Jumped in Inkwells

On July 31 2021, I wrote that when our companion had returned I had opened my beer. She had had a lot of anxiety from not knowing how to legitimately occupy the hike or biker site. We played cards for an hour and went to sleep. I slept hard but it was OK.

I woke up at 7:45 when my alarm went off. I took too much time packing and my companions woke up with me and then made oatmeal. We also made coffee which was good. I had cream in my coffee.

We saw a Ranger but I wasn’t able to ask about the bike site. We took visited the veterans bench and packed up to climb to Pantoll.

The ride was lightly trafficky but most of the motorists were nice. We went the Mountain Amphitheater and then climbed Ridgecrest Boulevard. There were two spots where I thought we were at the top. Most of the ride was me chasing my companions. I was trying to make certain that they could stop and take pictures.

After we got to Fairfax Bolinas Road we got on the Bolinas Ridge Trail. It was muddy for all of the Audubon Canyon section. There was a big rise then and it was tough until McCurdy Gulch.

It was muddy and rolling and we had to dismount once. Then it started going down. There was a runner and some foraging Cyclists. We saw a water tower near Nine Gulch Rd..

After that it was pretty easy. We saw a lot of people and then we found ourselves at a gate which was likely McCurdy Gulch trail. We ate chili and had a bit of coffee. I have been enjoying the wonderful air and took time to myself.

We then rode to Randall Trail where I got a picture. We noted that the path was really well developed. We speculated that cars go through a lot and it’s been there a long time.

At Shafter Grade I got a photo and then we descended. We had to engage our brakes the whole way. I had estimated it was a 12% grade but when we followed up later back home it turned out in some places it was 25%! It was good trail but we had to stop at least three times.

I got photos of the trail and some really large redwoods. There was a spot that was wasted - nearly 20% and two of us had to dismount and help each other.

At the bottom we celebrated and took photos, cheered and did circles. We went to Kent Lake to enjoy the dam. The upper road connects to the Patrick dam road but we took the other way in. We also passed a spot where we heard fairies playing music.

At Shafter Bridge we got in our trunks and jumped in inkwells. We saw high school kids jumping in. They were really nice and great jumpers.

We rode Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to Lagunitas and had Indian food. Then we bought sandwiches and beer at the store. The ride on the Boulevard was fast.

I noticed that Cross Marin was easy and fast but my companions lost some stuff out of their bikes.

At the campsite in Samuel P Taylor Park we set up and got a permit. I noted that there were four people there with us. We got ready to play cards.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be a contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Tamalpais Avenue and Onward

On July 30th of 2021, I rode to Mercury and texted with my traveling companions. I went home and packed. I threw the garbage away. I was late but I tried to do a good job. I left at 11:30 and the bike wqas miraculously manageable.

I made the coffee shop by 1145 and we got coffee before riding Octavia and Eddie to Fillmore and Clay. We took Arguello gate and Emigrant Overlook to Ralston to the bridge. We didn’t stop as we got on the east causeway.

There was construction on both sides of the bridge. Workers flagged us as they did construction. We took Alexander Drive at full speed.

We entered Sausalito easily but headed to Molly Stone’s where we got sandwiches and light bubbly drinks.

We rode to Mike’s Bikes to fill our tires. We got equator coffee in Mill Valley and bought what we could or needed for the ride.

A few hiccups later and we climbed Summit to Tamalpais Avenue and onward.

We stopped twice. We took a lot of photos at Fern Canyon Road – which is on the railroad grade - and the ride became hard when the road became dirt.

We went out and back around three creeks and wore ourselves out getting to the West Point Inn. We ate snacks there and chatted before descending to Bootjack.

My companions wanted to take the trail but I told them to descend to the maintenance building on Bootjack creek and then we went around behind the garage and followed a rocky path until we got into the campsite. Unfortunately there were no open sites so we continued to Pan Toll and ate our sandwiches.

Two of us left the campsite to explore and get more information which turned out to be really hard for our companion.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

We Returned to The Inn

On July 12, 2021 I wrote that my kids and I started getting the bike ready early but was a bit too lazy for my own good. Then we went to the coffee shop. They got bored fast so we returned to the Inn to finish packing before thanking the proprietor and riding through Ross.

I took the old right of way which lead us to the slough and onward to Larkspur. The boys enjoyed the view but kept asking about playgrounds. As I was trying to catch the ferry, I went straight to the landing where there is a small play area and coffee. It is just three massive logs but all the kids like it.

I discovered that the boat came at 3:15 because it was not Sunday. So since I had to wait quite a bit of time at this point I got a burger and fries. I enjoyed people watching. After three hours I got the boys loaded up on the bike and we caught the ferry. It was easy enough getting on and I took pictures.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.