Day 10 Stinson Beach - Sunnyvale 66 mi

I love it when a plan comes together--well, almost.

We had a great, safe ride all the way from Eureka to Stinson Beach. At dinner we were talking about what a great trip this was and also talked about the "Last Run Theory". This comes from skiing experience where, often, after a wonderful day of skiing, that one, last run leads to disaster or accident. Based on the "Last Run Theory" we decided to catch the Marin County bus over the hill from Stinson to Marin City. Then we would ride our bikes to Sausalito, catch the ferry to San Francisco and the train to Sunnyvale.

The last morning of the trip arrived and we got packed up and off to the bus stop. Don had planned out the timing for everything so we would miss the commute in the morning and the afternoon. But, when the bus arrived at the stop, the bike rack was full, so we ended up riding our bikes instead.

As we started up the hill out of Stinson Beach the fog was curling up the canyons from the ocean and our legs were feeling great. The traffic was light and the road was in good condition, much better than Don's memory of 20 years ago. We shared the road with one tour bus, one FedEx truck and about 20 cars. Pretty light traffic for the 1 hour ride.


When we rolled off the hill into Sausalito the sun was out, the sky was blue, it was a beautiful, warm fall day. Some may ask why not ride the Golden Gate bridge instead of the ferry. We ride the bridge frequently when we go to the art museum and then over to Avatar's in Sausalito for lunch. Last time we did the ride the bike lane was closed, and we shared the pedestrian side with thousands of gawking tourists, weaving back and forth across the walkway, gaping at towers, sailboats, and Alcatraz. It wasn't a fun ride. Also, Don wanted to get some great photos of the city from the ferry boat in the clear weather. If you have never taken the ferry from Sausalito to San Francisco, it is a must do, especially if the weather is clear. Go to Sausalito, visit some galleries, have lunch, and take the ferry back to San Francisco. It is a nice way to spend the day.

From the Ferry Building we rode our bikes along the Embacadero, an easy 1 1/2 miles, and arrived at the train station around 1:30, as Don had planned. His schedule worked out very well for us. We caught the train, which has set aside a car dedicated to bicycles, with the seats removed and a bar and bungees to secure the bicycles in the car. We were able to sit above and watch our bikes during the ride. It was a pleasant, smooth ride. Arriving in Sunnyvale we hopped on our bikes and easily rode home to Ticonderoga Drive.

Stinson Beach 10am, Sunnyvale 3pm. An easy 66 miles. 15.2miles of climbing 1609ft to Sausalito to San Francico Ferry Building 8.74mi, Train ride to Sunnyvale 42.71mi, 5:30 total time, 1905ft total ascent

PERFECT TRIP!