With ribbons of concrete tracing rolling hills and meandering valleys and weaving along the breathtaking coast, Sonoma County is a diverse playground for bicycle enthusiasts. For former professional cyclist Ted King, it’s the best of the best — his favorite place in the country to ride.
King certainly would know about where to ride. Over the course of his 10-year career as a professional cyclist, he was considered one of the greats. He competed in dozens of races each year, participated in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France two times each, and finished eighth or better in 11 different races overall. He last rode for UCI ProTeam Cannondale-Garmin. He’s also an ambassador for World Bicycle Relief, a nonprofit that gives away bikes to fight poverty in developing nations.
Though the New Hampshire native now lives in Vermont, he has spent considerable time in Sonoma County and considers the Healdsburg area his home away from home. His first-ever training camp in 2006 was in Santa Rosa. Later, the region was the backdrop for some of King’s most memorable rides. It’s where he met his wife (on a ride, of course). And since he retired in 2015, it’s where the two of them now come when they have time to get away.
“What I love about Sonoma (County) is that it’s a nonstop change of scenery and difficulty — everything that’s fun about getting up on two wheels,” says King, 37. “On any given ride, you might push past old-growth redwoods, mountains, vineyards, coast and back again. There’s something really special about how quickly it all changes and plays out before you.”
King’s wife, Laura, recently started calling Wine County “Ride Country,” and King uses the nickname now, too. They’ve spent more time than usual in Ride Country recently, leading rides for Mill District, a mixed-use development project in Healdsburg that is putting together a velo club. After one of these rides, we caught up with King to get the scoop on his favorite spots in and around the area.
A momentous ride
King Ridge Road isn’t named after King himself. But it might as well be, as it’s one of his favorite rides.
The sparsely trafficked road snakes over and around mountains north and west of a tiny town named Cazadero. From Santa Rosa, most cyclists do a loop that takes them through Occidental, up over King Ridge to the coast, and then back. Total mileage is about 60, depending on where you start; total elevation gain frequently exceeds 5,000 feet. It’s not a ride for beginners.
King likes this ride because of the challenges it presents — nonstop undulation, steep climbs, less-than-optimal road quality that keeps riders on their toes. He says he also appreciates the breathtaking views and the uninterrupted isolation.
“Five miles into this ride, it’s just trees and farmland; there’s nobody around,” he says. “To be totally honest, it’s really kind of nice.”
The ride also holds special significance to King: It’s where he met Laura, back in January 2016.
“We went to a mutual friend’s birthday party and, like those of us in the cycling community often do, we all went out for a ride,” King remembers. “At the end of the ride, most of the guys decided they were done, but Laura and a friend of hers wanted to keep going and they started going up King Ridge. I followed them. I’ve been riding with Laura ever since.”
Recovery drink
King jokes that the best part of retirement is that his default post-ride recovery drink is now beer. When he’s in the Healdsburg area, that means he hits up two breweries in particular: Russian River Brewing Co. and Bear Republic.
For years, King has frequented the Russian River taproom on Fourth Street in downtown Santa Rosa for pints of Pliny the Elder (or if he happens to be visiting in early February, Pliny the Younger). When the brewery opened a new production facility and brewpub in Windsor, King started going there, too. Bear Republic’s taproom in downtown Healdsburg closed in November, but the brewing company still operates one in Rohnert Park, and King makes special trips for the hoppy cult-favorite Racer 5 IPA.
“Those breweries make some pretty tasty beverages,” he says. “I could drink that beer every day.”
Another beverage King loves: espresso. Like most cyclists, on any given day he’ll throw back two or three shots; on ride days, he’ll toss back that many just while he’s on his bike. His caffeine dealer when he’s in town? Either the Flying Goat or Plank, both in Healdsburg.
“Both shops have great coffee, but I have to admit — they have better baked-good choices at Plank,” says King. “The chocolate cake in particular is really good. I gravitate more toward chocolate items than anything else. Except for pumpkin bread around Halloween, I’ll always go with a chocolate chip muffin over a blueberry one.”
Favorite fuel
Fueling up for a long ride is a science, and King’s favorite spots in Healdsburg couldn’t be more different.
On one hand, he loves Chalkboard, a high-end restaurant on the ground floor of Hotel Les Mars, a Relais & Chateaux property one block north of the plaza. At this lively eatery, Chef Shane McAnelly cranks out small plates with a Mediterranean flair. One of King’s go-to dishes: biscuit sliders, which come with big hunks of pork belly.
On the other hand, King’s top local choice for Mexican food is El Taco Grande, a tiny, family-owned restaurant in the same shopping center as the Raven movie theater. The restaurant offers pozole, or hominy stew, on weekends. King raves about the place’s tortilla chips, calling them the best in California.
“If you want to talk about cool contrasts, you have to love this place,” King says of the Mexican joint. “It’s one block away from Single Thread, Sonoma County’s only restaurant to receive three Michelin stars. That place costs about $300 per person per meal. You can get an incredible lunch or dinner at (El) Taco Grande for $10 or $12. The fact that both restaurants can be on the same block is exactly why Healdsburg is so great.”