sac_rob

I'll be traveling down to the Bay Area (Concord) from Sacramento this weekend. I wanted to head over to Marin to get a few miles in. Sir Francis Drake seems to be the safe bet. Any suggestions on a route and where to park?

ricebowl

Alpine Dam loop
https://www.velocurean.com/?p=47
Or for something mellower paradise loop
https://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1091107
or even mellower headlands loop
https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...Headlands-loop

gpelpel

+1 for the Alpine Dam Loop. One of the most beautiful rides in the world.

Another option is to continue on Sir Francis Drake past Fairfax and go North through Nicasio and then west to Point Reyes Station for a nice lunch break. Return by going south from Point Reyes Station and turn east on Sir Francis Drake to return to Fairfax and your start location.

Philipaparker

Too many cars on St Francis do the Alpine Dam loop

bikingshearer 

If you park in downtown Fairfax, the Alpine Dam loop is somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 miles, leaves out the cross-Marin shenanigans, and offers one of the most wonderful roads you will ever ride on (from Fairfax to Bolinas). The rest of the roads are pretty nice, too. Plus, there are places to eat, rest and/or get water in Bolinas, Olema and Pt Reyes Station. Do this ride - it will be one of the highlights of your year.

If you do the cross-Marin shenanigans, study the route sheet and stay off Sir Francis Drake east of Fairfax - waaaay too much traffic to be at all fun. The route sounds complicated, but is a lot easier in practice. You will, in effect, be parallelling SFD, and odds are that there will be plenty of regulars out on it who can lead the way.