Tag Archives: Healdsburg

Pacific Coast Tour (Spring 2012), Ride Days

Day 21: Healdsburg to Mendocino

Friday April 27, 2012, 5 miles (8 km)
Total so far: 445 miles (716 km)

Today was a fascinating drive. We follow CA Route 128 north and west for almost 70 miles from Cloverdale, a few miles north of Healdsburg, through the Alexander Valley to the Navarro River headlands on the Mendocino Coast. The road twists, turns and winds its way past tiny villages, farms and vineyards. I am extremely glad I am not cycling this route. The posted speed limit is 55 MPH. It’s only 2 lanes, there is no shoulder to speak of, and it is filled with blind corners and rolling hills. We do see a few brave cyclists, but I don’t think I would ride this road.

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Pacific Coast Tour (Spring 2012), Ride Days

Day 20: Healdsburg to Sebastapol

Thursday April 26, 2012, 22 miles (35 km)
 Total so far: 440 miles (708 km)

After the usual huge bed and breakfast meal, Nancy and I get ready to ride in Sonoma. Today’s plan is to make our way on surface streets to The West County & Joe Rodota Trails. This is a local rail-trail built along land that was once the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway, a line that linked Petaluma and Santa Rosa with Sebastopol and Forestville. The trails total fourteen miles long. The trails are paved for walking, bicycle riding, and roller skating. An unpaved equestrian trail runs parallel to the paved trail. Designated as a Community Millennium Trail by Former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, the trail offers beautiful views of farms, vineyards, and other agricultural lands.

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Pacific Coast Tour (Spring 2012), Ride Days

Day 19: St. Helena to Healdsburg

Wednesday April 25, 2012
This trip is clearly not the pound shedding experience I had envisioned while I was planning. Our breakfast at Shady Oaks is again a delight of waffles and berries.

Saying farewell to the Napa Valley, we load up the car and head for Sonoma. The landscape in Sonoma has a slightly different feel. Hills are a little less steep, the towns feel a little more residential. It’s still wine country, yet the vineyards here seem larger, more commercial.

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