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Day Ride Out Of San Francisco?

Dr. Dolittle

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I'll be in SF next week and as of right now the weather looks decent and I'm pondering renting a bike for the day. Any suggestions on a nice day ride, say around 200 to 300 miles total, with some scenery and/or interesting places to stop? Is traffic a nightmare taking the coast down to Monterrey? Any of the giant redwoods north of the GG Bridge (mapquest shows some kind of "green" park in that area)? Is the Sonoma/Napa area worth visiting if you have no desire to do a winery tour?

Thanks for your ideas!
 
My wife was very impressed with the Alcatraz tour when she went there during a trip for work.

How fast will I have to get that rental bike going in order to hydroplane all the way out to Alcatraz? :D

I did that tour by myself years ago and really enjoyed it, too. Was out there with my wife and daughters about 4 years ago and my wife freaked. Said she started getting real bad vibes and lots of negative energy so we got on the next boat off the island. She's much more sensitive about that kind of thing than I am! I guess the Birdman was haunting her thoughts or something.
 
highway 1 north up to bodega bay is a pretty ride just north of bodega you can jump on a highway that follows the russian river back into the wine country Napa / Sonama
 
highway 1 north up to bodega bay is a pretty ride just north of bodega you can jump on a highway that follows the russian river back into the wine country Napa / Sonama

Thanks - that's pretty much what i was planning from spending a couple minutes on mapquest. Recommend any good places for lunch?
 
Thanks - that's pretty much what i was planning from spending a couple minutes on mapquest. Recommend any good places for lunch?

There should be lots of places in Bodega... My fav is a nice restaurant and lodge overlooking the ocean on a clff in Fort Ross about 15 to 20 miles up from Jenner (Jenner is where you will meet the Russian river and be able to cut back inland through the mountains.) Problem is I dont know that it is open this time of year so a bit iffyand you would have to go up eat and then come back down.. When i do that stretch I am usually just going up and headed for Avenue of the Giants. All in all your best bet would probably be stop in Bodega for food or Jenner although I have never eaten in Jenner I have seen some restaurants there. Have fun and hope the legendary fog doesn't interfere with your trip... Last summer i did SF to Seattle up 1 and got lucky only hit a couple days of fog and NO rain the gods were smiling. :D

oh BTW if you are feeling crazy CA is a lane splitting state lol have fun
 
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I'll be in SF next week and as of right now the weather looks decent and I'm pondering renting a bike for the day. Any suggestions on a nice day ride, say around 200 to 300 miles total, with some scenery and/or interesting places to stop? Is traffic a nightmare taking the coast down to Monterrey? Any of the giant redwoods north of the GG Bridge (mapquest shows some kind of "green" park in that area)? Is the Sonoma/Napa area worth visiting if you have no desire to do a winery tour?

Thanks for your ideas!

Depends on how energetic you are and how far you want to ride. If SF happens to be clear and sunny you will want to stay along the scenic 49 mile ride through and around the city OR AT LEAST GO past the piers, stop and try a sour dough french bowl of clam chowder AND cracked crab in scallions, hot oil w/ soy sauce (Cantonese style) or with more traditional butter w/ real sourdough french bread on the wharf. Then get out of the SF traffic, and go under the Golden Gate Bridge to Fort Point, do the loop if you don't want to stop, and then go north on Hwy 101 to Muir Woods for the redwood or Marin highlands (small winding road just before the NB entrance to the GG bridge or go thru small "eclectic" towns like Sausilito if you want to look at tourist type stuff and like to walk along the bay for pictures front where you want to see Alcatraz, Angel Island or GG or SF/OK Bay Bridge off in the distance...:newsmile057:

Catch Hwy 101 north and you will go thru the rest of Marin County, then Sonoma County where Petaluma is the first town, followed by Cotati/Rohnert Park (there is Michaels' HD there). From this point you can go to the in an easterly direction to small towns like Sonoma (good wineries like Benziger and trip on up to Hwy 116 to Hwy 29 to the Napa Valley, towards St. Helena where you will find great eateries w/ foods to pair along with a good bottle of red or champagne (Domaine Caneros comes to mind at the start of Hwy 29 into the Napa Valley). If you head west past Hwy 101 on River Road, it will take you to Hwy 1 past spectacular scenic beaches (water is too cold to swim unless you bring a surf suit), continue south on Hwy 1 back to SF Bay Area. I would plan the "loop" as you said mapquest is fine, but carry a GPS as it is quite a long easy ride and one can get lost when all your senses are in overload, with the Hwy 1 sections and country road in northern Sonoma/Napa county being fairly technical, but not difficult. :bigsmiley12:
 
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