Marin on Velodromedary

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).

Monday morning just after sunrise, heading straight from overnight camping in Marin to work = magic...

Mon, 15 Apr 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Monday morning just after sunrise, heading straight from overnight camping in Marin to work = magic…

Mt Biking the Marin Headlands

Sun, 04 May 2014 18:54:27 +0000

A gorgeous day. Taking a spin on the fat-tired Pugsley along dirt roads and trails in the Marin Headlands (my first time off-road there, remarkably).

Amazing views, trails mostly in good condition, a few uphill grinds, and one slightly gnarly downhill on Old Springs (at least, for a beginner like me): ruts, loose gravel, a long set of shallow stairs to ride down, and a few narrow sections of trail lined on both sides with glistening poison oak (“please don’t fall now…”)

I Point My Wheels To The North

Sun, 27 Apr 2014 17:57:00 +0000

I was itching to get out of the city and just ride. So a small group of us headed North to Mill Valley, Panoramic, Pan Toll / Mt Tam, Ridgecrest, Bolinas-Fairfax, Alpine Dam, Fairfax… and back home. About 65 miles, very hilly, and took us all day (with the requisite stops for Sol Food limeade, looking at the ocean, burgers, and beer).

Nearby Bike Camping / Biketoberfest

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 14:46:00 +0000

I’ve been on long bike tours and three-day-weekend bike camping trips, but I wanted to do something quick involving minimal preparation, in the spirit of the S24O (Sub-24 Hour Overnight):

Five of us riding through Marin, with luggage ranging from just a seat post rack to panniers to a clip-on cooler to a pull-behind trailer:

By lucky coincidence, we had to ride right through Fairfax on the day of Biketoberfest. So we stopped for a few hours for the classic bikes, the beer-dispensing cargo bikes, and the food.

85-mile Marin Ride

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 03:51:39 +0000

I went on a long, faster-than-usual ride (sustained 20+mph drives on long flat sections) with L and R on a sunny day, including two loops on paved car-free paths in Samuel P Taylor park.

Plantains and Wildflowers

Mon, 27 May 2013 02:49:00 +0000

It was great weather for a casual-pace 50ish mile jaunt to San Rafael and back with friends, along scenic bike paths and the water, with delicious plantain-heavy Puerto Rican food as the prize to keep eyes on. In photos:

Railroad drawbridge:

Wildflowers along Marin Bike Route 20:

The Pacific:

Brisk Paradise Loop, Fairfax

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 15:00:15 +0000

I haven’t organized a ride in a while, but I’ve joined friends’ last-minute. Last weekend I followed Greg and company on a brisk-paced 65-mile ride around Paradise Loop and up to Fairfax, with a stop for fish tacos and beer at Iron Springs.

The weather was great, the road bike was well tuned, and it slid by like butter:

Preride at Velo Rouge:

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:

Joining others for a 65-mile hilly Alpine Dam(n) ride.

Sun, 08 May 2011 22:48:00 +0000

Joining others for a 65-mile hilly Alpine Dam(n) ride.

May 15 plan: bike, hike, beer & sausages

Fri, 06 May 2011 15:41:20 +0000

Next Sunday, a more-than-just-biking trip: a bike ride from Farley’s coffeehouse in Potrero Hill to Old Mill Park in Mill Valley (17 miles, mostly flat: rough map), lock bikes there and hike 45 scenic (and uphill) minutes through the woods on the Dipsea and Sun trails to the Tourist Club, and enjoy their Maifest for a few hours (German cultural celebration: beer, sausages, polka dancing).

Rolling out from Farley’s at 9am.

fearless turkey

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:27:57 +0000

fearless turkey

Impromptu ride to Tiburon (Paradise Loop) organized by a friend.

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 23:25:00 +0000

Impromptu ride to Tiburon (Paradise Loop) organized by a friend.

Instead of TV: 60 hilly miles

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:00:07 +0000

Four of us rode the 60ish mile Alpine Dam Loop on Sunday at a somewhat leisurely pace. It’s still my favorite Bay Area ride – some long, merciless uphills combined with incredible views in every direction. And it gets easier every time (funny how that works).

A mid-morning start at Velo Rouge:

There were almost no pedestrians or cyclists on the Golden Gate Bridge (Superbowl Sunday effect?)

Three upcoming February rides

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 06:30:00 +0000

If it’s not rainy:

Friday 2/4: joining the SF Bike Party, a slow-rolling evening with hundreds of cyclists and several big bike-mounted stereos (photos of the last one). Just 9 miles. 7:30pm meetup at Civic Center.

Sunday 2/6: Alpine Dam. A beautiful and hilly 50-60 mile ride, meeting 9:30AM at Velo Rouge Cafe. No rider left behind, probably a stop in Fairfax for some food afterwards, no commitment to making it back in time to watch That Sporting Event (hey, at least the roads should be empty…).

