Tri and Wine in California Wine Country
by
Karl Gruber

November 1, 2004 I had just downloaded the website for The Vineman Half Ironman triathlon, and I realized that a bit of serendipity was in force. Ever since 2000 when I lived in Kona, Hawaii, the home of the World Ironman Triathlon Championships, I had desired to finally take the plunge into triathlon, but as of yet had failed to do so. Now, here I was faced with the statement on The Vineman website that, “Today is the first day to sign up for the July 31, 2005 Vineman Half Ironman”. Lo and behold, for a mere $201.00 entry fee I could submit myself to the rigors of swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56 miles, and then running 13.1 miles in the heart of Sonoma County California, the heart of Wine Country. Even though at that moment I couldn’t swim more than 50 meters without having to stop to catch my breath, I had run 67 marathons in my lifetime, and am somewhat of an expert on self, physical punishment, I signed up for the race and made the commitment. What made this race even more attractive for me was the fact that my brother, Allen, lived right on the racecourse in Healdsburg. So this was a wonderful excuse to not only finally do a triathlon, but also visit with Allen and his family.

The 2005 Vineman Half Ironman was to be the 15th year of this race and is considered to be one of the more scenic Half Ironman races around. It is also one of the few qualifying races for spots in the coveted Ironman in Kona. So it wasn’t too hard to see if I could get some friends to make the commitment to race in Wine Country with me. Two of my Central Ohio friends, husband and wife Bob and Tracy Hendershot, who have 3 or 4 full Ironman races under their belts, decided to make the trek to California with me to race and vacation. Rounding off our group triathletes from Austin, Texas was my longtime friend Carrie Sapp, and her boyfriend Shawn. Now mind you, we were not only serious about training and racing, but also about our wine drinking! After all, we were going to be in the heart of one of the finest wine growing regions in the world. All along, our plan was to swim, bike run, DRINK! We did, however, take our preparing for the race seriously enough to hold off from over imbibing of the fine wines. As for our housing while we were in Healdsburg, we did it right and in style. My brother and his wife Claudia own a wonderful home on 24 acres right on Westside Rd. in the heart of Sonoma County Wine Country. On this property is a home called River Myst that they rent out on a weekend, weekly or monthly basis. It sits right on a wooded hillside above the Russian River in the middle of a very private, secluded grassy field. Completely furnished, and stocked with all the necessary goodies, plus a deck, outside shower and hot tub, River Myst is everything you could want for a dream Wine Country vacation. My friends and me relaxed and prepared for the Half Ironman race, and used the attached garage as a bike shop as we reassembled our bikes. And sure enough, the name River Myst lived up to its name every morning. Each morning was filled with the river myst and cool temperatures in the low 50’s. By 11:00 in the morning, the mist had burned off to reveal a bright, sunshine-filled, cloudless sky, with the air temperature quickly rising into the 80’s. This is the type of weather we faced on race morning, Sunday, July 31, 2005, as we headed to the swim start at Johnson Beach in Guerneville, just a few miles up River Rd. from where we were staying. Guerneville is a classic California eclectic town that, according to my brother (a long time Northern California resident), is the “Castro Street” of Sonoma County. In other words, it is quite the gay enclave. I won’t bore you to tears with the details of our individual races,. But of the five of us (two women and three guys) the women kicked the guy’s butts! Tracy swim, biked, and ran 70.3 miles in just over five and a half hours, while Shawn and myself survived the same distance and events in over seven hours. For me, my first ever triathlon at that distance, it was a major learning experience, as I survived major leg cramps on the bike ride to finally finish the run portion in a walk/run. The only thought I had coming across the finish line was, “This was harder than graduating from college”! Thank God for my brother, as he played the consummate host, and hauled us all back to River Myst. He poured the five of us into his old VW van while we were all in a shell-shocked state, drove us right to La Pizza in Healdsburg and bought us four large pizzas. Then hauled us back to the house where he had a wonderful massage therapist waiting for us. What a fabulous way to wind down from the beating The Vineman course had put on our bodies. We each received a half-hour massage on the deck outside by the hot tub, and finished off the evening with a large amount of carbohydrates in the form of pizza, beer and wine. After seven months of training on my part, I could finally really consider myself a triathlete. The following afternoon, the real reason we had come to Sonoma County began, touring the wineries!

