Tag: Local Favorite

One of my favorite motorcycle rides in the Sierras is a loop from South Lake Tahoe to Downieville to Donner Lake. The 260-mile loop not only includes scenic beauty but some of California's most historic areas. You'll pass the east and west shores of Lake Tahoe, the beautiful Sierra Valley, the old mining Town of Downieville, Nevada City, Old Highway 40, and Donner Lake. Read on for a description of this route, photos, and video clips of sights along the way.

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Riding to Bodega Bay from Sebastapol on the Bohemian Highway, my group zoomed right by Freestone and Wild Flour Bread but I came to a full stop and stood in line with about 20 people including a tough-looking guy on a Harley who said he rides two hours here every weekend to stock up on bread.

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Summer's solstice brings the sun and heat to the Napa Valley to ripen the abundant multifarious varieties of local vines, and also cultivates the visiting crowds. Rather than watching my temperature gauge go up and burn out a clutch cable, I prefer to take roads less travelled. My objective for the day: to leisurely make my way to the charming little town of St. Helena in the Napa Valley by intersecting mountain ranges, valleys and scenic roads that are fun, challenging, and practically car-free!

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About halfway between San Francisco and Napa via a narrow winding road four miles from anywhere of note takes you to the town of Port Costa on a dead-end road to the bay. When the Martinez railroad bridge was buit in 1930 the population was a bustling 3000. Today, without the railroad traffic, only 250 people live there, but I'll bet about 3000 visit on some weekends, especially when the biker poker runs gather or a popular band plays at the Waterfront Cafe, both of which occurred when I happened by on a Sunday afternoon this spring when I was wandering the East Bay hills.

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The Kawasaki folks came up from sunny Orange County to show off their Vulcan 1700 family to journalists in the San Francisco Bay Area, and were stunned by the quality of rides in our part of the state. It's always nice to have out-of-towners around to remind us not to get complacent! Sure, they get 300 days of warm weather and sunshine even at the coast, where we get summer fog, but we've got a seemingly endless variety of country and coast roads, with not too much freeway angst. I find myself on these roads again and again, and share them with you here.

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As the northern California fog gave way to sunshine we donned our gear for a jaunt to Bolinas; a city located just 30 miles north of San Francisco on the Marin County coast. We chose the longest of three possible routes, following Fairfax-Bolinas Road twisting over golden hills, through the dense redwood forest, and sweeping vistas of mountain and sea.

Bolinas' eclectic residents have so consistently removed all signs to their town that authorities have stopped replacing them. However, determined epicureans headed for the Coast Café and ardent appreciators of eclectica will undoubtedly find it.

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From the airport to the city, renting a bike, riding over the Golden Gate Bridge and into a Northern California epic ride. I produced this roughcut video years ago and present it here hoping that you'll enjoy it as an introduction to visiting and riding the area.

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After a month of rainy weekends, I jumped at the chance when my girlfriend India called me up and said “let’s ride!” The day's two-wheel menu of choice was a tour of the North Bay by way of Greenbrae, out to the infinite serpentine two-lane Highway 1, north to Point Reyes, Tomales Bay, and Bodega Bay, then home through Occidental and Sebastopol. This 76 mile, 4-5-hour eclectic ride is chock full of hills, deep forests and coastal magic, intermingled with sweeping turns and tight twisties.

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If you love the twisties then ride Skaggs Springs Road which extends from Lake Sonoma not far from Geyserville (get gas there) in Sonoma County to Stewarts Point on Highway 1 at the coast. It is a curvaceous, newly-paved road through rolling hills with oaks, madrones, manzanita to the east and pines, firs, redwoods to the west, almost all natural landscapes along the way.

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