hey, i was thinking about it as i was reading cyclofiend's post and wanted to re-comment. A good friend of mine rode it loaded on 32mm pasela TGs with a 42x28 low gear on an mid level 80s fuji. He's not a recreational cyclist and it was his first time ever doing something like this, though he rides everyday in the city.
i searched bolinas on my blog, and have photos from several rides here that might help inform conditions for your own appraisal. http://bikenoir.blogspot.com/search?q=bolinas shrug. i go both ways, but i don't think that it's a particularly challenging trail. you'll walk some bits with jbs, to be sure, but i've had plenty of luck out there and consider it one of the best and smoothest long sections of legitimate trail around. the first bit, riding through redwood, is pretty much my ideal. ~erik "who admittedly tries to avoid roads whenever possible" jensen On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 11:48 PM, CycloFiend <[email protected]>wrote: > on 12/13/10 9:03 PM, James Warren at [email protected] wrote: > > This is a question that probably only could be answered by members from > the > > San Francisco area, but here goes: > > > > I'm planning on doing a multi-day ride north from downtown San Francisco, > > across the Golden Gate Bridge, and then exploring Marin and Sonoma. For > part > > of my route, I plan to take Bolinas Ridge Fire Road from where it starts > at > > Bolinas Fairfax to where it ends near Olema and Sir Francis Drake. > > > > I'm seeking opinions from those who have ridden the road. Will I be at > all > > unhappy if I ride this road with Jack Browns on a slightly loaded > Rivendell, > > like say, my Rambouillet? > > That's kind of a loaded question, but here goes... > > From the time you leave BoFax (paved) and head north on the trail, you'll > find a significant range of temperatures and conditions. On one summer ride > a few years ago, we were slipping and sliding at the beginning and > literally > havng our fillings rattled out at the other end. You will go through at > least 3 ecosystems. I have been on that trail in fog so thick I had no > idea > where I was. > > There are a few decent pitches at the beginning, and you really don't feel > like you are heading down until a ways into it. I can't recall ever riding > it with a smooth tire. The last time I recall, it was on a 35 mm CX tire > with decent tread nibblies. > > You don't say when you are planning the ride, but if it's right now, I'd > say > the first couple miles or so will be pretty sloppy. After that, you get out > from under the trees and things open up a bit. The northern half dries out > as quickly as anything will this time of year. The tree canopy at the > southern end tends to trap a lot of moisture from the coast, even during > the > summer months. > > It also depends a bit on how comfortable you are riding off road on > treadless tires. That stretch of trail isn't particularly steep the way > that coming off of Mt Tam can be, but there are off camber turns and it can > be tricky to maintain momentum and tire adhesion, both up hill and down. > If > you've never done it, it's probably not the best place to learn without > someone else along for the ride. > > So, will you be "at all unhappy..."? If you fell a few times and got muddy, > scraped some paint off the bike and scraped up yourself or your pack would > that be a deal killer? If you ended up walking your bike for a mile or so, > would that ruin your mood? If so, then I'd stick to the pavement. BoFax > road is actually a gem of a ride - little travelled and pretty rustic. Hwy > 1 > north from Bolinas is not bad, though there's little shoulder in some > spots. > > But, that being said, Bolinas Ridge is pretty awesome. I'd be careful and > highly present if I were running the JB's. Which I generally do these days. > But, if I feel nervous, I'm not afraid to stop and walk. I'm uncomfortable > saying "hey, go for it" because I've never ridden with you. It's not a > Rail > Trail, to be sure, and if you are even considering it, I reckon you have > _some_ chops. > > The last thing I would say is that unless you are physically injured and > need to get down off the ridge to Hwy one, I'd stay on the trail all the > way > to Sir Francis Drake (or drop down to Cross Marin Trail if you want to > camp > at SP Taylor) The two trails trails that come down off the ridge to the > west drop pretty quickly, and they'll be fairly slick. By the time you get > to Randall Trail, things are about to be much easier for the remainder of > the trip. > > Some photos from an August ride a few years back - > http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclofiend/sets/72157594234804546 > > > > ('Cause I could go with the Atlantis 700x40's with some tread, but for > the > > type of ride the rest will be, it might be more fun on the Rambouillet > with > > JB's.) > > > > FYI: My current plan is to head up to Mill Valley, take Blithedale to > Railroad > > Grade, up to West Point Inn. Little break, followed by ride down Old > Stage to > > Pantoll, take Pantoll up to Ridgecrest. Take Ridgecrest to Bolinas Ridge > Fire > > Road. Then Platform Bridge to Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road. Spend the night in > > Petaluma. > > After pushing through Bolinas Ridge, I'd be tempted to head for Pt. Reyes > Station - great bike shop in town - Black Mountain Cycles. (though if you > sit down on his couch, it's tough to get back up...) Good food in town as > well. Drop down SFD to Hwy 1 at Olema, then north. You can slightly > backtrack on Petaluma-Pt. Reyes Road to rejoin your original route. > > Dunno if that's any help, and I'd be happy to clarify anything that isn't > clear. > > And it sounds like a great ride! > > - Jim > > -- > Jim Edgar > [email protected] > > Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries - http://www.cyclofiend.com > Current Classics - Cross Bikes > Singlespeed - Working Bikes > > Gallery updates now appear here - http://cyclofiend.blogspot.com > > "That which is overdesigned, too highly specific, anticipates outcome; the > anticipation of outcome guarantees, if not failure, the absence of grace." > > William Gibson - "All Tomorrow's Parties" > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<rbw-owners-bunch%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > -- oakland, ca bikenoir.blogspot.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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