Solvang Ladies Weekend Part 1
Ya gotta love riding bikes in Solvang.....
Country roads, wine country, little traffic and abelskeivers.
This was to be our first Ladies event and I wasn't sure how old Luke would fit it. Karen from Lotus of Light (our hospitality partner) had suggested organizing a women's retreat long ago and I agreed to give it a shot but I would need some help on this one. Months ago, I contacted my good friend Juli Kennedy to come out and be the ride leader. Not only is Juli a sweety and about the nicest person you'll ever meet, she is a top notch cyclist with years of riding. She competed in the Furnace Creek 508 racing over 250 miles across the desert. She agreed to be ride leader and that made me feel a lot better better about hosting a women's cycling weekend.
Our weekend started early Friday afternoon with an easy warmup ride. The weather was clear and sunny and made for fantastic riding. Of course we had to stop for some winetasting at Kalyra. (featured in Sideways) I love this place and have been a member for some time now. They have a really nice 2005 meritage called MC2. Just go get it....
The next day started a bit cold, misty, and cloudy. I was a little worried it might damper our riding but the ladies were in good spirits. Our first order of business was to ride over to downtown Solvang for breakfast. And what did we have? Abelskeivers of course!
These little gems make make the perfect fuel for cycling and are a tasty treat as well.
We then set out on our big ride for the weekend. Our destination was Tres Hermanas. Winery way up on Foxen road. Not surprisingly, we had a pit stop at Fess Parkers for more winetasting. Famous for portraying Davy Crockett in the 50's and 60's, Fess has built one of the biggest vineyards in the region. Juli had purcahsed some wine along with some Orange Zinfandel Mustard.... sounds good huh? The nice thing about a supported ride is just throw your stuff in the truck. Need a jacket, some water, a snack?... Just flag down the truck. Karen was our SAG driver and did a great job keeping an eye on us.
From Fess's, it was another 6 miles to Tres Hermanas.
Tres Hermanas is sort of new on the wine road having opened in 2001. They have beautiful secret garden that is just the right spot for a picnic.
I had sent Karen off to market with a basic list and she went above and beyond my expectations. The food was perfect and was also visually delightful.
Probably the most memorable thing at Tres Hermanas is the Horse... In the tasting room they have an adult sized mechanical horse you can ride that gallops and plays the Bonanza theme.
Here, Pamela was the first victim....I mean jockey to saddle up. I popped in a couple of quarters and they started off and a nice comfortable trot. I said "pull back on the reigns" Expecting to stop, Pamela was more than a little surprised that the horse took off at break neck speed.
After we all had our turn on the horse, it was time to head back towards Solvang. The road back is basically downhill with a couple of hiccups. And by hiccups, I mean short steep climbs. We made short work of them and got back to the hotel in plenty of time for.....
continued in part deux.
Luke
Country roads, wine country, little traffic and abelskeivers.
This was to be our first Ladies event and I wasn't sure how old Luke would fit it. Karen from Lotus of Light (our hospitality partner) had suggested organizing a women's retreat long ago and I agreed to give it a shot but I would need some help on this one. Months ago, I contacted my good friend Juli Kennedy to come out and be the ride leader. Not only is Juli a sweety and about the nicest person you'll ever meet, she is a top notch cyclist with years of riding. She competed in the Furnace Creek 508 racing over 250 miles across the desert. She agreed to be ride leader and that made me feel a lot better better about hosting a women's cycling weekend.
Our weekend started early Friday afternoon with an easy warmup ride. The weather was clear and sunny and made for fantastic riding. Of course we had to stop for some winetasting at Kalyra. (featured in Sideways) I love this place and have been a member for some time now. They have a really nice 2005 meritage called MC2. Just go get it....
The next day started a bit cold, misty, and cloudy. I was a little worried it might damper our riding but the ladies were in good spirits. Our first order of business was to ride over to downtown Solvang for breakfast. And what did we have? Abelskeivers of course!
These little gems make make the perfect fuel for cycling and are a tasty treat as well.
We then set out on our big ride for the weekend. Our destination was Tres Hermanas. Winery way up on Foxen road. Not surprisingly, we had a pit stop at Fess Parkers for more winetasting. Famous for portraying Davy Crockett in the 50's and 60's, Fess has built one of the biggest vineyards in the region. Juli had purcahsed some wine along with some Orange Zinfandel Mustard.... sounds good huh? The nice thing about a supported ride is just throw your stuff in the truck. Need a jacket, some water, a snack?... Just flag down the truck. Karen was our SAG driver and did a great job keeping an eye on us.
From Fess's, it was another 6 miles to Tres Hermanas.
Tres Hermanas is sort of new on the wine road having opened in 2001. They have beautiful secret garden that is just the right spot for a picnic.Probably the most memorable thing at Tres Hermanas is the Horse... In the tasting room they have an adult sized mechanical horse you can ride that gallops and plays the Bonanza theme.
Here, Pamela was the first victim....I mean jockey to saddle up. I popped in a couple of quarters and they started off and a nice comfortable trot. I said "pull back on the reigns" Expecting to stop, Pamela was more than a little surprised that the horse took off at break neck speed.After we all had our turn on the horse, it was time to head back towards Solvang. The road back is basically downhill with a couple of hiccups. And by hiccups, I mean short steep climbs. We made short work of them and got back to the hotel in plenty of time for.....
continued in part deux.
Luke
Comments