On Bicycles, and.... what else is there?

Love-hate: my relationship with a mountain bike and Low-Key Hillclimbs. Low-Key Hillclimbs is a series of 9 climbs each year, on Saturdays from the beginning of October through Thanksgiving, with the final of the 9 on Thanksgiving itself. When we started the series, part of my vision was that we'd use it as a showcase for the variety of climbs in the Bay Area. Back then, in the mid-1990's, racers typically used a low gear of 39-25 or even 39-23. This tended to make the spicier climbs the Bay Area had on offer a bit more of a painful experience than many would prefer. Thus it was usually same-old-same-old: climb Old La Honda, climb Kings, climb Highway 9, West Alpine, Tunitas. But other truly differentiating options went neglected. So the goal was to broaden people's scope: cover the 2-dimensional space of duration and steepness with a combination of short and long, gradual and steep. In addition to making it more interesting for riders, it would make the competition m...

An amazingly nice mountain bike loop in the Marin Headlands, just across the Golden Gate from San Francisco, is the Miwok trail - Marincello trail climb combination. The two are connected by the Old Springs trail descent with its fun series of modest steps. The return from the Marincello summit is the Bobcat Trail descent. A profile of the climbs with the Old Springs descent in between is here: The smoothed grade versus distance is here: The grades omit the transitions at the bottom and top. Still, they don't do full justice to the difference. Miwok is an undulating grade, with a series of steeper portions, while Marincello is more of a steady grind with a brief recovery followed by a final short, steep bit at the end. Marincello is a smoother surface: there's some ruts on Miwok. But both trails are easily rideable on a road bike. The Old Springs descent is a bit rough going on a road bike but it's still not a problem. This is an awesome loop and easily exten...

I rode Hawk Hill in the Headlands today, and what an eye-opening experience. Rather than a traffic-clogged photo-op, it was a peaceful vista to be savored and enjoyed. Walkers, hikers, cyclists were going up and down the hill, all smiling at the rare opportunity presented by the Federal shutdown... the shut-down of a national park service that is so car-centric it views "access" synonymous with "car access". I went to the summit then started descending the backside of Conzelman. As I turned a corner I saw two women slowly climbing the other way. My first reaction was "they're crazy", until a few seconds later it occurred to me... why not? The "narrow" road is plenty wide enough for bidirectional bike traffic. So when I reached the bottom I turned around and climbed it myself: ouch, that is steep. It's an opportunity I'm not likely to get again. I strongly recommend checking it out. It's a chance to envision the pote...

Back in April I lamented the closing of the Marin Headlands for construction. Well, the construction was finally completed last month, and Sunday for the first time since then I rode the loop . I've been sick for two weeks now: sniffling, hacking, and coughing has been epidemic at work, and after Thanksgiving it was my turn in line. So I've been feeling sort of crappy, riding as I'm able. Yet yesterday I motivated myself to try a loop of the challenging and beautiful Headlands. The last time I'd ridden to the Hawk Hill summit was September, when it had been unpaved, serene, and illegal. The chance to have ridden it without car traffic had been too much to resist. Now the pavement is done and yesterday, fearful of what I would observe, I set off. Hawk Hill in September, during repaving. The result: the pavement is pristine, as expected, which is nice, of course. And my fears of "improvement" were unfounded: there's been little "improvemen...

The forbidden way... click for larger map. "No Bikes" is all the sign at the entrance to East Road says. The old sign, which said "due to gravel" along with how vehicles and pedestrians were still allowed, was gone. I guess they decided it was time to get serious. That sealed the deal. I turned onto East Road, rather than continue on the more direct route up Alexander. It's all completely ridiculous. There's a few trenches, marked with ominous "open trench" signs, which are filled with dirt and covered with gravel. Sanchez Road between Market and Duboce in the City is far worse. Yet for some reason cyclists, the majority of the traffic mountain bikes designed for riding up fire roads and single-track, is forbidden. Oh, my -- a cyclist might hit the gravel and crash! But so might a motorcyclist, or for that matter any vehicle. During the week the road is completely closed to all traffic, but on weekends, cars and pedestrians are allowed. ...