August 5-Spellbound Snaking Along Sheer Cliffs

Plunging down Conzelman Road clinging to the edge of the cliffs towering above the Pacific Ocean this morning, I felt a sense of weightlessness imagining myself a bird soaring down to skim above the deep blue choppy waters directly below. The one lane road’s dramatic 18% grade and vast sweeping unobstructed views of the Marin Headlands and the sea beyond make it one of my top five stretches of asphalt in the world to ride.

Heading out from my lodging in Mill Valley this morning, I turned south on highway 101, exited at Alexander Avenue and took bunker road to the Baker-Berry Tunnel, nicknamed the “Five Minute Tunnel” because motorists are directed through the one lane passageway in five-minute increments, a wait well worth the treat that lies beyond.

Exiting the tunnel, I turned south to snake up McCulough Road then west on Conzelman Road to head up to Hawk Hill. Getting out of the car, I breathed in the cool moist air, luxuriated in the feel of the fresh wind in my face, and took in the bird’s eye view of the full span of the gloriously red Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco skyline shrouded in fog, Alcatraz Island, Angel Island, and the silvery-blue waters of the San Franscisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Amazing!

Getting back in my car, I gripped the steering wheel in excitement, grateful that I had had the brakes on my car checked before entering the one-way portion of the road plummeting down the steep incline along the cliff’s edge towards Bonita Lighthouse.

Entering this secluded area of the headlands, I felt transported in time, enjoying every moment of solitude to gaze at the immense rippling waters of the Pacific ahead, the beautifully curved rugged rocky shoreline circling Bonita Cove below, and the arid ground on the cliffs above sporting low growing coastal shrubs, golden grass, and beautiful wildflowers in abundance.

Stopping to peer at the Golden Gate Bridge through a cluster of dark green tree branches I gazed east towards the Bay and the city beyond, grateful to have such a quiet moment to enjoy the beauty by myself.

Having gotten my fill for now, I headed south over the Golden Gate Straight into San Francisco, rising up Lombard Street before heading east over the Bay Bridge into Oakland for more grand adventures ahead. What a great day on the road!