July 28 Ukiah, CA to Santa Rosa, CA

Ukiah, CA to Santa Rosa, CA 68 miles 4 hours 32 minutes

The church folks, the same couple that prepared dinner for us, made a wonderful breakfast. I wish we could take them along with us on the entire trip. The couple has a daughter that lives in Rockville, so they know Hagerstown. Their daughter works in DC.

I rode through miles of Mendecino wine country. I was reminded of my last trip to France driving through one of the many wine regions. I was riding with Jenn and we were chatting about wine country. She asked if we would be riding through Napa Valley, sadly our ride does not take us through Napa, but it will take us through more wine country.

I had my first flat tire on the trip. It was a front tire flat. I got it right after Jenn took a restroom break along the side of the road. The owner of the property was exiting the property as Jenn was walking back to her bike. He stared us all down. He may have put a curse on my bike, that resulted in the flat. Of course, I don't need any flats with $350 rear derailleur repair. In fact, I would take a lot of flats over that major repair.

Rode through a small town hosting a triathlon. It was the bike portion, which gave me and the folks riding with me the opportunity to “race” for a mile or so. I passed several of the triathletes . The folks I passed appeared to be stronger swimmers than bicyclists.

I took a photo of a directional sign post that listed 6 or 7 different wineries. While I was taking this photo an SUV stopped and the driver asked Jenn and I if we were part of the tri, and we told him, “no” and then pointed him in the right direction.

The ride was relatively flat, until we reached Santa Rosa. There were two steep hills, one longer than the other, that I had to climb. After 60 couple miles hills, even short ones are not much fun. The campus/church facility is enormous. The church runs a Christian school. We are staying in the gym and cooking in the kitchen used to prepare food for the concession stand.

Discovered Santa Rosa's version of Whole Foods, Oliver's Market. On the weekends the grocery store runs a BBQ stand in front of the store. I was with a group of 6 seeking a late lunch. We surveyed our options: a local burger joint, which some other folks had eaten at, a pizza place, and the grocery store BBQ. We all agreed the BBQ was a good change of pace from burgers. Geezer Tom stepped up to the window first after looking at the menu painted on the glass side of the window. There were 9 or 10 food items on the menu. Tom ordered his BBQ Pork sandwich and then asked the guy if he had french fries. The guy's response was a very rude, “only what's on the window.” I knew from past experience that Tom was about ready to cancel his order, after such a rude exchange. Since the BBQ is part of the grocery store, although it is a free standing trailer in front, one pays for one's order inside the grocery. I stepped up to the window placed my order, and then asked about drinks. I was told the same thing Tom was, “only what's on the window.” With my order ticket in hand, I headed inside Oliver's Market. It was a little slice of grocery heaven. Locally sourced foods, a glorious deli/bakery, and on and on. I purchased some chips and two beverages to go along with my pulled pork sandwich. The sandwich was amazing and it appeared to have half a pig.

After finishing our food several of us went back into Oliver's to see what else could be had in the way of sweets and treats. A couple of people purchased milkshakes/malts from the ice cream, coffee, bakery counter, and a few others purchased cookies and/or chocolate. I went with the chocolate. Back to the church to relax for a bit before it's time to start making dinner.