ON THE ROAD WITH DAN - COLEMAN ROAD LOOP

We start at Dutton Ranch, then head west on Graton Road, passing Rued Vineyard on the right. We start climbing for a few miles before going over the ridge and turning left on Bohemian Highway to the scenic little town of Occidental—highlight: West Pole Cafe, owned by the mythic Tom "Snappy" Gonnella. The cafe is the reincarnation of Gianni Bike Shop, which Tom tore down to build a restaurant because the bike shop didn't lose enough money— next thing you know he'll be building a winery!

Make the right up Coleman Valley Road and immediately start climbing (hill #2 of 6) out of town to great views to the north and east of all of western Sonoma County, Mt. St. Helena and the Santa Rosa Plain. We head into the redwoods and get a sinuous downhill before we start the next steep ascent of the coastal ridge. This is a good place to have a friend next to you to take your mind off the climb, or to have a good version of Terrapin Station playing on the MP3. 
We crest out at about 1,100 ft., the ocean spread out before you, the mouth of the Russian River to the north, and Bodega Head to the south. After paralleling the coastline, often with wicked winds blowing from the west, we hit the edge of the ridge and drop like a rock to the coast; steep descent, sharp curves, and awesome scenery, but you better keep your eyes on the road so you don’t launch into the ocean.

At the Coast Highway we hang a left and spend just a few miles along the water, then head back into the hills on Bay Hill Road, another steep but not too long climb, Bodega Bay directly behind you, pasture ahead, and huge Eucalyptus lining the road. We crest over the top of Bay Hill to another killer descent back down to Rt. 1—awesome downhill, but too many potholes to really let loose. Left onto 1, then another left back inland on Bodega Highway in just a mile or so. 

We now roll through the picturesque town of Bodega and the open coastal hills in the Petaluma Wind Gap. If we went straight it would be a fairly flat ride all the way back to Sebastopol—Freestone Hill Vineyard is just about 2 miles up—but we don't want that, so just past Bodega we hang a left on the lightly traveled Joy Road (whoever named it Joy was going the other way) and start climbing again. 
This is the climb that hurts—not because it's so mean (ok, maybe it is), but because you've already done 4 good ones before it. After a few nasty but beautiful redwood-studded miles, we roll over Taylor Ridge and make a right on Bittner Road for a rolling, shaded downhill back into Occidental, climbing back up Occidental Road, over Stoetz Ridge and return to the Green Valley side of the hill.

Now we get back into vineyard land, and views to the east. We crest Occidental Road, descend a bit, peel off on Cherry Ridge Road, and do a beautiful big ring climb up to Grand View Road (on the corner is the new Dutton-Goldfield Syrah vineyard), descend down past Galante Vineyard on the left, then dead end at Mill Station Road. Make a left, cross Occidental again, and continue up to Graton Road. A left will bring us back to Dutton Ranch in under a mile, beat and ready for a few beers.