Amgen Tour of California coming to Sonoma County May 17

The Amgen Tour of California Bike Race will come to Sonoma County May 17, riding from Davis to Santa Rosa. Last year they crossed into Sonoma via the Petrified Highway and Calistoga Road, on the North side of Santa Rosa closer to Healdsburg.

This year, they approach Sonoma via Trinity Grade, a nasty little climb that I've been up once, having descended the side they will be climbing several times in the Santa Rosa Cycling Club's Terrible Two Double Century.



When I climbed Trinity's backside, I came up from Napa on Mt Veeder Road, a gorgeous stair steppy type climb. The pros will be going up Oakville Grade, which I have never gone up, but have ridden down. Eagle Cycling calls it Without a doubt the toughest climb in Napa - ouch!

1) OAKVILLE GRADE (from Hwy 29) 650 ft/mi. Without a doubt the toughest climb in Napa. it's not that far but it starts out tough and gets alot tougher. You climb 650 feet in exactly one mile. No breaks, no shade, no fun. The first half isn't so bad and I can manage it sitting in the saddle using my 39/28. The last half increases in pitch and it's standing and grunting all the way at a 3.5 mph pace.

Trinity would be a great place to watch the race explode! Come to Sonoma and check it out. Make a weekend of it - there is still availability at Le Tournesol in the heart of the action!

Levi Leipheimer descending Pine Flat Road

If there was any doubt that Sonoma is cycling nirvana, check this out.

Levi descending Pine Flat by Roger Bartels.

I've been up this road a couple of times, it's a blast both up and down. It's also the scene of Ross' Epic Hillclimb to benefit Ross Dillon.

Of course, descending Pine Flat Road is peanuts compared to the Old Cazadero Grasshopper which is this weekend in Occidental.

Levi's Gran Fondo

Registration opened today.

And it's almost Sold Out already!

Register now at Levi's Gran Fondo

Persimmon Time in Sonoma County

I was up in Healdsburg at Le Tournesol this weekend doing a little winterizing. I looked out and saw this always strange sight....



The leaves have dropped off of our Hachiya Persimmon tree but the fruit is still there. The birds have gone after the ripe ones but they know better than to try to eat the non-ripe ones. I picked the last of them, having already harvested some a month ago.

These trees do very well in Healdsburg. You need to pick the fruit and wait for them to get very squishy before you can eat them. You can then cut the outside and eat the jello like pulp from the inside. My friend Homayoon advised me to slice the top off and eat the insides out with a spoon, using the outside as sort of a cup.

They are very sweet, you can only eat so many. Last night I took the last of our first haul and made this Persimmon Pudding Cake which was a nice treat and very appropriate for the holidays with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice flavors.

Cyclocross in Sonoma County?

We have guests coming in next week, and the group includes a cyclist. While I know about Healdsburg's Road Cycling (How Sonoma County became hotbed of the cycling world!) I know less about the off-road action. And our guest says he's bringing the cyclocross bike. He's from Minnesota, not Williamsburg in Manhattan or San Francisco's Mission District , so he's probably not one of these guys...




My Mountain Biking friends rave about Annandale State Park near Santa Rosa. I don't know how technical the terrain is so I don't know how appropriate it is for cyclocross. I also know that Sonoma seems to be a hotbed of cross racing, I went and watch my friends do a cross race, but these are usually on courses that are prepared and then taken down.

I asked Greg Durbin - a.k.a. "GregKnottLeMond" whom I follow on Twitter and he pointed me at Lake Sonoma. I know Lake Sonoma has some very difficult road terrain - Skaggs Springs Road and Rockpile Road, but didn't know about the Mountain Biking. He forwarded me a map showing trails near Liberty Glen Campground off of Rockpile Road.

Greg also pointed me at Bike Monkey magazine which appears to be the Mother Lode - cross fiends galore. I noted that there was reference to a race in Liberty Glen, so maybe that's the spot.

Any cross fiends out there have some recommendations? Please add them in the comments!

Ian Ball and Sara Bareilles at C. Donatiello Winery Concert Series!

We had the great pleasure of wandering down Westside Road to C. Donatiello Winery this Sunday for some Wine and Music (this is becoming a trend... a good trend!)

C. Donatiello hosts a summer series of free concerts on their grounds. I noticed that Ian Ball of Gomez, a favorite band of mine would be playing so we went to see the show.



The venue is fantastic. The winery sets out tables or you can find a spot on the grass to set out a blanket and have a picnic while you enjoy some of their wine. On a nice hot day their Chardonnays were perfect (in moderation of course, Westside Road is winding and has many road users).




We caught a nice surprise as unbeknownst to us Sara Bareilles was also on the bill.



A couple of cool features to this winery. First - their garden is amazing. There are interesting edible plants used in a lot of different ways, from their trimmed hedges which are rosemary bushes, to the "moss" in between the stairs that upon closer inspection turned out to be Oregano, Thyme, Mint, Marjoram, etc...




Another cool feature - they allow dogs and babies :)

Rodney Strong Vineyards Concerts - Susan Tedeschi

This weekend I went with my wife and a friend to Rodney Strong Vineyards to see Susan Tedeschi at Rodney Strong's summer concert series. What a venue! A small grassy lawn perfect for laying out a blanket and having a picnic!



I whipped up a little caprese salad using tomatoes and basil from our garden. Those without gardens made due with massive hauls from the Healdsburg Farmer's Market, seen in the background of Jackie and Jill enjoying some of Rodney Strong's wine.



Here's Susan putting on a show. There are "VIP" seats in the front for those who are less inclined to picnic (not me - I want to spread out and lay out a nice dinner!)


The season is winding down but there is still Hall and Oates(!!!) Sept 7. Rodney Strong is at the corner of Old Redwood Highway and Eastside Road, in between Healdsburg and Windsor.