Very Velo Vendors

Sunday I saw a long time wish come true when I finally got to hit the road with some of my favorite fellow wedding folks. Human nature so often surfaces when you toss out the invitations. Everybody says let's get together and ride but when reality sets in family/events/clients and other distractions take hold the rides seldom come to fruition.

However, this time I had a winner route map and a very cooperating Mother Nature so rounding up the cast of characters was a snap.

This first picture was my team. On the far left is the Rev. Ed Holt. In the middle position is Ron Grandia and batting cleanup on the right is David Ethridge.

Rev. Ed Holt and I have been getting in lots of rides both near his hometown of San Carlos and in Santa Cruz as well. For those of you who have not had the pleasure to work with Ed he is the greatest wedding officiant going. His passion for delivering personalized ceremonies just shines through.

Dave Ethridge and I go way back to his humble beginnings of wedding videography. He is truly one of the originals and just celebrated his first year of full-time wedding videography. Just check out his beautiful website at www.avideoreflection.net

Ron Grandia is a fellow DJ and one who really gets it. Ron calls himself "a different kind of DJ" and it doesn't take too close of a look for one to realize that title is well deserved.

This shot of Ron & Dave is a bit of a self-portrait with my camera. The silliness here is a combination of fatigue and endorphin rush. However, neither of these gentlemen are known for being particularly shy nor reserved.

Our ride began right on the beach at Highway 1 near Pescadero Road. We road into the beautiful hills overlooking the ocean and down to San Gregorio. Our first stop was at the famous San Gregorio Store. This place is an exercise in eclectic. The one building houses the post office, only store and a rest stop for hundreds of cyclist, bikers and anyone else enjoying these back roads. On the weekends the store also boasts live bluegrass bands. What's not to love about San Gregorio.

We concluded our ride with an amazing meal at the legendary Duarte's Tavern in Pescadero. They were kind enough to let us stow our bikes in their huge pantry for safe keeping while we dined. I had recently seen Duarte's featured on The Food Network so I was eager to taste its local color. I was a bit surprised not to see a framed photo on the wall of Guy Fieri who hosts The Food Network segment but I guess the Duarte's folks just remain unaffected by the national attention. You must go there and try their famous artichoke soup. The food is every thing they rave about and more but served where unpretentious is the word. About the only thing that stood out in this place was the four hungry cats in their wild cycling outfits.

We hope that our little trek through the hills above Highway 1 is just a precursor to many more rides with wedding folks. If you share our passion for riding, please let me know and we'll include you in our next outing. Ron says "cycling is the new business golf." Although no million dollar deals were struck we had an amazing day of comradery and a great workout too with about 45 miles under our belts.