genman

I work and live in Seattle, but flew down to the Bay Area last weekend for a little road cycling. I recently bought a Ritchey Break-Away road bicycle, which neatly fits within a suitcase. Business travel to California just got a lot better.

I've never ridden in California before. It was a quite hot 80-degree weekend in Cupertino, where I was staying. Coming from the Northwest I really love to climb hills, and I was eyeballing them on Saturday from the business hotel. On Sunday, I assembled my bicycle, and left the strip-mall/housing-tract-valley behind. I went west and climbed the hills surrounding Stevens Creek State Park. What a treat!

I met some really nice cyclists along the way, when I stopped at some sandwich shop in Saratoga Village. Had I had more time, I would have visited Hakone Gardens or tried to make my way further west.

I plan to return in a few weeks for riding around Marin County. I'll let you know how his goes.

dauphin

Glad you enjoyed your time in California!

SteveE

Next time you're in town, PM me. I live in Cupertino and lead a Saturday club ride. We always throw in few hills (unless the weather's bad, then we stay low), usually riding 40-50 miles.

Dchiefransom

These folks should be able to get you on some good climbs. The Marin Century is my fastest descent so far, coming east down the road from Pt Reyes.
https://www.marincyclists.com/

jeffremer

Marin has some awesome riding. I live in San Francisco, but I'm originally from Nicasio (West Marin) - I didn't start riding until I moved into the city, but now I ride back at least a few times a week. Riding in Marin has given me an entirely new appreciation of where I grew up. PM me when you are back in town if you want to do a ride.

Mr. Gear Jammer

Cool, i gotta go there and ride sometime in the future.

genman

I was down in Marin County and San Francisco a few weeks ago.

I did some solo rides after work, from my hotel in San Rafael. One day was around China Camp State Park. It was a pretty windy ride that day. On that ride, my wallet came out of my jacket pocket and ended up on the road. A driver picked it up, honked at me, then chased me down in their SUV. Initially I had no idea why a driver was honking at me, but my instinct said something was amiss. I very much appreciated getting it back; it would have been a bit of trouble getting back to Seattle without my ID. And I had also lost my map (through the same pocket) I had a tough time getting back: I had thought there was a route east of 101 over the mountain, but could not find it.

The next day (the day after?) I took a trip up Lucas Valley Road from San Rafael, and back on Sir Francis Drake Blvd through San Geronimo. I was short on daylight, and had to ride it quickly. Given the distance I had to cover before dark, it was a bit overwhelming the amount of climbing. And the descents were a little frightening with the large rocks and gravel in the shoulder and number of cars passing me... I should have had some sense to move further into the main part of the lane on the downhill. It was a pleasant ride, which I will have to do at a more leisurely pace next time.

On Saturday, I went on a ride with my boss, who lives in San Francisco, over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Golden Gate Recreation Area to the north. We left at around 7AM to beat the rush. There was a good amount of fog blanketing the city, and a bit of moisture still left over all the metal on the bridge. I almost slipped a few times. The climb was scenic and, early on Saturday, not many other cyclists or drivers were out yet.

On Sunday, I went out with my wife through the city. We followed some route on Lincoln Blvd and El Camino to the ocean side, and back through the Golden Gate Park. She had a fairly decent rental from one of the Fisherman's Wharf shops, not a racing bike, but it had enough gears to get her uphill. (Keeping up with me was rather hopeless, but there was plenty to see while waiting.) It was incredibly cold and windy on the ocean side, and I had to get out of the weather. We headed east through the park, exiting near Haight street and ducked into some Mexican place.

jeffremer

Looks like you hit a good selection of local rides, good variety too. China Camp is a great loop, Paradise Dr (south on 101 to Tiburon) is very similar and has slightly nicer roads in my opinion. Glad you were able to make it out to West Marin - some of best riding in the Bay Area is out that way (not to mention where I grew up).

Too bad you didn't have more time that day - I would have suggested taking a right in Fairfax on Bolinas Rd. That would've taken you up to Mt. Tam (and added another 5,000ft of climbing ) - that's one of my favorite rides.

The Marin Headlands (just north of The City) is an excellent little ride, good choice. Riding through the Presidio as you described is also a great place to ride without having to cross the bridge.

genman

I heard about Mt. Tam, especially about how difficult the climb is. I might give it a go next time I'm in the Bay Area next month. I'm down for the Java One conference and hopefully I'll be able to get away early some afternoon for a few hours' ride.

East Hill

It sounds as if that folder bike was a great purchase, genman. You've had some really good rides there.

East Hill