Lollipop

I've been told it's called that because the route looks like a lollipop.

I mean, sorta

A few awesome coworkers and I set out on this ride since we had some nice weather this weekend, and it was such a beautiful ride that I'm aching to do it again!

Winding through the rolling hills, redwood forests and oyster laden shoreline, this 63 mile ride is truly some of the best that the north bay has to offer.  We started out bright and early in Fairfax, the birthplace of mountain biking, and began by climbing out of town to be greeted by miles of rollers through California redwoods.  The smell of the trees was just as refreshing as the cool air, and this was definitely my favorite part of the ride.

Just as we were coming out to the Point Reyes area, we stopped to fix a flat.  Something managed to hack all the way through a Gatorskin, so we did a quick fix until we could get some change to get a dollar bill patch.

While we were here, 16 Ferraris passed by.

Point Reyes Station is the first third mark for this ride, and also the location of a killer little coffee shop (and apparently some kind of Ferrari party).  I enjoyed a ginger scone with some local chai while the aforementioned dollar bill patch was successfully installed.

All local ingredients too!  I need to explore this town more.

Point Reyes gave way to a gorgeous winding coastline that went almost all of the way to Tomales Bay - we did pass a great little oyster bar that smelled amazing.  

Turning back inland, a climb known as Marshall Wall was my next challenge.  It's a tough climb, but there is a bit of a break in the middle to allow for a minute or two of rest before continuing up.  The views on the way up are worth it, and I had cows mooing at me along the way, which is not something I've ever encountered before on a ride. 

At the top!

We stopped briefly at the top to enjoy the view and shed some layers.

Some of the best riding buddies.

Dropping back down towards Novato, rolling hills and open farmland surrounded us.  Fields full of yellow flowers, roads with wide shoulders and few cars, lots of other friendly riders, and perfect weather - it was a picaresque, perfect way to see this part of the bay.  I kept wanting to stop and take pictures, but was too busy enjoying the ride.  

Eventually the route rejoined with the redwoods, and we rode the last few miles back to Fairfax.  

This ride has really sparked my desire to explore more of the north bay.  I think next time a pit stop at that oyster bar is definitely mandatory.