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Yosemite Valley by transit & bike

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 02:30:27 +0000

For many years I’ve been curious to try the transit (train and bus) method of getting to Yosemite Valley, and potentially bring my bike along… and I finally did it:

Read on for some logistics notes, though exact train and bus timetables and web links change year to year and season to season, so you’ll want to look up schedules yourself…

San Jose to Santa Cruz on quiet back roads

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 23:36:53 +0000

I’ve biked to the Santa Cruz / Capitola / Watsonville coast a handful of times, but this is my new favorite route from San Jose (BART or Caltrain), using the one-lane, often-empty Mountain Charlie Road:

Most routes I’ve seen start the same:

Take the Los Gatos Creek Trail from San Jose to Los Gatos (mostly paved, with some mild gravel bits and one very short but steep bit of gravel as you approach Lexington Reservoir)

Biking the Crosstown Trail, San Francisco

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 06:00:07 +0000

I highly recommend the Crosstown Trail, a grassroots-developed 17-mile hiking route across San Francisco that strings together existing paths through parks, urban greenways, stairs, and the bits of road needed to connect them.

There’s an associated bike route that combines parts of that trail with parallel road routes where it would be impractical to ride (though even this route also includes some carry-your-bike staircases and narrow dirt paths). Just imagine, you can experience all of this within the city limits:

Wildcat Creek Trail Gravel

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 23:55:37 +0000

I enjoy mixing some gravel and dirt into my road rides, though I don’t have a specific “mountain” or “gravel” bike– just my all-around bike with 38mm tires.

A local example I’ve enjoyed several times in the past few years is Wildcat Creek Trail, which takes you from Wildcat Canyon Park in Richmond up to Tilden Park in the Berkeley hills. It’s a good local introduction to gravel roads (and nice and wide compared to a typical multi-use trail, avoiding conflict with walkers and dogs), and I’ve brought along friends on road bikes and they’ve been able to handle it:

Cycling Eastern Slovenia & Croatia, 2024

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 03:25:00 +0000

A few years back I met a friend who lives in Berlin and we spent a week biking to Copenhagen. It turns out we had compatible cycle touring styles, and said “let’s do this again some time… especially if I’m ever somewhere in Europe within a reasonable take-your-bike-on-the-train distance from Germany". Other vacation plans brought me to Slovenia, so we schemed up a week of self-supported cycling in Slovenia and a bit of Croatia, on a mix of paved and gravel roads.

Riding the length of Japan, 2023 (teaser)

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 17:25:00 +0000

(this is a short recap post with some photos, perhaps some day I’ll come back and write more when I have the space to fully wrap my head around what just happened)

Ever since I first visited Japan, one of my dreams has been to do a long-distance bicycle tour there, with a focus on rural areas (as well as the food, history, craftsmanship, and culture). “Some day, life’s too busy… maybe when I’m 65…”– but after a career change, I made it happen this year. It was one of the most memorable trips of my life.

Cycling South Korea, 2023

Wed, 17 May 2023 01:50:00 +0000

(This is a placeholder writeup with a few photos, perhaps I’ll come back some day and flesh it out…)

I spent a week cycling the length of Korea (~400 miles from Seoul to Busan), as a fully supported** ride with an organized tour group and about 20 strangers (though a few I’d met on a bike tour in Vietnam the previous year). By the end I felt exhilarated, challenged, stimulated, and full of great food.

Self-Supported Berlin -> Copenhagen

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 22:58:29 +0000

Last summer (2022) I biked from ~Berlin to Copenhagen with a friend. A week of gorgeous riding on pavement and some dirt, carrying all our gear but staying in hotels to avoid the need for camping equipment, through a mix of rural landscapes, quaint towns, and cities.

It started with flying into Berlin, checking my boxed bike and a lightweight duffel bag that just held two panniers of gear. I reassembled the bike in a train station in the city, hooked my panniers onto it, wadded up the duffel bag in the bottom of one of the panniers, and rode away…

Bornholm: Island Life + Cycling

Sat, 25 Jun 2022 00:49:00 +0000

Bornholm: a large Danish island in the middle of the Black Sea, reached by ferry from Sweden, Germany, or Poland. It’s relaxing, lush, pastoral… and some might even say a little boring.

I love it– there are smokehouse for fish (optionally served with an egg yolks), a few cute towns, breweries, ice cream, beaches and forests… and most notably for this blog: ~230km of interconnected cycle trails around and through the island.

Morgan Territory, take 2

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 15:00:18 +0000

Morgan Territory Road was one of my favorite Bay Area roads four years ago (see that post for more details), and a few weeks ago a group of us finally made it back.

