Don't Try This at Home: My Boozy Bike Ride Through Napa Valley
For as low as $38, you can rent a bike for a Napa winery tour. (Photo: Wine Country Cyclery)
By Hailey Eber
Temps are in the high 90s as I pedal up yet another rolling hill in the California heat. I glance down at my GPS watch, wondering if this six-mile interval is nearly over and if it’s almost time for a pit stop. Thankfully, it is. A few minutes later, we pull off the main road, but it’s not Gatorade or even water that will quench our thirst. It’s a crisp glass of chardonnay and a plate of local cheese and charcuterie.
When it comes to California wine tasting, the most obvious options for getting around are: a) driving yourself, or b) paying for a pricey limo to transport you from winery to winery. While both do have the advantage of air-conditioning, biking between wineries is another alternative for (slightly) adventurous and athletic types looking to work off a few of those tasting calories.
And, along with great wines and scenic vistas, Sonoma County has some beautiful riding.
WATCH: Exploring Napa Valley by Bike
“This area is world-famous for cycling,” says Richard Peacock, owner of Spoke Folk Cyclery in the quaint Sonoma town of Healdsburg. There, bike rentals range from $38/day for a simple commuter bike to $100/day for a high-end race bike.
While the riding is pretty great throughout Napa and Sonoma, Peacock says his town is tops because of the easy access and the availability of lodging at various price points. “You roll out of Healdsburg and within 10 minutes you’re out in the country,” he says.
That’s just what I and a group of a half-dozen friends did this past summer. Our ages ranged from mid-20s to mid-30s and our athletic abilities varied from Boston marathoner to avid football watcher.
The tasting room at Porter Creek Vineyards. (Photo: David DiGrazia)
After renting 21-speed hybrid bikes from Spoke Folk — a shop that stocks plenty of spandex and clips for serious cyclists, as well as rentals for the casual biker — we head out into the country on West Side Road. After about six miles and 30 minutes or so of pedaling, we hit our first stop in Healdsburg: Rochioli Vineyards ($10 tasting fee, refunded with purchase).
It has a friendly, casual tasting room and is known for its French-style chardonnays — no buttery Napa chards here — and its sauvignon blanc, which is on the wine list at Per Se. Plus, it comes with a nice picnic area to boot. After tasting, we buy a bottle of the robust-but-refreshing pinot noir rosé, and break out some gourmet sandwiches we’ve brought along from Healdsburg’s Dry Creek General Store.
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From Rochioli, it’s less than three miles to our next winery, Porter Creek Vineyards ($10 tasting fee, refunded with purchase). There, a hilariously surly Scotsman, Paul Berman, oversees a cozy, rustic tasting room — it was once a tractor barn — and a tasting list with no less than a dozen wines. As I make my way down the list, the estate pinot noir blurring into the reserve pinot noir, I remember to be a good girl and use the spit bucket — we’ve still got hours of biking to go.
Peacock says this is key. “It’s really important to sip or spit,” he advises. “In California, you can get a DUI [while biking], and it goes against your driving record… you shouldn’t be renting bikes just to drink more.” He recommends visiting no more than three wineries in a biking day.
Wine buzz aside, cycling in this area does feel quite safe. The roads were recently repaved and, while there are no bike lanes, cars are typically respectful of cyclists.
Wells Guthrie, the founder of Copain.
We bike another hour or so to cross the Russian River and head up East Side Road. Our final stop is Wells Guthrie’s Copain ($20 tasting fee includes cheese and charcuterie pairings, not refunded with purchase; reservations required), a winery known for its pinot noir and syrah, the latter of which is served at New York’s Batard restaurant and the French Laundry in Napa.
After a sit-down tasting of about six wines, we wander outside for an informal tour, sipping chilled glasses of the winery’s P2 — a light, summery pinot noir — as we take in views of rolling vineyards.
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It’s a solid seven miles back to the bike shop. Some in my group are lagging, but I’m still thrilling at the scenery, the mileage, the feel of a light hybrid bike beneath me that charges easily up the hills. I contemplate the economics of trading in my Citi Bike membership for a fancier ride.
By the time we get back to the bike shop, we’ve somehow done over 24 miles, according to my GPS watch. Some of us head to Healdsburg’s excellent Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar to refuel, while others are too tuckered out for a treat.
For first-timers, Peacock says he typically recommends shorter 14-mile loop, rather than the 20-mile-plus loop we did.
“If you’re a walks or a hiker, you can easily do 14-15 miles on one of our bikes,” he assures me. “You just need to be active.” Cheers to that!
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