Fairfax / Point Reyes Mother’s Day Ride

We were originally going to load up cargo as if we were going on a real tour. My foot’s been bothering me a bit, though, so Anne suggested we skip that until next time. Then we forgot to bring one small pannier, which had all the cool weather gear. Instead of being a heavier-than-normal load, it was a extra-light load. Fortunately the weather was nice, so we didn’t need the clothes.

This ride had two big climbs near the beginning of the ride. Anne took the trailer for both, including the descent in the middle. We ate lunch at Alpine Dam, which was pretty cool, except for needing to keep Ruth out of the (possible) poison oak.

At the top of the second climb I took the trailer for the big descent. It was pretty windy and narrow, with a lot of blind turns. There was enough traffic to make it exciting, too.

Then on to Highway 1, which we expected to be pretty flat. Turns out there was a moderate climb right away, which I wasn’t mentally prepared for and overexerted myself on. Once I started treating every incline as a sustained climb, things got better.

Our turnaround point was Inverness, where we found a neat open area behind a general store. This seemed to be some kind of photographer hotspot, taking pictures of a wrecked ship and talking about what time of day or year provides the best lighting.

The ride back to Fairfax included a nice multiuse trail through Samuel P Taylor state park. Sometimes these kind of trails have too many pedestrians or stop signs to really enjoy, but this one was pretty nice. There was even a woman taking her dog for a walk from horseback.

In the last few miles of the ride, I started pooping out, so tricked Anne into taking the trailer again. It ended up only being a little bit more up a moderate hill, then a gentle descent for the last 2 miles or so.

We ended up getting home pretty late, since this ride was a further from home. Ruth go pretty goofy — by the time we got home she was tickling busses and trucks.

California State Items: California quail (State Bird), California poppy (State Flower), but sadly no State Mineral (gold).

Animal sightings: Cows, horses, a hawk, California quails, a chicken (according to Anne)

Most amusing sign: Drake Way, marked as a 20% grade, and also a private road. Well, too bad we won’t be able to take that one…

Worst parenting moment: Passing through a park with a playground without letting Ruth go play. I heard sad “playground playground swing swing” from the back for a while. Then there were some horses, and all was forgiven.