Well, 11 people showed up for this ride! 4 of us are going to do STPtogether so it was a good test of our stamina!

Gaby (from the Napa bike club) had said this was a 2000 ft elev gain ride- 55 miles! WELL, my bike club pals informed me that it was more like 5500 ft (they had done the same ride two weeks ago).

That said, we all got started a little after 9 and began the endless climb about 10 minutes later.

As we cycled along, I was struck by the beauty of this ride. Redwood trees, shade, wildflowers and not much traffic (after we passed the golf course about 2.5 miles into the ride). We passed a doe and fawn standing on the side of the road. They didn't budge, just looked at us very nonchalantly! That would have been a photo op. Sorry I didn't have a camera.

After reaching the top of the 1st ridge above Lake Lagunitas, we turned south and continued to climb. Eventually we came to the west side of Mt Tam with its spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. I was told there were 7 hills between here and the summit of Mt Tam. -the 7 evil sisters someone said. The beauty of the scenery made the continued climbing much easier as each time we came up a slight hill, another view would appear! A cool breeze from the south kept us from getting too warm from the sun. The weather couldn't have been more cooperative!

After one more junction, we took the up and back road to the summit. At the top there is a little snack bar which serves drinks, sandwiches, and ice cream. Most of us opted for ice cream. We stayed up for about 20 minutes as it was quite lovely.

We then put on our jackets and arm warmers as the next part of the ride involved going down about 3500 + ft (MP knows this route well)to the ocean where we met Highway 1 and Stinson Beach- a favorite weekend getaway for folks in the SF Bay area.

That descent was much fun- I practiced seeing how quickly I could go around the turns without putting too much brake on. My bike really is designed for this kind of riding so it was fun to test it! It never reached its limits, just mine! Now I know why Mailliot Pois is such a good descender. She has roads like this within a few miles of her house!

After a brief stop for food in Stinson Beach, we headed north about 3 miles to the road that would take us back to the ridge and eventually Fairfax. I hadn't done this road before- the Bolinas/Fairfax road- so I had no idea of what it might be like. Evidently it's about 4 miles up to the top- 6-7% grade with some steeper sections inbetween. That grade was warmer than the rest of the ride, I was sorry I had long sleeves on as I got quite warm.

Once everyone reached the top, we headed back home down the steep grade to the lake and then over past the golf course and into Fairfax. Again, it was a time to work on descending skills. Much fun!

I'll do this ride again- let's plan on a TE group. We need to start early as the eastern side of the mountain warms up pretty quickly as does the grade coming up from Hwy 1 (sheltered from most wind and not much shade).

MP - you can be our SAG!!!!!!! (ha ha ha- that'll be the day!)