Napa Valley Sip ‘N Cycle with Dave & Ken
Date posted: August 28, 2009
A beautiful Napa Valley day!
The day began under a beautiful blue sky with the temperature climbing by the minute. We got in an early long ride to beat the heat before we did our first tasting at Frank Family. Our guests really enjoyed the wines, having a private tasting with Tim from Frank Family, and humor provided by guides Dave and Ken.
After the first tasting it was time to do some more riding, so we headed north to our next stop at Lava Vine. Christy and Mike, who run the tasting room, do a great job pouring wine. Before the tasting we visited with the lamb (see picture below) and drank some much needed water. The guests again enjoyed both the wines and the great service at this small winery.
It was getting close to lunch time, so we headed up to Bennett Lane for lunch and a tasting. It was a warm afternoon and the guests did a great job riding the 5 miles along backroads to Bennett Lane Winery. After a nice relaxing lunch, the guests tasted Bennett Lane’s wines, especially enjoying the Maximus.
Finally we rode back to town to complete a full day of bike riding and wine tasting, happy to have shared so much great wine and so many hearty laughs!
I went on a tour with Ken on Sept 12th, and he was a fantastic host! His utmost focus was on us having fun, enjoying the wine tours and the ride. Even when my bike developed a flat, he was quick to swap out his tire and ride with the flat to the next winery.
As I told Ken, I was so happy that he took us to the wineries not on the main route in Napa. I loved being off the beaten path and seeing a part of the area that I had not previously seen.
I thought it was a fantastic value for the cost. I couldn’t thought of a better way to spend the day in Calistoga than on the bike and enjoying great wine.
What did you like most about the tour? I loved that it was somewhat structured, but wasn’t overly time sensitive. Ken allowed us to ask all the questions at the wineries or en route and never once did I feel like I was being herded from one place to another, like you do on typical bus tours. I loved being outside and enjoying the Calistoga countryside.
I was due back at Silverado in Napa to get on a bus for a wedding that afternoon. Ken was very conscientious about the timing and in the end, drove me back to my car and gave me a shortcut to get back to the Silverado. Although I missed getting on the bus to the wedding, I was able to drive there and witness the couples’ vows. I haven’t had too many other tour operators take that much consideration in meeting my personal schedule without impacting the group’s experience. His mantra was “no problem” and any “bumps” experienced during the day truly were no problem.