The ascent and descent on windy one-lane roads with minimal traffic were even better than I remembered (riding on a cool day helped):

This time, for variety, I charted a new route (44mi, 2800’ climbing) with a more roundabout intro/outro, picking up a range of paved and gravel trails through various parks, to take us off the busy + boring suburban roads. This probably added at least an extra hour (partly due to riding slow on multi-use trails with more pedestrians and dogs) but I felt they were a great addition. A few examples:

SMART-assisted Sonoma trails-tacos-beer ride

Fri, 16 Jul 2021 04:38:00 +0000

Ten years ago I’d go on a 70 or 80 mile ride to Santa Rosa for a beer at Russian River Brewing… but I’m not feeling anywhere near that strong these days.

But I’d been musing for a while about some sort of Russian River area ride on some bike paths I’d wanted to scope out, assisted by the newer Marin/Sonoma SMART train.

One transit-heavy way to do this could be to take BART to El Cerrito del Norte, change to Golden Gate Transit bus #40 from that station to the San Rafael Transit Center, and hop on the SMART train there… but there are some timing logistics to make work:

3-day Bike Camping, Guerneville -> SF

Thu, 20 May 2021 06:01:00 +0000

A few friends had been interested in doing a multi-night bike camping trip in the Bay Area before one of them moved out of town. I happened to be up in Guerneville for a few days, so we schemed to meet up there with camping gear and ride back to SF (a friend with a van who was heading up North for the weekend dropped them off in Guerneville to meet me).

Old Cazadero local loop

Mon, 03 May 2021 05:19:00 +0000

I think I first heard about ‘Old Caz’ (Old Cazadero Road) when reading a recap of someone’s 300km (yes, 180 mile) randonneur ride that included it. That’s… ambitious.

I haven’t been biking much due to pandemic sluggishness and malaise, but I was going up to Guerneville for the weekend with friends, so I brought my bike and set out to do a much smaller loop that included the mythical Old Caz. I’ve been gradually biking on more gravel and forest roads (just with my normal bike) and enjoying it…

Finally posting some photos from BikeMaine, September 2017. Smooth pavement, early-morning mist, just enough hills and distance...

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 17:28:50 +0000

In September I biked about 400 miles in Downeast Maine (the “Bold Coast”) as part of the organized Bikemaine tour-- here are a...

Sat, 05 Nov 2016 15:07:25 +0000

Bicycle Dumpling Tour (4th Annual)

Sat, 14 Nov 2015 06:31:58 +0000

Three times makes a tradition– after last year, I had to do it again– organize a bicycle tour of my favorite dumpling shops for friends and strangers through the SF Bike Coalition (picking up hundreds of dumplings as takeout to eat in a nearby park).

I spent the previous weekend scouting, test-riding, and test-eating, and put together a route combining low-key roads, paved off-road paths through Golden Gate Park, and riding along the ocean… with stops for last year’s group favorite (pan fried pork buns and ‘soup dumplings’ from Dumpling Kitchen, eaten in a small park nestled above Stern Grove), the chicken and Chinese spinach dumplings from Kingdom of Dumpling (most notable for the intensely pleasurable fiery orange chili sauce) ferried all the way to a strip of trees and benches at Judah and Great Highway, and new-to-the-ride Shanghai Dumpling King for the eponymous dumplings and ‘dessert’ in the form of sweet BBQ pork buns plus a few other sweet dumplings from across the street, eaten in a nearby playground.

Bike touring Iowa + Wisconsin

Mon, 04 Aug 2014 06:30:00 +0000

I’m back from a euphoria-inducing 8-day, 600-mile bike camping tour across Iowa and Wisconsin.

The ride combined RAGBRAI (a 15,000-person group ride across Iowa with pork chops, pie, live music, and beer in tiny towns along the way) and a solo ride across beautiful, rural Southwest Wisconsin.

The mix of mostly good weather, wildlife (fireflies, startled rabbits, and red-winged blackbirds), friendly strangers, no email, the ability to improvise and change plans on the spot (the flexibility of carrying a tent…), and plenty of time to ride alone and drift between states of present observation and introspection are why I always come back to bike touring…

Third Annual SF Bike Dumpling Tour: recap

Sun, 11 May 2014 21:31:00 +0000

Saturday I organized a third “SF Bicycle Dumpling Tour“ (year 1: friends, year 2: public) for about 50 people. Good food, weather, and a casual 15-mile bike ride around the city, with a few hills….

A few photos I took or people on the ride sent me:

Pork and chive dumplings arriving in the park by bike:

For the $10 registration fee (definitely a zero-profit endeavor) you got all the dumplings you could eat, a low-tech copy-and-paste ride booklet (map, directions, trivia, and a dumpling recipe), and some useful tools…

Sacramento Delta Overnight Tour

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 03:03:00 +0000

[ Finally posting a map and photos from a great group ride organized by K back in October ]: Amtrak to Sacramento with our bikes, then two leisurely days of riding back to BART via the Sacramento river delta.

