Giro D’Vino 2011

This past weekend was the Giro D’Vino out in Lodi. This was our 5th annual I believe, and it’s always surprising to me just how pretty this area is.

It’s funny, but if you listen to the words written by John Fogerty, you get the impression being stuck in Lodi is punishment….

Just about a year ago

I set out on the road

Seekin' my fame and fortune

And lookin' for a pot of gold

Things got bad, and things got worse

I guess you know the tune

Oh, Lord, stuck in Lodi again

The reality though, after riding through the area, is completely different. Lodi, and the surrounding area, is really pretty. Lodi has a cool little downtown section and the surrounding area is all vineyards and orchards.

Last year was the first year we actually had rain to deal with although I think almost every year the possibility of rain has been a concern. This Sunday I hit a couple of light showers on the way there, but there was no actual rain at all during the event.  It was cold and cloudy in the morning, then as the day went on we had periods of sunshine, more cloudiness and towards the afternoon, the temps started to drop.  But overall, it turned out to be a nice day.

We had a pretty large group there, 14 I think, although we were pretty spread out.  At the beginning I saw just about everyone with the exception of Keith, others in our group had reported seeing him though.

The route this year had changed and there were a couple new wineries on the loop.  Two that really stood out were Cycles Gladiator which in addition to being a nice winery, supports cycling and racing and has a Merlot that I really liked.

The other was Harmony Wynelands which has a beautiful property and grounds along with a gigantic pipe organ…..very nice.

It’s been a few months since I’ve ridden any distance further than about 20 miles and doing 65 miles this weekend was definitely a push.  Thankfully this route is almost completely flat.  I say almost because one of the new wineries this year has a road with a short STEEP climb.  Like steep as in even with a bit of a running start I couldn’t make it on the single speed.  Granted, that’s probably also due to my lack of fitness, but I’m not sure I could have made it last year either….

All in all, this is a really well supported ride, through some really pretty countryside and empty backroads and if you like wine….well how could you go wrong with a ride called the Giro D’ Vino?
Can't wait till next year!