CAMPOVELO

The organized bicycle ride in wine country, Campovelo asked me to drive a support vehicle again this year. I jumped at the chance to participate in this ride. My title is ‘Official S.A.G. Wagon Driver” (Support And Gear). With this fancy title comes a bright blue Campovelo 'Crew' t-shirt and the keys to a brand spankin new Subaru car. My chief duties were to patrol the bicycle route and provide support such as helping flat repair and or giving a ride to somebody who could not complete the course. I also had a doctor for a partner and navigator in my car. He really was a surgeon who would be available for any emergency gall bladder operations required during the ride. In truth my actual duties were to enjoy the beautiful scenery and sample and eat lots and lots of gourmet food prepared by celebrity chefs.

We did offer assistance several times to riders who experienced flat tires. That was actually kind of fun because we wanted to believe we had earned the food extravaganza to come. Our first rest stop was held at an olive oil ranch. Celebrity food Chef Chris Cosentino offered prosciutto sandwiches which were very decadent with prosciutto, tomato jam, and local ricotta cheese. We also needed to stay hydrated by cold brewed coffee, water; sports drinks, soda and I actually witnessed several bikers drinking a beer. Of course at the end of the ride plenty of adult beverages were waiting for the riders.

We circled the beautiful Lake Berryessa on this bike route. We then drove through the Napa wine region. All this wonderful scenery whetted my appetite for our final destination of the Krug winery. This was the starting and ending point of the ride. The riders were greeted by a festively decorated lawn area beside the winery. This is where the food extravaganza came to fruition . Plenty of wine and local micro-beers were available for the tired but happy cyclists. This S.A.G driver went straight to the wood fired oven to sample pizza. My next stop was Chris Cosentino’s roasted and fried pig station. Chris is known for his nose to tail meat preparation.

What a wonderful day. Beautiful weather, scenery and gourmet food is combination that cannot be beat. Being a S.A.G driver really works up the appetite in my mind. We did provide a service that was important. I did joke about my doctor being a surgeon but he also has plenty of experience with emergency trauma medicine. This ride had everything covered.  I was glad to participate and look forward to next year.