Ride Recap San Bruno Mountain: Wish You Were Here

Here is Jeff’s report on our second “Pandemic” ride.

Running over the same old ground
What have we found?
The same old fears
Wish you were here

The group (Nancy, Joan, Scott, Donald and Jeff) met at McLaren lodge in Golden Gate Park, did a few group stretches, and reviewed the new COVID-19 ride safety protocols. The RWGPS route for the ride had us climbing Twin Peaks after Mt. San Bruno but we decided as a group to instead add the Presidio and drop Twin Peaks. So the route was last weekend’s Bakery Loop with the addition of a climb to the top of Mt. San Bruno. 
For me the ride down the Great Highway, which is closed to traffic, is a highlight. I love the way the median has many home-decorated signs mostly urging people to vote. After riding along the southern edge of Lake Merced, we rode through the Westlake area of Daly City and made our way to Guadalupe Parkway which is a gentle climb with a broad shoulder for cyclists. We paused briefly at the beginning of Radio Road, which takes you to the top of the mountain where the radio transmitters are. At the top we snapped a couple photos and looked down on the cemeteries in Colma. Someone was shooting off fireworks there in the middle of the day which we all thought was odd. Since it was chilly there we didn’t stay long and instead took another break at the state park facility on Guadalupe Parkway.  The steep descent on Carter Avenue was a shortcut to Geneva Avenue, which took us by McLaren Park on our way to Glen Park where we took another short break at the Destination Bakery before returning to Golden Gate Park via the Mission. By then the weather, which started off very cool and misty had become warm and sunny. It was a beautiful day for riding overall. –Jeff Pekrul