CenturionIM

I will likely take a trip to San Fran in April and want to take this opportunity to ride around the area. Can someone point me to a good/budget friendly place to rent bikes? Also any suggestion as to where to ride is welcome. I prefer nature to city landscape but either is fine.

I hope this is not a very bad idea because of all the hills...haha.

Thanks in advance.

TrojanHorse

I suggest asking in the Northern California regional forum.

CenturionIM

mod: could you help me move this thread to the Northern Cali Forum? Thanks.

patrickgm60

So far, the only bad idea is calling it "San Fran."

Others will provide more details, but there are lots of great road cycling routes in and around the Bay Area. None of which is very flat... For nature/scenery, Mt. Tam is tough to beat and can begin in downtown SF.

Here's a linky, for more info:

https://forums.roadbikereview.com/nor...co-243031.html

caloso

There's also the Polo Field Smackdown, which is a free, self-timed TT in Golden Gate Park. If that's your sort of thing. See https://polofieldsmackdown.com/

(Oh yeah, don't call it San Fran. And definitely not Frisco. Or Cali.)

save10

you should take your rental out the east bay and ride up Mt Diablo.

Cali is not so bad. but Frisco...that is hella bad

c0lnago

Morgan Territory->Mt. Diablo is tough to beat for some rolling and plenty of climbing...

caloso

Source for some good East Bay routes. If you're staying in the City, you can take your bike on BART.

https://cycling.berkeley.edu/routes

cthenn

I'm glad I wasn't the one to be the Regional Nazi, but I cringed a little bit. I made it through "San Fran" but "Cali" got to me.

cthenn

If you are going to be staying in The City (how's that? ), then a good loop is across the GG bridge, through Sausalito, then Hwy 1/Panoramic Hwy/Pan Toll to Mt. Tamalpais, then back down Hwy 1 to Stinson, then along the coast and back up and over to where you started. Prob 50-60 miles depending on where you are.

wangster

Check out spinlister.com it's basically airbnb for bikes. If you're staying in the city then do the headlands loop which is around 20miles depending on where in the city you are. If you're in Oakland then definitely go up and over the berkeley hills but only if you like a lot of climbing.

halfspeed

Undiscovered Country bike tours https://udcbikerental.com/ is the most professional, well-run bike rental operation I've ever used. They're also quite reasonable for price and the owner has been known to post in the 41.

Broid

South from the city to and through Half Moon Bay, about 25 miles, then another 50 miles south is Santa Cruz and some of the prettiest coastline in all California between HMB and SC....

yochris 

Search your choice of map sites for Alpine Dam/Seven Sisters and you'll find one of the better 60-70 miles rides from SF into Martin county. Option to summit Mtn Tam as well, and the descent back into Mill Valley is sweet if you can avoid traffic.

Also check out Tomales, Point Reyes, Marshall and West Petaluma. All great areas to ride...

deep_sky

I do believe Terry(the owner) will also deliver your bike to you up there if you need it, since UDC is down in Los Altos. Great people. I've rented from them and they do some mechanic work and bike fittings. If you call and Terry isn't available, Mike is a great guy and will definitely get you set up.

save10

https://norcalcyclingnews.com/norcal-group-rides/

here is a link for some good rides...fast rides if that's what you're looking for. I do the HOP sometimes. it can get pretty real out there

CenturionIM

Hey thanks everybody for the tips on ride routes, bike rental and being mean region nazi's. =)

The route to Mt. Tamalpais sounds promising. I am not in too great a physical shape doing a lot of climbing, but hopefully it will not be too bad.

I checked the website of https://udcbikerental.com/. They have great bikes and the rental price is good, but their location is far from SF(that works? =). Delivery/pickup fee per trip is 70$ to SF, which is a lot for me. Still looking around on spinster.com. Another tried https://www.bikerentalsanfrancisco.com/ before?

turkey9186

Bart to Walnut Creek for Mt Diablo. Another option is SFBaylink ferry to Vallejo and do Napa Valley or Suisun Valley farther east.