A Three-Day Coastal Tour

As preparation for a longer tour of the Oregon Outback bikepacking route, in early October, my friend Mark N. suggested a three-day practice tour in Marin County. Mark's wife Donna, my friend Mark M. and I joined him. Mark N. designed the route with a start in Richmond, camp the first night at Glen Camp in Point Reyes, camp the second night at Bicentennial Camp in the Marin Headlands, and return to Richmond at the end of day three. He'd already grabbed reservations for these sites, I got additional ones, as they were still available, but because we picked week days, most of our other Oregon traveling companions couldn't join.

This was a chance to put my Oregon bike and gear to a local test. I am planning on bringing my Falconer mixed-terrain bike to the Oregon Outback, with 6-8L water carrying capacity, 2" tires, sufficient carrying capacity for a variety of warm to cold, and even wet weather gear, a tent, and enough food for two or three day gaps between resupplies. I needed to make a decision about a few optional items. This is how my bike looked, packed and ready to go as if for the Oregon trip, before our three-day coastal tour:

Battlestar Galactica

I had the bike loaded as if for the Oregon trip, with about 4.5L of water. It was so heavy! I'm still not sure if the number I saw on our bathroom scale was right. If it was, I'm a bit concerned. It's a big number. But it rode OK; I was able to climb hills with it. I did put a smaller 38-tooth chainring on it, replacing the 42-tooth, a fresh chain, new brake rotors and pads, and I bled the brakes, and the handlebars got a fresh wrap of bar tape. I am out of practice at wrapping bars! I had flat pedals on the bike, to experiment with using just one pair of shoes on the trip. I considered bringing a pair of camp shoes with me, but decided against it once I felt how heavy the bike was. I did bring a camp chair. More about gear at the bottom of the post.

Just like Bilbo Baggins, I prefer to start from my door, There and Back Again, so I rode from the Oakland Hills, 1.5 hours to meet the group at Mark N. and Donna's house in Richmond. I usually let Google Maps navigate for me, with earbuds in, if I'm solo on streets. The route descended along Lake Temescal, zig-zagging through Oakland and Berkeley until I followed the Ohlone Greenway almost to their house. When I got there, we chatted, caught up and compared gear. I definitely had the heaviest bike, Mark M., the lightest. I think Mark N.'s bike was somewhere between me and Donna's bike's weights. We rolled out just after 10AM, with Mark N. leading the way; this was his idea, his route. 

The Richmond - San Rafael bridge is now closed to bikes Monday through Thursday, so that car commuters can have a break-down lane, thanks to a vote by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, (BCDC) representing the interests of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. (MTC) They now offer a van shuttle, with a hitch rack for people like us, crossing the RSR on a Monday. 

Mark M. loads his bike on the shuttle

 

Mark N. and I were glad we didn't have to fight insane headwinds across the bridge, like we did last time, but we both regretted not being able to ride across the bridge. I think the decision to close the bike lane was a bad one. So does Mark M., he's been riding his bike via the RSR to visit his grandchildren in San Francisco. The shuttle is better than nothing.

From the San Quentin side, we crossed over to Larkspur Landing and got on the Corte Madera Creek bike path, and wound our way through Mark N.'s back road tour of central Marin County through Fairfax, up the Old Railroad Grade to the summit of White's Hill, where Donna had to take a phone call. 

Mark M., Mark N. and Donna at the top of White's Hill; this was the last sun we saw for a few days.

 

We continued on back roads through Woodacre to the Lagunitas Grocery in Lagunitas, where we bought sandwiches and beer for dinner, and I got some instant oatmeal for the next few mornings. Donna gave me the last of her lemonade, and some gummie bears. Thank you, Donna! Those were so good. 

Mark M. examining the beer selection

 

We rolled through Samuel P. Taylor park, stopping for a water fill and a rest stop, then went over the hill to Olema, out Bear Valley Road to what I call Five Brooks, but which I guess is known as the Morgan Horse Ranch.

On the way to Point Reyes

From the Ranch we took the Bear Valley Trail, creatively to Glen Camp, our end point for day 1. 

The weather forecast for our three-day tour showed cloudy weather in the 60 - 70 degree range, with a small chance of precipitation. When we got to camp, it was overcast. After setting up tents and sleeping gear, we gathered under a big, beautiful oak at one of our sites for dinner. 

Dinner. I should have asked for extra meat. Always ask for extra meat.

A mist began to fall. We had a nice conversation. We were all tired, so we said our good nights before dark, around 7:30 PM. Mark and I put our riding clothes from the day along the supports of the picnic bench at our site, under the table. Shortly after we all got into our tents it started raining, hard! I thought about grabbing the riding gear, but what could I do? It was already wet. 

