This ride follows the third of those shown in Santa Rosa Bike Club's list of ten favourite rides in Sonoma County.
It starts from the small town of Healdsburg and follows West Dry Creek Road north before turning into Geyserville and returning along the Alexander Valley.
Leaving Healdsburg on Westside Road you duck under Highway 101 and immediately find yourself in wine country.
Fields of vines spread into the distance on both sides of the road.
These first vineyards were in the territory of the Russian River Valley Winegrowers. Their colourful logo was prominently displayed at the entrance to each yard.
At each junction a signpost directs you to nearby vineyards ... some posts held over 20 signs.
After a short distance I turned onto West Dry Creek Road to follow the valley northward.
Dry Creek Road undulates gently along the western side of the valley.
The Creek is dammed to the north-west to form the present day Lake Sonoma.
Autumn was well underway and the leaves were every shade of yellow and brown.
The vineyards along this road belong to the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley consortium.
Their logo consists of a bottle of wine being opened by a corkscrew fashioned from a vine branch.
Each vineyard displays the Dry Creek Valley logo on their sign.
The day had started cool and overcast with a mist hanging over the valley ... this was a pleasant change after days of warm sunshine further south.
Slowly small patches of blue sky appeared and some of the surrounding hills emerged from the mist.
West Dry Creek road loops around a small creek and then passes the turn-off for Lambert Bridge.
At Lambert Bridge Road a sign points the way to some twenty four nearby vineyards.
As promised ... I then passed a cluster of vineyards abutting the road.
One farm had a range of interesting old rusty machinery strewn by the road ... trucks, ploughs and an old circular saw.
After Lambert Bridge the route continues to wind its way north along West Dry Creek Road.
As the sun rose higher the low cloud lifted in rolls ...
... revealing more of the hills in the distance.
At the next junction I turned to join Yoakim Bridge Road and crossed the (dry) creek.
This took me onto Dry Creek Road and ... after a short distance ... I turned onto Canyon Road to begin the first (and only) real climb of the day.
This would take me over from Dry Creek Valley into Alexander Valley to the east.
The canyon was home to many more vineyards ... who all were displaying their allegiance to the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley.
Canyon Road climbs steadily for some 60 metres before topping out alongside the elegant gates of Olive Hill Cemetery.
There seems to be something rather appropriate about having a cemetery at the top of a hill.
From the cemetery I freewheeled down the other side ... passed under Highway 101 for a second time ... and stopped at the junction with Highway 128.
Signs on an old red barn opposite advertised Geyserville's Fall Colors Festival and Street Fair.
It was just a short flat ride into Geyserville.
By the time I arrived the fair was in full swing ... and the streets and verges were packed with people ... bringing traffic to a crawl.
As well as stalls ... the main street in this small town were lined with vintage and classic cars and trucks.
Thousands of hours of effort must have gone into building and preparing these vehicles ... my dusty bike looked exceedingly shabby in comparison.
Still it was a chance to have a quick drink before tackling the final part of the ride.
Highway 128 leaves Geyserville and crosses the Russian River to reach the eastern side of Alexander Valley.
The river had plenty of water in it from the recent downpours ... and a fisherman was wading below the bridge ... trying his luck.
Fortunately Highway 128 is relatively quiet ... so I was able to take in the expanding views.
I passed a fairly discrete casino ... and numerous vineyards ... which belong to the Alexander Valley Winegrowers association.
At the next junction the sign indicated that the Geysers were 16 miles ahead.
Unfortunately I didn't have time to visit them ... and missed the opportunity to see a geyser that erupts 60' into the air every 30 seconds ... oh ... and the opportunity to climb up to 2,250'
I turned off Geysers Road onto Red Winery Road.
A winery along here had a massive underground storage area built into the hillside.
Red Winery Road ends at a T junction with Pine Flat Road.
This road climbs steeply to 3,124' and provides excellent views back over the valley.
Unfortunately it is a no through road so you have to return the way you went ... ... but local cyclists still regard it as one of the best rides in the valley.
As I arrived at the junction four cyclists returned down Pine Flat Road.
They suggested that this foreign cyclist stop at the Jimtown Store.
The store was only a few hundred metres further on ... and over 20 bikes were piled outside.
Inside they were obviously well used to meeting cyclists needs ... with hot and cold drinks and piles of locally made cakes ... and even cycling maps.
Eating my supplies on the veranda I was quizzed as to how I'd found my way to this part of California.
I took the opportunity to ask them which were the best rides in Sonoma County ... but there were almost as many different recommendations as there were cyclists ... they all had their own favourite corners.
Eventually I had to drag myself away from the store.
Many of the local farms and houses were getting ready for halloween ... one having a display of over twenty scarecrows on display on their fence posts.
All that was left to do was to loop round the north west of Healdsburg ...
... and see whether it offered a café as welcoming as the Jimtown Store..
Kirby James
