Giro d' Vino 2012

I really did carry the last bottle back like this.

We've tried this ride in the wind. We've tried it in the fog. We've done it in the rain. All in all, we prefer the perfect weather we had for the Sunday 2012 version. The lack of any hill but a freeway overpass and the absence of even the slightest curve in the road makes the Giro d' Vino bit of an unusual ride for us,  but it's a delightful way to spend the day.

I kept telling myself, this isn't a bike ride, it's a wine tasting by bike. Indeed, the frequent stops on the 50 mile route meant that at the end we weren't a bit tired. That, and the six hours it took to finish, of which only 3:20 was spent moving. The organizers make arrangements to ferry any wine purchases back to the start, so spending too much money was really easy. We kept somewhat calm and bought only 11 bottles.

We were lucky enough to run into BikeForums.net friends Bikingsheare and MaroPolo who provided us with some good company and entertaining tales as we pedaled through the day.

All in all, an uneventful non-epic day. Just what we hoped for.

Cycles Gladiator jerseys we bought on last year's ride. 

BikingSheare in the vineyards.