the one technical climb is on old springs out of the stables--pretty steep and quite rocky at the beginning. to top things off we usually go over the golden gate bridge before heading home.

If you ride from the city (which you should), a short grind up from Crissy Field and the always inspiring ride across the bridge leaves you at the base of Conzelman Road, the paved climb to the trails. For mountain state natives, this mile-or-so uphill is probably nothing noteworthy. However, if you’re a transplanted flatlander like myself, this climb, especially the first half, can be a bit daunting—I was praying for death my first time up. The astonishing views more than make up for the pain, though.

Soon, you’ll reach the trailhead at the Coastal Trail. Since apparently one cannot describe these trails without mentioning this, I too will tell you the trails are not at all technical. Even by fire road standards these trails are buff; smooth, wide and well maintained, with nary a root or tree to be found. So raise your seat, lock your fork and run the lightest tires you’ve got; if you’ve got a cyclocross bike, better yet. The only caution is the rutting from runoff, which, while narrow, can be quite deep and sneaks up on you if you’re not looking out for it.

However, just because the surface is smooth doesn’t mean these trails aren’t a challenge—they are. The word here is climbing, which is constant and can be deceptively tough. After descending the Coastal Trail, cross Bunker Road, look for the bridge over the creek and make a left. While most locals suggest starting with the grueling Miwok climb, I would suggest that the less aerobically gifted begin instead with the Bobcat Trail, a longer but milder climb. (It’s still a biz-atch, though.) From here, zip down Marincello to the stables (walk the bike—horses spook easily) climb Old Spring, shoot down Miwok (novices should take special precautions to control their speed on this one; you can gain more momentum than you can easily scrub in just a few seconds) and cross Bunker to return to the Coastal Trail. (Maybe it’s me, but I’ve always found the climb back up Coastal strangely deceptive; the climb, which looks miserable, is actually quite moderate, but the path from Bunker Road to the trail, which appears to be pancake flat, can be agonizing. Can’t figure it out.) From there, it’s just a freefall down Conzelman back to the bridge.

What I have grown to love about these trails is the Zen simplicity of it all. The Gerbode Valley is bright green hills, red rocks, blue sky, a ribbon of trail and little else. It’s stark and lush, hard and soft at the same time. Sometimes brilliant wildflowers bloom, sometimes the fog rolls down the hills like a cotton avalanche, but mostly it’s you, the hills and silence.

i've stopped racing. completely. i ride for fun now, not to see how long i can beat the almighty hell out of myself. after four long seasons, racing's not that fun anymore.

i ride illegal trails a lot more now. a LOT more. i ride them mostly at night, but i ride them nonetheless nad it pisses me off to no end why some of the trails in the marin headlands are closed to mountain bikes and why. i know that some of you are going to strongly object to the fact that i ride these trails and i respect your right to keep those opinions but hey--i'm (or i should say "we're") riding these trails mostly after dark with high powered lighting systems and are not doing the environment, equestrians or hikers any harm. i'm only going to tell you where one of the trails is. there's a singletrack that branches off to the right of the miwok fire road just as you crest the summit. this singletrack trail runs along the northeast side of the ridge and eventually runs into the fire road running between hawk camp and the marincello fire road. (or is it bobcat? i always get them confused!) the trail is narrow and rough. bigger riders will have a hard time working thier way between the bushes in places but just keep riding, you'll make it. there are some short, steep rocky climbs in places and it all ends with a very steep descent into the Un-Named Fire Road to Hawk Camp. Ride to the Main Fire Road To Civlization, up and out of the High Speed Saddle and hey! do something different. ride SCA and the Coastal trail back instead of riding the hamster track back to san fransico. you'll stimulate your soul and emerge with a smile on conzelman road.

ride these trails, of course, at your own risk. i don't reccommend you riding them during peak hours or on weekends. spend the money and get a good lighting system.

at any rate, if you're planning on exploring the trails i've described, get rid of your racing slicks. the singletrack leading to hawk camp is very rocky in places and you will never get any traction with anything other than a full knobby, especially if they're wet. SCA is pretty nasty in places as well. try climbing SCA northwards sometime; you'll need beefy tires and i'll bet a number of you readers will be walking at least once. there's another secret trail i'd tell you about in the vicinity of the terminus of SCA but if i told you about it, it would'nt be a secret, would it? here's a clue--turn left at the three way intersection and climb up the fire road. look for what looks like an animal trail to the left before you reach the top.

happy trails