OFFICIAL S.A.G. WAGON DRIVER

Not every weekend is devoted to my beloved barbeque. As some of you may know I am a passionate cyclist. This weekend I had the opportunity to be an Official S.A.G Wagon driver for the CampoVelo Gran Fondo bicycle event. This was a three day event celebrating food, wine and bicycle riding located in the heart of Napa Valley. This is a beautiful wine growing destination that is world famous. Celebrity Chefs would be preparing food to fuel the riders of this fantastic event. The proceeds of CampoVelo would be distributed to different charities. My job would be to drive a support vehicle to help any drivers with mechanical or any other difficulties along the ride. S.A.G is the acronym for support and gear. This S.A.G. driver drove a luxurious brand spanking new SUV provided by Lexus. Come along for a bike ride with us and experience a wonderful weekend.

I drove both days with a 50 mile ride scheduled Sunday. My S.A.G partner and I would roam the coarse looking for any riders who have stopped. We were prepared to fix flat tires, give out water, snacks and even provide a ride back to the start if needed. Along this 50 mile course we had the opportunity to stop at three rest stops that provided celebrity chef made gourmet foods and refreshment to fuel the bike riders. This was one bike ride that I did not even work up a sweat.

Chris Cosentino was one of the celebrity chefs. He is one of my personal favorite cooks who specializes in chacuterie and offal preparation at his San Francisco restaurant; Cockscomb. He brought several dishes that I experienced. One was a Musette sandwich of baquete, prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes, arugula, butter, salt and pepper which was served at the first rest stop. This first rest stop was held at an olive oil producing ranch. At the end of the ride and party wild fennel pig served with salsa verde and salsa piquante was served. Chris Cosentino is a mighty fine cook who also is an avid cyclist.

We had a rest stop at Cliff Family farm of ‘Cliff Bar’ fame. What a beautiful farm on sunny hill with spectacular views of the Napa Valley. Here we experienced some freshly made Cheddar biscuits with pepper jam, sliced La Quercia, Speck, Bellweather Farms ricotta and rucolla sponsored by Chef John Mc Connel. These biscuits melted in your mouth and were very addicting. I had to be careful because I had a lot more food to experience.

The end of the ride was one big party held at the Krug winery. Music, wine, craft beer and celebrity created food was the perfect way to end the day. A huge pan of paella was to impress. Freshly made pizza out of wood fired oven was yummy. Desserts with the CampoVelo logo in the icing satisfied this sweet tooth. I saw a lot of happy and content riders today. This was an event to experience and I was proud to be a participant.