Bits and pieces

A few quick items:

• City Editor Andrew Adams has departed for a job in the wine industry. Andrew has roots in the Napa-Sonoma region and a background in winemaking, so this sounds like a great opportunity. He was a stalwart here, first as city hall reporter, and then as city editor. All of us in the newsroom wish him the very best of luck.

• The arm I busted falling off my bike two months ago is healing nicely, so it is back on the bike and pedaling around Lodi and environs again with Judy.

Cycling through Sunwest recently, we saw a banner I liked:

“Wine a little. You’ll feel better.”

Also, took the advice of a biking buddy and headed out to Thornton last weekend. Serene vineyards, a great mixture of new, big houses, old barns and vintage farm cottages.

Thornton has always struck me as a place apart. It’s pretty. Lush and damp and with the Moke running through it. We had a gulp and a snack and headed back.

Round trip was about two hours and we covered roughly 26 miles.

If you are novice cyclists like us exploring the area, you might like this ride. Here is the route:

Woodbridge Road west to Ray Road.

North on Ray Road to Kile Road.

Kile Road west into Thornton.

And back again.

Hope you enjoy the trip as much as we did.

• Is the Starbucks parking lot in front of Safeway the busiest, bumper-bendiest place in Lodi? Having a cup with a friend, we noticed a couple of pedestrians dodge trucks and cars, several near-misses between vehicles, and one hit, though minor. Maybe it is the caffeine.