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Best place to stay in SF/Bay Area for cycling?

Old 03-01-19, 05:19 AM
  #1  
mcr23
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Best place to stay in SF/Bay Area for cycling?

I知 going to be in San Francisco for a few days later this year on an extended layover before heading onto Ohio and Canada, I値l probably be in SF from August 20th-24th, and looking to do some road riding but not too sure which area would be best to stay - any advice? Probably not going to be renting a car, so looking for a good area that won稚 involve travelling to far to get a few good rides in.

Its been a few years since I was last there, and the only ride I managed was across the Golden Gate Bridge and around downtown on a cheap rental from Fishermans Wharf. Looking to do a lot more riding while I知 there this year.

Also, does anyone know of any good rental places that also do group or guided rides?

Thanks
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Old 03-01-19, 06:43 AM
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Mt Tamalpais via Panoramic Highway is a must-ride destination, it's north of SF in Marin County. I would check out @gugie's excellent thread for some other ideas:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-bay-area.html
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Old 03-01-19, 01:38 PM
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Cool thanks, Marin County was one of the possible places I was thinking. I'll have a look at Airbnbs around there.
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Old 03-01-19, 01:42 PM
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If all else fails you can take your Bike on the BART and ride to Daly City and then down the Coast, or to Pleasanton and ride up Mount Diablo, etc.
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Old 03-01-19, 01:44 PM
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Marin is great, but it is remote and you need a car unless you plan to ride there from the City. My vote would be to stay in Berkeley or North Oakland/Rockridge/Piedmont. The riding in the East Bay is some of the best in the state, and you can ride to some serious backroads with virtually no traffic right from the city. You also have the advantage of using BART and Amtrak to do point-to-point rides in the 50-150 mile range. Plus Diablo, Hamilton, the list goes on. Tam is absolutely epic, don't get me wrong. Just be prepared for lots of traffic and a less than ideal approach if you don't have a car. East Bay all day no contest.
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Old 03-01-19, 05:17 PM
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Agree with the above. If you intend to stay car free, the North Bay/Wine Country will not be very accessible to you. You could still get Mt Tam in as a day trip by getting a ferry to Sausalito, and it is a beautiful ride that痴 well worth the detour.
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Old 03-01-19, 05:38 PM
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This book was my road bike bible when I lived in the East Bay, it's by semi-famous Bay Area resident Grant Peterson, before he hit the big time. That's him on the cover. It's listed used for about $5.00, well worth if you plan to ride in the East Bay or Oakland / Berkeley Hills. It's got photos and gradient maps of pretty much every climb of any significance in the East Bay. Even if you never use it, it's so well-written it's worth reading just for the joy of it:

https://www.amazon.com/Roads-Ride-Gr.../dp/B000HMTCXM

Definitely climb Mt Diablo if you get a chance. The road to the top goes nowhere the any commuters would be going, so even at rush hour, you can have practically the whole mountain to yourself (and #diabloscott). 3800 feet of pure joy. Many many threads here about the place in the "Northern California" regional subforum:

https://www.bikeforums.net/northern-...to-thread.html
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Old 03-01-19, 07:30 PM
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Originally Posted by mcr23
I’m going to be in San Francisco for a few days later this year on an extended layover before heading onto Ohio and Canada, I’ll probably be in SF from August 20th-24th,
I advise skipping all that other stuff and do all five days on Diablo.



https://vimeo.com/82684822
Totally click-worthy:
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Old 03-01-19, 08:09 PM
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I agree. Excellent Vimeo, my heart soared like an eagle watching that. Something very special about Diablo, heck you can even camp out there, with reservations. Bring your MTB too, miles and miles of fire roads up there.
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Old 03-02-19, 04:48 AM
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Wow some great recommendations here, I値l check out the east bay. My college room mate actually lives in Oakland so might work out better staying there anyway.

