the Pacific Ocean in Mt. Tamalpais State Park.
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)
During the winter break I spent time in the California Bay Area visiting family. While I was there I took full advantage of the sun, warm air, and the many miles of paved and dirt roads that surround my aunt’s house in Forest Knolls, a small community west of Fairfax in Marin County.
Marin is a fascinating place for a bike lover like myself. It’s the birthplace of two of America’s most important contributions to cycling’s rich history: the Safe Routes to School movement and mountain biking. Safe Routes was first piloted in Marin County in 2000 and mountain biking as we know it today was born on the dirt roads around Mt. Tamalpais in the late 1970s. Both of those innovations are still major components of the physical infrastructure and cultural heritage of Marin.