To break in the new Hunter MTB I recently acquired, Zach drove in from Reno so we could embark on an adventurous journey exploring the trails of the Marin Headlands and possibly beyond.
We rode in warm-ish but overcast skies the entire ride, but that didn’t dampen our enthusiasm whatsoever. We were on mountain bikes, and we were going to ride mountains.
I haven’t owned a mountain bike in years now — and when I did, living in Chicago, I never got to ride real mountains. It’s a shame I didn’t get one sooner, so road-and-cross-centric has my mind been. I can say that it’s a real thrill — exhilarating, breathtaking (in more ways than one), and good, hard, work.
My handling skills need improvement clearly, so that I can feel comfortable at speed — Zach was zipping around like these were his trails.
We started out by Roadeo Beach trying to take trails along Coastal. The thought of being able to hug the coastline and find a line out to Muir or Stinson was quite appealing.
But to no avail as Zach quickly discovered for us both. These trails ended in thick underbrush. He apparently saw five snakes. Time to bust a move.
And so we started to backtrack and take the popular Miwok trail up and up and up. Beware the horse poop that lies in wait everywhere. And watch for, well, horses.
Once at the top, we switched to the Marincello trail for some fast, zippy, singletrack. A good mix of small wood bridges, lots of steps (time to unlock that fork) and a fast descent down to the Miwok horse stables. We did however, stop for a quick chat at the local watering hole, waiting to maybe have some “cooler talk” with the locals. Zach in particular was psyched about this.
We had to climb out of the Tennessee Valley and eventually opened up into this glorious landscape back at the top. We found Alta and made our way down to Mill Valley and Sausalito for much needed coffee for the ride back over the hill and home. Well deserved all around.