Alpine Dam and Sausages & Beer next Sunday?

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 06:25:00 +0000

[ edit: cancelled due to early-morning rain, though it ended up clearing up– oh well ]

Tentative plan: an Alpine Dam loop ride next Sunday (1/30), about 50 miles round trip from the Golden Gate Bridge (map), with some substantial but satisfying hills.

Stopping in Fairfax at Gestalt Haus (run by the people behind the original SF Gestalt Haus before it changed ownership?) for some sausages & beer before heading home.

Departure time TBD in the morning (early? mid-?) and a no-rider-left-behind pace as usual, though I definitely want to get back in the afternoon, before it starts to get dark and cold on the bridge.

Headlands Loop Recap

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 03:53:00 +0000

Four of us (RR, CC, D, MD) rode a Marin Headlands loop this slightly chilly but sunny and clear (an easy view of the Farralones) day. About 26 miles round trip from East SF, at a casual pace.

Approaching the bridge via Embarcadero / Marina:

Climbing Conzelman:

A clear day, quite a view:

Marin Headlands

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 00:55:23 +0000

Marin Headlands

Headlands Loop Tomorrow Morning

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 18:48:17 +0000

I’m working today but have tomorrow off, and it looks like it might be clear, sunny, and chilly.

So, I’m planning on a morning* ride up to the Marin Headlands loop (20-30 miles round trip depending where you start). And perhaps extending that a bit by taking an initial detour through golden gate park to Trouble Coffee for pre-ride coffee & toast, and then cutting through the Presidio.

*people’s definitions of “morning” bike rides vary by about 3 hours, so it depends who’s coming– if you’re interested let me know and I’ll send out final meet-up details later.

Paradise Loop recap

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 00:33:00 +0000

Four of us cruised up to Sausalito and Tiburon via the Camino Alto hill and Paradise Drive before taking the ferry back. About 35 miles of riding, here’s a quick map:

(a special shout-out to f for doing this as his first ride since the Foster City Flats ride a year ago).

Pre-ride savory pastries at Tartine:

Biking along the panhandle:

Ride This Saturday: Paradise Loop

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:27:41 +0000

Meeting 10:30am at the planter by the golden gate bridge gift shop (I’ll be hitting up the ferry bldg farmers market earlier for some Primavera & Blue Bottle), then doing [this 40ish-mile
loop through Sausalito and Tiburon](<http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/san-francisco/551127079691337454).

Relaxed pace– there will be some people on the ride who haven’t been on a bike in a year, and the scenery is worth appreciating.

Summary of Monday evening ride

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:55:00 +0000

This is a nice evening ride/workout: we left Sports Basement around 5:20, and probably got back to it around 8(?), while it was still light out. And the climb and descent on Camino Alto were good. Here’s the rough map (38 miles RT from Potrero, or about 25 RT from Sports Basement).

It was ridiculously windy, though– side-gusts nearly skidding my bike on the bridge and a painful headwind while coming back up the post-Sausalito hill (*shakes fist at sky*).

Weekday evening rides

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:08:42 +0000

Riding in the evenings while the weather / light / job situation permit:

Leaving work a little early Monday (today) to meet up at 5pm at the Presidio Sports Basement with a few people for a jaunt into Marin.
Butter Lap on Wednesday (7pm at the Ferry Building, low-key loop around the city and then a beer, see more notes in previous posts).

A few of us biked Paradise Loop yesterday afternoon, and it was a great day for it– sunny, warm, and fairly low-traffic so we could just zoom. We took the ferry back from Tiburon (and were considering stopping at Angel Island for a bike around it before catching the next ferry home, but that didn’t work out– next time?).

China Camp ride map

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:36:00 +0000

It was a generally good day, and a fairly long one (I racked up 67 miles, though it was much less hilly than the Alpine Dam loop). Three of us went on the ride, which was a mix of the usual nice Presidio / Golden Gate / Sausalito ride, a lot of boring suburban and busy-streets riding up by Larkspur / San Rafael, and several few-mile sections of good views in China Camp, and on Irwin and Corte Madera (taking the less direct, more hilly, back streets route on the way back was worth it). Fun, but I didn’t like it as much as some other rides I’ve done.

Map: SF -> Sausalito -> SF

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:44:00 +0000

Here’s an approximate map of yesterday’s ride (including my route back), suggesting the total ride was probably 25-30 miles depending where you started and ended. I think we left the Ferry Building at 11 and got back to SF around 4, with lunch and some walking around in Sausalito in the middle. That was fun! Maybe next time we can plan out a post-ride place to grab some foor/beer ahead of time.

Seven of us on the ride today, here's a photo from a stop in Sausalito. Overall ride about 20-25 miles, depending on route:...

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Seven of us on the ride today, here’s a photo from a stop in Sausalito.

Overall ride about 20-25 miles, depending on route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2704771