AV Late Fall Utah Meeting

SadieKate and Wrench Boy ventured to Salt Lake City, my new home, over Thanksgiving weekend to visit Wrench Boy's mother. Of course they were willing to bring their bikes.

We did two rides, one up in Mill Creek Canyon (brrrr!) and one on Antelope Island (an island in the Great Salt Lake). What fun it was to see and ride with them again. It was chilly (especially the ride up in Mill Creek Canyon), but we just wore lots of clothes and rode faster than we might normally! Oh! And we did have Thanksgiving dinner together at a lovely little bistro in one of Salt Lake's trendy neighborhoods. Thumbs up to having someone else cook and clean up.

To see all of the ride photos, you can visit SadieKate's Photobucket site (I'm gonna have to git me one!)

(At Antelope Island, from L to R, Brian, Yellow, SadieKate, Wrench Boy)

Dam Corners and Valley road ride - Sunday, Nov 20

The Princess has decreed we will be starting in Winters.

Extended forecast shows sunny through the weekend so let's keep our fingers crossed. In keeping with traditional winter training goals, this ride will be a relaxed ramble through the countryside.

We’ll climb northwest up the canyon alongside Putah Creek over the Monticello Dam and Cardiac Hill, which are the only big climbs of the day, to Moskowite Corner. From there, one little bump and then we fly down Wooden Valley to Mankas Corners and on to Fairfield where we'll take a food break at the coffee house. We’ll turn north, climb a few short rollers and then have a nice smooth ride all the way north back to Lake Solano Park. This is the "good" section of the Foxy's Fall Century.

• Start: the town of Winters (Rotary Park parking lot at Railroad and Main across from the Buckhorn and Steady Eddy's Coffee House)
• When: Ready to ride at 10 am
• Length: 62
• Climbing: 2,780 (unless you have to go over Cantelow on the return)

To get to Winters: Interstate 505 goes north right into Winters from I-80 or your can take Russell Blvd east out of Davis. http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?ed=u8Nhjq160SyvQA0bpmqBMulSMUtJa6zz_Bvx9k0QKNEu6UagR4mUKkMkvI6I997NqQ--&name=The+Buckhorn+Steak+%26amp%3B+Roadhouse&desc=%28530%29+795-4503&csz=Winters+CA&country=us&cs=10&qty=9&ds=n

Map of the route that you may want to download to be able to see.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sadiekatel/detail?.dir=65dc&.dnm=fd0d.jpg&.src=ph

Pizza after? We can test the Pizza Factory: http://www.palmsplayhouse.com/pizzafactory.html

Let us know if this floats your boat, spins your wheels, etc.

Napa Valley photos

For once, I stopped and smelled the flowers. Though this time of year, it was the grape harvest. We rode through a constant delicious aroma of fermenting wine grapes.

These photos were taken going up Ink Grade from Pope Valley. Veronica summits, then Kim arrives desperately trying to get rid of the madman who followed her up the hill.

Saw lots of dead raccoon, squirrels and salamanders. Dangerous time of year for these critters.

Nov 12 - A Twist on the Tour of Napa Valley (road ride)

• Time: ready to ride at 10 am (but stay tuned, rain will cancel)
• Parking: Adams St east of Main St in St. Helena. This is a dead end street and recommended by both the Police Dept traffic person and the St. Helena Cyclery.
• Length: 54 miles, about 2,800 ft climbing
• Route: We’ll start in St Helena, go south down the Silverado Trail, climb up Sage Canyon (around Lake Hennessey) to Chiles & Pope Valley Rd. Continue north through the junction of Pope Valley Rd and then up to the small market in Pope Valley for a brief stop. Then, we’ll climb the beautiful Ink Grade and fly down White Cottage and Crystal Springs to the Silverado Trail. Here is the twist on the Century route: we’ll go up to Calistoga for a food break at the truly charming gourmet market by the glider port. After, we’ll just cruise the Silverado Trail back to St. Helena.
• Food/water on the route: the markets in Pope Valley and Calistoga only
• Food after ride: It's the wine country. I imagine we can find something edible.
• Map of St. Helena: http://city.ci.st-helena.ca.us/page.cfm?name=map
• Website for the St. Helena Cyclery: http://sthelenacyclery.com/site/intro.cfm