Marin Headlands

If I thought yesterday's ride up and down San Francisco was difficult to match, well, I was wrong. The morning sky was grey, only rarely sun rays broke through. I loaded up two bags with rain gear, lunch, and out I went. Across the Golden Gate Bridge the cyclist formerly known as urban climbs to open space paradise. Well, a paradise with several roads interrupted for public works (stimulus money perhaps?). But with a little patience and the help of the nice local cyclists a way around the road closures can be found. One turn, one long tunnel, and the chaos of the city vanishes to leave the place to rolling, wind scoured hills that reminded me of coastal northern Europe.
The terrain was perfect for my Jamis Aurora: long hills, twisty roads, uncertain pavement: the bike ate them all and asked for seconds. We left the official road following a trail up to old WWII fortifications, and the bike did not complain one bit, but proceeded comfortably and securely (also thanks to the awesome Victoria Randonneur tires, made in Bergamo).
All I had to do was to find the most spectacular place to have lunch. It wasn't difficult.