25 Sep 2010 - Dinnuci's

25 Sep 2010 - Dinnuci's in Valley Ford

{Underlined items are links to more info. Click on them opens a new browser window. Clicking on a photo will open a larger version, use Back button to return.}

Nine of the photos were taken by KC

And here is a link to Crankys Ride Report of today.

Today we are riding from Novato to Valley Ford to have lunch at Dinnuci's Italian Restaurant which has been around since 1904 or so.

Here is a Map of the Ride Route:

View Larger Map

There are just three bikes today. It seems there were a lot of other things going on this weekend.
Cranky, KC and his wife Lynn and me. Cranky on his Nomad, KC and Lynn riding the Goldwing that he bought from Sherm this Spring and me on my little BMW F650GS.
KC stopped at the Vista point at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge to take this photo of his wife, Lynn


We are meeting up at the Novato McDonalds. Us old guys like me and Cranky need the Restroom and the Senior coffee. :-)
Lynn, KC and Cranky. Goldwing, Nomad and F650GS.


The weather was absolutely gorgeous. There was an off shore air flow with the winds about 2 to 5 mph which kept the marine layer out to sea. The coastal temperatures were in the high 70's to low 80's and as you can see in the photos bright sunshine.
This is on Novato Boulevard heading to our first stop the Marin French Cheese Company.
Note the bicycles which became a hazard on Hwy 1.


The Marin French Cheese Factory where I bought 12 small rounds of cheese.
One of the display cases


Shopping for jams and jellies

There was a gathering of the Bay Area Lotus owners club at the Cheese Factory today.
A few of the Lotus'


More Lotus'


Me standing next to a real nice older one


Then on toward Point Reyes Station and the ride on Hwy 1 along Tomales Bay. But there was a bicycle marathon and the bicyclist were rudely riding two abreast at times. I had forgotten that the original ride route had us taking Petaluma-Marshall Road. But that would not have gotten us away from the bicycles since that road was part of the bicyclists route too.
Here we are along Hwy 1


We get to Dinnucci's around 12:30PM. They have only recently begun opening for lunch on Saturdays. They were only open for lunch on Sundays. Now they are open on Saturdays and Sundays for lunch.
Their lunch menu


KC has always had Mike our waiter whenever he has eaten there


Lynn and KC getting ready to order lunch


A page from a February 23, 1973 newspaper



Lots of knick knacks around the dining room



The bar is at the front of the building so you have to pass through the bar to get to the dining room


Interesting poster from 1909


The minestrone soup is excellent.
Cranky and Lynn order the all you can eat soup and salad. But the chef adds a small plate of angel hair pasta for them, too


A specially made Spumoni which was how Spumoni should be made


Some idiot had knocked over a power pole along the Bodega Highway near the town of Bodega {not the town of Bodega Bay, which is the coastal town}.
You can see the smoke from the fire that was created by the knocked down power line


Another photo where the smoke is more evident


Luckily we are taking the cutoff from Hwy 1 just north of Valley Ford to head over to Freestone and will not be delayed by the fire.
Our next stop is but a short 4.5 miles at the Wild Flour Bread.
We lucked out and got parking in the shade as the temperatures were around 90°


Since I had posted photos of this place a few times before these are photos taken by KC to give a different view point about the place.
Behind the counter


The "menu" which changes some every day



You can see the oven and one of the bakers in the back


From Freestone we head less than a half a mile toward Sebastopol before taking some really back roads to Hwy 116. Cranky says they were almost as rough as Knoxville-Berryessa Road. :-)
Then after getting around Cotati we take another set of fairly "goat trail" roads into Glen Ellen. Then the wonderful Oakville Grade-Trinity Road which is the short cut from the Sonoma County Valley of the Moon to the Napa Valley Wine Country.

Cranky leaves us at Hwy 29 to head back home as KC and I head over to Silverado Trail and into Napa and the Oxbow Market where we stop for Ice Cream at the Three Twins.


Great ice cream


Here I am ordering my Kiddie Scoop of Mexican Chocolate


A great day for a wonderful Ride in bright, warm to hot, weather.

~end
.

Jul 17 - Marin/Sonoma County

17 Jul 2010 - Marin/Sonoma County

{Underlined items are links to more info. Click on them opens a new browser window. Clicking on a photo will open a larger version, use Back button to return.}

This was suppose to be the "Bierkan Ride", but his class changed schedule and they held a Saturday class. So he was unable to make his Ride.

Then Manjo and Lil Doc extended their visit a few days to make this Ride, but Lil Doc's trike needed some transmission repair which was not completed in time for them to make the Ride either, oh well.

Next Ride anywhere near Sonoma I have to check and see if there is a big event happening at the Infineon Raceway. This weekend there was the FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals. The traffic was horrendous. But more on that later.

