# SF area rides



## Bulldozer (Jul 31, 2003)

[DISCLAIMER]I tried to search to no avail.[/DISCLAIMER]

I just booked a flight into San Francisco for mid-August. I've already told the wife I'm bringing my bike since we'll be there for a week. What are 5 good rides to do while I'm there? Climbing routes would be preferred with less traffic. I'll be staying near the Moscone Center so the rides will need to be within a reasonable distance from there.


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## Woofer (Nov 18, 2004)

Bulldozer said:


> [DISCLAIMER]I tried to search to no avail.[/DISCLAIMER]
> 
> I just booked a flight into San Francisco for mid-August. I've already told the wife I'm bringing my bike since we'll be there for a week. What are 5 good rides to do while I'm there? Climbing routes would be preferred with less traffic. I'll be staying near the Moscone Center so the rides will need to be within a reasonable distance from there.


What's a reasonable distance by time or by distance via car or train?
http://www.fremontfreewheelers.org/RaceTeam/Useful/TrainingRides/index.html


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## Bulldozer (Jul 31, 2003)

Woofer said:


> What's a reasonable distance by time or by distance via car or train?
> http://www.fremontfreewheelers.org/RaceTeam/Useful/TrainingRides/index.html


30 minutes by car/train/bike.


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

Riding in the city is going to mean traffic, especially on weekdays. Take the Embarcadero around the bay to minimize the traffic, then head over the Golden Gate Bridge. Traffic is much lighter in Marin. Try the Headlands loop, the Tiburon/Paradise Loop, or Mt. Tam.


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## Woofer (Nov 18, 2004)

Bulldozer said:


> 30 minutes by car/train/bike.


As the other poster notes, that sort of *limits* you to going north to the Golden Gate Bridge on weekdays, although you can do the whole thing via bike. There are other interesting rides that would require a bit more than 30 minutes transit to east and south, although if you had a *lot* of time to ride you could ride south to do something epic like Skyline, Canada, Kings Mountain, Tunitas Creek, Highway 1 and return.


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## Bulldozer (Jul 31, 2003)

Woofer said:


> As the other poster notes, that sort of *limits* you to going north to the Golden Gate Bridge on weekdays, although you can do the whole thing via bike. There are other interesting rides that would require a bit more than 30 minutes transit to east and south, although if you had a *lot* of time to ride you could ride south to do something epic like Skyline, Canada, Kings Mountain, Tunitas Creek, Highway 1 and return.


I suppose 30 minutes is 'reasonable' in Denver. That's obviously not the case in SF. What are some good rides within an hour by car/train?


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

Bulldozer said:


> I suppose 30 minutes is 'reasonable' in Denver. That's obviously not the case in SF. What are some good rides within an hour by car/train?


If you can handle a little traffic, the Golden Gate Bridge route is spectacularly beautiful. Ride around the Embarcadero to the bridge, then do the Marin Headlands loop and the Tiburon/Paradise loop. From there you can ride back along the bay or you can head north to Larkspur and take the ferry back from there to Fisherman's Wharf.

If you really want to avoid traffic, the Caltrain station is half a mile from Moscone. Take the train south to Palo Alto (about 45 minutes) and do some of the loops shown here: http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/rides.html . The bike shop where the rides start is a couple of blocks from the train station. Their "big coast loop" is a Bay Area classic ride.


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## Bulldozer (Jul 31, 2003)

Do the bike shops in the area have maps that I could use? Also, what are some of the better shops in town?


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## SilasCL (Jun 14, 2004)

Bulldozer said:


> Do the bike shops in the area have maps that I could use? Also, what are some of the better shops in town?


Here is a good map of Marin County, where most of your actual riding will take place:

http://www.marinbike.org/Map/SideA.pdf

The headlands route means crossing the bridge and taking an immediate left. It goes up a reasonably steep climb, with great views. You can take this down to the beach by Rodeo Lagoon, then head out via the tunnel on Bunker Rd. or the climb back up on McCullough. To extend the ride, head down Alexander Ave. and follow the main rd. through Sausalito. This eventually hits a bike path at Harbor Dr. Follow that out until you hit Blithedale Rd. If you turned around now, you would probably be up to 35-40 miles.

