Napa County residents and media outlets have speculated for days about what brought President Bush to Napa Valley, and the Meadowood resort in particular.

A fundraiser? A bike ride? Time with John and Beclee Wilson, St. Helenans who hosted Vice President Dick Cheney last year?

Even as the president breakfasts on bran flakes, muffins and fresh fruit -- according to one Meadowood staffer -- the smoke has not yet cleared on what, exactly, brought the president here.

The Wilsons had personal ties to the Cheneys -- not the Bushes. And prominent Republican donors from Redwood Road to Rutherford and beyond denied to Register reporters knowing anything about the president's plans.

Then there's Ed West, an officer in the Napa County Department of Corrections and a candidate for American Canyon City Council.

West, whose 19-year-old son, Lance Cpl. Phillip West, was killed in combat in Iraq in November 2004, said he was in contact with the White House about a possible chat with the president. But White House officials told him the schedule was tight this trip.

"We have been in touch with the White House but there is no time in the (president's) schedule for it and they are going to arrange it in the future," said West.

Also in the near-miss file is Peter Mott, a city of Napa planning commissioner and owner of Sunmaster. Mott got a call asking him to outfit the president's room at Meadowood Napa Valley with window coatings that would make it impossible for those outside to see inside.

But Mott said he was called off the job. He said he didn't inquire as to why his services were not required.

A-biking he will go

The president told a San Jose crowd that he plans to take a Saturday bike ride in the Napa Valley before he leaves for West Sacramento.

St. Helena Cyclery recommends on its Web site a few mountain biking routes from St. Helena: A south loop taking Dry Creek and Mount Veeder roads to the Oakville grade and back; A 40-mile east loop goes from Howell Mountain Road to Deer Park, White Cottage, Chiles and Pope Valley roads, Highway 128 and Silverado Trail; A north bike ride via 128 from Calistoga to Healdsburg and back is about 50 miles long.

Where's George?

Quasi-official information about President Bush's travel plans flowed steadily into the Register newsroom all day Friday. That would be terrific, except the information often was conflicting.

Dinner at Stanford, or dinner at Meadowood? Driving from Travis Air Force Base, or choppering to an undisclosed location?

A firefighter mentioned an old air strip in Pope Valley as a likely landing spot. Another caller said Marine One would arrive on the athletic field at Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School in St. Helena, just minutes away from Meadowood (and even closer to the home of Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena). Why not land at Meadowood itself?

Ultimately, the president landed at Angwin Airport -- the spot Pacific Union College officials said Wednesday was off the president's radar.

Now that he's at Meadowood, he's not alone. A Meadowood staffer said about a dozen other sets of guests, who had made their arrangements to stay at Meadowood before the president's plans were revealed, spent Friday night at the resort.

Remember to check napavalleyregister.com/gallery for a series of Register staff photos of President Bush's visit to the Napa Valley.