south from San Francisco bike route?

I have a chance to ride in San Francisco and I'm interested in going
south.

I'll start riding in the Marina area and can map a route to Skyline
Blvd (or is it drive?).

But as I follow my map south Skyline merges into 280 (freeway).

Is there a good route to follow south that takes me into the coast
hills? Or is there a good route that follows to coast line - without
too much traffic?

Thanks,

Al Sharff

Al Sharff writes:

I have a chance to ride in San Francisco and I'm interested in going
south.

I'll start riding in the Marina area and can map a route to Skyline
Blvd (or is it drive?).

But as I follow my map south Skyline merges into 280 (freeway).

Not to worry, there is a safe bike shoulder on which you are permitted
to ride on I280. It is probably safer during daylight hours than most
streets. At the appropriate place a sign states "Bicycles must Exit"
as HWY35 becomes separate again. Shortly after that you can also take
Sawyer Camp Road, a paved toad in the SF Water Department lands. As
you can see on this map, the two roads are merged for about 1/4 mile
at the cursor.

http://tinyurl.com/85crn

Is there a good route to follow south that takes me into the coast
hills? Or is there a good route that follows to coast line -
without too much traffic?

You would probably do better to follow 19th avenue and take HWY1 at
the cursor in this map toward Pacifica, after which the road crosses
Devils Slide and spectacular vies of the coast. After Pacifica the
road only gets better all the way to Santa Cruz the Pacific is most
scenic at this time of year with huge surf and clear air. If you stay
at a motel in Santa Cruz, its a great two day ride, coming back on
HWY9 that has a bit of commute traffic between Felton and Boulder
Creek where most cars take Bear Creek Rd to San Jose. From there to
HWY35 (Skyline Blvd) is peaceful riding. And of course there is the
afore mentioned I280 piece where the two roads merge. Don't worry
about that. It is a trivial and theoretical problem. The larger
problem is what you do at the SF city limits where traffic gets denser
as you get to 19th AVE.

http://tinyurl.com/9a7zv

Make sure you take a left to the Great Highway along the beach at the
intersection along Lake Merced.

http://tinyurl.com/76uo8

Jobst Brandt

Al Sharff writes:

I have a chance to ride in San Francisco and I'm interested in going
south.

I'll start riding in the Marina area and can map a route to Skyline
Blvd (or is it drive?).

But as I follow my map south Skyline merges into 280 (freeway).

Not to worry, there is a safe bike shoulder on which you are permitted
to ride on I280. It is probably safer during daylight hours than most
streets. At the appropriate place a sign states "Bicycles must Exit"
as HWY35 becomes separate again. Shortly after that you can also take
Sawyer Camp Road, a paved toad in the SF Water Department lands. As
you can see on this map, the two roads are merged for about 1/4 mile
at the cursor.

http://tinyurl.com/85crn

Is there a good route to follow south that takes me into the coast
hills? Or is there a good route that follows to coast line -
without too much traffic?

http://tinyurl.com/9b4lu

You would probably do better to follow the Great Highway along the
beach and take HWY1 at the cursor in this map toward Pacifica,
after which the road crosses Devils Slide and spectacular vies of the
coast. After Pacifica the road only gets better all the way to Santa
Cruz. The Pacific is most scenic at this time of year with huge surf
and clear air.

As you reach Santa Cruz, turn right at the second traffic light, Swift
Street, and follow it to to the beach at Cliff Drive to see the great
expanse of Monterey Bay with the Santa Lucia mountains to the south
looking like a huge island with Monterey at the western tip.
Lighthouse Point with its Seal Rock and many surf boarders is a good
scene. Then of course there is the Boardwalk and the Giant Dipper,
one of the great wooden roller coasters of the USA.

http://www.beachboardwalk.com/02_giant_dipper.html

Riding north on the coast, even in winter is seldom a pleasant ride
because the prevailing winds are from the north-west:

http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/wind/streaklines.shtml

(as I write this [22:36 PST], there is no wind at all with near
motionless dots instead of wind vector streaks)

With a stay at a motel in Santa Cruz, its a great two day ride, coming
back on HWY9 through the redwoods. This road has a bit of commute
traffic between Felton and Boulder Creek above which most cars take
Bear Creek Rd to San Jose. From there to HWY35 (Skyline Blvd) is
peaceful riding. And farther north, of course, there is the afore
mentioned I280 piece where the two roads merge. Don't worry about
that. It is a trivial and theoretical problem. The larger problem is
what you do at the SF city limits where traffic gets denser as you get
to 19th AVE.

http://tinyurl.com/9a7zv

Make sure you take a left to the Great Highway along the beach at the
intersection along Lake Merced.

http://tinyurl.com/76uo8

Jobst Brandt

al sharff wrote:
I have a chance to ride in San Francisco and I'm interested in going
south.

I'll start riding in the Marina area and can map a route to Skyline
Blvd (or is it drive?).

But as I follow my map south Skyline merges into 280 (freeway).

