Today was our third-to-last day together, which meant that we had to make the most out of it. The ride started with a trip to Denny’s for a delicious breakfast, which was needed after the previous day. The team decided to switch around bikes on the first stretch, which meant that we felt what it was like to bike in our teammates’ shoes! Some enjoyed it and others didn’t, but it was funny nonetheless. A good portion of the ride was spent biking through wine country, and we had the chance to stop at Jumbo’s Win Win, where they were kind enough to give us free soft serve. We had our last big climb and descent of the ride, and we made it to Cloverdale, where we had the chance to attend a local music festival with some amazing live music and food!
Quote of the Day
“Oh no… A whole sandwich before the climb... I’m gonna be a snail ”
RIDE OVERVIEW
Mileage: 76.4 mi
Elevation: 4,753 ft
Points of Interest: Denny’s, Navarro Point Preserve, Jumbo’s Win Win, Cloverdale Festival!
Ride Dedication: Djuna Archer
Tales of the Trail
This morning started with a normal wake-up and an out-of-the-ordinary bike-switcharoo. For the first stretch of the ride, the team decided to try out each other’s bikes, and we all switched bikes based on frame size. The team also collectively decided to get breakfast at Denny’s, because why not enjoy the last couple of days? We all got to sit down and enjoy a scrumptious breakfast, which was an amazing way to celebrate our third-to-last morning with each other. Once we started the ride, everyone had time to adjust to each other’s bikes, and some people loved it, while others were not a fan of riding on different bikes. The bike-switcharoo still made for a really funny ride, and at least we can say we did it! We spent the first 18-ish miles on Highway 1, which meant we had more coastal views. The first rest stop was at Navarro Point Preserve, a beautiful lookout on the Pacific Ocean. We took some time to relax and enjoy some amazing views of the ocean, which would be our last until San Francisco, and we got to walk around the preserve for a bit.
Once we got back on the road, the ride continued on Highway 128 as we made our way inland. This part of the ride was really flat, and we got some great views of even more redwoods along the Navarro River. We also had a quick pull-off for ice cream, where we tried It’s-It, a famous ice cream sandwich company from San Francisco. Their famous ice cream sandwich is a scoop of ice cream smashed between two oatmeal cookies and dipped in dark chocolate – it was delicious! The next part of the ride became a lot more hilly, with some bigger climbs as we entered Sonoma Valley – we rode by lots of vineyards! The second rest stop was at Jumbo’s Win Win, a restaurant with some pickle-flavored food. One of the workers heard about our mission, and she was kind enough to give us free soft serve, which was a treat! The next stretch had even more rolling hills, and we had a quick rest stop at Yorkville Market. The last stretch had a really big climb, which was followed by a big technical descent. This was also our last big descent of the ride! After the descent, it was only a couple of miles until we reached Cloverdale!
Once we arrived in Cloverdale, we were excited to find out the town was hosting a festival, with some great booths, food, and live music. We had the chance to talk to some community members of the Cloverdale Veterans Memorial Building, who were kind enough to host us in their building for the night. Once we freshened up and unpacked at the stayover, we made our way back to the festival for some fresh food and an amazing live music performance by a local band. It’s safe to say we had a very fun night, which included a lot of dancing and socializing, which was an amazing way to spend our second-to-last night together! Knowing the ride was coming to an end soon was very surreal, and these moments with each other meant a lot!
Thank you to the community members of Cloverdale Memorial Building for giving us a place to sleep, setting up showers for us, and talking with us at the local festival – it was great to meet you all!
Cyclist’s Corner
Today’s Riders: Nicole Tchorz and Jessica Fornek