ride around SF Bay

Bill Bushnell

In ba.bicycles Michael Hutchings <hutching@math.berkeley.edu> wrote:
> I am thinking of trying to ride around the SF Bay, in a
> couple of stages, taking advantage of the new bike path
> over the Carquinez bridge. Does anyone know a nice route
> for the northern part between the Carquinez bridge and the
> Golden Gate? Or can anyone refer me to good maps of that
> area? I recall seeing a post about this somewhere but I
> can't find it.

The Krebs cycling maps are the definitive cycling maps
for Northern California. AAA also does a respectable
job with their regional maps, although they include
less bike-specific detail (e.g. road steepness,
food/water availability, etc.), and they don't usually
include bike paths.

The problem is how to get from Novato to Vallejo or vice-
versa. The most direct route is on CA37. The road is
essentially flat and the shoulder good, but the two bridges
over the Petaluma River and the Napa Slough have no
shoulder. The bridge over the Napa River is high, but has a
decently-wide shoulder, although a rather low railing. There
was some discussion of this route a couple of months ago on
this forum.

The nearest alternative route is CA12 to the north. While
this route is somewhat more topographically interesting, it
has heavy traffic and narrow shoulders. Other routes are
even further to the north and more out of the way for an
"around the bay" type ride.

Before the new Carquinez bike path opened, one needed to
ride east to Rio Vista (CA12) and Antioch (CA160) to
complete a circumnavigation of the greater bay (SF, San
Pablo, and Suisun). It's now a bit late this year to see the
area at its best, but the route through American Canyon,
Suisun City, Birds Landing and the Montezuma Hills to Rio
Vista is worthwhile. While in Rio Vista don't forget to
visit Foster's Bighorn on Main St. and see the appalling (or
amazing, depending on your point of view) collection of
stuffed animal heads.

> I am also wondering whether one should go clockwise or
> counterclockwise. I am thinking the latter might be easier
> with the prevailing wind patterns, but maybe that's
> nonsense.

If you want to avoid headwinds and enjoy tailwinds, plan
your route to take to the hills when you're riding toward
the west or northwest and to ride closer to the bay when
you're riding east or southeast. This assumes the prevailing
winds are from the west and northwest. I find bay area winds
are stronger and more consistent near the bay or on flat
terrain than they are in the hills.

> I am also debating whether it would be cheating to go over
> the Dumbarton bridge.

Depends on how you define cheating. If you cross the
Dumbarton, you might cheat yourself out of enjoying
Calaveras Rd.

--
Bill Bushnell