West County Regional Trail via bicycle

Image credit: Sonoma County Regional Parks

After taking several successful round-trips on bicycle between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, Jonathan and I made our first foray this week on the West County Regional Trail between Sebastopol and Forestville.

West County Regional Trail is 5.5 miles in length, according to Sonoma County Regional Parks. “The path is separated from Highway 116 and offers views of farms, pastures, and vineyards.”

We began our ride from our apartment to Santa Rosa-downtown and out the Prince Memorial Greenway, which, if we stayed on it, would become the Santa Rosa Creek Trail. But for this ride, we headed out the Joe Rodota Trail to reach downtown Sebastopol.

We had to navigate downtown Sebastopol traffic to reach the West County Regional Trail entrance. We fell in line behind a tour group of riders led by Getaway Adventures.

Once on the trail, we found it quiet and peaceful, fragrant from eucalyptus and far from traffic noises. We rode the trail until it met up with Old Gravenstein Highway; on future rides, we plan to tackle additional segments of the trail.

Commute by-bike for summer school

During the summer, I’m working for “summer school” at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa. My work-days this week each began and ended with a bicycle ride. It takes me a 15- or 20-minute ride to reach Montgomery High School from our apartment.

Pacsafe Metrosafe LS450, essential for daily commute

For my daily commute as a non-motorist, I rely on the Pacsafe Metrosafe LS450. This roomy, but not overly-large, pack is suitable to my small frame. It’ll hold my lunch, it’ll hold my reading glasses and maybe a book or two. It has water-bottle pockets on each side of the pack to hold my reusable bottle.

Once at work, if I need to travel with a laptop to another part of campus, the bag ensures that I can carry it hands-free, without risk of dropping the laptop.

For those occasions when I find myself part of a pressed-in crowd, the pack has several security features that make it resistant to theft. There’s wire mesh embedded in the fabric and wire-reinforcement in the straps. And security clips make it more difficult for a thief to un-zip the bag's pockets and reach inside.

Possibly best of all, during most occasions of use, the pack is comfortable to wear. The straps have an ergonomic cut to them, molded to the neck and shoulders. I’d have liked the bag to include a sternum strap to help with heavier loads, but for the typical load I carry during commutes, the bag lets me travel in comfort.

Fortunately, it was easy to add a removable sternum strap. I also have a reflective and waterproof backpack cover to keep pack contents dry, as well as to provide greater visibility when I wear the pack while traveling by bicycle.