Rethinking this post...
I just got back from a ride through the Headlands. It got me to thinking about this post.
April can be spetacular weather. In general, April and October are the best months.
It was a spetacularly clear afternoon. The descent west off of Hawk Hill, the ride out to the beach, the climb up to Battery Townsley -- just spetacular.
Parts of the Mt. Tam ride are not to be missed. But a big part of that ride is what I consider 'junk miles'. The ride from Sausalito to Mill Valley, the ride after Alpine dam around to Fairfax and then down to Sausalito -- I find all of those miles very unrewarding.
When I do Mt. Tam I do it as an out and back. I ride the spine of the mountain out to the east peak. I've done the Alpine dam loop but I can't really recommend it.
Some people ride up Mt. Tam, turn left at Ridgecrest (right takes you out to east peak), continue past the turn off for Alpine dam, and descend down to Stinson Beach (about 700m).
If it's a quite day, they'll ride back along the pacific on Hwy-1. Some people prefer to do it as an out and back -- i.e. climb back up Ridgecrest and descend back to Mill Valley.
I would avoid using Hwy-1. There is no bike lane on Hwy-1. It's narrow, the traffic moves fast, the climbing can be slow. OTOH, the scenery is great.
FWIW, in general the SF Bay Area is very bike friendly but that can change fast when you get away from the cities. Sadly Marin is not imune to this. I've had some unplesant experiences with motorists on Hwy-1.
The weather may be awful in San Francisco but teriffic as soon as you cross the Golden Gate bridge into Marin. Don't talk yourself out of doing the ride based on what you see out your window. This web cam has frequent updates,
Mt. Tam Cam - Mount Tamalpais Webcam trail maps
On the way out, we take Alexander Ave from the north side of the Golden Gate bridge down into Sausalito. It's fast but you miss some cool stuff. On the way back, we exit Alexander Avenue just south of Sausalito and take East Avenue through the park. That's much nicer. It takes you to the foot of the Golden Gate bridge, where the pier is in this picture,
Fort Baker Mine Depot at Horseshoe Cove | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
From there it's a quick 70m climb back up to the bridge. The grade is 10-12% in some places. Not bad.
From the bridge, we often continue the climb up to the top of Hawk Hill. It's only and additional 3 Km and ~200 meters of climbing with no grades of more than 8.5%.
There are so many postcard views on the way up it's hard to resist. At the top, you can pass through a short tunnel (at the turn around point in the parking area). That tunnel takes you to the west side of Hawk Hill. From there the park is layed out at your feet. The views up and down the coast can be spetacular.
The descent going west from Hawk Hill is my favorite. It starts off at 22% but it flattens out after the 3rd of 4th curve. It comes at you fast, so take it easy and enjoy the view. Unfortunately I've been first responder on at least half a dozen crashes on that part of the descent. Some of those were very not pretty. Often it was an experienced rider who just didn't know the route.
The ride out to Rodeo beach is well worth it. The surf breaking on the ciffs can be very impressive. From there you can either turn back or take a fast loop up into the hills
Google Maps
If you continue up the hill, the first part of the loop runs along the edge of the cliffs. It's about 1 Km with some 10-14% pitches. At the top, like Hawk Hill, there's a very short tunnel that takes you to the west side of the hill. The view from there is well worth the short detour.
There's some interestingly quirky stuff in the headlands, like this blue whale skeleton,
Google Maps
The Marine Mammal Center is also kind of cool, if you're interested in natural history stuff. You'll see it on the map. It's very close to the blue whale.
The whole 'detour' through the Marin Headlands is only about 10 Km. Compared to the 'junk miles' on the rest of the ride, it's like being in a different world.
Anyway, the temperature in SF can be 30 degrees (F) cooler than Mt. Tam. Check my cue sheet for info on where to find water on the climb. There's a park half way up (just before Pan Toll Road) and there's water at the top.
If you're going to ride that loop I suggest doing it in the clockwise direction -- Mill Valley, Mt. Tam, Alpine Dam, Fairfax.
The road surface is not very good between the descent from Mt. Tam -> Alpine Dam -> Fairfax.
I get fatigued from the jostling.
The scenery out of Mill Valley, up Mt. Tam, and out to Alpine dam is excellent. From that point on it gets dull. Just suburban Marin county.
The cafe's in Mill Valley are good. Or stop at Cibo in Sausalito. They're very casual and bike friendly,
Cibo of Sausalito
Cibo is the one exception that I have to my rule for where to eat in Sausalito. Bridgeway is the road where all the tourists stop. There's almost nothing that that I'd recommend on Bridgeway other than Cibo. Locals generaly don't eat at places on Bridgeway. They tend to eat one block in on Caledonia.
One other thing. The rules about crossing the Golden Gate bridge are a bit strange. On week days, all bike traffic is on the east side (city side) except for between 3:30 PM and sundown.
All of the pedestrians are also on the east side. It's a bit of a zoo. The bridge crew uses the west side and they get off work at 3:30 PM. So at that point all of the bike traffic moves to the west side. And that is so much better than the east side.
