Tag: Favorite

A casual day of bike riding, picnicking, and wine tasting around the Livermore area. The initial interest in this many-times-rescheduled ride and the good weather made me think 15 people might show up… but it was a group of 31, word of mouth through three degrees of separation. Thanks for being great, everyone. Riding a few miles through Sycamore Grove Park– interesting trees on either side, bridges to ride over, and almost no cross-streets or signs of other people: ...

Yesterday a friend organized a ride from San Mateo to San Gregario (via Kings Mountain road, which I’d never biked), through La Honda (past Alice’s Restaurant), and back up Tunitas Creek (which I’d been on once before). And just for the heck of it, I decided to add on an early morning ride from San Francisco to San Mateo rather than take the Caltrain down. The forecast for 40% chance of afternoon rain fell our way– just 10 minutes of freezing rain and misery on our way into Woodside on Skyline, but otherwise clear, sunny, and cool– great biking weather. ...

120+ miles, a group of 15 great people, sunny weather, lush farmland and shady redwood forests, a few exciting hills, the kindness of strangers, good beer, and an action-movie just-in-time finish… easily one of my favorites. Read on for a longer than usual writeup in story form, with photos and details… Back in December I’d floated the idea of an overnight ride up to Russian River Brewing Co during the two-weeks-a-year Pliny the Younger release. Interest blossomed, we hashed out logistics, and by the day of the ride we were a group of 15(!): people I’d done long rides with as well as new friends-of-friends, on loaded touring bikes and sporty road bikes, people who’ve ridden centuries and people who’ve rarely biked more than 40 miles… and even someone who hadn’t biked more than 7 or 8 miles in a stretch (I’ll admit, I was a little worried, but he was a natural). ...

Bay Area bike maps– a few-paragraph review. Google Maps and OpenStreetMap both have decent bike path coverage in the Bay Area, but they’re not perfect, and they often don’t show hills or road conditions. They’re also both weak when it comes to off-road bike trails. Here are a few notes on the other bike maps I’ve picked up over the years (starting in the upper left and going clockwise): Bay Trail maps (6-map set, though I’ve read there’s a single-map version now as well). These cover the present and planned multiuse paths that run around the Bay, from SF down the peninsula, up the East Bay, even to Richmond. They’re an interesting set, with trivia on the back, and useful for finding hidden little parks in nooks along the bay… however, they don’t have bike route coverage once you get away from the Bay, and many sections of bay trail aren’t fully connected. So I’ve only used them a few times. ...

The (first annual?) Fiets & Frites, a casual bike ride and tour of french fries around San Francisco: Starting out at Frjtz: Three orders of fries (too many!), curry ketchup, wasabi mayo: Bike rack as condiment tray… Ride maps: ...

The self-serve / honor system Bike Hut on Tunitas Creek Rd just off Highway 1– I love that a place like this can exist.

Four of us biked a loop from Menlo Park to Pescadero, mostly on low-traffic back roads, through redwood and eucalyptus groves. The 63 miles and 7000’ of elevation gain (most of it in two major hills) made it a bit of a challenge as well. ...

For anyone who reads this through an RSS reader or so on and wouldn’t have noticed this– a few months ago I added a static “Favorite Rides” page. People occasionally ask me where I like to ride, so I figured I’d keep a quick list, with links to maps and photos. Carry on.

18 Reasons threw a Full Moon Barn Dance party at Circle JR Ranch in Sonoma recently. Eating, drinking (Linden St beer and Sodacraft soda), horseshoes, tours of a Bi-Rite garden, lasso lessons, dancing… I could have driven up with a friend, but I figured– why not bike? The most direct route would have been through San Rafael and up on the 37 to the 121, but after looking at the excellent Marin Country Bike Coalition map’s warnings of missing shoulders and reading a few online posts about those road segments, I decided I was willing to add 9 extra miles and some hills to ride via Fairfax / Nicasio / Petaluma: ...

Today was my 4th or 5th Port Costa / Carquinez Scenic Drive ride over the past four years and it was a good one (and with no flats or infected bee stings). Seven of us met up at Pleasant Hill BART and headed out for a late afternoon casual-pace 29-mile ride and picnic. For variety, we took what looked like a side path along Alhambra– but it rapidly rose above the road and turned into a rough dirt path. ...