hey everyone,

Im relocating to the heart of San Francisco from San Jose. Could anyone of my city counterparts give me a heads up on rides that are close to the city thats good for training (about 20-40 miles).

Ive had the pleasure of riding all the great rides from morgan hill to woodside but am looking for a more practical route for my weekdays.

And being a newbie in the city id love to meet with some of you on open grouprides if thats OK.

cheers, and from whats been in the news lately (san jose/saratoga incidents), be really safe out there on the roads.

Jung

Head over the GG bridge, then to the Headlands and/or Tiburon Paradise loops. For a longer ride, try Mt. Tam and Point Reyes.

can head over the GG bridge, ride up to Larkspur, then return to the city on the ferry...or vice versa of course. Also, FWIW there is a good brew pub across the road from the Larkspur ferry terminal for post-ride refreshments while waiting for the ferry.

Pretty great advice so far...

Go over the Golden Gate Bridge, up to the Marin Headlands, then on the way down take a left near the top and go through the tunnel; come out and make a sharp left to downtown Sausalito.

Enjoy your latte at the coffee shop...

Then ride back up the hill and over the bridge to home. That will kick you good in the pants.

My guess is it is about 20 miles total with a 2000 foot incline, counting ups and downs, yes? correct me if wrong...

nice little "after work" ride...

2000 feet sounds high. There's a short climb from the GG bridge to the top of the headlands (maybe 500 feet). There's another few hundred feet from Sausilito back to the bridge. Not a lot of other ups and downs, unless you take a hilly route to the SF side of the bridge.

If you want a hill climb, take the bike path to Mill Valley, then ride up Mt. Tam.

I think I was getting confused with Mt. Tam. as far as the elevation is concerned. Isn't Mt. Tamalpais at 2571 feet of elevation? Marin headlands isn't much, true...

Anyways a ride from San Francisco, over the Golden Gate Bridge and to the top of Mt. Tam is about 45 miles round trip. And San Francisco is extremely bike friendly. Every other car is a cycler and they always give you the right of way, and courtesy.

I think I was getting confused with Mt. Tam. as far as the elevation is concerned. Isn't Mt. Tamalpais at 2571 feet of elevation?

Mt. Tam has 2 peaks. My map says 2560' and 2586'. The main road goes to the west peak, then downhill a little, and up to the east peak. It is not very steep. The road does not actually go all the way to the summit, so you'll need to walk the last 50 feet or so.

Your elevations for Tam are correct, and the views are awesome.

The climb to the top of the Headlands above the GG Bridge (Hawk Hill) is to ~900' elevation (i.e. Sausalito is sea level).

Head over the GG bridge, then to the Headlands and/or Tiburon Paradise loops. For a longer ride, try Mt. Tam and Point Reyes.

Man, I miss the Tiburon Paradise loop ride. One of my all time favorite rides! (I live in CO, now) Don't forget, when you come off the hill on Paradise Drive, that there's a pedestrian bridge over the road. That makes for one heck of an intermediate spint line in a training ride!

Another great ride is out to Fairfax. Go across the GG Bridge, descend into Sausalito, ride through town to the MUT that starts by Sausalito Cyclery, follow it to the end (E. Blithedale), turn left and ride to Camino Alto, turn right and up the hill and over it to Corte Madera, and follow the road all the way to Sir Francis Drake, and then stay on SFD all the way to Fairfax. Then, if you're feeling really saucy that day, go out on SFD, over White's Hill, and all the way to Highway 1. Turn south, head to Stinson Beach, and then climb up to Mount Tam, go past Muir Woods, and down to Tamalpais Valley, and back to Sausalito. Go through Sausalito, and if you're tired, catch the ferry back to the City. If you're still feeling saucy, ride through Sausalito, up to the Bridge, and home! In a word, this ride is EPIC!!! I don't remember the mileage for this ride, but it's a good long haul...

Another great ride is out to Fairfax. Go across the GG Bridge, descend into Sausalito, ride through town to the MUT that starts by Sausalito Cyclery, follow it to the end (E. Blithedale), turn left and ride to Camino Alto, turn right and up the hill and over it to Corte Madera, and follow the road all the way to Sir Francis Drake, and then stay on SFD all the way to Fairfax. Then, if you're feeling really saucy that day, go out on SFD, over White's Hill, and all the way to Highway 1. Turn south, head to Stinson Beach, and then climb up to Mount Tam, go past Muir Woods, and down to Tamalpais Valley, and back to Sausalito. Go through Sausalito, and if you're tired, catch the ferry back to the City. If you're still feeling saucy, ride through Sausalito, up to the Bridge, and home! In a word, this ride is EPIC!!! I don't remember the mileage for this ride, but it's a good long haul...

That's about 65-70 miles. We do it every third Saturday or so and it's called Olema Loop. Nicassio is also a nice ride that incorporates much of Oleama. For some extra miles one could do Pt. Reyes Station. Again, all 3 rides have lots of the same terrain and all are fantastic.

Late response but I just found the thread... My favorite ride when the wife is busy and I have an extra two hours to tack onto my ride.

You'll want to drive over to Fairfax and park in the Albertsons parking lot right on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Tons do it so it's accepted and you wont get towed. Head west on Sir Francis Drake over White's Hill. After the golf course, turn right on Nicasio Valley Road, two good climbs here. Continue past Lucas Valley Road, through Nicasio for another 5 or 6 miles. Turn right at the T and climb Hicks Hill ( nice 700 footer). descend and continue past the Marin Sonoma Cheese Factory and take the next left on Marshall Petaluma Road. Follow the signs to Marshall (13 miles from this point). Climb over the Marshall Wall (a 900 footer) and decend to Hwy 1. The view from the top of the Marshall Wall is incredible. I never stop on rides but this summit is my one exception. Marshall also has a false summit so be sure to stop at the false one, the second one has no view. Start to slow when you see the church on your right, there is a stop sign at the base of the climb and the road does not level prior to it. Turn left on HWY 1 and continue to Point Reyes Station, descend into the town and continue through to Olema. At the stop sign in Olema, turn left onto Sir Francis Drake again and climb over Olema Hill (a 500 footer...) At the base of the descent, you can pick up a bike path that will allow you to avoid a pretty narrow, heavily traveled road with terrible pavement. The path follows Drake but on the other side of the creek and eventually brings you to Samual P Taylor park. Rejoin Drake and follow it back to Fairfax. In the parking lot is the Java Hut, a coffee stand that employs the finest cleavage and naval rings in the business. Enjoy, you've just done about 65 miles and about 4000 feet of up with some spectacular views...