hOPERATION GRAPE ESCAPE

2025_6/21-6/28

hOPERATION GRAPE ESCAPE

This year's #specialhoperation will be a Summer Break bikecation in California's most celebrated Wine Country region, where we will pedal and camp our way up the Napa Valley for a week of bicycle brew-hopping and slow-racing between wine tastings. Total riding distance will be about 170 miles between 1 hotel, 3 campgrounds, 10 breweries, 6 wineries, 16 dining destinations, and a casino.

We'll be cutting costs on accommodations by staying in yurts, campsites, and glampsites so we can afford to treat ourselves to primo vino and world class sustenance.

You will not have to load your bike down with enough gear to survive in the wild because a support vehicle will transport cargo to the campgrounds. Just pack a bag with your wardrobe changes to hand over with your sleeping bag a week before the trip and it will be waiting when you arrive at the first campground. Just repack it and hand it over before leaving for the next campground. During rides all you need is your usual repair kit, extra layer(s), and lights. A packable backpack or expandable fanny pack might come in handy for grabbing snacks and such.

There is a lot less stress involved in boarding a train than an airplane not to mention the convenience of handing your bike directly from the platform up to a cargo car attendant compared to packing it, checking it, retrieving it, and unpacking it for a flight. With that said; commercial flights are an option for this trip since the routes start/end in very close proximity to either OAK or SFO. Both airports also have long-term parking so it would abe feasible to drive up and leave a car there until we return at the end of the week.

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Group Buys

Transportation

$150 Round-Trip

This trip is planned to be an entirely car-free affair, relying exclusively on rail and ferry transportation for you and your bike starting from and returning to LA Union Station.

You *can* purchase your own tickets for the Amtrak, BART, Ferry, and SMART trains, but you can save a little money and have less to fuss with along the way if you let us do it for you ahead of time in a group block.

If you plan to drive up, you can leave your car in long-term parking at OAK but be advised that the fee will add up to over $100 by the time we get back there.

If you wish to make your own travel arrangements, please notify us if/when paying for Lodging and/or wine tastings. If you want to tag along without making any of those arrangements just be prepared to improvise (a lot).

Lodging

$250 All-Inclusive

Since the Amtrak will arrive in Oakland late and departs early we will be staying near the station on 4/12 and 4/18 at Jack London Inn, each with our own bed, 2 per room.

On the 13th we will stay at Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa. This will be tent camping but don't worry if you don't have a tent because we have at least one 5-person tent to spare. These sites charge by the tent so it's best to at least double-up. Campfire rings and restrooms are on-site.

On the 14th-16th we will be staying in Yurts at Bothe State Park in Calistoga. There will be cots to sleep on with campfire rings and bathrooms nearby.

On the 17th we will spend the night at the Wildhaven Glampsites in Healdsburg. Fancy tents with actual beds, electricity, heating, and nearby bathrooms.

You are welcome to make your own lodging arrangements but expect to encounter additional costs.

Wine Tastings

$300 for all 6

Over the course of the week's riding, we will visit and experience different types of formal tastings at 6 Napa Valley wineries. Tastings will involve a gondola ride above the valley, a cave tour, a giant castle, a cookie pairing, and a variety of different views to take in along with a diverse array of flavors.

We've curated the destinations and booked the tasting appointments in advance to keep the price low and still enjoy a broad variety of experiences. It's worth noting that a single tasting in this region can easily cost upwards of $200 per person.

You *can* opt out of the wine tastings if you don't like wine or would rather save your budget for meals and brews at the 10 breweries that we will also be stopping at throughout the trip. Just be prepared to kill some time while the rest of the gang is sipping grape juice.

Due to some of the wineries' group size limitations, we can only book this for up to 6 people so if you don't get in on this option in time you will have to inquire about making additional reservations or hope to work it out when we get there.

Food, Souvenirs, and Incidental Costs

We won't be monitoring what you eat at each dining destination, what kind of snacks you grab for the road, or how many bottles of wine you have shipped out of state to your aunt so we recommend you prepare your own spending budget. Dining destinations on the itinerary are high quality without being extravagant and we've timed our arrival to coincide with happy hour menu prices whenever possible. Go ahead and check out the menus at each of the restaurants linked in the itinerary to get a sense for what you might want to order and how much it will end up costing. If you have the energy and the wherewithal to source your own ingredients in order to prepare your own meals at the campgrounds instead of eating out, that's great, but we're only formally scheduled to do that for one dinner in particular so outside of that you will have to figure out how to make the timing work.

There *will* be a unique keepsake for participants in this trip regardless of joining any group buys.

How to Prepare

Pack light for this trip, especially if you are traveling by rail. If you would like to have any kind of supplies cached at the campground ahead of your arrival, just reach out and coordinate with us because an organizer will be driving a load up from LA about a week before the trip (we can also transport anything you’d like back to LA afterward) If we exceed the number of bike parking spaces on the Amtrak, this car can also take your bike up and back.

Luggage

Attire

In our experience, lycra isn’t the most versatile travel attire so we recommend lightweight clothing that could (in a pinch) be hand-washed and hung to dry between uses. For this trip we recommend sending a bag of wardrobe changes ahead to be transported by the support vehicle and carrying a couple packable layers with you on your bike.

Kitchen

We only plan to cook dinner at a campground which offers gas grills and burners on one particular night and outside of that we intend to eat out at destinations along the daily routes. We will provide wood to burn in the firepits so you can use it to whip up a snack if you get up early or feel peckish in the evening but don’t expect to have access to a stove or oven.

Bedding

You will have to provide your own sleeping bag and pillow. We can transport it for you ahead of time so you don't have to worry about carrying it on your bike. We will only be in traditional tents on the first night of camping so you may not need to bring a sleeping bag since we will have cots or beds at the other campgrounds.

Power

Backup batteries for your mobile devices and/or bike lights are strongly encouraged and we will do our best to keep apprised of available charging opportunities. We don’t want you running out of juice and unable to reach us (or snap that perfect selfie). We will bring several fully charged back-up battery chargers to the campground just in case.

Itinerary and Routes

Day 1
All Aboard

Note: The time will fly if you're having fun so sit together, play a card game, and prevent getting hangry by bringing your own snacks or planning to get some provisions from the cafe car which stocks reasonably priced beer and wine.

8:30a Meet in the lobby at LA Union Station

9a-9p Amtrak Coast Starlight

9:15p Meet at Jack London Square Station

Ride <1mi

9:30p Late Dinner at Nation's Giant Hamburgers

Ride <5mi

11p Check in at Jack London Inn