We had to be prepared to start biking at 8:30 am, so we opted for an early breakfast at 7. It was a small and cozy restaurant in the Hotel Solage. I would have preferred a light breakfast, but I ended up receiving more food than I wanted. Since we would return to stay at the Solage a second night, we didn't have to pack up all of our belongings, making the morning easier.
There were different options for the morning. The first was 27 miles with 980 feet elevation gain. The second was 37 miles with 2600 feet elevation gain. Mark and I chose the first option. It was a 6.5-mile ride with a shuttle over Howell Mountain to Pope Valley Farm. At that point, we jumped back on our bikes to continue down to Lake Hennessey.
Lake Hennessy, in St. Helena.
Lunch, prepared by the tour leaders, was held at Pestoni Winery in St. Helena. After a relaxing lunch, we were biking again, 16 miles with 700 feet elevation back to the hotel. Along the way, we were going to stop at Olabisi Wines where the owner would have a wine tasting and answer any questions we might have about winemaking. Unfortunately, the temperatures began to rise into the high 90s and we were getting low on water. We made it to the winery and it was so wonderful to fall into his comfy couch and drink a gallon of ice-cold water. There was a shuttle back to the hotel which was only 5 minutes away, but I had just sampled wine and was still dehydrated.
Pool time again and it felt so good. This afternoon, we had more time just to sit and relax before supper. Supper was just a short walk from the hotel to Sam's Social Club. Everyone ate together, so much fun and delicious food.
Below is the map from Mark's Garmin watch:
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