Needless to say that both Napa and Sonoma are a cyclist's paradise, there's a bike lane along the Silverado Trail and bikers are everywhere today. Rental shops are in all major towns. Judging from the way some of them use the bike lane, I wonder how often they stop for free samples at various vineyards... We quickly stop at Clos Pegase vineyard, then continue towards the coast, passing through Guerneville and the Russian river. The scenery changes abruptly: within 10 miles you go from rolling hills to a thick redwood forest, where trees are so tall that you suddenly plunge into darkness. There are houses mong them and I wonder if they were there before the trees grew, 'cause I can't figure out how in the heck they built them after. 5 miles and we are over the barren hills that were hiding the Pacific coast.
We are on Route 1, the same coastal route that we took in Oregon. It's late in the afternoon by the time we arrive in Bodega Bay, a true surfist's haven (some of them are out there in their wetsuits). As we watch the waves splashing on the cliffs, the sun goes down and fires up the clouds.
An old building in Calistoga.
Very neat and very parallel grape trees.
Yellow leaves, red leaves, green pine needles.
Cliffs at sunset in Bodega Bay.
The beach in Bodega Bay, on one side of the cliff.
...and on the other.
The moon.
Clouds at sunset.