I've been aching to try my new Bob bike trailer, my wife was off to Europe
to visit relatives, and I was nearly four months into retirement. It was time
to hit the road. I decided not to overdo it the first time out and go out for
only 4-5 days. A trip west to the coast sounded about right. It would cover
known roads through some premier bike country in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys.
The experienced touring members of the Sacramento Wheelmen proved to be a great
resource for a novice like myself. B-Bob Hawkins provided me with his list of
gear that he took on the Fab Four cross country. Bob Maben loaned me his neat
little gas stove, and Gerald Rohlfes let me use his cool harness that converts a
Thermo Rest pad into a chair. B-Bob, Gerald, and Bob Maben gave me invaluable
advice and tips on touring. Ken Bell and Geno Masuda provided me with road and
campground information.

Day 1
I left at 7:35AM, April 24, 2002 from home south of Sacramento. I crossed the
Freeport bridge into Yolo county and followed the South River Road up to West
Sacramento. There was a gusty westerly breeze, and the bike wobbled and weaved
with the 50 lbs of Bob and load trailing behind. I wondered if I was up to this.
As I entered the Davis causeway the wind seemed to ease and my handling of the
load improved. My confidence improved. Pulling the trailer was work, but riding
slower seemed to make it more bareable. After a brief Gatorade and snack stop in
Davis, I started across the Valley with a slight headwind. Riding on through
Winters, I rode 5 miles on to the Pardesha Market, mile 41, for a lunch stop at
11:00AM. Twelve mph average seemed acceptable in view of the wind and load. I
was half-way to my destination of that day, Calistoga...the easy half. As I
lunched, I met my first bikers. Two young ladies of the Davis Bike Club rolled
in for a break. Pardesha is a favorite stop for DBC'ers and they were headed
back for Davis. They told me that they had had an encounter with the infamous
Red Pickup Madman of Putah Rd, a few days earlier, but he gave them a wide berth.

Top of Cardiac Hill

At 11:20 I took off west on Hwy 128 grimly anticipating Cardiac Hill, having never
pulled this Bob up any hill so far. I arrived at the first hill just before
Berryessa Dam and slowly spun up it at 4.5 mph. So far, so good. On to Cardiac I
rode and slowly ground my way to the top, again at 4-4.5 mph. Standing to relieve
my legs was limited on the climb as the whole works began wobbling and shaking
after just a few standing pedal strokes. On the descent I could feel the trailer
pushing. Fortunately I discovered quickly...no high speed leaning on the curves.
This trailer was talking to me, and it said "No leaning or I'll bring the whole
works down." After a break at Moscovite Corner, I proceeded on. The ride down to
the Silverado Road was uneventful except for an unbelievable procession of
construction vehicles, dump trucks and pickups that passed me on the narrow
road along Lake Hennessey....some kind of big development project being built up
there. I was hoping they would all spot the little waving yellow flag on the
trailer and give me some berth. At the Silverado Road, I turned into a 15-20 mph

Lake Hennessey

headwind. As I labored along the last 15 miles of the ride, two bike riders zoomed
by me. I appreciated at that point how easy it is to ride on an unloaded single
bike. Arriving in Calistoga at 4:00PM, exhausted, I stocked up on some food at
a market. The Fairgrounds campground was a welcome sight. I was the only tent
camper there and had the entire grassy expanse to myself. As I cooked my dinner

Walking the Poodles

and read my book I watched the RV folks walk by with their dogs. I retired to my
little Eureka Solitaire tent at 8:00PM and slept like a baby, satisfied that my
first day on the road was a success...87 miles in 7:30 hrs ride time, 2,844 feet
of climbing and lots of wind.

Relaxing at Camp

Day 2
The next morning I made a quick cup of coffee and left at 8:20 heading for the
Coast 60 miles away. I looked for a cafe for some breakfast in Calistoga, but found
nothing open. The morning was fair with a spattering of clouds and warm
temperatures. Heading north on Hwy 128 I encountered a moderate climb to 706 feet.
At the summit I entered Sonoma County and descended towards Alexander Valley. The
ride was scenic and serene with vineyards and forest bordering the gently winding
road. My stomach was grumbling, however, and I remembered I had had no breakfast.
At Alexander Valley, 17 miles from Calistoga, was a welcome sight, the Jimtown

The Fearless Foursome

Store. As I pulled in I spied four touring bikes parked in front. Inside, I met
four ladies out on a credit card tour. They had also started in Sacramento a
day earlier than I and were headed for Occidental that day. I took their picture
and promised to email it to them. The Jimtown store is a colorful place that sells
sandwiches, soups and various unusual odds and ends. I wolfed down a wonderful
grilled turkey, egg and cheese sandwich and gallons of coffee. Sated, I prepared to

Jimtown Store

head out towards Healdsburg. As I started to leave a couple more bikers pulled in
for breakfast. They were on some kind of organized sagged tour and were the front
riders of the group. At Healdsburg I turned onto Westside Road for the most
pleasant 10 miles of the day's ride. Running south, Westside Road is spotted with
vineyards, little wineries, and funky old barns, one of my favorite photo objects.

