Comments on: Visiting the Birthplace of Mountain Biking: Marin County, California

By: mtbgreg1

mtbgreg1 — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:00:43 +0000

Um… it’s not actually MY birthplace.

By: abegold

abegold — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 18:13:00 +0000

Mt Tam IS the first place I rode a mountain bike, before most of the closures. There is some tech at China Camp but found none of it the first time there. A local showed me around the second time and I saw trails that were totally different and better than the first. Don’t miss hitting Hitler trail.The views of the bay are super for me as a desert rat and so are the tempratures. Another place to ride is on the Golden Gate Bridge for the temps in the 50′s (jacket suggested) and great views. More cyclists and walkers than almost anywhere, nice place for a chat. Tennessee Valley Trail in Tamalpias Valley has a trail to the ocean, think it’s still open to bikes but I haven’t ridden it in a decade, easy. Nearby Dipsea Cafe is a favorite!

By: mtbgreg1

mtbgreg1 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:54:38 +0000

@Jared13, no prob dude!

By: Jared13

Jared13 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:35:48 +0000

@dcluley and Greg
Ahhh, thanks!

I’ve heard of a lollipop design before, the lariat and lasso are new to me.

By: Jampa56

Jampa56 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 19:08:57 +0000

You know, f**k the bay area. It is suffocating. Too many people. it is not worth it: traffic, overregulation, “everything, all the time”

By: mtbgreg1

mtbgreg1 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:00:18 +0000

@Jared13, where there is a straight section of trail that you ride to reach a loop, a loop you go around, and then you return on the same section of trail that you rode to reach the loop. Think of what a lasso (aka lariat) from the old west looks like. This is also sometimes referred to as a lollipop. Its actually kind of surprising how often you’ll see this sort of trail design!

By: dcluley

dcluley — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:36:06 +0000

By: Jared13

Jared13 — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:46:31 +0000

“the trail is laid out in a lariat-style, with most of the locals riding the loop portion clockwise.”

What is “lariat-style”?

By: mtbgreg1

mtbgreg1 — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 16:53:01 +0000

@jeff, that’s a good question…

@Fitch, there are a couple of rocky spots, but not many!

By: Fitch

Fitch — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 15:15:32 +0000

That smooth flow at Camp Tamarancho looks like a blast! Where are the rocks and roots? Oh, wait, it’s not New England.

By: jeff

jeff — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:44:30 +0000

Great trip report. While there are only a couple trails to ride in Marin County it’s still worth the trip in my opinion, if for no other reason than to see the place where MTB got its start.

Does anyone know if it’s possible to ride the Repack fire road these days? From what I understand the course was mostly (all?) fire roads which, by today’s standards, isn’t all that exciting but you’d think a fire road would still be open to bikes. I also thought I heard about a special race on the original course coming up soon (or maybe it just happened)…