwin, or Mt George on Hwy-121.
Velo Dog
11-09-10, 11:02 PM
Pretty good advice so far--I live in Reno, but I've done the Wine Country Century several times, and once a year or so when my wife get tired of Sierra winters, we go down to Petaluma or Sonoma and spend a weekend (climate in the Napa area is Mediterranean, with winter temps in the 60s and no snow ever). you can hardly go wrong starting anywhere and riding in any direction.
Two precautions: A lot of the roads are narrow, with no shoulders at all. And toward the end of the day, especially on weekends, the winetasters get in their cars and drive back to their motels. Be VERY cautious.