|
The Sonoma County Tour
“The Occidental Tourist”
Three to four days, 216 to 250 miles
Sonoma County is considered one of the best places to ride a bike
in the United States..maybe in the world. Over the years, many
professional racing teams have used the region for their pre-season
training camps, citing the “European” nature of the roads. Many
pros choose to live here year ’round for the same reason. Virtually
every touring company lists a “Wine Country” tour in its catalog,
and these roads are home to dozens of organized centuries, doubles,
triathlons, and other pay-to-ride events. It is very popular...and
with good reason.
There are so many wonderful roads–most of them light on traffic
and heavy on scenery–that it’s almost impossible to hit them all
in one, brief visit. Indeed, when we laid out our One-Week Wine
Country Tour, we lamented all the roads we had to leave out on
our way through the area. This little three-day tour does a good
job of finding those missing roads. By staying in one place and
exploring the immediate neighborhood more intensively, it actually
samples more of the nice local roads than the longer tour. Think
of it as a concentrated, high-powered dose of the best of what
this best-of-all-possible cycling regions has to offer.
In my opinion, this is the nearly perfect Mini-Tour...at least
if your goal is cycling perfection. Each of the three routes is
distinctly different, and each is an absolute gem of a ride. Each
goes off in a different direction–one to the north, one to the
south, and one to the east–and a grand total of one mile of road
is duplicated in the entire tour. All three routes begin and end
right in the center of Occidental, within a block of all the lodgings
in town. Best of all, there is the scenery. Aside from one two-mile
stretch of road on one route that passes through some suburbs,
these stages are all rural and all spectacular, from hilltop,
sheep-cropped meadows to sweeping ocean vistas to little lanes
through the vineyards. It would be hard to imagine a three-day
package that is more consistently beautiful and cycle-friendly.
Occidental is an excellent venue for staging the tour. Perhaps the only knock on the town is that there isn’t a great deal to do off the bike. It’s a quiet, charming village, with a few interesting shops, but the entire town can be explored in one, half-hour stroll. There isn’t much in the way of night life, aside from a decent local pub. (Actually, for such a tiny place, there is a suprising number of concerts and other nocturnal entertainments offered on an irregular basis–from chamber music recitals to folk music–if you happen to be in town at the right time and have any energy left for them after the rides.) There are two huge, classic Italian “family-style” restaurants with hearty menus that virtually define the term “carbo-loading.” Other restaurants and cafes come and go, depending on the whims of culinary fashion, but the old Italian places endure.
• Where does it go?
The Northern Loop
75 miles, 6000’
This is the big one...the really challenging package. It heads
down to the Russian River and then up into the steeply folded
ridges to the north of the river. This ride is legendary. One
bike magazine writer called it “God’s cycling theme park” and
“the land of dreams,” while another stated, “without a doubt,
the most beautiful road I’ve ever ridden.” It’s hard work, but
worth it. Numerous steep climbs, but the payback comes in the
form of spectacular scenery and several Mr. Toad’s wild ride downhills.
If you’re a fit, experienced cyclist, this ride is a must. An
unforgettable experience. Suggested shortcuts: 31, 40, 55, 66
miles.
The Southern Loop
66 miles, 4000’
Slightly less arduous than the Northern Loop, but still with a
few challenging climbs (and also with some really rollicking downhills).
Actually spends about half its time out of Sonoma County, exploring
the quiet, empty northwest corner of Marin County. Visits the
quaint little towns of Freestone, Valley Ford, and Tomales and
rolls alongside pretty Tomales Bay, with the magnificent Point
Reyes National Seashore as the panoramic backdrop across the water.
Winds back north through peaceful valleys and over some fairly
hilly ridges with views almost as grand as those on the Northern
Loop. Travels through open, rolling dairy country and through
hills covered in apple orchards and deep forest. Suggested shortcuts:
21, 33 miles.
The Eastern Loop
76 miles, 3000’
The longest, but probably the easiest of the three rides. Still
contains a few hills, most notably two short-but-steep pitches
in the final seven miles, climbing back up to Occidental. This
is our wine country offering, with most of the ride meandering
through the vineyards of the Alexander, Dry Creek, and Russian
River Valleys...some of America’s most prestigious and most beautiful
wine regions. Interspersed with the rolling vineyard miles are
sections of dairy country, horse ranches, orchards, and woods
of oak, redwood, and bay...and also that brief visit to the suburbs
mentioned above. Suggested shortcuts: 28, 55 miles.
The Leftover Loop
24-34 miles, 2600'
Dubbed the Leftover Loop because it’s made up of a handful of nice roads that were left over after the three main stages were laid out. This pocket-sized ride could be done as a prologue on the day you arrive in Occidental or as the final reprise at the end of the tour. Squeezing in a ride on a travel day saves on lodging costs! And don’t think—just because it’s short—that this is a wimpy ride. Note the elevation gain...
• How hard is it?
Done in their recommended configurations, all of the rides are
quite challenging, but all can be shortened in numerous pleasant
ways, making it possible for riders of varying abilities and aspirations
to enjoy the tour together. However, Occidental is situated in
a hilly region, and even the shortest short-cuts will still contain
some climbing. With that in mind, I would suggest that this is
not a tour for beginners.
• When should you do this ride?
As noted above, the pro teams train here in the winter. It’s an
area where folks do ride all year, but there is a better-than-average
chance of getting wet on a ride between November and March. From
April to October, it’s usually good riding weather, with just
a slight increase in the chances of rain at the outer limits of
that window. Occidental is only ten miles from the ocean and the
marine influence is evident in most seasons. Temperatures are
usually moderate and ideal for cycling: in the 70’s and 80’s,
although the rare summer heat wave will bump the mercury up to
as much as 100° in the vineyards.
• Accommodations
There used to be four places to stay in Occidental: two small, modest motels and two B&Bs. Now there are only two: one motel and one B&B. Both are decent and a fair value. There is a nice campground a few miles away in the town of Duncans Mills. (We use it on our campground-based Wine Country Tour.) If you want to camp, you can do so, although the routes will have to be modified a bit.
• Travel...to and from
Occidental is about an hour-and-a-half north of San Francisco
via Hwy 101 and then Hwy 116 to Sebastopol and a series of smaller
country roads. Or, if you prefer, you can drive up the coast on
Hwy 1 and then bend inland on more backroads.
|
