Our hut-to-hut mountain trip at the end of August is fast approaching and we haven’t mountain biked in over 6 months. It’s probably fair to say that we’re probably not in the best riding shape. During this trip, we’re supposed to average 30-35 miles per day which is nothing on a road bike, but on a mountain bike on dirt roads and at elevation, it’s not insignificant. Hmmm… time to start training!

We were eager to try out some of the trails in Nor Cal but also wanted something pretty tame to help us ease back into riding. While we (or perhaps mainly me) would typically search out single track and trails of a more technical nature, for the purposes of training, we were really looking for fireroads and double tracks where we can get some good mileage in.

Flipping through our “Northern California, A Guide to the Classic Trails” book, we decided that the Bolinas Ridge Fire Road would be a good start. It’s a 22.2-mile out-and-back dirt road/double track trail with a bunch of rolling hills. The trail pretty much fit the book’s description to a tee, and although there was nothing very technical, it was actually a really nice trail because of the beautiful scenery. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my camera, but since it is a really good training trail, we’re planning on coming back soon.

We only did about a 9-mile out-and-back which is not bad considering how long it’s been since we’ve ridden. Granted, it wasn’t a very long ride, but the good thing was that we both felt pretty good afterwards. As expected, we had a bit of saddle soreness, but it wasn’t that bad. All in all, a great first ride!

Posted by Roger at 6:55 pm.