Originally Posted by
pacificaslim
I'd be tempted to just go all the way around the embarcadero to the marina. You could then use basically any gearing you wanted and it would be a safer ride with a nicer view, too. According to google it'd be about 6 miles instead of 4 miles for the route above, but maybe about the same in time?
I'd recommend going straight up Polk, which is not nearly as steep as the poster's route.