A weekend's journey beach-bound to Mendocino, Caspar, Fort Bragg, Gualala, and Point Arena becomes a cornucopia of ride-to-eat destinations. But, the real delectable delight would be our last-minute detour inland, riding the twisties through Comptche and Booneville to Mountain View Road, becoming the unexpected highlight of the tour.
Summer's solstice brings the sun and heat to the Napa Valley to ripen the abundant multifarious varieties of local vines, and also cultivates the visiting crowds. Rather than watching my temperature gauge go up and burn out a clutch cable, I prefer to take roads less travelled. My objective for the day: to leisurely make my way to the charming little town of St. Helena in the Napa Valley by intersecting mountain ranges, valleys and scenic roads that are fun, challenging, and practically car-free!
If you’re up for an assortment of backroads riding for the day, I highly recommend Highway One to Cazadero, a lazy little town, well hidden amongst the dusty depths of the coastal redwood trees, that lies just between Duncan Mills and Jenner.
After a month of rainy weekends, I jumped at the chance when my girlfriend India called me up and said “let’s ride!” The day's two-wheel menu of choice was a tour of the North Bay by way of Greenbrae, out to the infinite serpentine two-lane Highway 1, north to Point Reyes, Tomales Bay, and Bodega Bay, then home through Occidental and Sebastopol. This 76 mile, 4-5-hour eclectic ride is chock full of hills, deep forests and coastal magic, intermingled with sweeping turns and tight twisties.
