Mark West Station

On October thirteenth I wrote that the day before I had go to Sonoma Airport for a bike ride to the Russian River.  I took Shiloh Road, which was ok because of the bike lane.  Windsor was also ok at first but after a couple of turns there were fast drivers approaching from behind.  At one point there was a big hill going down and that made it easier.  

Mark West Station seemed less traveled but it went uphill from there.  However, it was in steps and I was able to view the road except in just a few spots - especially on the approach to Eastside Road where there is a hill just past a local reservoir.  That section involves a slight turn which obscures the road behind while climbing.

The ride gets more difficult near and through Trenton-Healdsburg road on the way to Eastside Road.  I noted that this was mostly good but the nearby a winery produces traffic at times.  Unfortunately, Wohler is an abrupt climb that isn’t easy to anticipate and will at times come with traffic.  However, that section doesn’t go on for long and ends with a downhill to the bridge.

I had to negotiate with tree work being done on the bridge and ended up hanging out at the park on the far side.  I was way thirsty but forgot to refill my bottle when I was done at the water fountain there.  I noted as I rode on that Westside Road was surprisingly easy for its length.  There were a few cars and it was a climb in places but I didn’t really have to fight with anyone.

When I got to Hacienda bridge I discovered a lot of roads.  There was a liquor store on the far side where I got chips and water.  I rode down Summer Place Drive to the I had reserved for a late fall weekend a few months hence.  I returned to the store and noted that the maps had indicated that River Road would not be terrible but there was one pinch point.  I checked it out and the only real problem was addressed by taking old river road.  The other direction did not look fun though.

Later I noted that I went to Steelhead Beach Park and tried to find an alternate path.  Instead I found a nagging concern that wild animals were watching me.  I returned to the main road then, visited the neighborhood across the street and made my way to Speers Market.  There I decided against taking Mirabel for Covey.

However, I found that Mirabel, though trafficky,  probably wasn’t all that bad since Covey was far too steep - literally climbing to the top of the hill.  I noted too that taking Mirabel to Covey Extension would have allowed me to avoid the inconvenience.

I had a taco and beer at Forestville and descended to what I discovered was an excellent bike path.  I took pictures to mark how nice it was.  The corner at Ross street was funny and the ponds at Atascadero had gravel.  Green Valley Road had sufficient shoulder but there was road work.

Later I took a picture of the Gravenstein Cidery - Manzana Products.  I found the town of Graton was easy to navigate but Occidental Road was less fun.  However, while Barlow was less trafficky, I should have stayed on Occidental.  Later I found that 116 doesn’t have the best path but only a bit later the path was all downhill into Sebastopol - though I should have taken a local street to avoid the Sebastopol loop.

Once I got onto Joe Rodota, the air became cooler and the wetland and preserve were idyllic in the setting sun.  I could see that they were being ploughed. There was a lot of dust in the air and at the time there were several fires in the Sierra Nevada which had fouled the air.

In the suburban section of the Joe Rodota a dog chased me for about a quarter mile. Later, as the trail became more urban, I witnessed the homeless encampments pretty closely.  I continued to the SR River and on to the stations.  I noted with horror that there was an utter lack of connectivity in the area and had to figure it out.

From there I rode to my old classmate’s household.  They had ordered some food and I taught them my favorite card game.  However, they got bored and we were tired so went to bed around eleven.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.