Let's go ride bikes!
June 8, 2011 6:51 PM Subscribe
Give me your favorite Bay Area bike rides that are not *too* mountainous. My boy & I are starting to have great fun riding our bikes around the city, but we aren't super tough, so I don't think I'll be heading out to the Headlands loop just yet.
We've done Mission > Ocean Beach and Mission > Sausalito (via the Wiggle & Arguello), with a little walk up the last block of Arguello to the Presidio. So we have no shame in walking up a steep block, but I don't think I am even ready to do that ride in reverse.
Ideas in the future include going past Sausalito to Tiburon and going through Bayview & Foster City to the San Carlos Airport. But we would love to have more suggestions. Thanks!
We've done Mission > Ocean Beach and Mission > Sausalito (via the Wiggle & Arguello), with a little walk up the last block of Arguello to the Presidio. So we have no shame in walking up a steep block, but I don't think I am even ready to do that ride in reverse.
Ideas in the future include going past Sausalito to Tiburon and going through Bayview & Foster City to the San Carlos Airport. But we would love to have more suggestions. Thanks!
Best answer: There's the Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail, that runs all the way from Princeton Harbor to the south end of Half Moon Bay, on the cliffs right along the beach. You can park at the harbor or at the south end. It's completely flat but it's a nice ride with very little exposure to car traffic (although you'll probably run into some horses).
posted by doctor_negative at 7:36 PM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by doctor_negative at 7:36 PM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
In thhe Marin direction: The Nicasio Valley Loop (Sir Francis Drake and Nicasio Valley Road, out through Nicasio, left at Petaluma-Pt Reyes, down to the junction at Sir Francis Drake, hop on the path through Samuel P Taylor Stae Park, back through Lagunitas and San Geronimo) is a nice 20 miler, and when you advance beyond that you can start and end in Fairfax, or head out to Pt Reyes Station for a Bovine Bakery break in the middle.
The Tiburon loop from Corte Madera is also nice, not too much climbing, and about that long.
posted by straw at 7:53 PM on June 8, 2011
The Tiburon loop from Corte Madera is also nice, not too much climbing, and about that long.
posted by straw at 7:53 PM on June 8, 2011
Best answer: The Tiburon loop
The Alameda Creek trail is very gradual, but a bit far from the city.
The Moraga trail is a nice ride too. You can make a loop out of it by continuing from Moraga to Orinda and back to Lafayette.
Download KLIMB to map your own rides- it will give you elevation info too. and don't shy from the hills- you can do it!
posted by TDIpod at 9:02 PM on June 8, 2011
The Alameda Creek trail is very gradual, but a bit far from the city.
The Moraga trail is a nice ride too. You can make a loop out of it by continuing from Moraga to Orinda and back to Lafayette.
Download KLIMB to map your own rides- it will give you elevation info too. and don't shy from the hills- you can do it!
posted by TDIpod at 9:02 PM on June 8, 2011
If you like riding out to Marin, out to Tiburon is fun - then take the Ferry back and ride home from Pier 39. Or ride out to Rodeo Beach; if you don't want to do the Headlands, you can go through the tunnel.
Since you're already cool with getting out to Ocean Beach, try doing a loop around the city:
When you get to Ocean Beach, take a left and go down the Great Highway. You can either turn at Sloat (where the zoo is) or go up Skyline and around Lake Merced. Either way, get through St Francis Wood and onto Ocean. Once Ocean crosses 280, it becomes Geneva and you get a mile or so of downhill, which is really fun. Head down to Bayshore, then either make your way home or, if you're not tired yet, through Bayview past Mission Bay to AT&T Park.
And if you don't know about it yet, take a look at the San Francisco Bike Map to get gradients for different hills in SF.
posted by chbrooks at 9:25 PM on June 8, 2011
Since you're already cool with getting out to Ocean Beach, try doing a loop around the city:
When you get to Ocean Beach, take a left and go down the Great Highway. You can either turn at Sloat (where the zoo is) or go up Skyline and around Lake Merced. Either way, get through St Francis Wood and onto Ocean. Once Ocean crosses 280, it becomes Geneva and you get a mile or so of downhill, which is really fun. Head down to Bayshore, then either make your way home or, if you're not tired yet, through Bayview past Mission Bay to AT&T Park.
And if you don't know about it yet, take a look at the San Francisco Bike Map to get gradients for different hills in SF.
posted by chbrooks at 9:25 PM on June 8, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by AlliKat75 at 7:01 PM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]