I never sleep well the first night, and this trip was no exception. I tried sleep gummies, and even some OTC sleep aids. I heard a big tree fall nearby, a coyote at our camp calling to other coyotes, and it rained all night. I have a Nemo Tensor sleeping pad, which is highly-rated for comfort, but I get sore hips on it. Both Marks suggested setting it up with less than full inflation, for greater comfort. I haven't yet tried that. I am considering bringing the Nemo Switchback foam pad on the Oregon Outback, in addition to the Tensor air pad, but the Switchback is a bulky item. I'm not sure about that.

We woke up to a very wet camp. I did have regret that the clothes I planned to wear were now completely soaked, and putting away a wet tent and damp pad, sleeping bag is never fun, but I had other, dry riding clothes, we packed up in a drizzle and rode the Glen and Stewart trails over the hard climb to Fir Top, and down to Highway 1. It was a wet and muddy descent, but the temperature was warm. I was in a short sleeve shirt with a thin wool base layer, and perfectly comfortable.

I led our group at a pace we could all maintain south, on Highway 1 to the town of Stinson Beach, where we got lunch and dinner supplies. Mark N.and Donna opted for B.M.C. - Bread, Meat and Cheese from a the Parkside bakery, while Mark M. and I went into their restaurant for breakfasts of bacon, egg and root vegetables with coffee. Mark N. and Donna joined us later for coffee and some ice cream. I had a plan for dinner; ramen, hot dogs, green onions and some American cheese, which I picked up at the market in Stinson. Mark M. planned to share ingredients with me.

From Stinson we rode through thick fog, with occasional glimpses of the ocean view, south to Muir Beach, then up the hill to the high point, where we rode Miwok, Coyote Ridge, Fox, Tennessee Valley, Old Springs and Miwok trails to the Bicentennial Camp. We were in fog all day, fairly soaked, and at least one person was feeling discouraged. We checked to see if the youth hostel was still in business - it wasn't - and then set up camp at Bicentennial. 

We were all wishing we'd bought beers, but somehow survived without them. Setting up a wet tent isn't the best, but it was dryer than our last camp, and still not cold. I made a clothesline from some paracord I was carrying, and hung some of the wet clothes out to dry. This camp is on sand, so dropping wet items meant gritty, sandy wet items had to be packed. We could just make out the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge from camp, shrouded in fog. I made my chef's special, ramen & hot dogs & green onions with two kraft cheese singles, and I enjoyed it very much. Mark M. told stories from the Colorado Trail, Mark N. and Donna had B.M.C., and we turned in before dark. I needed two, full Nalgene 32oz bottles of water for our dry camp at Bicentennial. There's water just down the hill from camp, at a visitor center.

This was so good.

I slept better that night, but I still hadn't tried sleeping on the pad with less air in it. I was stiff and sore, and our stuff was wet, but we had coffee, flew a foam airplane I found in the bushes, and admired a clearer view of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

We breakfasted, packed up, watered up and rode through the tunnel to Alexander Drive, then down through Sausalito, then took the bike path north, Lomita Drive to Horse Hill to Meadowsweet Drive, then the bike route to Larkspur Landing, where we had lunch at Rustic Bakery. Donna pointed out that my bike shorts were no longer opaque. Oops! I took the rear of the group for the rest of the day. From there, it was a mellow spin past San Quentin over the hill, where we found the Caltrans van and the same guy who drove us over, two days before. We loaded up, got off in sunny (!) Richmond, then agreed to find a place to drink a beer together before saying goodbye. We tried East Brother, but they weren't open yet, so we went to Armistice, where Donna is a V.I.P. We had good beers and conversation. Mark M. agreed to do the Oregon Outback with us, starting the day before the rest of the group with Mark N. We hugged goodbye, and then I rode home, up hills, arriving around 4PM. 

Used clothes, tent and pad were still wet. I started clothes and gear in the washer, pulled my wet tent out and set it up to dry in the yard, with the damp pad spread out as well, and unpacked the bike. I haven't yet washed or serviced the bike. I know the new chain was sounding pretty gritty on those final miles.

