Skaggs Springs Road - 6/9/02 From the archives: "As my alarm clock went off just after five, I made a vow to myself to never let KD set the meeting time again. Even though Keith had probably already been on the road for some time, coming all the way from Modesto, I was still not sure why I was doing this. I was dreading a cold, foggy San Francisco morning all the way to Sonoma. But, when I walked out the door at a quarter to six... beautiful, clear sky. I couldn't believe how warm it was. Oh, this is going to be a good day. I met Pierre at the Golden Gate Bridge and we sped up to Sonoma to meet the gang for breakfast. It was beautiful, the rising sun raking the early morning light across the vineyards -- thank you Kelly! Pierre and I were the first ones to show up at Pearl's followed fifteen seconds later by Kelly and eventually Alfa Rich, Keith and Eli. After breakfast in Sonoma and a brisk jaunt over Calistoga road (when Eli had to leave), we headed north on 128 towards Geyserville. 128 is a great cruiser, broad sweepers through vineyards punctuated by a tight twisty section here and there. The only drawback is, as you approach Geyserville there's a 5 mile stretch where it alternates between long straightaways and 90 degree turns -- not too much fun. In Geyserville we stopped to investigate a rattle coming from my car. Seems that my timing belt guard had come loose at the top. One 10mm bolt from Pierre later and we were on our way to Skaggs Spring Road (SSR). SSR is a great road, 40 miles of roller-coaster type road frequented by all sorts of speed seekers and those who hunt them (CHP). Unfortunately, a few years ago some squid on a motorcycle went off a cliff instead of making a turn and had to be airlifted out by helicopter. Ever since, they have posted the road at 30 MPH and patrolled heavily. This is a road that can be safely negotiated at 60+ (most of the time), so the temptation is hard to resist. We kept it only moderately above 30 (cough) and had a grand ol' time. About 1/3 of the way to the coast SSR turns into Stewarts Point Road as you see the "End 30 MPH limit" sign. Unfortunately that's where the pavement quality deteriorates somewhat and in places (usually around a blind curve) the road makes an unannounced change to a one-lane road. Once we got out from behind a slow moving pickup truck, we were on our way again, zipping through some fantastic twisties. We passed a group of Ferraris and Porsches and a Lotus going the other way, but they weren't having nearly as much fun as we were. Other than that the only other traffic was some pesky bicyclists getting in our way (Kelly posited that their tight shorts makes them cranky). Just over a old bridge we stopped to take some pix next to some gigantic redwoods. Of course, while we're parked, a pair of CHP cruise by -- keep moving, nothing to see here. Back in the cars for the last 8 miles on one-lane road through beautiful redwoods to Stewarts Point. At the end of the road, there's a small country store where we took turns filling up. Our friendly neighborhood CHP were hanging out on the porch. "Yes sir, nothing like a nice leisurely drive at-or-below the speed limit!" Then it was South on Route 1. A mixed bag. The road can't be beat -- million dollar views, a twisty rolling ribbon of pavement, BUT lots of slowwwww rubbernecking drivers. Oh well, no hurry, we'll get there. A quick stop in Jenner for a bite to eat and KD and Alfa Rich had to bail out for home. Keith, Pierre and I continued down Route 1 to Bodega Bay at a snails pace behind some brain dead tourists. Just South of Bodega Bay, the road turns inland, and the pace picked back up (along with the temperature) all the way to Petaluma. From there it's just a sprint back down to San Francisco, to finish the day with burgers and margaritas. A great day to own a Fiat." -Dan

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