Is there a good route to follow south that takes me into the coast
hills? Or is there a good route that follows to coast line - without
too much traffic?

Thanks,

Al Sharff

You can ride on the shoulder of 280 though that stretch. Not great
riding, but possible. Southbound there are two sections which you have
to do on 280 (one northbound); all told it is less than a half-mile I
believe.

Follow the advice in Jobst's second message if you are going to
continue on 1; take the Great Highway and stay on 1 rather than heading
up to Skyline. Ignore Jobst's first message where he suggests taking
19th Ave. 19th Ave is probably the busiest road in SF, and not for the
feint of heart. Riding it is a suicide wish IMO. Another alternative
is to take Skyline to Sharp Park Rd then head west back to Hwy 1,
avoiding most of coastal Pacifica.

If you want to travel the hills then go to the coast, continue on
Skyline to either Hwy 92 or Hwy 84 and then head west. 84 is a bit
more sane with less traffic, usually. In between these two is
Tunitas Creek Rd., a great road to ascend but the first 7 miles heading
west is painful on the descent (bad pavement, steep road). Further
south, Alpine Rd. to Pescadero Rd. to the coast is nice. Any of these
get you to Hwy 1 south of Devil's slide; Devil's Slide is a narrow
place with bad sight lines; not a fun place to ride IMO.

- rick

Any other suggestions for a 2-4 day ride out of SFO?

Any other suggestions for a 2-4 day ride out of SFO?

The route from the Bay Area to San Luis Obispo is one of my favorite
three day rides. One then takes Amtrak back to the Bay Area.

The Pacific coast (particularly north of Mendocino) is also high on my
list, but I didn't particularly figure out one-way transportation
alternatives for only 2-4 days - so this one I did by taking flying to
Eugene (Amtrak also stops there) and taking six days to bike back to
the Bay Area.

I found the central valley to be so-so, but once your past that, there
is some good riding through some of the passes in the Sierras. So
that is one I'd probably rent a car to drive to the Sierras and then
do a loop.

--mev, Mike Vermeulen

Any other suggestions for a 2-4 day ride out of SFO?

Personally, I'd go north, over the Golden Gate Bridge towards the
Russian River area, through Sausalito, Mill Valley, Petaluma, Valley
Ford, and Occidental.

If I wanted to visit some of the wine country, the next day I'd head
out to Healdsburg. If that wasn't enough of a ride for the day, I'd
take in Geyserville as well. On the way back to the Russian River,
I'd detour up Swee****er Springs Road and through Armstrong Redwoods
Park. A nice challenge, and a pretty park.

The next day, I'd head up the coastal mountains: Old Cazadero Rd.,
Kings Ridge Rd., Tin Barn Rd., Annapolis Rd. to Hwy 1, south on 1 to
Fort Ross Rd., up Fort Ross, down Seaview and Myers Grade to 1,
continue on 1 to 116 and back to Russian River. Alternatively, I'd
continue down to Valley Ford that night, since it has a cool old inn.

The final day, I'd head mostly along the coast back to San
Francisco. Lots of route options on this segment. It's a nice
general route, because it can be lengthened or shortened easily.

If you want more details, let me know.
--
Terry Morse ... Undiscovered Country Tours ... http://udctours.com/

al sharff wrote:

I have a chance to ride in San Francisco and I'm interested in going
south.

I'll start riding in the Marina area and can map a route to Skyline
Blvd (or is it drive?).

But as I follow my map south Skyline merges into 280 (freeway).

Is there a good route to follow south that takes me into the coast
hills? Or is there a good route that follows to coast line - without
too much traffic?

Thanks,

Al Sharff


I suggest two things. Go to Krebs Maps. These are great cycling maps.
Their web site is http://www.krebscycleproducts.com/.

One of the other things to do is to visit some of the local bike club
sites. I am thinking of ACTC and the bikemaster web site. They have
route maps that go up that far north. ACTC is in the South Bay.
Western Wheelers has some great info as well.

I agree with the person who said that 19th Avenue would be somewhat
sucidal. I think on the news this week it was called SF's most
dangerous street because it really is an extension of a freeway.

After you get out of the City and down to Skyline, you will have a lot
options. It will depends on what you want to do and what you want to see.

Right before you hit 280 on Skyline, you'll see a walking jogging path
on the right. This takes you parallel to Syline, out a gate on the
other side, under the freeway, then turn left and when you hit a gas
station, turn right under the freeway again and into Sawyer Camp Trail
- dedicated walking/bike path. You'll actually pass the San Andreas
Fault as you cross the bridge. DOing it this way, you never ride on
280.

Exit on the other end, You hit Hwy 92, turn right going west. This by
far has the least traffic. Going thru Devil's slide is sometimes hairy
with very little shoulder. At the end of Hwy 92, you hit hwy 1 at Half
Moon Bay.

Hope this helps. We've done this route a few times.

Any other suggestions for a 2-4 day ride out of SFO?

What time of year? And do you prefer flatter or hillier routes?

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com