Perhaps not Epic, but....

[jpbayarea]

Yesterday my fiance and I took our bikes up to the Napa Valley and had one of those glorious, rare rides that reminded us why we are so much in love with cycling.

The day was unusually warm, 75degrees when we started (on NOVEMBER 15th!!!!), the grapes were in and the leftover vines were many colors of brown, gold, red, amber and green, spanning the entire horizon; the smell of rotting grapes wafted in the air offering us smells and tastes of numerous kinds of wines; the pavement looked freshly laid, smooth as silk, clean and free from debris with a bike lane wide enough for four cyclists abreast though we were only two. 50+ miles later we were satiated with the glory of a late indian summer day and the beauty of a ride that will linger in our minds and hearts when winter comes and we are inside dreaming of spring and our bikes.

[bikerz]

Sounds wonderful! That's a ride I haven't done yet and I'm saving it up for a nice winter day - my dad lives up in St Helena so i thought it would ba a nice base for a long ride like that (50 miles is still plenty "epic" for me!)

Were you on the Silverado trail, or 128, or both? How was the wind? It was really blowing down in the Oakland hills!

[CorsairMac]

Sounds wonderful! That's a ride I haven't done yet and I'm saving it up for a nice winter day - my dad lives up in St Helena so i thought it would ba a nice base for a long ride like that (50 miles is still plenty "epic" for me!)

Were you on the Silverado trail, or 128, or both? How was the wind? It was really blowing down in the Oakland hills!

:eek: :eek: aren't you the lady that did a metric century just recently??? ;) :p

[bikerz]

aren't you the lady that did a metric century just recently??? Well yes, but that was epic-epic! Anything past 45 miles is serious!

(yep, I'm still waiting for the perfect saddle to appear on my seat post!) How many more days before I have to ride 685 miles in 7 days straight??? :eek:

[jpbayarea]

To BikerZ, Hi. Yes, we were on the Silverado Trail. We started in Napa and turned around in Calistoga. The traffic with wine enthusiasts can be heavy at times but only as you enter Calistoga and those extra wide, extra smooth bike lanes make it feel safe no matter what. We loved riding around St. Helena too for a change of pace to the Silverado Trail which begs us to go fast.

Funny how 50 miles+ can seem longer on the relative flats without the hills where you change position. Be sure and vary your position or stand at times just to move the body. I recommend this ride now before winter sets in as the colors are as perfect as I've ever seen...and those wonderful smells of the grapes fermenting on the vines is fantastic.

Enjoy!

[Veronica]

Sarah took some pictures on our recent ride up there. It was gorgeous! If you have a free day, it's certainly worth the drive.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5618/1158/1600/Ink%20Grade%20View.0.jpg

This was from Ink Grade.


V.

[Trek420]

near perfect weather today, clear, windy but not cold. I decided to bike ride to the Aikido dojo for Saturday class. It was nice. I may do this again.

In the elevator a woman eyed my bike and told me she'd love to be able to ride but after several cancer surgeries she feared she could not sit to ride anymore and the bike sits in the garage.

Of course I refered her here! If you'r lurking, welcome to TE!

When I got out of the station at BART I heard my name called (not Trek, my real one) and looked over.

There was Eryn and 2 other Velogirls setting out for a ride.

They invited me along but they were heading for mountainbike trails and I had my road bike. We rode from the station up to MacArthur where we parted ways.

I had to sprint to keep up with mountain bikes but yeah, I'm slow, and some of these women race.

After an hour or so at class a bunch of us had snacks and tea. Not something we always do but we have a student visiting from England so were saying goodbye to her. Nice to have the "rest stop" built in.

Then I rode back and I just got home.

[Veronica]

Yep, I just got back from a not epic but nice ride. I got to ride with my friends Mike and Kathryn. He has a funny work schedule so it's not often we get to ride together. But the pair of them are super nice. I always enjoy riding with them. It was super windy here. We all took turns pulling, but I love it when Mike is on the front. He has a way of getting us to go just a little bit faster, but not so fast, you can't hang on. Plus he takes longer pulls. I got to meet Kathryn's brother and sister-in-law today as well. A pleasant morning. :)

V.

[Trek420]

Veronica writes "Yep, I just got back from a not epic but nice ride. I got to ride with my friends...."

Yep, those are the best kind of rides. Lifts my Cytomax in a toast, here's to another year of safe rides.

tailwinds TE gals. :) :D