Northern California Climbing

I had to travel just north of San Francisco on business last week - another work trip, which is typically bad for the training schedule.  I always try to catch workouts on the stationary bikes at the hotel, but time passes slowly and workouts are difficult at best.

One of the wooded climbs

This trip, however, was a little different.  My meetings didn't really kick in until the evening of my first day there, so I headed over to the Sausalito Bike Company to grab a rental for the day.  The shop was awesome - I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a high end rental while in the Bay area.  The crew there hooked me up with a super sweet Giant TCR Advanced with Di2 shifting.

Before I left the shop, I was given some great advice on routes.  I ended up doing a loop starting near Sausalito that ran through the mountains between Larkspur and Point Reyes on the coast.  The shop employee cautioned me that the route had a good amount of climbing, and he was right!  As I climbed several forty minute climbs punctuated by fast switchback descents, I looked forward to each successive climb because of the descent that I knew would follow.  I also had to laugh to myself, because I knew that most of the Downeast crew - especially Hank and Eliot probably would love the ride for the opposite reason (the climb itself).

MTB Trails

 After about 2 hours of climbing and descending, I ended up on the top of Mount Tam, the birthplace of mountain biking.  The views of San Francisco in the distance were breathtaking, and the mountain
biking trails carving through the golden hills on the climb looked absolutely amazing.  Next time I will have to spend a bit of time on a fat tire bike checking them out.

I rolled off the mountain and rode all the way to the coast and coastal route 1.   I rode through a small town, whose name I can't remember, but whose population I can - 487.  After a bit of rest on the coastal flats, I turned right and started climbing through the mountains again, across a dam in the forest, and back to the car.  All in all, one of the best rides of the year - sunshine, 85 degrees, and exploring new roads.

View from Mount Tam

The next few days consisted of 'rides' in the hotel fitness room, but I was able to make a return trip on my final day in California.  I rented the same bike again and set out on the same route - this day was mostly the same, but very different.  This time I was familiar with the roads, so the climbs seemed easier, and I could carry a little more speed through the switchbacks.

The biggest difference on this ride was the wildlife!  It all started when I was climbing up a deserted road outside of Point Reyes; I crested a hill, and 50 meters ahead of me stood a mountain lion in the middle of the road!  I was a bit freaked out, but I kept slowly rolling forward, and it finally walked off the road.  I think I must have continued to look back over my shoulder for the next 20 minutes in case it decided to chase me down.  But that wasn't all - I also saw a coyote standing alongside the road, a large brown snake, and finally 2 deer crossed the road just before I arrived back at the car.  Day 2 ended up being a memorable day as well, but for totally different reasons!

Coyote!

I will be back in the area again in November, and I plan on looking up my new friends at the Sausalito Bike Company again on my return trip - hopefully they will still have that sweet Giant TCR Advanced in their rental fleet!

Thanks for reading...

Jeff