Carquinez to Richmond Bridge
 

We're visiting family in San Rafael in a couple weeks, and I'd like to ride there via the Carquinez and Richmond bridges, but Google maps is seeming a little inconsistent in the how-to-get-between roads. I'm not familiar with anything off-freeway between the Dead Fish and Berkeley, so I'm trying to piece together a realistic ride as much as I can, to a) stick to the Bay Trail where possible, and b) keep directions as simple as can practically be written on a card and taped to a 100mm stem (I will have my phone as backup, but would prefer to keep riding).

As far as Hercules/Pinole seems pretty straightforward, but several routes through Richmond/San Pablo seem to kind of dead-end at a refinery gate, but at the same time the path-of-least-resistance of just riding the Richmond parkway looks, on streetview, like an unpleasant riding experience, even on a Sunday, and Castro St looks even worse.

So can anyone give any pointers about the best bike route from Bridge to Bridge? Also, where's a good coffee stop with a view of the Bay?

There really is no great way I know of to get through Richmond on your proposed ride. I think the best option is the one you already spotted - via Richmond Parkway and Castro Street. Yeah, they can be trafficky, but they have bike lanes and avoid sketchy neighborhoods, of which Richmond has plenty.

My thought is to turn right off the Al Zampa-Carquinez Bridge and go past the Dead Fish. This is San Pablo Avenue. Stay on it until the Richmond Parkway, then turn right. Be careful in Rodeo - you have to bear right at an intersection at the far end of downtown (from your perspective) to stay on San Pablo Ave. If you get to I-80, you've gone too far.

As for a coffee shop, I do not have a specific recommendation and nothing with a Bay view. However, Pt Richmond has a number of coffee shops and other refreshment opportunities and it's a pleasant area. To get there, at the end of Castro St (you have literally just gone under the I-580 freeway). turn left onto Tewksbury St. (The entrance to the SR Bridge bike path will be on your right at this intersection.) You would turn right here to get on the San Rafael Bridge trail. Ride a short distance and turn right onto either Washington (the "A" option) or Railroad (the "A-" option), and start looking for something that looks good to you. Retrace your steps west along Tewksbury back to the SR Bridge path entrance, and continue on your merry way.

A word of advice for the SR side of the bridge. The path will deposit you onto the northside frontage road for I-580. If you are headed straight into downtown San Rafael, no worries - just go straight. If you want to use the overpass (legal, with a separate bike path, like the bridge) and go through Larkspur Landing on Sir Francis Drake Blvd., keep you eyes peeled for the entrance to the path on your left. If you are looking for it, it's easy to spot. If you aren't actively looking for it, it's not hard to miss.

Have a great ride.

A new coffee shop in Hercules, off the bay trail... https://hizcafe.com/ .
As far as a route, from the Deadfish, go San Pablo ave to Lone Tree point in Rodeo, just past Parker. You can catch the bay trail there. Follow that through Hercules and Pinole. Take the trail until you get to a parking lot at Pinole Shores Dr and follow that back to San Pablo Ave. Follow that to Richmond Parkway. Turn right and then turn right again at Atlas rd. Take that to Giant rd and make a left. Take that down a few miles and make a right on Parr blvd. It will take you back to Richmond Parkway where you take a left. Follow that down to Castro st to the right. Follow that to Chevron Way and make a right, just before you go under the freeway. Go down and make a left on Marine st and that will put you on the Richmond Bridge trail at the top.

Thanks, curbtender , your route is pretty much what I was looking at on google maps. Have you rode those roads before? How is it on a weekend morning?

And I knew I’d seen something about a coffee shop on the route, I’ll definitely check out Hiz. If I can recover from this cough in time. (It’s not Covid, been tested twice).

Giant rd, past pt Pinole, is in bad shape. I usually go into the park at the end of Atlas and ride the trail down to Goodrick Ave and then to the Richmond Parkway. A lot more scenic and car free. Sunday morning is the best time traffic wise. I commuted that area for years so it doesn't bother me much. Another option is to turn into pt Pinole off of Giant rd, go up over the railroad tracks and then left onto the bay trail to Goodrick. If I'm available I could shepard you.

If you are not familiar with the bay area.

This ^^^^
https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-richmond-ca/

I see Chevron gets an F. Must be because of their pump prices. And pt Richmond? All down hill since Marshawn Lynch moved in. Not sure where those stats come from.

Thanks for the replies here. It looks like rain Sunday, though, and with my cold still not clearing up yet, it’s probably a bad idea to bike off into the unknown. I’m going to push this ride off into the future and revisit this thread when it does come up again.