Pdub led the Sacramento NorCal Triumph Riders and Friends contingent to the Jelly Belly. Makini, Phil and Don H. rode on their own as did I.
Peter, Don H., Makini {hidden}, Steve, Stan, Ron's back and Pdub. {Phil missing}

Notice that Stan is dressed in shorts and a light jacket. He froze his tail off on the ride in from Sacramento. Ron also was so cold that he went into the Jelly Belly and bought a sweat shirt.

The Delta Breeze was in full force this morning and the temps were in the low 60's with a 25 mph head/cross wind.

Anyway, since we were going to ride quite a few miles along Tomales Bay barely sheltered from the Pacific Ocean, Stan became a "no starter". As the Ride headed west on Hwy 12, he headed east and back home.

That's Hwy 12 in the background.
An eclectic group of bikes

Pdub insisted that I post his Wee Strom with its new accouterments.


For the start of the ride through Jameson Canyon Road and around the south end of Napa the traffic was normal, which means it is always heavy but moving. The route plan was to take Hwy 121 to Hwy 37.

I rounded the curve where Hwy 12 turns north to Sonoma and saw the "parking lot" in front of me. Since we were still 10 miles from Hwy 37 it became a no brainer to reroute the Ride. {a map of our actual route is at the bottom of this Blog}

A gas stop in Novato where I was hoping to see Lil Doc and Manjo, but Lil Doc had her telephone ringer off and we never got messages.

We rode from Novato to the Marin French Cheese Company.
Some of the cheeses in the display case


I thought that this was a more interesting photo showing the Company sign than the one on the building


Ron had other obligations so bought a sandwich and a salad for lunch. He would head back home from here. Two down, so we are now a seven bike group.
Ron's lunch

The grounds have a couple of parks which are free to the public but close at sundown

Waiting for Peter to get his box of 20 rounds of 8 ounce Brie


We continue the Ride to Hwy 1 just north of Point Reyes Station and continue along Tomales Bay. It is really cool, sunny and crisp weather. The traffic is not real heavy.

We turn inland and ride to Freestone and Wild Flour Bread to buy some goodies.
Peter and Makini parked at Wild Flour Bread

The roadside wall of their building

The "menu" which changes a little daily

Waiting to order stuff


Then only three and a half miles north on the Bohemian Highway is the village of Occidental and Negri's our lunch stop.
Makini, Don H. and Phil

Pdub, Steve, Phil and Don H.

Peter and Makini

Our waitress who forgot to order Pdub's lunch and left Peter's glass of wine at the bar for 10 minutes. She was not too good.

The cheeseburger

Minestrone soup

Raviolis

Fried chicken

Pdub finally gets his all meat personal size pizza and shows his glee


After lunch we lose Steve as he has a brother who lives just a few miles from Occidental. Now we are a group of six.

I decide to change the route from Coleman Valley Road and we just head north on the Bohemian Highway to Monte Rio and Hwy 116. We follow Hwy 116 for many miles along the Russian River and through the redwoods and the vineyards.

Just before Cotati we take Stony Point Road to Railroad Avenue to Old Adobe Road back to Sonoma and the Chocolate Cow.
Along Hwy 116


We get to the Town Square of Sonoma and is it crowded. The weather is in the high 80's and sunny.

I love this little Town Square besides the Chocolate Cow there are bakeries, the Sonoma Cheese Factory and Cafes. Also there is the old Courthouse surrounded by a nice park.
Too hot to bring home any of the Chocolate Cows wonderful chocolates


Peter has the Vanilla Gelato

Makini has an ice cream cone

Phil, Pdub and Don H.

Makini has a son who lives in Sonoma so there are five of us headed back to I-80 and home.
As we get back to Hwy 12 from Napa-Sonoma Road I see a "parking lot". Luckily there is a Passing Lane which allows us to lane split for a nice long stretch. So we had about a 10 minute delay over a normal traffic day in getting to I-80.

It was a beautiful day and a good ride, except for the traffic.

Here is the actual ride route. But you will have to click on the View Larger Map at the bottom as there are too many variations to display on this embedded map.

View Larger Map


Today's Riders:

Phil T...........Citrus Heights........Nomad...................VROC #19198
Makini..........Vacaville.................Custom Nomad....VROC #25908
Don I...........Stockton.................F650GS...................VROC #5569-r
Pdub............West Sac.................Wee Strom
Don H..........Walnut Grove.........Speed Triple
PeterJ..........Elk Grove................ST 1300
Steve H........Shingle Springs......R1200RT
Ron H..........Gold Run................FJR 1300

and a non starter
Stan K.........Valley Springs.........Bonne America

~end
.