After all the climbing over the last few days, today was a relatively easy day.  We split the breakfast this morning...some went to a local restaurant while a couple others chowed down at the motel.  It was a sunny but cool morning as we departed, but it was  hard to figure what to wear as the morning promised to warm up fast after we got on the road.  Since both Karen and I were in the vans yesterday, I was able to persuade her to let me ride half the day so I picked the second half...the warm portion.

Our early miles took us through some primo wine country as we passed by winery after winery.  Rolling hills were the order of the day all speckled with rows of grape harbors and one area had a grove of olive trees.  There were times we were on a narrow, no line road that was so close to the grapes that we could have picked them ourselves.  The road meandered up and down through the grape harbors and made a great backdrop for good photos all morning.  This area seems to be a favorite of the local cyclists as we saw several groups before we made our way through the wine country. 

After the first SAG, our route went off into tree lined back roads and through several small interesting towns...Occidental, Freestone, Guerneville, and Valley Ford.  These little spots in the road took us all back to another time before expansion sprawl started taking over most towns.  These towns appeared to be as they were at the turn of the century...slower lifestyle than most of us are probably used to.  Almost everyone stopped at one town or another to sample the local fare...I think one little bakery in Occidental was a definite hit...carrot cake to die for from what was reported.  I stopped in Valley Ford for a sandwich and a piece of primo blackberry pie.  The lady behind the counter must have felt sorry for me as she cut me a slice that was almost 1/4 of the whole pie.  Sometimes it pays to look hungry I guess.

Everyone commented on how great a day it was...I didn't want to stop when we got to Petaluma.  Hey, it was only another 40 to San Francisco...hmmmm.  But aside from my contemplation, the temperature was fine, plenty of sunshine, beautiful scenery, and an occasional tailwind to help us along...what could be better?  We had just enough climbing to keep the climbing legs exercised, but not nearly as much as we've had in the past 2 or 3 days that was beginning to tell on the quads.  Tomorrow we have a short day into the big city...lots to do and see along the way so it will probably be a long day on the road in spite of the mileage.  See you tomorrow.