A tour through Marin County

Bill Bushnell — Saturday, February 5, 1994

I joined John Hughes and company for a moderately fast and steady ride through Marin County, California. The club newsletter listed the distance as 150+ miles, and I figured I’d probably be unhappy if I rode that far. So I start by riding to the Menlo Park Caltrain station and take the train to San Francisco. I live in Palo Alto, but I save 50 cents and get a couple miles more exercise by catching the train in Menlo Park. What a cheapskate!

After catching up on my sleep on the train, I arrive in San Francisco shortly before 8:00a. I told John I’d be at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge around 8:30, and maybe a little later. My route takes me down Townsend to The Embarcadero and then along the waterfront to North Point. I turn left on North Point and continue up over the hill and past Fort Mason and onto Marina Blvd. I continue straight through The Presidio and onto the path that leads to Fort Point and then up the short hill to the tourist parking at the south end of the Bridge.

John’s group is waiting along with some other cyclists not affiliated with his ride. Altogether we are 8 cyclists: John, I, Jim Haughey, Rick Adolph, Rick Anderson, Jeff Bell, Loren Gottschalk, and Mike Wilson.

A few minutes after I arrive we start off toward the Bridge, momentarily interrupting a group of Japanese tourists standing in front of Joseph Strauss’s statue for a picture.

We continue across the bridge and down into Sausalito. Without stopping we ride the bike path beside Richardson Bay, turn left on Blithedale Ave. and right onto Camino Alto. We climb up the short hill and descend into Corte Madera. On the descent a deer jumps across the road right in front of John, who is leading.

Upon comparing cyclometers with Jim, I note that I have ridden 25 miles and 1400 feet of climbing less than the rest of the group who had started at Canada Rd. and CA-92.

After a brief potty break, we continue on the tedious bike route through Kentfield, Larkspur, Ross, San Anselmo and Fairfax. The route must have about 50 stop signs; some of them are three-way stops at alleyways! It’s no wonder cyclists blow them off. The bike route is scenic and is probably a better way for cyclists traveling at a sightseeing pace, but a group traveling our speed rightfully could have asserted ourselves on the busier but more consistent Sir Francis Drake Blvd. a quarter mile to our right.

Beyond Fairfax we continue on Olema Rd. and join Sir Francis Drake Blvd. at the start of a short climb to the pass at White’s Hill, separating Fairfax from San Geronimo Valley. The descent into San Geronimo Valley is gradual, and the road has a nice, wide, clean shoulder.

We turn right on Nicasio Valley Rd. and head north. The hills in central and northern Marin County are like large grass-covered mounds, nearly treeless. While winter rains have encouraged a new generation of green grass, the hills are still mostly gray-brown with the dead stalks of last year’s growth.

We continue past the few buildings that mark the town of Nicasio and turn right onto Pt. Reyes - Petaluma Rd. After another short climb we descend to the Marin Cheese Factory for a rest. No one eats any cheese, though John mentions that he sometimes buys a pound and carries it some 100 miles home for his wife.

We ride north on Pt. Reyes - Petaluma Rd. and turn left on Hicks Valley Rd. After a brief descent past an old schoolhouse and a short climb over a low ridge, we descend to Marshall - Petaluma Rd. and turn left. With a strong tailwind we ride swiftly west toward the coast. Only a few motorists pass us on this 11-mile stretch. Marshall - Petaluma Rd. ends by climbing a moderately steep hill and descending furiously to the coast. I register a maximum speed of 50.0 mph, aided, no doubt, by the tailwind.

By the time we reach Marshall we are split into two groups: Jim, Loren, and the two Ricks are ahead, and I, Jeff, and John are behind. Shortly after we begin heading south on CA-1 we come upon a recent head-on collision in front of a small group of stores. Several people are on the road coming to the aid of the motorists. We learn later that the lead group of cyclists heard the accident happen just behind them. We proceed cautiously without stopping. Some ten minutes later we hear sirens as sheriff, ambulance, fire, and highway patrol vehicles pass on their way to the scene. We continue riding, now into a headwind, and in a gloomier mood.

As we near Pt. Reyes Station, dark, threatening clouds begin to roll over, and we are struck by a few spits of rain. I joke to John that every ride I’ve ridden with him recently has either been visited by rain or mild but relentless headwinds. Perhaps we’ll be lucky and get both today.

At Pt. Reyes Station we enjoy our only extended break of the day for lunch. I have a few minutes to snap some pictures of the main street through town and of our group gathered for lunch behind a local deli. The time is shortly after noon. At around 13:00 we resume riding south on CA-1 along the San Andreas Fault line. We continue through the town of Olema and south on the rolling, but gradually climbing road. Several miles later we are treated to a swift, curvy descent to Bolinas Lagoon. We continue along the water past the Audubon Canyon Ranch and through Stinson Beach.

We turn left on the Panoramic Highway and begin the only long climb of the day up into Mt. Tamalpais State Park. The sky is becoming darker and ever more threatening, but the anticipated rain has yet to arrive. This is good.

We regroup at the top of the climb where the Panoramic Highway intersects Pan Toll Road. While we wait for everyone, two women riding Bike Friday’s come riding up from the east. They’re headed down to Stinson Beach to catch a bus whence they came. John jokes that he might consider taking a bus if it were to take him all the way home to Portola Valley.

We start down the east side of the Panoramic Highway toward Mill Valley. Shortly after we begin the descent a Golden Gate Transit bus chugs up the hill. The destination sign, most likely in error, reads, “Stanford Stadium”. We continue down into and through Mill Valley before rejoining the bike path by Richardson Bay and returning to the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge where we take a short break.

It is here that I decide to ride home with the group. I figure if I ride all the way home, I should ride as many miles as those who started at Canada Rd. and CA-92 in the morning, but I will still be down about 1300 feet or so of climbing.

We continue down Lincoln Blvd. and take Camino Del Mar past all the expensive San Francisco homes and past the Palace of the Legion of Honor. We ride down Pt. Lobos Rd. and down the Great Highway on the generous shoulder ignoring the ill-timed traffic lights at crosswalks spaced about a half-mile apart.

We leave San Francisco on Skyline Blvd. and continue south through Daly City, San Bruno, Millbrae, and Hillsborough along the San Andreas Fault line. Maybe this ride should have been called the “San Andreas Fault” ride. We arrive at Canada Rd. and CA-92 at 17:30, less than eleven hours after the starting group began.

After saying goodbye to the others in our group John and I continue riding south on Canada Rd. In Woodside, John heads home to Portola Valley, and I take Manzanita and Sand Hill Roads. back to Palo Alto, arriving home just after 18:30, tired and a little bit sore. The last time I rode as far was last August when I did my first solo ride over 200 miles. Today’s ride was good, but I would like to spend more time in northern Marin County sometime.

Ride stats:

distance: 145.7 miles

climbing: 7900 feet

total time: 11:51

riding time: 9:06

average speed: 16.0 mph

maximum speed: 50.0 mph

index: 177

irp: 14.9

mirp: 19.5

cd: 54

An article on indexing can be found here.

©2004, Bill Bushnell

Please do not publish or distribute for profit without permission.