Last weekend we made it back to California to visit the bikes which have been languishing in storage in Oakland since we rescued them from Denver some time before Christmas. Actually we were thrilled to find that they were still there as Oakland isn’t the most salubrious place…
Arriving Friday evening we had time for a very tasty dinner before falling into bed back at the hotel – which was a very pleasant if wildly over decorated affair – with more marble clad elements in the lobby than is normally seen outside the Las Vegas strip.
After near Olympic levels of Saturday morning kerfuffling we picked up the bikes and headed North towards Napa – actually an easy enough trip of about an hour. California is one of the few states that allow motorbikes to filter in between traffic and we made good time while many cars and trucks were held up by the aftermath of an inevitable prang or two. Actually most of the drivers couldn’t have been more helpful , moving out of the way as we picked our way through the traffic.
I’ll admit that taking a motorbike to a wine region doesn’t sound like the most sensible option. You’ll be pleased to hear that we chose scenery over tasting as bikes really are the most wonderful way to experience a place using all your senses. We did wash down a rather good deli picnic lunch with a glass of cheeky red however.
Enjoying a cheeky red
Napa in January is stunning in a different way to the warmer months. The vines are dormant – with row after row of stumpy twisted trunks visible as opposed to the usual abundance of vines and grapes (they look like those mandrake root creatures in Harry Potter in fact) but the rolling scenery is breathtaking and the soft colours are no less beautiful than the usual verdant green. I particularly enjoyed our early Sunday morning ride up the Silverado Trail past mile after mile of vineyards where the morning mist was still just hugging the ground. I could have lingered for hours and would love to have stopped for pictures but time constraints and the fact that it was bloody freezing pushed us on.