With drawbridges (and an impromptu tour of a control room), birds at night, a quaint old-timey hotel, a ferry, and old-town California.

The route (about 95 miles, click through for a detailed map):

Bike Camping, Point Reyes

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 05:47:28 +0000

My second year bike camping for a three-day weekend in Point Reyes: eight of us rode up lugging camping gear, braving the hilly Four Corners / Panoramic / Highway 1 route, and admiring the views.

The blackberries were out in full force. We filled up a whole container for breakfast the next morning:

Oyster break in Olema:

Livermore Wine Ramble #3: recap

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:03:00 +0000

A casual day of bike riding, picnicking, and wine tasting around the Livermore area. The initial interest in this many-times-rescheduled ride and the good weather made me think 15 people might show up… but it was a group of 31, word of mouth through three degrees of separation. Thanks for being great, everyone.

Riding a few miles through Sycamore Grove Park– interesting trees on either side, bridges to ride over, and almost no cross-streets or signs of other people:

Peninsula Hills, Woods, Farmland

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:36:00 +0000

Yesterday a friend organized a ride from San Mateo to San Gregario (via Kings Mountain road, which I’d never biked), through La Honda (past Alice’s Restaurant), and back up Tunitas Creek (which I’d been on once before). And just for the heck of it, I decided to add on an early morning ride from San Francisco to San Mateo rather than take the Caltrain down.

The forecast for 40% chance of afternoon rain fell our way– just 10 minutes of freezing rain and misery on our way into Woodside on Skyline, but otherwise clear, sunny, and cool– great biking weather.

Recap: Russian River Brewery overnight ride

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:03:06 +0000

120+ miles, a group of 15 great people, sunny weather, lush farmland and shady redwood forests, a few exciting hills, the kindness of strangers, good beer, and an action-movie just-in-time finish… easily one of my favorites. Read on for a longer than usual writeup in story form, with photos and details…

Back in December I’d floated the idea of an overnight ride up to Russian River Brewing Co during the two-weeks-a-year Pliny the Younger release. Interest blossomed, we hashed out logistics, and by the day of the ride we were a group of 15(!): people I’d done long rides with as well as new friends-of-friends, on loaded touring bikes and sporty road bikes, people who’ve ridden centuries and people who’ve rarely biked more than 40 miles… and even someone who hadn’t biked more than 7 or 8 miles in a stretch (I’ll admit, I was a little worried, but he was a natural).

Bay Area bike maps-- a few-paragraph review. Google Maps and OpenStreetMap both have decent bike path coverage in the Bay...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:29:00 +0000

Bay Area bike maps– a few-paragraph review.

Google Maps and OpenStreetMap both have decent bike path coverage in the Bay Area, but they’re not perfect, and they often don’t show hills or road conditions. They’re also both weak when it comes to off-road bike trails. Here are a few notes on the other bike maps I’ve picked up over the years (starting in the upper left and going clockwise):

Bay Trail maps (6-map set, though I’ve read there’s a single-map version now as well). These cover the present and planned multiuse paths that run around the Bay, from SF down the peninsula, up the East Bay, even to Richmond. They’re an interesting set, with trivia on the back, and useful for finding hidden little parks in nooks along the bay… however, they don’t have bike route coverage once you get away from the Bay, and many sections of bay trail aren’t fully connected. So I’ve only used them a few times.

Fiets & Frites 2011

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 02:51:00 +0000

The (first annual?) Fiets & Frites, a casual bike ride and tour of french fries around San Francisco:

Starting out at Frjtz:

Three orders of fries (too many!), curry ketchup, wasabi mayo:

Bike rack as condiment tray…

Ride maps:

The self-serve / honor system Bike Hut on Tunitas Creek Rd just off Highway 1-- I love that a place like this can exist.

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:12:00 +0000

The self-serve / honor system Bike Hut on Tunitas Creek Rd just off Highway 1– I love that a place like this can exist.

Pescadero ride recap

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 06:30:00 +0000

Four of us biked a loop from Menlo Park to Pescadero, mostly on low-traffic back roads, through redwood and eucalyptus groves. The 63 miles and 7000’ of elevation gain (most of it in two major hills) made it a bit of a challenge as well.

"Best rides"

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 03:10:00 +0000

For anyone who reads this through an RSS reader or so on and wouldn’t have noticed this– a few months ago I added a static “Favorite Rides” page.

People occasionally ask me where I like to ride, so I figured I’d keep a quick list, with links to maps and photos. Carry on.

SF -> Sonoma bike camping & barn dance

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 05:45:00 +0000

18 Reasons threw a Full Moon Barn Dance party at Circle JR Ranch in Sonoma recently. Eating, drinking (Linden St beer and Sodacraft soda), horseshoes, tours of a Bi-Rite garden, lasso lessons, dancing… I could have driven up with a friend, but I figured– why not bike?

