Today’s Highlights:
We had spectacular weather today – sunny blue skies with wispy clouds, comfortable morning temperatures and a warm finish in the afternoon. Our route took us through wine country for about 30 miles, passing one vineyard after another. Some vines were bursting with purple grapes and others were newly planted. The roads were rural and quite, allowing us to meander along in small groups enjoying the scenery.
For the next 20 miles or so, we traveled more quite country roads, but in wooded rolling hills and through very small towns. The town center of Occidental was inviting, with small shops and cafes. A stop at a bakery would have been a good idea, but we rolled through it and continued our ride.
Around the town of Valley Ford, the vistas opened up, with large farmed spreading across rolling hills. The golden hills reaching to the blue sky was a pretty sight.
We reached Petaluma around 2:00 after 70 miles of riding. It was another great day.
America the Beautiful
Great variety today. I never imagined how large the vineyards are. They stretched on forever like Midwestern corn fields. Unfortunately we start our ride early and the wine tastings don’t start until 11am. By then we’d already moved into cow country.
All of these small towns are very cute. I have noticed that the smaller the town the more art galleries and craft stores it has. I guess if they had something else to market then it wouldn’t be a small town. We’ll hit the big city tomorrow. San Fran, here we come.
I love the “oldest and youngest riders” pics. You’ll notice that Herb is always ahead of me.
Chris
Pictures Of The Day:
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Statistics:
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Chris: