Distance: 67 miles out and back
Elevation gain: 5690 ft
(A Best of the Best ride)
(Note: Some of the recent forest fires hit this area hard. Damage to this actual route varies from non-existent to infrequent devastation. I didn’t find the pleasure of the ride significantly reduced. JR)
This is an out and back from a spot in the middle of a country road to the tiny town/store of Platina (pluh TIE nuh). So why is it called the Igo-Ono Ride? Because it goes through the tiny town of Ono, and the tiny town of Igo is one mile off the route, and it’s just tons of fun to say “Igo-Ono.” “Halfway down Gas Point Road to Platina” just doesn’t have that ring.
This is a perfect ride, with non-stop pleasant climbing and descending, grand vistas, next to no traffic, a classic country grocery store, several photogenic barns, and not one unrewarding mile. It lacks that big Selling Point—no redwoods, no waterfalls, no world-class descents—but the road contour is charming enough to earn Best of the Best status.
The road is unchanging wide two-lane without shoulder, but since there is almost no traffic (5 cars in 32 miles on my last outing) you have the road to yourself. The pavement is mostly good, with some poor miles, but nothing bad enough to interfere with your riding pleasure. There are no unending climbs or anything steeper than c. 7%, but there isn’t a flat mile, so the overall effort is substantial—note the elevation total above (5690 ft), which isn’t backbreaking but isn’t insignificant either..
The landscape is grassy rolling hills sprinkled with oaks and horse farms—nothing world-changing but very pretty in its way, especially if you can avoid summer when the grass is brown. My last outing was in February 2025, when a warm winter had the grasses lush and green and a recent cold precipitation had the hillsides covered in a light layer of snow—beautiful.
There is no water resupply on this route other than the Platina Store, and my sources say the Platina Store is now permanently closed, in which case you’ll be riding 67miles without resupply. On a hot day you might consider carrying a third water bottle and dropping one on the ride out.
Don’t try this ride on a summer day unless you start around 6 am. The Redding area regularly sees 100+ degrees in the summer, and this ride is largely without shade.
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