Local bikepacking

A somewhat vintage steel bicycle, painted blue and platinum and labeled as MARINONI, is loaded with a handlebar bag, a frame bag across the top tube, a small bag above the top tube, and a tent and sleeping bag strapped to a rear seatpost rack.

Introduction: Local four-day bikepack

From my trip last year I had a few ideas for equipment and technique tweaks for bikepacking. I'd also discovered a local camping option (Sibley Backpack Camp) I hadn't known about, and combined with the bike/hike site at Samuel P. Taylor, that seemed like an opportunity for a quick local adventure. While I was planning that trip, a friend who couldn't make the first two nights suggested a third night at Anthony Chabot Family Campground. Great idea!

A landscape of rolling green hills, with patches of red in the valleys, and yellow patches on the hillsides. The sky is gray and threatening, but a late afternoon sun is providing some light along the horizon.

Day 1: Sibley Backpack Camp

This was going to be a short day, just 25km up the hill to Sibley Backpack Camp. It was quite windy and threatening rain, so I decided to take the more wooded Butters&Burdeck route up the hills, picked up dinner at Skyline Community Market, and hunkered down before the rain came in.

A wide and inviting gravel path winds through green woods. Dappled sunlight can be seen ahead.

Day 2: Sibley to Samuel P. Taylor

Day 2 involved a lot of dodging rain squalls. I modified my original route to cut out the gravel sections through the East Bay that would all be sticky mud. The road riding was mostly pleasant except for the wind on the bridge, and through a combination of planning and luck I managed to avoid riding in the rain.

A mostly cloudy sky is seen over a lake nestled in green hills. Some of the hills are lit by a setting sun. A tree-covered island sits in the middle of the lake.

Day 3: Samuel P. Taylor to Anthony Chabot

The muddiness prevented me from riding the Bolinas Ridge Trail, but I made a good day out of riding Highway 1 with a stiff tailwind, all the way from Olema to Mill Valley, and then public transiting to San Leandro for the final climb up to Lake Chabot.

A peaceful sunrise scene above a lake. The sun is just coming over a right to the left of the image, lighting grasses on the hill in the foreground, and lighting fog hanging over the lake itself.

Day 4: Chabot to home

Yesterday's rainbow marked the end of the storm. The night was clear and calm, and we woke to a beautiful sunrise, with mist rising off the lake. I was riding directly home from camp, so all I had to do was find clothes I was willing to wear for a couple hours. It was a good trip; I enjoyed that this adventure involved just going out my door. We're blessed here in the Bay Area that there are so many nearby options.