www.best.com/~doosh/bicycle/tiburon.html -> www.inl.org/bicycle/tiburon.html
Feel free to stop on the way up and have some water or a snack. After the peak it descends for a bit to the 10 Golden Gate Bridge visitor's center. For easy route Continue descending on Lincoln for about 1 km; This will put you on Mason Street in the actual ex-Army base, and you'll probably have a nice tailwind. All you are trying to do is get between the freeway and the bay, and then head east. The newly restored 11 Crissy Field will be on your left; Mason Street is straight and wide and has little traffic, and there's a nice view of the bridge. Marina Boulevard takes you through (duh) the 12 Marina District, and it's a rather pretty ride. Bay is a mostly residential street with one hill (Russian Hill). In this direction there's almost no climb and a rather steep but non-fun descent (watch out for parked cars and don't run the lights). The descent ends around the fringes of the financial district, then hits Embarcadero after about 5 km total. Turn right on Embarcadero and take it to the Ferry Building. Dismount across from the Ferry Building and head across Justin Herman Plaza to the Embarcadero BART station. For intermediate and advanced routes Turn left into the Golden Gate tour bus area. There are restrooms and a snack bar here, and we'll probably take a break. On weekends bikes must use the west sidewalk (really they should use the west sidewalk all the time but the bridge authority for some reason keeps the west sidewalk locked during the week, forcing bikes to use the east sidewalk and dodge tourists in high winds). To get there you go up to the east sidewalk and turn right on a path that goes under the bridge (it's marked). Be careful around the bridge towers, the winds whip around them and make riding treacherous (slow way down and you'll be OK). The bridge lasts for about 3 kilometers and exits into a little-used parking lot. Conzelman climbs steeply for a bit, then less steeply for a while; You might want to stop to rest at one of the "vista point" turnouts. At the very top of the hill there's yet another great view, plus garbage cans and various tourist-oriented plaques about the discovery of San Francisco, etc. After this area Conzelman becomes a narrow one-way street with a descent that is stunning in every sense of the word; The really steep part ends after about 2 km and it flattens out, then climbs for a short stretch, than has a more controlled and fun descent for about another 2km. Continue straight after the descent (the road again becomes two-way) along Conzelman; The lighthouse itself has recently reopened, but the footpath is for pedestrians only, so we won't stop unless people are really interested in checking it out. Continue on to the right and stop at a lot overlooking Bird Island. It's a great place for birdwatching if you're into that, and there are sometimes whales offshore as well. If it's not too chilly, this is a good place to stop for a snack. Field Road (which becomes Simmon Road, which becomes Bunker Road) is fairly wide and starts with a nice tailwind-aided descent through the rolling hills of the headlands. There's a dirt path off to the right that climbs the hill and meets the paved road at the intersection of McCullogh and Conzelman; I've never ridden it, but the knobby-tire types might be interested in trying it out. This climbs slightly until it enters a tunnel between West and East Fort Baker. The tunnel is sloped downwards and has a tailwind in this direction, but it's only one lane (for both directions), so be alert. If you get a good head of steam, this tunnel can be pretty fun. The bike lane is usually not usable due to debris and sand. After exiting the tunnel, bear to the right until the road ends at at an unmarked road called perhaps Sausalito Lateral. For intermediate route only Turn right on Sausalito Lateral. This is a fairly busy road which climbs for 1km or so, and then goes underneath Highway 101. After the underpass, turn right on Conzelman and then left back into the Golden Gate Bridge parking lot. Cross the bridge, and then get on the bike path at the other end. Follow the 17 easy route instructions from there to Embarcadero BART. Bridgeway has a nice view of the bay, then enters the Sausalito tourist district. It eventually exits to a more realistic business district and then ends at a freeway ramp after about 5 km. It goes through the salt marshes for about 5 km, then ends at East Blithedale Avenue. Go sorta straight-rightish onto East Blithedale Avenue (that is, don't turn right). It has one kind of annoying intersection with 101 and then is mostly good riding. It becomes Tiburon Boulevard past 101, and after about 3 more kilometers rolls into Tiburon's business district. If you're bonked, you can catch the ferry to San Francisco here; After it passes through Tiburon it becomes Paradise Drive, and starts rolling along through wooded areas with views of the bay. After about 3km it meets up with Trestle Glen Boulevard. This is a quiet residential street that slopes downwards back to Tiburon Boulevard, where it ends. Bridgeway goes through Sausalito, then starts to climb the hill, becoming Sausalito Lateral. Cross the bridge, and then get on the bike path at the other end. Follow the 21 easy route instructions from there to Embarcadero BART.
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