Undiscovered Wine Country and Pacific Coast Bike Tour —
Northern California USA
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average daily mileage?
The average daily mileage is about 40 miles, with options for riding more or less than that.
What is included in the price of the trip?
- Use of a quality lightweight road bike
- Five nights lodging in small inns and hotels
- Five breakfasts
- Four dinners
- Snacks during and after the rides
- Daily route sheets and maps
- One or more expert guides on bicycles
- Van support
- Mechanical support for minor bike repairs
What isn't included?
- Transportation to Petaluma at the beginning of the trip
- Lodging before and after the trip
- Lunches
- Alcoholic beverages
- Hotel charges for incidentals (phone calls, etc.)
- Gratuities for guides at your discretion
Do we visit wineries?
While this a bike tour, not a wine tasting tour, we do make a couple of stops at wineries during our rides. We recommend tasting at your leisure in Healdsburg after the day's ride. There are several tasting rooms within walking distance of our hotel in Healdsburg, and there is ample time after cycling to visit them on your own.
What is the weather going to be like?
Weather in Sonoma and Mendocino County is ideal for growing wine grapes: warm during the day and cool at night. Mornings tend to be cool and foggy, but the coastal fog usually lifts by midday. Fog can linger at the coast all day. High temperatures during Summer months average in the low 80s. Winter brings temperatures in the low 60s. The rainy season is from mid-November to mid-March.
What type of dining will we be doing?
When researching a trip, we seek out restaurants that serve healthy, fresh choices typical of the California cuisine style of cooking.
Nobody goes hungry on an Undiscovered Country trip! One of the joys of riding several hours per day is getting to enjoy the dinner afterwards. We give you the choice of ordering anything on a restaurant's menu. Order appetizers, soup, salad, entree, dessert, and beverages. The only thing that isn't included is alcohol. The only exception to the full menu is when a restaurant has prepared a special dinner for us.
We meet for breakfast every morning of the trip. Breakfast will be either continental style or made to order.
Where do we meet at the start of the trip?
We gather on the first morning of the trip at 9:30 AM, in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Petaluma. Regular shuttle service is available from San Francisco and Santa Rosa airports to the nearby Petaluma Fairgrounds. If you are driving to the start of the tour, you may leave a vehicle at the Sheraton for the duration of the trip.
How do I get from the San Francisco Airport to the starting point?
Sonoma County Airport Express provides a regularly scheduled ground shuttle service between San Francisco Airport and Petaluma. The shuttle picks up at the San Francisco Terminal and drops off at the Petaluma Fairgrounds. The Sheraton is about a mile from the Fairgrounds.
If you are driving to the starting point of the tour, you may leave your car at the Sheraton until the end of the tour.
Where does the trip end?
The trip ends at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaluma, at approximately 3:00 PM.
What should I bring?
Cycling Clothing
Cycling shorts, cycling jerseys, cycling socks, cycling shoes, gloves, helmet, wind jacket or vest, rain gear (jacket, pants, helmet cover, shoe covers), sunglasses. For colder weather: arm warmers, knee/leg warmers or tights, full fingered gloves, shoe covers, beanie.
Other Clothes
Hat, bathing suit, sweater or jacket, comfortable shoes, casual evening wear.
Other Items
Sunscreen, lip balm, prescription medicines, chamois cream, toiletries, identification, medical insurance card.
