Giro d' Vino 2011

I was pretty sure it was going to be a good day when BenRidin of BikeForums.net NorCal directed us to the most primo, best possible parking spot at the Woodbridge Winery starting point for the 2011 Giro d' Vino in Lodi, California. It was a might chilly, but we dressed for it, and carried our rain wear just in case. We were very happy we didn't need it at all.

We opted for the 100K plus route, and decided that it was a wine tasting on bikes, not a bike ride. The first winery came up so quickly we were hardly warmed up, but at 8:40 AM or so, there we were, tasting a nice Tempranillo and sampling Portuguese cheese at the St. George winery, buying a bottle, and riding on. We'd repeat this pattern numerous times as the day went on.



We hooked up with BigBossMan, Bikingsheer and MarcoPolo from Bikeforums, and spent at lot of time on the road with them, trading insults, discussing the Paleo diet, child rearing and solving most of the world's problems.



Among the highlights of the day was the Cycles Gladiator stop. I've loved their wine label forever, but never bought their jersey. They had last year's Hincapie bibs and jerseys on sale for 65% off. We each bought both, and some wine too. The photo is this year's jersey, you'll have to wait to see us in our new ones.



Not only did we get to taste and buy wine (delivered back to the ride start) but we got to talk with wine makers and label designers as well. There were a couple of labels I just loved. I'm looking forward to sharing them with my graphics students, whose current project is to design a California wine label.

The ride was stunningly flat, but the organizers managed to find what may be the only bump in Lodi. It wasn't long, but it did hit 18%. I was impressed, so I bought more wine.

One flat tire later (Thanks for the tube, BenRidin and sag support!) we were on our way back to the car. Total time: all day. Ave rolling speed: 15.3. Miles 67. Wine purchases: 10 bottles. Rain: Zero. Fun: Max.