Your other option is to skip the headlands, and instead follow the bike path through Sausalito and then follow the routes around strawberry penninsula, then the Tiburon bike path down to Tiburon, where you can hop on Paradise Dr. Follow that all the way up to Corta Madera, then head south, then bike path home again. Those are all good rides.

If you're feeling crazy, do Mt. Tam. It's 2500 ft of not too steep climbing.

Silas


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## Bulldozer (Jul 31, 2003)

SilasCL said:


> If you're feeling crazy, do Mt. Tam. It's 2500 ft of not too steep climbing.
> 
> Silas


How do I get to Mt Tam?


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

Bulldozer said:


> How do I get to Mt Tam?


Mt. Tam is in Marin. See the link the Marin map that SilasCL posted. Mt. Tam is a fairly easy climb (for a mountain), but you can combine that with the Headlands loop and the Tiburon loop for a good all-day ride.

For rides on the peninsula, the T-2 map listed here is good: http://www.krebscycleproducts.com/
Most local bike shops carry it.


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## Woofer (Nov 18, 2004)

Bulldozer said:


> I suppose 30 minutes is 'reasonable' in Denver. That's obviously not the case in SF. What are some good rides within an hour by car/train?


j99 answered your questions. I would suspect most people who cycle as a hobby would not choose to live in SF if 30 minutes is the max transit time - there are better places to live locally IMHO that fit that criteria better. My criteria is ten minutes.


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

Woofer said:


> j99 answered your questions. I would suspect most people who cycle as a hobby would not choose to live in SF if 30 minutes is the max transit time - there are better places to live locally IMHO that fit that criteria better. My criteria is ten minutes.


There are lots of cyclists in San Francisco. Most of them don't live downtown, though. They live in the Marina or the Sunset etc. where there is less traffic and they are within easy riding distance of great cycling areas. Cyclists that live downtown get used to riding in traffic.


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## LouD-Reno (Mar 28, 2006)

Bulldozer wrote:

How do I get to Mt Tam?
__________________
Answer:

You go up...

Seriously though, if you want to do a great, memorable, semi-epic, (and you like climbing) you do Fairfax-Bolinas road through the MMWD lands (from downtown Fairfax), to the intersection with Ridgecrest, where you take a left, cruise Ridgecrest for a few miles as it snakes along above Stinson Beach/Bolinas, then continue on up to the East Peak (which has more breath-taking, presuming you have any breath left, views of the Bay and the City. I personally think the best way down is to retrace your route, but you can also come down through Mill Valley, or even down to Stinson, although Hwy 1 can be a rough, albeit scenic ride. You could take the Larkspur Ferry into Marin and then follow Sir Francis Drake BLvd out to Fairax. There's also a smaller ferry that goes to/from Sausalito. The Headlands ride is a classic, albeit comparatively short. Riding across the GG Bridge is NOISY, but something you should do at least once (I've done it dozens of times as I used to commute from the City into Marin). You could also stretch the semi-epic into an epic by adding the Headlands onto the end of the Tam ride. Last time I did that (Oct '05) it was ~60 miles round trip from the Larkspur Ferry terminal. Bottom line is, after a dozen years riding in Marin (prior to migrating to Tahoe 8 years ago), I'm telling you, don't miss Fairfax-Bolinas to Ridgecrest to East Peak..... You can thank me later....

Cheers !!!!


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## dbeltramini77 (Feb 15, 2006)

*2nd Bolinas- ridgecrest*

I 2nd the Bolinas ridgecrest ride. Not really too much to add to LouD's description other than it is best to ride in the direction he lists for traffic reasons. There really is not much traffic at all for the most scenic parts of the ride.

Hard to go wrong with the other suggested rides though


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## LouD-Reno (Mar 28, 2006)

P.S. Right across Sir Francis Drake from the Larkspur Ferry Terminal (via Pedestrian/Bike overpass) you will find the Marin Brewing Company.... You can thank me again.....


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