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On the Road Again: Day 1
Posted on August 29th, 2012 No commentsToday I set out on another crazy Road Trip. The destination, like last year, is the National G8 Meet in Iowa… but this year I’m not taking the long way there. Over the next few weeks I’ll be driving thousands of miles on all sorts of fun roads!
After packing the final provisions I headed-out to start my journey. Today’s drive was a short one (only ~5 hours), but it covered several great roads I’ve never driven before.
The freeways leaving the Bay Area were congested, like always, and I was really looking forward to get out on the backroads. Once I pulled-off the I-80 and headed into the foothills I started to really feel like I’m on a vacation. The traffic today was really light, being mid-day on a weekday I’m sure helped, and made the drive very enjoyable.
The last time I drove around Lake Berryessa I saw some cool animals (deer, turkey, etc.), and today was no different… first there was a roadrunner (running on the road) and then a peacock!
Highway 128 looked to have been recently re-paved, and it made for a smooth ride around the lake and down into Napa. With moderate climbs and sweeping turns this was a great road to warm-up on. One of these days I need to lead the NorCal GOATs on a cruise up here.
Being late-August the hills were golden in color, and the vineyards really stood-out on the landscape. On my way out of Napa I made the mandatory stop for a quick photo.
After leaving Napa I turned onto Highway 29 North and started on the best section of road of the day.
View Larger MapHow is it possible that I’ve never driven this road before? Seriously… it was awesome! The pavement was flawless, turns flowing, and the 6-8% grade made things a bit more challenging. I’ve driven many twisty roads, but the incredible part about this one is just how many passing lanes there are. Just about every other turn there was a passing lane, and with no one else on the road, allowed for some great apexing (without needing to cross the center line).
Highway 175 up Boggs Mountain was fun, and made for a nice combo with Hwy29. I wonder if any of the NorCal GOATs would be interested in a cruise this far North… not likely, but the roads are worthy of a visit!
The route around Clear Lake wasn’t as fun as I’d hoped, with many slow radar-monitored sections, but it was quite scenic. I found a spot to pull-off the road to take a couple photos.
The remainder of the drive was mundane, but went by quickly. I’m spending the night in Ukiah, and the air quality is very poor due to a 34,119 acre wildfire… also, the hotel parking lots are packed with fire trucks (I’m glad I made hotel reservations).
Tomorrow I continue my trip by driving to Chico… It’s going to be a long day (~7hrs), but most of the roads will be nice and twisty!
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