Saturday, May 10, 2008

Marshall Wall plus BoFax

I got out today for a solo ride, the goal being to put in some long miles with a big climb near the end. I wanted to see how my legs would respond to climbing late in a long ride as a preview of the pain I would experience on the Death Ride.


It started with an easy spin through "the hamlets" (as Matt calls them), then over Whites Hill to Nicasio. From there over the Cheese Factory hill and the Marshall Wall loop from east to west. After a mandatory stop at the Bovine Bakery in Pt. Reyes, I rode down the coast and at mile 70 or so, I turned up the BoFax Road and climbed home over Mt. Tam. I was starving when I got home and pretty much didn't stop eating until ten minutes ago :-)

Stats
Miles: Around 95
Time: 5:26
Climbing: Somewhere above 6,000'

Here are a few photos:

Just after Cheese Factory Hill, I came upon a herd of friendly bovines. I sat there for a minute and suddenly these guys perked up and got REALLY interested in me. There's a lot of beef there, and it was kind of creepy. So I bailed. Quickly.

Turned left into Hicks Valley, cycling paradiso. Then onto the Marshall Road. Very cool that this is all doable in a loop ride from San Francisco. The new bike looks real nice (even though its pointing the wrong way...).


Some cool old history along the Marshall loop -- you pass an old schoolhouse built the same year Ulysses S. Grant was president and Yellowstone wasn't quite yet a national park. There are also a few old trucks from the early 1900s like this one. On this day, there were also lots of bugs which is unfortunately not quite as cool as the old schoolhouse or truck.

This gives you an idea of the Marshall road -- pretty countryside and no cars.


Eventually you hit a steepish but not terribly long climb -- the "Marshall Wall". This is the view from the top, which is good but not anything like you get off Mt. Tam or up near Jenner. The road drops down to the sea at Tomales Bay, right across from Point Reyes and the Inverness Ridge behind it (all seen here). Hard to believe that is a sliver of the Pacific Ocean with that huge mountain in the distance.

A screaming descent down the steeper west side of the Marshall Wall almost ended in tragedy when a deer popped out of the bushes right in front of me. In a car, you usually win (even if you mess up your ride). On a bike, at best you tie. Luckily I managed to swerve/skid left as the deer (itself scared shitless) jumped right. From there on, I dialed it back to slow, and saw a few more sneaky ones down the rest of the mountain, like this one here.


Ten miles to Pt. Reyes Station and a cup of morning coffee. The ride along Tomales Bay is cool.




Made it to Bovine Bakery at mile 56. There's usually around $150K of bikes outside this place on any given saturday morning.

Bolinas-Fairfax Road. The final insult. About halfway up, there's a supersteep switchback with "SUFFERING" written across the road. A little ways further up I found "ANGUISH" and then...

...which I thought was a bit overkill. I didn't really think I wasn't going to make it, especially since there was no way in hell my wife would drive out here to get me. So I was feeling pretty good, but at the top I definitely felt . . .