Thoughts

I enjoy riding with the two Marks and Donna. They are good company. I do wonder if I could make the Falconer lighter, but it did fine on climbs. Leaning it against things was tricky; it wants to keep leaning. The Oregon Outback is not at any significant elevation, and the climbing is probably less per mile than we did in these three days. Not bringing camp shoes was a mistake - having to put wet, gritty shoes on at camp was no fun, especially after putting dry socks on, at the end of day two. We don't expect much rain in October, in Eastern Oregon, but it can happen. I think I'll bring some canvas slippers for camp. I still don't know how to use the GoPro very well. I think I somehow put it away still running, after recording a short video the morning of day 2, and I guess I used up the battery. Not sure if I will bring the camp chair. It doesn't weigh much. Having some place to sit at camp is nice. If I could easily add the Nemo Switchback foam pad, I would; sleep comfort is key. I'll experiment with packing it. I probably need to improve my tools and spares kit; the multi-tool in the OneUp pump is minimal, I don't have a spare cleat & bolts, spare brake pads, chainring bolts. I had 35 PSI in the tires to start, but 32 PSI might be right for the dirt. 

Way Too Much About Gear

Two Tailfin 10L Mini Panniers contained clothes; one side for adverse weather, the other for riding and camp basics. My friend Joe cautioned me about overloading these; he's seen them fail. In the "trunk," the Tailfin AeroPack Cargo (with the Extended Seat Post Connector swapped in) I had my pantry; Jetboil MiniMo stove/pot/fuel, extra fuel cannister, cup, spoon, dehydrated coffee in a little stuff sack, a dehydrated dinner, an REI camp chair (an optional item) water filter & two empty 2L water bags, personal toiletry stuff sack, a mini towel, a OneUp pump + multi-tool + master links + chain pliers + tire plug kit, and maybe a few other things. A Niterider rechargeable blinkie light was on the back of the pantry. Just out of view, strapped to the underside of the Aeropack Cargo in a Tailfin Mini Cage was a Randijo Fab M.U.T. containing tools & spares. Strapped on top of the AeroPack Cargo was my Tarptent Moment DW tent, now twelve years old and still working great. (I moved the tent to under the Salsa handlebar bag on day 2.) I need to clean and seam seal the tent before Oregon. In the frame triangle was a full 4L Crank Tank water reservoir from Adventure Hydration, with a long hose for drinking while riding. Four liters of water is just shy of nine pounds. Above the Crank Tank I had the Tailfin 5.3L Half Frame Bag. On its left side, a fairly hefty Anker PowerCore III 19,200mAh battery, an Anker wall charger, spare SRAM AXS battery and charger, and some USB cords for charging. (I forgot a USB micro cable, will remedy, needed for a few items but not missed on this trip.) On its right side I had snacks, campsite reservations in a ziploc with pen, mtb gloves, trail mix, a GoPro Hero 8 and shorty tripod/pole/handle, and some more personal items. On the top tube I had a Tailfin 1.6L  Long Top Tube Bag, with snacks and my cell phone. A word about this item; my knees just cleared the two Tailfin bags and the Crank Tank, and if I wore baggie shorts, I got a "vip, vip, vip" noise with each pedal stroke, but dismounting and straddling the top tube caused the Long Top Tube Bag to rotate to the side. It's just an annoyance, but after ever stop & dismount I had to rotate the bag back to vertical, or it would rub on a knee. I suppose some mountain bike frames might have more stand over clearance, but my gravel bike wasn't designed with a ton of stand over height. Anyway, something to consider. Below the down tube is a spare water bottle used for nighttime tent use. On the forks, two King Cage titanium Manything cages with Nalgene 32oz bottles strapped in with Voile straps. On the 50cm Salsa Cowchipper bars I have a Salsa EXP cradle, Salsa top-loading EXP bag and pouch. In the bag I had a Nemo Fillow pillow, Nemo Tensor pad, an old REI silk sleeping bag liner and a Marmot Hydrogen 30º sleeping bag. For Oregon, I'll bring the Marmot Helium 15º bag. In the pouch, so many things; inflatable Nemo travel pillow for the train, mini leatherman, sunblock, chapstick, a bubble blower, Petzl headlamp, tooothpaste & toothbrush, ear plugs, Fenix PD32 front light / flashlight, (ARB-L18-3500U Built-in USB Rechargeable Battery on its way) keys, wallet, ear buds, Action Wipes and some other misc stuff. On my bar/stem I had a very old Mountain Feed Bag, in which I carried a tall water bottle for drinking on the bike. I might carry Nuun tablets in Oregon, and put them in that bottle, so I get some electrolytes. In place of the headset top cap I have a K-Edge Garmin mount, where I'll have my Garmin Edge 540, on which I'll have the route. I'll also have the route and some digital topo maps on my phone, stored so they are available without signal. Tucked into the mesh side pouch of the AeroPack Cargo I had my Spot X tracker, for which I renewed its monthly service and had in tracking mode for this three-day tour. My wife was able to watch my progress from the URL I shared with her.