San Francisco Bay ride starting at Blackie’s Pasture. This is one of my favorite bike rides, it is not exceedingly difficult, and you will experience the beauty and splendor of San Francisco and its surrounding communities. It starts and ends at Blackie's Pasture in Tiburon CA and takes you around the San Francisco Bay where you will see a wide variety of beautiful and historic sights and encounter a wide variety of terrain. The total loop around the bay is 31.5 miles; however, when you deduct the 9.5-mile ferry ride it is only 22 miles. There is a total of 1320 feet of elevation gain; however, the climes are not exceptionally long and not extremely high. It should be fine for a beginning cyclist. One very important note: You need to check what time the ferry is going to San Francisco. It only goes to San Francisco a few times per day. At the time I wrote this it was leaving for San Francisco at 11:30 AM, but times change so make sure you know what time to be at the ferry. Starting at Blackie's Pasture your ride down to the Ferry in Tiburon and enjoy a scenic ride on the ferry over to Sausalito and then to Fisherman’s Wharf. Unfortunately, the Tiburon Ferry no longer goes to the Ferry Building in San Francisco, which is a fabulous place, therefore eliminating the ride along the Embarcadero. From Fisherman's Wharf, you will continue through the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park where you will encounter the first challenging hill at Fort Mason which is not long but fairly steep with a maximum 11% grade. Once you come down the hill you will continue through Crissy Field enjoying a beautiful view of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. Continuing on the bike path takes you to Fort Point National Historic Site under the Golden Gate Bridge. This is a great place to take advantage of their bathrooms. After a brief stop you continue on, with another brief, but fairly steep climb of 150 feet up to the Golden Gate Bridge Welcoming Center. The next segment of the journey takes you across the famous Golden Gate Bridge for some spectacular views of the city and the Marine Headlands stopping on the north side of the bridge at the Golden Gate Bridge Vista Point to enjoy more beautiful views of the city, there is an elevation gain of about 220 feet to get to the vista point, but I think you will find that it is worth it. Next you will ride through the beautiful town of Sausalito where you can stop for a snack and enjoy more beautiful views. Moving on from Sausalito you can stop at the US Army Corps of Engineers “Bay Model” an incredible scale model of the entire Bay area used to study the water flow patterns of the area. The final segment of the journey takes you across the Bothin Marsh Preserve, a tidal estuary, with beautiful views of the area. Finally, you make your way back to Blackie’s Pasture to conclude your ride. I hope that you enjoy this ride as much as I do.