Got my directions futzed up. I meant north of SFD.

https://goo.gl/maps/9eq5CT76j5Pe5D1GA

I drive that road quite often to get to Novato from Fairfax and I've seen some very hairy close calls with cyclists. I know there's a couple organized century rides that use this road. I can't remember if they close it down for charity rides or not.
I certainly wouldn't feel safe riding it.
Glad you like it, tho.

Where's that confounded bridge...yes, that's the Richmond/San Rafael. By the shadows it was morning. Where did you spend the night?

Now that you're in the East Bay you could take the Oakland Ferry to San Francisco and ride the Golden Gate back to Marin.
Brent

For all intents & purposes, yes. Plus I think my bad eyes are getting worse. 🙁

But here’s what I was after this morning, proof of my having passed by San Quentin Prison. 👍 Some-a-youse might remember I passed Folsom not long ago as well, and posted a pic somewhere, of the Johnny Cash Trail. I think Johnny Cash is trying to communicate with me, man!!! 🙄😎😁
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3752485e1.jpeg

Obviously, I made it back across, to San Rafael, lol, fixing to bite a Whopper now. 😘

Wonderful trip on your own, but with the wealth of knowledge, both local and general on this site, consider announcing your trip here before you leave. You'll be amazed at how many local riders will meet up with you, give you tips on your route during planning stages, buy you a beer, meet up for a meal, even harbor pilot you through unknown areas, bypassing the worst, riding the best, plus the great feeling of making a new friend.

For me, the very best thing thing about this forum, personally meeting a great group of people in several states.

We're attracted first by the bikes, then the rides, but at the end, it's about the people.

BTW, I was on that exact path on my TdMIL 2019. It had been a couple of years since I last rode with [MENTION=325157]davester[/MENTION], [MENTION=175208]gaucho777[/MENTION]. I met both of them by announcing I was going to be in the Bay Area a year or so before. @73StellaSX76 lives in Redwood City, where I came from prior to moving to Oregon, and I got to spend time riding with him as well. I caught up with [MENTION=202770]djkashuba[/MENTION] later the next day and was escorted through the Russian River for a coupla dozen miles.

Well-never-mind-then! I found the right-colored bridge. 😁 I’m gonna take a very long break, and eventually work my way towards some chowda. I’ve still got a spare Whopper from last night, and some Fig Newtons, so don’t worry about me. 😎😉
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d15bcdbf4.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...112bd7168.jpeg

I meant to say, the GG bridge is a sissy bridge, compared to the 580 bridge. 😁😉

Much shorter!

580 is definitely more blue collar. Don't leave your bike unattended if you stop to eat in SF. Zeitgeist has an open courtyard for eating and indoor bike parking if you get over that way. Kind of a grungy messenger bar and grill.
https://www.zeitgeistsf.com/

Where next?
 

If you're on an extended tour, where are you heading next? Down the coast? Down the Bay-side?

Down the coast the route is pretty obvious. It's 1. But when you see a tunnel, stop and turn into the little parking lot. The old Devil's Slide road is open for walking and biking, and bypasses the tunnel.

If you're going South down the Peninsula (which is nice, but I don't know why you wouldn't choose the coast), angling towards 35 and then Canada road is much nicer than riding near the Bay, which is flat but industrial.

If you have planned stops or goals going down-Peninsula, I can try to offer suggestions. Sadly, covid and fires combine such that trails (to bypass biking on the 280 freeway) being open and water availability are changing every day.

Sorry I missed you in Folsom. Glad you are enjoying your stay in California’s elbow. The Johnny cash trail is a funny story. When I first came here the city Council hated that all anyone knew about the town was there was a prison, and it was Johnny Cash‘s fault. When they put the new bridge in front of the dam, one of the then-new junior councilmembers tried to get it named the Johnny Cash bridge, even contacted Roseanne. But then she got shut down hard by the other councilmembers, who decided to name it Folsom Lake Crossing, after the lake it doesn’t cross. After that they all made friends, that’s when they started the bike trail.

"Grungy"? It's downright sophisticated compared to what it used to be! But hopes dashed---I don't think ANY bars in SF can resume their pre-covid19 service. I have not checked out Zeitgeist lately but every other bar has to have one of the ubiquitous outdoor "shanty/curbside hovels" where you can sit and be served. That old backyard beer garden is almost certainly off limits.

I missed seeing this by a few days, but you passed right by what used to be Skaggs Island (off CA-37, just east of Sonoma Raceway). It used to be a Naval comms site and my dad worked there through his retirement in 1991. I remember going to a Halloween party in 1989 or so, in costume as Mark McGuire, of the two Bash Brothers. We lived a few places in the Bay Area back then...in Morgan Hill, south of the bay, and then in Fairfield, which OP probably passed through from the central valley.

Thanks for the memories, OP!

Thanks for all the good thoughts, and sorry to leave you all hanging, my batteries were dead for my phone. 🙄 I got through Redwood City earlier today, and now goofing off in Palo Alto. I think this bike has some magic in it, it flies through traffic like crazy, beyond my skill level. 😎

No plans yet, for those asking, I’ve been in a holding pattern since Covid 19 started. I already came up through San Diego, as far as Sacramento, Chico & Red Bluffs, might have to go back to San Diego to reset the clock, lol. 😁😉
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6630df03b.jpeg