To start your day's tour, freshly baked rolls and awesome breads can be found at Great Harvest Bakery. Great Harvest Bakery is across the parking lot from the Flamingo Hotel, a National Bicycle Greeenway supporter located where Santa Rosa meets the open road at Farmer's Lane and 4th St. On road trips anywhere near Santa Rosa, we often go out of our way to get Great Harvest's incredible bread. Their standard loaf weighs 35 ounces (no kidding!!).
Montgomery Village Shopping Center is two blocks from the Flamingo Hotel. Bike minutes away from the cafe's, shops and eateries of Montgomery Center are the walking/biking trails of Howarth Memorial, Spring Lake County, and Annadel Parks. For intermediate level road cyclists, Brush Creek Road's gently rolling terrain will get you started on an excellent loop that can bring you back into town in just a few hours time. A short way up Hwy 12 is beautiful Calistoga Rd which you can also use, once it becomes mountainous, to undertake the challenge of connecting with the town of Calistoga twenty miles away.From Montgomery Center, you can go the other way to head downtown via the quiet, tree shaded neighborhood streets on the north side of College Ave. A great downtown attraction is the Farmers Market; it's held every Saturday from 9-12 in the City Hall parking lot. Other downtown attractions are the Burbank House and Garden, and the shops and cafes that line 4th St. downtown. On the last three blocks of 4th St., car traffic is slowed by stop signs on each corner. 4th St. is set up like an open-air mall; it has shops, and fun places to eat, including Santa Rosa Health Foods, and Checkers Pizza and Pasta.
The next good place to go is historic Railroad Square. Like the 4th St., it has restaurants, cafes, and shops for wilderness sports, book stores and antiques. You'll cross a freeway to get there, but there's a good safe way to do it. When Fourth St. dead ends at the shopping mall there, bike around the back of it and reconnect with Fourth St. A particularly fun place there is Aroma Roasters/ North Light Books coffee shop and book cafe, at 95 Fifth St.
The peaceful Santa Rosa Creek Path located just a few blocks away will get you out of the hustle and bustle of this very active small town. To get to this flat, well maintained path, head west on W. 3rd St for a block to a quick right on Pierson St, where the trail will be at the bridge in front of you. It will get you away from cars all the way out to Fulton Rd. If you take a right on Fulton almost four miles of wide bike lanes will then take you to the Chateau de Baun winery, 5007 Fulton. Enjoy a picnic on their beautiful grounds. Their winery is built like a European feudal castle from the days of knights and kings. Here you will be able to drink the fruits of the vineyards that surround you.
At this point, you are not far from the safer part of Old Redwood Highway that takes you into Healdsburg and Russian River Country. Healdsburg is home to Trowbridge Canoe Trips, a well run company which offers a wonderful canoeing experience that you will likely never forget.
When you left the Santa Rosa Creek bike path, a left turn would have sent you in the direction of another flat, five mile bike path, one which has its terminus in the quaint town of Sebastopol -- the proud home of
the world renowned bicycle manufacturer.
To get to Sebastopol, cross over Hwy. 12 at the light, take the second right turn on Chico Ave and follow it to what will be a memorable reconverted rail bed lined with trees and fields and quiet.
Let Cycle America maps (still coming soon) show you around Santa Rosa and it's outlying areas. You'll have fun cycling and once you're there you won't want to use a car to get you anywhere else.
btw: Santa Rosa is also the happy home of Bicycles by Haluzak and Rotator Bicycles
 Back To The 'Bents |
 |
Back To The |