Bicycle Tour California, Napa Valley & More!

$1,199 per person

June 5-12, 2010

Trip Itinerary

San Francisco

Our trip begins on Saturday in beautiful San Francisco! You'll check-in throughout the day at the European-style San Remo Hotel, located just a few blocks from famed Fisherman's Wharf and located in a quaint historic neighborhood of North Beach.

You can plan your day as you wish and enjoy the fabulous city of San Francisco.

San Francisco — a city of spectacular views, variety of cultures, quaint neighborhoods, and incredible amount of wonderful things to see and do, will seek your attention!

The gracious people at the San Remo will offer sightseeing tips and Suzie and Roger will be available in the afternoon to meet and greet the group.

That evening, we meet for a delicioius Welcome Dinner at Bocce Cafe in trendy North Beach.

Pedal to Point Reyes Seashore (45 miles)

Our first official cycling day finds us leaving San Francisco and pedaling across the famous Golden Gate bridge.

We stop at Sausalito, a Mediterranean-style village which sits right on the San Francisco Bay, offering amazing panoramic views of San Francisco.

Heading north, we'll meander through the eclectic towns of Marin County from Mill Valley, a pictuesque town and home to Muir Woods, to Larkspur, with its charming downtown area listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and finally past Fairfax, Marin's groovy little town where life virtually stopped in the 1960s.

At this halfway point in the day we turn west and head for the Pacific Ocean cycling through beautiful reserved forests and along mountain ridges. Intersecting the Pacific Coast highway we enter Olema, the gateway town to the National Seashore.

We'll take time to stop for refreshments and continue by shuttle to the quaint Russian River town of Guerneville.

Our home for the next two nights will be the delightful Creekside Inn, just a five minute walk from the main downtown area.

Guerneville

We rise on Monday morning to a wholesome breakfast in the Creekside Garden Room. Our layover day in Guerneville offers wonderful choices.

Cyclists can enjoy several beautiful routes of varying distances and terrain- heading to the Pacific Ocean and the beautiful beaches and coastline of Bodega Bay, Jenner, and Goat Rock.

Or we can follow the forested roads and skirting streams of the Russian River to the delightful town of Occidental for lunch at one of the quaint cafes.

Or, take this day off from cycling and experience a memorable Kayak Eco Tour with Sierran Club naturalist guide, Suki Waters.

She promises a beautiful and insightful hike to visit the protected wildlife along the Sonoma coastline coupled with kayaking in the breathtaking estuary at the mouth of the Russian River in Jenner Beach.

For a few more miles, you can enjoy a 10 mile roundtrip visit to beautiful and famous Armstrong Redwood Reserve right outside of town.

Calistoga (45 miles)

We rise this morning to a wonderful breakfast catered by Lynn — owner of the Creekside.

Today's pedaling meanders from woods to vineyards as we explore the small backroads with rolling hills framing the landscapes of many famous winemakers who grow their grapes in the renowned viticulture regions of the Russian River area.

We reach the beautiful and fertile Napa Valley — and enjoy the afternoon and overnight in charming Calistoga — famous since the 1800s for its healing hot springs.

Your California Tour was the most enjoyable bicycling I have experienced. As Hosts you definitely excelled. You were always prepared, stressed cycling safety, provided first class accommodations, [and] fed me better than I feed myself.

~ Lehman Eaton, California

Day Off in Calistoga

Today cyclists can choose to "hang" around Calistoga-walk the town or pamper themselves in one of the towns reknown spas.

Others will opt to take a cycle tour of the famous Silverado Trail- to see the towns of Napa and St. Helena and visit the beautiful acreage of Napa vineyards that adorn the valley.

Davis (67 miles)

Today we head eastward over the Vaca Range where you can find the California that existed before progress.

Meandering through the Chiles Valley, we skirt Lake Berryessa Recreation Area and follow the rolling terrain to the beautiful Monticello Dam before heading down into Yolo County along the flat Putah Creek.

Zigzagging just a few more miles through budding groves of olive and walnut trees — we reach the bike friendly college town of Davis. Here is where bicycles are more prolific than people and bicycling is a primary mode of transportation for many.

We celebrate the end of our cycling day enjoying an open bar party and then dinner on the town!

Davis to Fairfield (44 miles)

Leaving Davis after breakfast, we'll travel through the beautiful grove area along the Putah Creek.

Heading south we'll follow backroads into Vacaville where we'll enjoy lunch in their renovated downtown area.

We depart Vacaville cycling along the Pleasant Valley Road, through the upscale Rockville neighborhood and into the town of Fairfield bordering the American Canyon.

A fun detour for us- and for those with a sweet tooth, we'll enjoy a visit to the Jelly Belly Candy Company just a few miles roundtrip diversion off the route.

We rest for the night in the comfort of the beautiful Best Western-Cordelia Inn and celebrate our final group dinner.

San Francisco Bound! (30 miles)

We'll rise early and head towards San Fran enjoying views of untouched marsh landscape following an almost no traffic road paralleling the highway route towards the Bay area.

Skirting the water through historic Benicia — a charming town on the Carquinez Strait, we'll pass through its festive Saturday Farmers Market before arriving at the Vallejo Ferry to sail us across the San Francisco Bay.

Docking in San Fran, it's only a short ride through the city and we're back at North Beach and the end of an exciting tour!

We had a great time in California! Loved the routes and the meals and accomodations were excellent. Being with you and Roger felt like going on a tour with friends.

~ Woody and Jewel Shaull, Pennsylvania

Trip Difficulty

You will experience moderatly rolling terrain with some hilliness and a few short climbs on many days.

This year we are featuring day-off opportunities for those that would like several rest days from cycling.

This trip is best suited for an intermediate or experienced cyclist who is able to cycle multiple 40 mile days on varied terrain. We suggest a lightweight road bike with ample low gearing for the rolling California terrain.

Our support vehicle rides the route to monitor cyclists and a ride leader is also on route and usually follows along with the last riders.

We advocate a "stop and smell the roses" type of touring so that you can enjoy each days route at a comfortable "TOURING" pace. A shuttle is available upon request for those needing to cut short some of the longer days.

Getting There

San Francisco is easily accessible by plane — landing in S.F. with many ground transportation providers to our hotel in North Beach. If you are driving to the Bay area, there is paid parking available through our hotel.

Our hotel will receive and store bikes and boxes for those who wish to ship them.

Additional Information

Please visit our Trip Information page for general trip information and registration information.

Upon registration we will send you a Welcome Letter full of pre-trip details including how to get you and bike to the trip start, bike rentals, suggestions on packing, trip area and contact information, cycling and travel websites to enhance your trip experience, etc.

We are always happy to receive your e-mails or calls if you have any questions!

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