I work for a liberal arts college on its accreditation. The campus is in Ukiah, CA, and I live 2 hours south in Berkeley. I ride up with colleagues weekly to spend 2-3 days up here and then work from home the rest of the time. I grew up partly in Ukiah so I know the surroundings very well.
Ukiah is in the valley surrounded by some hills. I brought a bike up here at some point and more recently have been riding after work more regularly. At first I had my Rivendell Bleriot here, after I sold it I brought its replacement--an 80's Specialized Sequoia, which had a fork change recently--up here as my ride up here. As the late rain season slows tapers off, I expect to do more riding up here in the spring and summer.
The rides up here near Ukiah have varied terrain, surfaces, and difficulty. I can do a fast-tempo flat ride on Old River Road all the way to Hopland, which is filled with bucolic vineyard scenery. The almost-pancake-flat ride is 14 miles long and has its shares of twist and turns. I can extend the ride to Hopland by going south from Hopland on Mountain House Road. Mt House Road is more hilly, and the 7 or so miles long road ends at HWY 128. From there one can ride mostly downhill to Cloverdale or turn west for a dozen miles to Boonville.
