August 16: Fun, Fun, Fun!
Fun, fun, fun! Today I was like a kid in a candy store – I couldn’t get enough of the sweet curves, delicious sunshine, and mouth-watering views. From my perch on top of Hawk’s Hill this morning, my destination in Stinson Beach was just 20 miles away but a full 48-minute ride. That was my first clue that I was in for a real treat.
There’s something about eating in little beach towns that really appeals to me. So today I planned a trip to Stinson Beach. I had sampled great fish tacos there before and wanted a little excursion not too far from San Francisco as I had dinner plans with my son.
Before heading north, I couldn’t resist driving up to Hawk’s Hill in the Marin Headlands for another trip on the Conzelman Road loop. Bombing up Mccullough and then Conzelman Road, I was struck by the awe-inspiring sight of the Golden Gate Bridge resting in a bed of fog in front of the city of San Francisco with blue sky shining down on both. Wow! I gazed in rapt admiration as I watched cars on the bridge emerging from the mist and heard multiple ships blasting their fog horns in the bay below.
From Hawk’s Hill I drove north on highway 101 and then west on highway 1 through Mill Valley towards Stinson Beach. What a delight! I twisted and turned on a variety of curves under a canopy of Eucalyptus trees towards the ocean, breathing in the fresh forestry smell and the cool ocean air. After the intersection with the panoramic highway, I continued on a variety of fun and challenging switchbacks through rolling honey-colored hills and scattered trees towards the beach.
One of the most exciting parts of this ride was traversing a ridgeline in the Mount Tamalpais State Park area with thick fog on both sides of me. As I could not see anything but mist on either side of me, I had the illusion that I was driving a paved road through the clouds.
Arriving in Stinson Beach, I had a delightful lunch of fish tacos and a chocolate tart dessert before heading south back towards San Francisco. The ride back was in some ways more fun as a larger portion of it was uphill and I was able to be a little more aggressive with the curves. I was having too much fun to count them, but I would say the number and type of curves on this short stretch of road rivals that of the Tail of the Dragon.
Once back in the bay area, I rode the Conzelman Loop three more times before heading back to my hotel room to get ready for dinner with my son. What an incredible day on the bike!
