Road notes

Saint Charles Avenue/19th Avenue/Beverly Street/Holloway Avenue/Font Boulevard/Lake Merced (all rides)

Exit Daly City BART on the parking lot side; leaving the parking lot puts you on Saint Charles, a residential street. A pathway at the end switches back down the hill to cross Brotherhood, then a few more turns will get you through Park Merced to Lake Merced, and then to Sloat and the Great Highway. Most of the roads are fine, but watch the intersections which are at odd angles.

The Great Highway (all rides)

The Great Highway, now Sunset Dunes Park, is a blast if the weather is right. This section is closed to cars, and it’s rail-straight, and fast if there aren’t a lot of pedestrians. Officially, bikes are supposed to be on the east roadway. Be aware of drifting sand on the road, and if the weather is nice, lots of pedestrians and dogs. At the windmill, turn into Golden Gate Park.

Golden Gate Park (all rides)

Golden Gate Park is relatively quiet and pretty.  All the roads are wide and well-paved, and now the route through the park is almost entirely car-free. Be careful making the awkward turn onto 25th Avenue as you leave the park.

23rd Avenue (all rides)

Now a Slow Street, this has become the bike-preferred way to cross the Richmond District.

Lincoln Boulevard/McDowell Ave/Mason Street (all rides)

Lincoln is a wide road with moderate traffic through the Presidio.  There’s a good climb up towards the bridge, then a descent back towards it; to get to the bridge, turn left into the parking lot just before going underneath the freeway, then get on the gravel path across the footbridge.

Coming back from the Golden Gate, there’s a wide, fast descent, then a left turn on Crissy Field Avenue (steep downhill) puts you on Mason Street by Crissy Field. Mason often has a blasting tailwind, and it has a long straight section to try out your big ring. Unless you are really hammering, hop on the bike/walk path to the left just before you leave the Presidio.

Marina/Fort Mason/North Gate/Embarcadero (all rides)

After leaving the Presidio you can take bike/walk pathways to Aquatic Park. If you’re in a hurry just stay on Marina to Bay Street, but for a more relaxed ride, stay with the pedestrians, dogs, and Blazing Saddles riders through Fort Mason. Watch the descent to Aquatic Park, it’s steep with bad pavement and posts at the end.

North Gate is the most relaxed way across town. Embarcadero has a decent bike lane and takes you to the Ferry Building, where you make a right to get to Embarcadero BART.

Golden Gate Bridge (intermediate/advanced rides)

I usually don’t enjoy riding on the bridge; it’s narrow, shared by two-way bike traffic (much of which is inexperienced tourists), it’s noisy, and there’s often strong winds and fog.  That being said, it can be spectacular on a good day.  Pay attention to what you’re doing; stop at one of the notches if you want to look at the view.

Conzelman Road (intermediate/advanced rides)

Conzelman is a GGNRA road; the speed limit is never above 25 and in fact is 15 for most of its length. It tends to have moderate traffic. Conzelman climbs steeply for a bit, then less steeply for a while; with awesome views of the bridge, the headlands, and San Fransisco all along its length. You might want to stop to rest at one of the “vista point” turnouts. At the very top of the hill there’s yet another great view. I usually wait at the peak for a significant gap between cars, because afterwards it becomes a narrow one-way street with a descent that is stunning in every sense of the word; do not let your speed get out of control. The really steep part ends after about 2 km and it flattens out, then climbs for a short stretch, then has a more controlled and fun descent on the way to the Point Bonita Lighthouse. Continue past the pedestrian footpath and stop at a lot overlooking Bird Island. It’s a great place for birdwatching if you’re into that, and there are sometimes whales offshore as well. If it’s not too chilly, this is a good place to stop for a snack.

Field/Simmon/Bunker Road (intermediate/advanced rides)

Field/Simmon/Bunker Road is fairly wide and starts with a nice tailwind-aided descent through the rolling hills of the headlands. After about 2 km it starts to climb until it enters a tunnel between West and East Fort Baker. The tunnel is sloped downwards and has a tailwind in this direction, but it’s only one lane (for both directions), so be alert. Wait for traffic to clear and get a good head of steam; it’s slightly downhill, with a tailwind.  Fun! Try to stay in the middle of the tunnel; the bike lane is usually not usable due to debris and sand.

Sausalito Lateral/Bridgeway (advanced ride)

This is a wide, busy road into and through Sausalito.  The descent into town is twisty and fairly narrow; you probably should take the lane.  Once in town, there are usually large crowds of pedestrians and slow-moving cars; keep an eye out.  After leaving downtown it’s more reasonable.  Where the road goes onto the freeway, get onto the bike path on your right.

Mill Valley-Sausalito bike path (advanced ride)

On weekends the traffic on this path can be out of control; watch out for dogs and people wobbling all over the place. Other than that it’s reasonably pleasant.  Don’t go all the way to the end; get on Sycamore at the circle by the water fountain and ball fields.

Sycamore/Monteford/Molino/Edgewood/Sequoia Valley (advanced ride)

This sequence of roads gets us from the bike path, through Mill Valley and up to Panoramic Highway.  We’re taking a slightly long way around, because Highway 1 between 101 and Mt. Tam is very narrow and has a steady stream of people burning irreplaceable fossil fuels and polluting the air to get to places where they can stroll on concrete paths beneath redwoods (which elsewhere are being clear-cut to make room for more strip malls and tract housing), an activity they refer to as “enjoying the outdoors”, and God forbid they be delayed for a few seconds by someone who is not in an air-conditioned cage.

Anyway, there are a couple of quick turns in town, then the route starts to climb the hill, on roads with moderate traffic.  There are a few steep sections.

Panoramic Highway (advanced ride)

Panoramic is aptly named; it has beautiful views of Muir Woods and the coastline.  It’s narrow in places and has some traffic; personally, I prefer doing Old Railroad Grade on the way up, and taking Panoramic on the way down. Mountain Home Inn is a nice stop for a beverage or lunch either way.

Pan Toll Road/Ridgecrest Boulevard (advanced ride)

The climb to the peak is similar to Panoramic, but steeper and less varied in grade. It goes past the Mountain Theater and the radio telescope on the west peak.  There’s a saddle between the west and east peaks; the road goes down a non-trivial descent, then you have to climb back up to the parking lot at the end of the road, where there’s a snack bar, water and restrooms, and a museum about the tourist railroad that used to exist on the mountain (now the Old Railroad Grade fire road).  To get to the actual peak you have to climb the foot path to the fire lookout.

Old Railroad Grade (gravel option)

The path that the tourist railroad up Mount Tamalpais used is still available for biking. It’s very wide and evenly graded, except for a few dips at creek crossings which formerly had railroad trestles. It’s all rideable on road bike, and more pleasant than the climb with traffic on Panoramic. The West Point Inn is a nice spot, accessible only via trail, that hosts a monthly pancake breakfast. The ride from West Point up to the peak is a notch harder than the rest of the road (slightly steeper and slightly more gravelly) but still totally doable. On the way down, return via Old Railroad Grade to West Point Inn, then take Stage Road down to Pantoll. There are many other off-road options to come down Mount Tam; the most obvious alternative, Eldridge Grade, is nice but a little rough for a gravel ride.