Golden Gate Velo

Alpine Loop is one of the standard training rides for racers in San Francisco and Marin County. The ride is named for Alpine Lake, which the route skirts via Alpine Dam. It's a climber's loop with at least 2500' of climbing and some exciting descents. The amount of climbing varies depending on exactly where you start/stop.

TIME

From 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, depending on ride options and your climbing prowess. The full loop, starting from the Golden Gate Bridge, is about 48 miles.

RIDE TYPE

Suburban approach and finish, mixed with 2500'+ of climbing and descents on relatively narrow roads.

DESCRIPTION

If you do the loop in the standard counterclockwise direction, the interesting riding begins after Fairfax. Head west on BoFax, follow the main flow of traffic through a couple of intersections, then begin a long climb with a break at the Meadow Club golf course. A trailhead there connects to the fire roads of Mt. Tam, but roadies will continue upward to a summit at a gravel parking area, across from the Pine Mountain trailhead. From that point onward you're forgiven if you think you're in the Sierra foothills, because it's some of the most beautiful twisty up-and-down riding through mixed forests this close to San Francisco. You'll first descend, then pop up a few hundred feet of climbing (hard to run through it on the big ring), and descend again to Alpine Dam. Cross the dam, eat a gel, and continue up the climb to the intersection with Ridgecrest Blvd. Two landmarks on that longish climb are large left switchbacks, separated by about 4-5 minutes of climbing. After the second one you'll get to the intersection with Ridgecrest in about a minute. BoFax continues down to Highway 1 and Bolinas as a twisty descent with no center line, but the standard loop bears left onto Ridgecrest.

The stretch of Ridgecrest after BoFax is known as the "Seven Sisters" because of the seven humps you ride over during the 900' or so climb. You can count more or fewer than seven, depending on how big a bump qualifies. This is the course of the annual Mt. Tam Hill Climb, which is held in September.

The summit of the climb is at the Rock Spring parking lot. There you can head left and tack on a dog-leg to the East Peak of Mt. Tam (adds 3 miles and few hundred feet of climbing). Most riders instead turn right, descend to the Pantoll Ranger Station, then continue down Panoramic Highway to Highway 1 for the final descent to Tam Junction in Mill Valley.

For an interesting variation, try doing it clockwise. The climb up the Seven Sisters becomes a surprisingly fast descent, and you enjoy some amazing views of Bolinas Ridge that you miss when heading the other way. During the final descent to Fairfax watch for cross-traffic at the turnoff to Bon Tempe/Lagunitas lakes, and oncoming cars, the locals can be less than friendly.

RACE TRAINING

This is a great loop for practicing a lot of racing stuff:

1. Long climbs - climbs are over 10 minutes long
2. Group climbs - figure out the best way for a 4-6 of you to get through the loop in the fastest possible time. This is hard to do and great for understanding each rider's strengths and weaknesses.
3. Gearing on climbs - you'll hit everything from tempo/power climbing stretches to some relatively steep switchbacks. Try it different ways - is the 39x25 best on the steeper stretches? Does it slow you down? If so do you need to gear up or down?
4. Descents - every climb turns into a descent, of course. With over 2500' of climbing you also have a half-mile of descents to practice your skills.
5. Group descents - try the backwards variation especially to work on this. Descending in a group is common during races, but isn't something most people get a chance to practice often.
6. Eat and drink enough - there's a big variation depending on time of year and conditions. Sometimes 1 to 1 1/2 bottles and a pack of gel will do, other times you'll go through 4-5 bottles and still feel thirsty.

KNOWN HAZARDS

1. The roads on the loop are two-lane, and can have some fast-driving cars and motorcycles, especially on the climb out from Alpine Dam. Watch for cars (and cyclists) crossing the yellow line on both the climbs and descents.
2. Several patches of road between Ridgecrest Blvd. and Alpine Dam can be slippery during heavy fog or rain. Tree-lined areas can have a lot of downed branches, leaves or needles after winter storms, which makes the road a bit greasy. Keep in mind that sunny days in eastern Marin can still be pretty foggy up on the ridge.
3. If you do the loop backwards, the descent down Ridgecrest is fast; it may not be possible to pedal through some of the turns, even for an expert rider.
4. In the summer it can really bake on Ridgecrest, and there isn't any water between Fairfax and Pantoll. Top off in Fairfax - a good spot is at the park/Police Station, just before the 7-11 - there's a water fountain out front.
5. It's common for Ridgecrest, the road to East Peak, and the descent to Pantoll to be maintained with chipseal in the late summer or early fall. This is a tar spraying, followed by a dump of fine gravel that only goes away after enough traffic bashes it into the asphalt. It makes the descents pretty unstable until the gravel embeds in the asphalt. There are usually yellow hazard signs when this is going on.
6. On really hot days, the descent from Rock Spring to Pantoll can have the kind of goopy tar that risks a Beloki on the descent. Tandem riders: we know of at least two roadies who heated up the rims enough to pop off a tire in this stretch of road, both on a hot day. Deploy the drum brake or take it easy if you don't have one.

LA DOLCE VITA

It's been a long-standing tradition to stop for an espresso in San Anselmo or Fairfax before or after you start the loop (depending on what direction you're heading in). The descent down Ridgecrest, when doing the loop clockwise, is a less-known screamer. Check out the redwoods during the climbs. For a truly epic ride, ride your cross bike and tack on Pine Mountain Loop.