Sweetwater Winery - Westside Road

As I rode along through the green, moderately hilly countryside on the curvey road,
I had to constantly stop for Kodak moments. I met one bike on the road, a couple

Old Barn

on a tandem headed the other way. Westside eventually ran into River Road which
runs along the Russian River, and I headed west towards my destination, Sonoma Coast
State Beach. The road had a decent shoulder, but I had to deal with heavy, high
speed traffic all the way to Guernville. At Guerneville, the road joined with Hwy
116. After a lunch stop I made the final push to the Coast. Except for the traffic,
the road was fairly easy. After a quick stop at Duncan's Mills for some groceries,
I pushed against a westerly ocean breeze and joined finally with Hwy 1. Crossing
over the Russian River Bridge, I turned onto Willow Creek road in search of my
campground. It turned out that the Willow Creek campground was 2.5 miles down a
pot-holed road, past a deserted farm and finally one half-mile of gravel. A bob
cat popped out onto the road at one point, but there was no chance of a photo. The

Deserted Farm - Willow Creek Road

ride was worth it, however, as this is a georgeous campground set in a redwood forest.
Except for a couple at one site, I had the whole thing to myself. After setting up
camp and cleaning up with towelettes, I had to go for a short hike in this beautiful

Camp Site in Redwoods

place. Lush green ferns and plants covered the forest floor which was dimly lit by
sunlight filtering through the tall redwoods. The ocean breeze blew through the tree

Spirits of the Forest

tops, but down where I stood, it was calm and quiet. I slept well again, wakened only
once by a small animal rustling in my garbage at about 2:00AM. This had definetly been
the best day of the tour....60 miles, 5:16 hours riding time, 1,732 feet.

Day 3
The next morning was a cool, misty 49 degrees. The rising sun shining through the
trees offered a surreal effect. After a cup of coffee and quick breakfast of

Morning in the Redwoods

Sarah Lee cookies, I started the slow crawl back up to Hwy 1 at 7:33 AM. On the Hwy 1

Early Start at Willow Creek

bridge I stopped briefly to take in the panorama of the Russian River mouth.
A stiff westerly ocean breeze, made the ride back up Hwy 116 and River Road fast.

Hwy 1 Bridge over Russian River

A couple of weekend bikers passed me, but I managed to stick with them at 17-18 mph.
I felt like I was really getting used to the trailer. The riders stopped along the
road for a minute. I blew by them and never saw them again. I backtracked exactly
on my previous course, riding slowly up Westside Road to take pictures of some old
barns I missed yesterday. On through Healdsburg and back to my favorite stop for
lunch, the Jimtown Store, I ate a hot pastrami sandwich and potato salad. The ride
back down Hwy 128 was slower; I felt sluggish..too much lunch. I stopped at
Calistoga for groceries and continued south to the Bothe-Napa state Park, arriving
at 2:00 PM, 60 miles into the day's ride. I was there way too eary. Rather than sit
around a campground, I decided to push on to the Spanish Flat campground at Lake
Berryessa 25 miles away. As I whizzed along down the Silverado Road at 18-20 mph
with a tail wind I felt better. Riding up past the Hennessey Reservior and slowly
climbing out of the Napa Valley, I arrived at Spanish Flat at 5:15 PM. This was not
to be a pleasant night. First, I had to pay $22 for a camp site. The place was
packed. The wind was blowing and gusting like a gale on the lake side campground.
I had to weigh my tent down with rocks as the ground was too hard for stakes. The

Spanish Flat Camp Site on Lake Berryessa

bathroom facilities were a disaster. One bunch was playing cowboy music on a loud
speaker; another was playing hard rock. Big 4WD pickups were cruising up and down
the drive. Dogs were barking everywhere. This was going to be a real fun night;
I was to get little sleep. The festivities went on until midnight, with ocassional
noisey "conversations" into the morning. Distance for the day was 85 miles, 7:10
hours riding, 3,233 feet.

Day 4
At daybreak I got up, anxious to get the blazes out of this place, and hit the road
at 6:33 AM. I felt very tired from lack of sleep. A stop at Moscovite Corner for
flapjacks, bacon, and lots of coffee picked me up and I headed over Cardiac Hill.

Cardiac Descent

After a quick stop at Parsheda's, I zoomed across the Valley at 18-20 mph with a
stiff tailwind. In Davis I stopped at Carl's Jr for fish and chips and a large milk
shake. Again, a big lunch made me groggy, and lack of sleep was catching up. I
slowed as I crossed the causeway and approached Sacramento. At the Twin Towers
Bridge, 12 miles from home, I turned into a strong, gusty headwind. I was running
out of steam. I stopped frequently and was starting to feel exactly like this was
the last few miles of a double century. My shoulder was extremely sore, and my saddle
interface had developed an excruciatingly painful spot as a result of the higher
sitting rpms from pulling the trailer for 4 days. I finally pulled into my drive south
of Freeport, went into the house and collapsed on the sofa. I did it. Total four
day distance 300 miles, saddle time 25:17 hours, 9,500 feet of climbing.

Will I do it again? In a heartbeat! I'm hooked on touring.
(As long as there's no stops at Spanish Flat).