Tag: North Bay

Biking on Old Caz, misc blurry cell phone video: More at /posts/old-cazadero-local/loop

Something I’ve always wanted to do– ride from SF up to the Healdsburg / Russian River / wine country area (88.8 miles via the scenic route a friend and I took this weekend). Lush green hills, a few hours of rain and wet socks (hey, at least it wasn’t 103-108 degrees like a few summers ago), two cheese tastings (Nicasio Valley Cheese Company and Marin French Cheese Company), wildflowers, a stop for a burger and salty snacks at Lagunitas Brewing, coffee and cocoa in Santa Rosa to fight the chill, and then expanding my personal biking map (Santa Rosa having been my previous farthest-North-from-SF ride) and plugging along the final 20-odd miles to a campground in Alexander Valley. ...

I needed a ride, and hopped the Vallejo ferry without the usual plan. A little phone browsing on the way across turned up some bike paths and sections of The Bay Trail West of Napa that I’d never seen, and it seemed like Lagunitas Brewing in Petaluma would be within reach… A bit of Bay Trail along a river and a marsh… thick with vocal birds but otherwise deserted, eventually degrading to dirt and then gravel and leading to nowhere (a vista point, and a loop back to the beginning of the trail). ...

Five of us set off to ride dirt roads up to the top of Mt Tam, along the former route of the ‘Crookest Railroad in the World’. Starting with a little dirt warm-up on paths through the Presidio: New off-road dirt shortcut to the bridge, past old concrete batteries (involved some flights of stairs): Stop at the new Sol Food in Mill Valley (quite possibly my favorite place to eat on a ride) for a plantain-and-hot-sauce-heavy lunch: ...

An easy, relaxing local adventure. Meet at Velo Rouge in the morning. Bike to Larkspur, partly along dedicated paved bike trails (about 17 miles). Rent kayaks from Outback Adventure ($30 for 2 hours, I called ahead since we were a group). Paddle along Corte Madera Creek and side creeks under Mt Tam (a few hours before low tide so we were paddling against the current on the way in but the ebb was carrying us back out). Head to the Marin County Brewing Company a few blocks away for some food and refreshment. Catch the 4:45pm (sunset) ferry (also right there) back to SF. ...

On the epic Lagunitas Brewing Ride a few weeks ago I noticed huge stands of green blackberries lining one of the Marin bike paths, and vowed to return on a foraging mission. So 11 of us wrapped blackberry picking, an escape from the fog, a picnic by the bay, ice cream, and a casual ride around Marin into a day. In quick cell phone photos: ...

Just for fun. Up at 5:30: Long early-morning shadows in Sausalito: Nicasio reservoir: Canalside paths behind Petaluma: Lagunitas Brewing for lunch: taproom, patio, friendly people, space to stash bikes: We started to ride back. ...

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: ...

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: ...

This is one of the more ridiculous impulsive rides I’ve done. I’ve always loved the BBQ-your-own-oysters-fresh-from-a-few-hundred-feet-away at Tomales Bay Oyster Farm, and last year a group of us did a 30-mile day trip from Point Reyes to there. But I’ve wondered– how reasonable would it be to ride up from SF, have a leisurely lunch of BBQ oysters (because what’s the point if you’re in a hurry?), then ride back, all in the same day? It’s about 100-110 miles and a moderate amount of climbing (4000’-8000’, depending on the route). I managed to convince someone to join me, and off we went: ...