Day Fourteen- PacNW Tour- Bodega Bay, CA to San Francisco, CA- Del fin de la Camino!

Well, all good things must eventually come to an end, and today was it for my PacNW Bike Tour...  It's been an incredible journey all down the coast, and great to meet up with Tim and Josh for a couple of legs of ridingalong the way!

Today was a typical start, up early and on the road shortly after 7:00am.  Like yesterday, I got to sunny skies- a rarity in the morning around here during the summer, as the marine for layer tpicall comes ashore at night and hangs inland until late morning at least!  I started out riding inland toward Petaluma along CA Rt.1, then cut back over to Tomales Bay along the Point Reyes peninsula.  It looks pretty flat on the map, but it's got a lot of deceptive terrain!  None the less, it was beautiful riding through open ranch land...

Eventually, I got back to the shoreline along Tomales Bay.  This is a long tidal estuary with lots of oyster farming.  Unfortunately, it was a bit early for oysters, but still picturesque!

After nearly 25 miles along the bay, you eventually come to the land connecting Point Reyes to the mainland, and then on to a narrow strip of flat land adjacent to the Marin Headlands, and Stinson Beach.  

Here's where I met up with Josh Cousins, a colleague who also teaches at ESF back home.  He's out here doing summer research out of Berkeley, and gets a good bit of riding in too!

Josh shepherded me up and over Mt. Tamalpais, a challenging 1500' climb at 8% to 12% grade.  A great way to finish my tour! The climb switchbacks up through eucalyptus and coastal chaparral, then into ravines of redwoods on the edge of Muir Woods.  Ultimately, you teach a Ridgeline, where there can be a great view, but by this time, the marine layer had moved back inland, leaving us blanketed in clouds!  But... the descent down to Mill Valley was awesome!! Here Josh headed back toward Berkeley, and I headed further south to Sausalito and the over the Golden Gate into San Francisco!

Once over the bridge, I followed the great set of bike paths that trace the water front all the way to the ferry terminal, and settled in for a well earned lunch on the waterfront.

After lunch, it was off to Oakland and my hotel, but via BART, not on two wheels anymore!  A bit anticlimactic perhaps, but a much safer way to get to that side of the bay :-). And that about wraps it!!  I hope anyone who has followed me along has enjoyed the blog as much as I've enjoyed the journey! It's been a hell of an adventure, and I'm pleased to be no worse for wear as well...

Cheers-

Scott