We made a left on Redwood Road and about one mile up the road is where the climbing starts very slowly and continues to rise at a limited pace for about three miles. A right turn on Mt. Veeder Road starts you on your ascent of Mt.Veeder itself which rises to about 2600 feet as the highest visible mountain of the Mayacama Mountains on the southwest side of the valley.  The climb remains fairly mild for a few miles and then the climbing starts in earnest.  By the time you reach the summit the grade is somewhere around 7.5 %, not deadly, but you are definitely breathing hard.  About half a mile before the summit threads of music start floating in the air, getting louder as we get closer.  As we reach the top there is a three person blue grass band playing to the cyclists.  The views are just incredible with the entire Napa Valley at our feet.  Balloons are floating across the valley and vineyards are everywhere.  The total climb is about 1500 feet, a lot of it in the last 2 miles.

The next couple of miles consist of a few rollers and than a steep downhill to Oakville Grade.  The ride takes a right and then another quick right on to Dry Creek Road.  We saw a few riders blow past the turn and go up an extra hill before realizing they had gone the wrong way.  This is a beautiful morning ride through the countryside of the Napa Valley.  There are lots of rollers but nothing very challenging.  The rest stop was a left turn as you reach the outskirts of Napa at Trower Avenue.  This was another turn we saw people miss; it was hard to see if you weren't looking for it. The food was a bit of a disappointment after 30 miles of riding; we got the very last two homemade cookies.  These are what the ride is known for, but this stop only had a few and what was left was Oreos, and no one much seemed to want those. 

From the rest stop we headed east across the valley to Silverado Trail and north about twelve miles to a right turn at Sage Canyon halfway between Yountville and St. Helena.  A short way up the road at Conn Dam was rest stop number two, forty seven miles into the ride, and a much better selection of food. They had potatoes, hard boiled eggs, granola, fruit and this time, an incredible selection of home baked cookies.  Life is good. In the late 60s this used to be a great little swimming Continued...