Notably this is all stuff that doesn’t involve the abhorrent act of throwing your bike in a car. There are plenty of great spots that are accessible without using a car or plane — I’d prefer to pick these rather than find places I want to go and assume I can use climate-destroying means to get there. Besides, it’s so fun to look at all the trail and transit maps in the area. 🚏
New-to-Me Stuff
Máyyan ‘Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve
Bay Nature did an article on this new open space preserve that got me excited about visiting here. Taking Caltrain down to Tamien and getting to the preserve via the Coyote Creek Trail. A mostly car-free 16 miles to get there.
American River Parkway Trail in Sacramento
Taking the ferry from SF to Jack London Square where we can take the Amtrak Capital Corridor. 32 miles of car-free multi-use path!
Saddle Trail and others are available for biking and it’s not too hard to get here. I also haven’t done the climb up on Gaudalupe Canyon Pkwy in a long while.
I’ve never been up here and it seems a bit annoying to bike to. But Shoreline and Bay View Trail look great and it’s something fairly different for me! Bay Area Rides has a good page on a loop ride. I’d probably take the ferry to Larkspur and enter the park from the north-west because it’d be a pretty long day otherwise.
Miwok and Old Springs Trail in Marin
I need to do the Miwok → Old Springs → Marincello → Bobcat loop!
I walked a bit of this path earlier this year but I want to bike the whole thing. Although not all of it is completed. We can bring our bikes on the Amtrak Coast Starlight (again)!
Visitacion Valley to the South Bay on the Brompton
Taking Muni to Visitacion Valley takes exactly as long as biking to it from me. If I transit there I skip a lot of hills, which means I could take the Brompton and then have a flat 30 mile ride through San Mateo.
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit
I’d like to put my bike on SMART somewhere! TBD where.
Another one from Bay Area Rides. Scenic and not difficult! Taking Caltrain from Tamien and going along the Los Alamitos Creek Trail means a fairly car-lite way to get there.
I biked through some of this between Santa Cruz and Monterey back in 2021. I was only on the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail and I’ve been wanting to go back through there ever since. It almost feels like a giant, calmer, Ocean Beach with all the sand dunes.
We missed when East Bay Bike Party went through here at night but tbh I want to go through during the day anyway. 31 miles of car-free, flat multi-use path for when I want something chill! BART to Walnut Creek and visit Riv at the same time. Another good one for the Brompton.
Once again Bay Area Rides has a good page. Can get there from either Bay Fair or Castro Valley BART. Gotta scope out which one’s chiller.
Tried and True
I enjoyed Perimeter and Fire Rd so much when a bunch of us when in August. It’s too short. I want to do a couple laps of Fire Rd. And! The ferry is such a vibe!
We went through a bit of this in September but I keep meaning to come back. It’s easy to get to from Caltrain or BART and you can throw in a bunch of Bay Trail and/or Alameda Creek Trail.
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