Any advice on good places/lbs to rent a road bike from?
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Old 03-02-19, 09:32 PM
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You guys are all crazy. If you're optimizing for riding, you want to stay somewhere on the peninsula/down to Santa Cruz. Somewhere between Los Gatos and Woodside, then just ride up into the hills. Marin is okay, but gets crazy with traffic. East Bay is okay, but has too many segments that suck between the nice roads. Down in the Santa Cruz mountains, you can ride all day with hardly any traffic, gorgeous redwoods, ocean views. It puts the rest of those places to shame.
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Old 03-03-19, 07:16 AM
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I will admit that it's been 20 years since I've ridden most of those roads, so I assume traffic is much worse now. Avoiding routes used by commuters would be a good idea M-F. And on weekends, avoiding places sightseers go (e.g., Mt. Diablo, Tilden Park, Mt. Tamalpais, etc.) seems prudent. Taking BART trains could be helpful in getting around, but there's gonna be some traffic to deal with, any way you slice it.

I don't know what kind of riding the OP does, but the SF Bay Area offers prime areas for all types. Not only the sights, the extensive road system, and the generally-mild weather, but the fact that the terrain is such that you're constantly going either up a hill, or down one.
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Old 03-04-19, 12:57 PM
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Originally Posted by mcr23
Wow some great recommendations here, I’ll check out the east bay. My college room mate actually lives in Oakland so might work out better staying there anyway.

Any advice on good places/lbs to rent a road bike from?
Blazing Saddles in San Francisco: https://www.blazingsaddles.com/san-f...end-road-bikes
Summit Bicycles in Burlingame: https://www.summitbicycles.com/page.cfm?pageid=395
There's probably somewhere in the East Bay too, but the above came up quickly on Google.

I have to agree with prototoast that the riding on the Peninsula down to SC is fantastic, but again, remote and hard to access without a car.

You can stay in SF, Oakland, or Berkeley with your rented (multi-day) bike and get to ridiculous riding on BART (beware commute hours) so easily. You can get on roads with extremely light traffic on weekends or weekdays from most East Bay stations. I specifically recommend riding from Rockridge, Pleasant Hill, Castro Valley, and Dublin/Pleasanton stations. You'll find no traffic in the Oakland Hills on Tunnel Rd., Pinehurst, Wildcat Canyon, Redwood Rd. Further afield but easily reachable, I highly recommend Briones area (Alhambra Valley, 3 Bears), Morgan Territory (epic and remote), and Palomares. Diablo is absolutely do-not-miss (I prefer climbing via North Gate, descending South). Except for leaving the BART stations and immediate surrounds (and Diablo on a sunny Saturday), traffic is an non-issue.

On of my faves: pick one of several of routes out of Oakland, ride to Martinez and take Amtrak back (or man up and ride back!).
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Old 03-04-19, 01:10 PM
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You'll find lots of awesome road biking, from vineyards, to oak forests, to redwood forests, vistas, serious climbs, low traffic if you travel a bit farther north to Sonoma County. A great place to rent a bike is Uber Bike - Sebastopol Bike Center. Bicycle Rentals in Sebastopol California 707-829-2688

They're friends of mine, so if you contact them, be sure to say that I sent you.
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Old 03-04-19, 01:15 PM
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Sacramento resident, former Berkeley undergrad here: agree on staying in the East Bay. Do Tilden, 3 Bears, Diablo, etc. You'll be amazed what great riding there is that's so close to urban Oakland/Berkeley. Sorry, can't help you on bike rental.
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Old 03-07-19, 06:05 PM
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Another note about doing the Easy Bay side - you can ride on the Bay Trail and stop off for tasty eats in Oakland, Berkeley and go to the Rosie the Riveter museum. And also ride on the Bay Bridge.

You can also do bike wine tours and this cafe/shop, Lucky Duck does group rides on the weekend. And a casual pizza ride on Fridays.

Also there is a mini wine country in Livermore.
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