CALISTOGA, Calif. — Fitness is a fine goal when you’re on vacation but not always easy to talk yourself into because, well, you’re on vacation.
So it behooves you to find a way to trick yourself into burning a few hundred calories. For this, bicycles have lots to recommend them: A well-chosen ride lets you experience your destination from a great vantage point and at a pace that suits you.
A DIY ride through Calistoga in Napa Valley was our third wine-country rendezvous with bikes, and it was our best. Much credit goes to Calistoga Bikeshop (calistogabikeshop.net), not least for the sensational Jamis hybrid bikes they rent. Retailing around $700 each, the bikes provided a comfortable and streamlined ride, great handling, ergonomic handgrips and — key for the skittish — very efficient brakes. (For more elite cyclists, higher-end Cervelos are available, but you’ll pay extra for the privilege of renting a $3,000 bike — $85 a day.)
But it was more than the equipment. The service is low-key and never preachy, and the route the shop mapped out was perfect. There are several variations; we settled on a 21/2-hour trip that was distinguished by wine country’s iconic vistas in the peak harvest month of September, and a minimum of hills (keyword: vacation). Only occasionally were we on busy highways. Our two-hour route also took us through charming neighborhoods and, more to the point, past several tasting rooms, had we been inclined to stop and sip, as well as great spots for a picnic. There also were very few steep inclines.
The bike trip set us back about $25 apiece — a bargain we took to heart, in more ways than one.