Somewhat groggy from the previous day’s events, we drove all of maybe ¼ mile to the first winery, the Gary Farrell Winery. This winery literally is adjacent to my brother’s property, and sits high on a ridge above Westside Rd. and the Russian River. Only a few years old, Gary Farrell’s tasting room has a huge window behind the bar that overlooks the ridge. As you sip the samples that are poured for you, you are right at eye level with the hawks that are gracefully riding the thermals that flow high above the ridge. The young woman behind the tasting bar that was doing the pouring was very knowledgeable and accommodating. Once I tasted the wonderful deep red, 2003 vintage, Starr Vineyard Pinot Noir, for a mere $45.00 it was mine to keep. Our next stop was the Ferrai-Carano Vineyard several miles away on Dry Creek Rd. in Healdsburg. I had recently read a review in Wine Spectator about their 2004 Fume Blanc white wine. It scored a 91 on a 100-point scale, and was described as a white with a “lively mix of grapefruit, grass and lemon that ought to make the heat of summer a little easier to bear”. Considering the inexpensive price of $15.00 per bottle, it was a no brainer purchase for me. I highly suggest that you take the time to visit the Ferrai-Carano Vineyards, as it is probably one of the fancier, palatial wineries in Sonoma County. Amid the many statues, and fountains, and the rows of trees and vineyards, you would swear you just stepped into Tuscany in Italy. Not far from Ferrai-Carano was another much smaller, humble winery called Bella on a backroad off of Dry Creek Rd. Upon driving up their road, instead of a grandiose estate was a small barn with tasting rooms located in a cave in a nearby hillside. Bella is a small family-owned vineyard that features 85 year-old vines, and specializes in Zinfandel and Syrah red wines. The 2003 syrah that I purchased comes from a super small production of only 450 cases, so this is one wine I may hold on to for a special occasion with good friends. By this time, we were ready for lunch, and following the suggestion of our server at the Bella tasting room, we went just another half mile down the road to the Preston Vineyards. Here we brought out our lunch basket we had packed, walked into the Preston tasting room and purchased a cold, inexpensive bottle of white table wine, and sat at the outdoor picnic tables to wine and dine in the Northern California sunshine. We shared our meal with two of the resident vineyard cats, which evidently, had become quite adept at the fine art of begging. It was an absolutely perfect way to let the weariness that pervaded our bodies from racing a Half Ironman triathlon only the day before through the rolling hillside country of Sonoma County California. One final travel log note, instead of going to shop, dine and sight see in the big city of Santa Rosa that sits just a few miles to the south of Healdsburg, head for the much quieter, leisurely-paced town square in Healdsburg itself. After my friends Tracy, Bob, Carrie and Shawn took off for a couple days of sightseeing in San Francisco Bay area, and Napa Valley, I hung out for a couple more relaxing days at my brother’s Shangri li, and took in an afternoon in downtown Healdsburg. There I strolled through the small art galleries, wine shops, eccentric hobby shops, and then ate a gourmet foccacia sandwich on the outdoor patio of the Oakville Grocery. It was probably the most relaxed I have been in years, as I contemplated the everyday grind of life and work at my home back in Ohio. I suppose the best way to summarize our visit to California Wine Country to race the Vineman Half Ironman is, we lived the triathlete credo, “Life Is simple – Swim, bike, run, eat, sleep”.

If you are looking for the perfect place to stay in Sonoma County, do a Goggle search for River Myst in Healdsburg, California, to find their website or call them at 707-433-7883.