The most direct route would have been through San Rafael and up on the 37 to the 121, but after looking at the excellent Marin Country Bike Coalition map’s warnings of missing shoulders and reading a few online posts about those road segments, I decided I was willing to add 9 extra miles and some hills to ride via Fairfax / Nicasio / Petaluma:

Port Costa + Picnic recap

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 06:47:00 +0000

Today was my 4th or 5th Port Costa / Carquinez Scenic Drive ride over the past four years and it was a good one (and with no flats or infected bee stings). Seven of us met up at Pleasant Hill BART and headed out for a late afternoon casual-pace 29-mile ride and picnic.

For variety, we took what looked like a side path along Alhambra– but it rapidly rose above the road and turned into a rough dirt path.

Three weeks of solo bike touring and camping, across 600+ miles of The Netherlands and Belgium. Riding over massive man-made...

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 02:47:00 +0000

Three weeks of solo bike touring and camping, across 600+ miles of The Netherlands and Belgium. Riding over massive man-made dikes, on paved bike paths cutting through dark forests and rural farm fields (where I might not see another person for hours), to Trappist breweries and old towns, along canals, on muddy back roads and unsigned border crossings, and to a bonfire with a band playing under a rusted crane.

Derny Crit

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:01:04 +0000

Cutting through the countryside between Brussels and Antwerp yesterday (I decided a few days into the trip after Delft that I wasn’t as in the mood for museums and cities), I arrived in Bornem (in heavy rain) and found a hotel. The manager saw me arrive by bike and was very supportive– he let me stow my bike in a shed, didn’t make me sign in (“just pay tomorrow when you leave”) and said “a cyclist? I’ll give you the front room.” I wasn’t sure why the front room was special until an hour later, when they blocked off the main road it overlooked and a several hour long Derny Criterium started. (See attempt to post a cell phone video of it in the previous post– not sure if that went through). Basically, it’s a race between pairs of competitors, one on a Derny moped and one on a bike– the cyclists draft their motorized partner for more speed, around and around on a course. With the cobblestones, the rain, and the very close follow distances, it was pretty exciting, even if I had no idea what the announcer was saying.

In the woods, surrounded by chirping birds, I heard a strange noise and came across this: a guy laying bricks, with the...

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:17:02 +0000

In the woods, surrounded by chirping birds, I heard a strange noise and came across this: a guy laying bricks, with the tink-tink-tink sound of a metal tool on brick in sync with techno playing from a portable stereo.

Rural canals, huge greenhouses, sheep.

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:36:02 +0000

This morning I spent an amazing few hours riding along rural bike paths, past canals, huge greenhouses filled with flowers, and small farms (a few sheep in a backyard here, a handful of llamas, chickens, or toy ponies there). I’m really happy right now. In Netherlands cycle route terms, I especially liked the segments joining knooppunten (numbered junctions where different bike paths intersect) 03, 20, 02, 07, 13, 59, 48.

Point Reyes Bike Camping recap

Wed, 18 May 2011 03:54:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I did something I’ve wanted to do for years– a bike camping trip to Point Reyes, self-supported (carrying everything, no car support).

I wanted to camp in Point Reyes National Seashore itself rather than nearby in Samuel P Taylor, to be somewhere more remote that wasn’t drive-in. I picked Sky Camp (based partly on this SFgate article), managed to get two nights reserved, and we ended up with a hardy group of 11 (friends, friends of friends, riders from last year’s SF RAGBRAI contingent).

Biked, hiked, had a beer in the woods (Tourist Club)

Mon, 16 May 2011 15:59:00 +0000

As planned (and despite the Severe Weather Warning and 70% chance of thunderstorms), four of us gathered Sunday morning to get a coffee at Farley’s and bike the flat 19 miles from Potrero Hill to the bottom of the Dipsea Steps in Mill Valley:

Leaving bikes there, we met a larger group of friends who’d driven up, and hiked up the Dipsea Steps and along the beautiful exposed ridges of the Sun Trail:

Overnight bike trip: SF -> Montara

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:51:00 +0000

Well, that was a great weekend.

A group of 10 of us biked from SF to Montara (on the coast, between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay, about 30 miles), stayed overnight in the Montara Lighthouse Hostel ($28/night, includes linens, fully booked most Saturday nights months ahead of time but the web site availability is often incorrect– you can call them directly to make reservations, and should if you’re going with a group), and biked back the next day.

Alpine Dam Recap

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:46:00 +0000

The Alpine Dam Loop last weekend is my favorite ride in California to date– I highly recommend it. It was scenic enough to make me swear out loud in amazement on several occasions (a crystal clear day with views of SF and the Farallones didn’t hurt).

It was also a moderately challenging 65 miles door to door, with a fair amount of climbing (about 4500’ ascent total) and fast twisty downhills. Here’s a route map based on CC’s GPS track.