Sip and Cycle

Looking to minimize your carbon footprint in wine country? How about foregoing the car in favor of your bike! Sipping and cycling in wine country is more than wishful thinking. Choices abound in the Pacific Northwest to ride alongside lush vineyards and sample amazing wines. What better way to work off some calories while taking in some much needed refreshment in the form of reds and whites. It’s the ol’ input and output equation—by the end of the day you break even calorie-wise but gain immeasurably in life’s pleasures.

A great regional resource for planning your bike tours is found at Bicycle Paper.com. Here “everything biking” abounds with respect to news and event information including a number of rides that take you through the heart of wine country. If you’re looking for an experienced touring company that provides fully supported bike touring (i.e., from boxed lunches to overnight accommodations) check out Bicycle Adventures

Oregon offers a plethora of bike trails via undulating back roads surrounded by well mannered rows of grapes. In the mid-Willamette Valley of Oregon, Tom Huggins, founder and general manager of Eola Hills winery, is also an avid cyclist. Every Sunday morning in August, a large group of cyclists gathers at Eola Hills Wine Cellars in Rickreall for a 45 or 52-mile group ride led by Tom Huggins and other guides. It’s a superb way to explore the back roads of the Eola Hills and make pit stops at seven wineries, plus a salmon barbecue and wine tasting at the end. Although the magnificent scenery is free, there’s a nominal fee to pay for the cost of the support vehicle, lunch, and a post-ride barbeque. For details, call Eola Hills at 800-291-6730 or visit their website.

For cycling enthusiasts, there’s the annual Vine Ride in August that features wine country tours of 35, 50, 65, and 100 mile routes. This is a fully supported bicycle event with plenty of food, helpful volunteers, and music to boot. The ride begins at George Fox University in Newberg. Routes include charming villages, century-old farms, berry groves and vineyards with proceeds from the event going toward Children’s Cancer Association. For more information including itinerary, registration, and maps, see VineRide or call 866-262-8339.

Beyond the Willamette Valley, Oregon offers a variety of other great places to bring along your bike and experience the charm of wine country. Whether you travel to the Oregon Coast, the Rogue River Valley, or the Columbia Gorge you have the opportunity to swirl, sip and spin through miles of vineyards. To plan such an adventure, there are a number of resources you can tap into. For starters, check out:

• Oregon’s Park and Recreation website for maps and touring information.

• The Bicycle Transportation Alliance for tips and links to statewide bicycle clubs

• ORbike for event information registration and member advice

Washington is also a bicycler’s paradise for weekend getaway wine touring. Think Walla Walla, Yakima Valley, San Juan Island and Columbia Gorge and pairing biking with wine touring gets the heart pumping. Throughout the year, you can find bicycling events to combine sipping and cycling. For example, Skagit Valley’s Tulip Pedal in April takes you through miles of tulips and nearby wineries; the Walla Walla Wine Tour in June combines rolling hills and vineyards; and Yakima Valley’s Wine Country Trek in September are great opportunities to pair pedaling with amazing wines.

David Lowe, owner and winemaker of Wineglass Cellars in Zillah, is an avid cyclist when he’s not making great wine. Lowe has developed a 60-miler for WineTrail biking enthusiasts. Combining rolling hills and the Valley’s beauty, this tour immerses you in America’s heartland. At the end of the day, your legs will know you’ve travelled far and that lamb shank will be a perfect accompaniment to a bottle of Wineglass Cellars’ red blend Capizimo at a nearby restaurant. Learn more about Lowe’s 60-miler .

If you are planning a Washington state bike tour combined with swirling and sipping, here are some online resources:

• Go to the State’s Department of Transportation’s website for tour and map information.

• The Bicycle Alliance of Washington’s site at bicyclealliance.org for events, clubs, and resources

Idaho offers many a bike touring treasures including the Snake River Valley viticultural area. For additional information, check out the state’s transportation website.

A word of caution is in order here. Riding a bicycle is potentially dangerous. It’s often not the cyclist’s riding behavior but the car driver’s inability to either see or exercise caution while negotiating around cyclists. Adding alcohol only compounds the danger. Riders need to have a tasting strategy – either sip and spit with great frequency or sample one or two wines at each wineries and limit the number of tasting rooms you visit. Alternatively, plan your biking for the morning and leave the wine tasting for the afternoon. Drink responsibly; ride responsibly.