At the starting line -- Levi's Gran Fondo
After coming back from Chicago last week, Mark and I made our way up north to Santa Rosa, California to ride in Levi's Gran Fondo, which is one of the largest charity bike rides in America, numbering at 6500+ people strong. Mark rode the "Gran" route which is 100+ miles, and I rode the "Piccolo" route which is only 34 miles long. The race is full of cycling luminaries, such as Levi Leipheimer, as well as Hollywood types, like Patrick Dempsey. Even former San Francisco Giant, Barry Bonds rode this year.
Last year, I managed to ride the "Medio" bike race, which is 60 miles long and featured some epic hill climbs such as Coleman road. This is made even more impressive given that I had not trained hardly at all, but was powered by only anger (regarding work related issues). This year, I was feeling more sad and drained, than angry, and since my hamstrings were still a little sore from my Reformer Pilates class in Chicago, I decided to take it easy by going on the 34 mile ride.
I am by no means a bicycling enthusiast. The only time you will ever see my on my bicycle is for our annual Gran Fondo ride. Also, as mentioned earlier, I was feeling sad and drained from my trip to Chicago, so I was not looking forward to going on this trip. But I was really glad that I did.
At Willi's Wine Bar - Delicious Goat Cheese Fritters with Lavender Honey
During the bike ride itself, I had a nice conversation with some cyclists at the rest stop. I must have stood out a little. I was wearing my old-school white sneakers and cotton t-shirt amongst all the clip-on shoes and neon cycling jerseys. At the same time, I was bragging to all my fellow "Piccolo" riders that going up the more advanced Coleman Rd, as I had the previous year, was not all that bad. After the race was over, a couple of the cyclists recognized me and said hello.
In general, there was a feeling of kindness and love among the cyclists and all the event volunteers. When the whole group slowed down at the sight of a crawling baby, it nearly brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me that humankind is generally kind.
There were also some pretty impressive musical acts at the festival sponsored by the race. During the "100 days" headlining act, I danced with a couple of pink-haired, tattooed girls at the front of the 0stage while all the tired cyclists looked on. Noone joined us, even though the music was really great, and even after the singer implored the crowed to dance. Maybe everyone was too tired, or feeling too self-conscious.
I found out that the two gals were bonafide rock artists. They were part of the previous performing group, "Vela Girls", which I had missed. We conversed and they gave me a free record and t-shirt. Now I can add "rock groupie" to the list of things I have been. It goes to show, if you open yourself up opportunities and open your eyes, it can lead to interesting encounters.
Mark showcases his viticulture skills at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Guerneville
For dinner, we headed to Willi's Wine Bar, which was rated as one of the top restaurants in Santa Rosa by TripAdvisor. Touted as a tapas bar, Willi's Wine Bar features some of the most creative dishes I have ever tasted. You could tell the chef had a genuine interest in Chinese food. Many of the dishes really captured the flavors of authentic Chinese food. The Scallop dumplings with Sherry vinegar butter were sublime, as were the Pork belly crepes with Hoisin sauce.
The following day, we visited the Francis Ford Coppola Winery, which we had never visited before in all our years in the Bay Area. It is really beautiful, and featured an Old Hollywood style pool, down to the plush lounge chairs and private changing rooms. The pool is open to all visitors for a fee. I'll be sure to visit next time, it looked extremely glamorous.
Matching Gran Fondo t-shirts at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery
The moral of this blog post is that life is full of wonder and people are generally good. Even when some days are sad and disappointing, keep your eyes open and life can really sparkle.
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