Unfortunately, that idea was mine - but we'll get to that in a bit.
We started the day by going to breakfast at a spot that is near and dear to my heart. Whenever we have a family gathering with my Mom's side of the family, we have a tradition of going to Nini's and it never disappoints. Huge portions and delicious food would help sustain us throughout the day. After a hearty breakfast, we headed back to the hotel, packed up our gear and hit the road at about 10:30.
Heading up 19th ave toward Golden Gate Park was slow due to construction, but we were treated to sun for a change rather than fog on the city. After a quick trip over the Golden Gate, we headed westward toward Muir and Stinson beaches to enjoy the coastal road and sights. What a contrast to the last time I had ridden through here almost two years ago. Today was gorgeous and clear, and I took video as we rode along the majestic cliffs overlooking the Pacific (which I won't be able to post until I get back home).
After a great rollercoaster ride along Tomales Bay, we headed inland to Santa Rosa to sample some beers from Russian River Brewing Co. Fortunately we only ordered two samples, as each one had sixteen beers to try. While the beers were tasty, the food was average and the service was lacking. After sampling there, it was off to check out the roads near Lake Berryessa...
There were some amazing roads that lead out to Angwin and the lake. Tight, twisty, and sometimes quite technical. I was caught by surprise on a few occasions by very sharp, decreasing radius turns. Fortunately there wasn't any incoming traffic though. The other surprise was the fallen branch that we almost rode through coming around a blind corner. Thank goodness for good brakes.
As we neared the lake, the road opened up a bit allowing is to enjoy long, sweeping turns. This lasted until we were just north of the lake when we started seeing signs of things to come (literally). "Rough road ahead - next 20 miles" "Slide area ahead - next 12 miles" "Impassible in wet weather". Well, at least it was only two out of three...
Berryessa-Knoxville road started to become rather bumpy and progressed into the goat trail mentioned as this post's title. There was slide debris, grass growing through the asphalt, potholes that could really ruin rims if hit at speed, and several slick creek crossings. Erik had a rather exciting moment at one of them when his rear wheel stepped out after a tad too much throttle (much to Gabe's amusement). We even passed by a group of horseback riders who had pistols strapped to their waists. Perhaps we had passed through a rift in time and things were going to continue to become more primitive. After many miles of jarring, dodging, and rattling, the road suddenly smoothed out and became amazingly fun to ride. The best part - there was nobody else on it! Of course, that's likely because the locals know to avoid it for the goat trail section. Derp.
After another fun ride along highway 20, it was onto boring I-5 in order to get us up to Chico where we met up with my cousin Mark and his housemate Austin. They have been very gracious hosts and were kind enough to drive us all to the Sierra Nevada taproom for dinner. Great meal, great beer and great company. Now hopefully for a great nights sleep...
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