On Saturday I ventured out into the Headlands in search of the Coastal View descent. I ended up riding down Dias Ridge instead, which was some of the best single-track I've ridden out here so far, but it also dropped me at the bottom of the trail I wanted to go down. Doh!
The ride up the Coastal View trail was spectacular, fog rolling in and out of the hills and along the coastline. By this point I had run out of water and failed, yet again, to bring any food with me. Double doh!
At the very top of Coastal View I dropped into the Muir Woods national forest. It's quite incredible how diverse the landscape and terrain can change in such a short distance. It went from coastal shrubs, to lush valleys into dense woods.
At this point I'm really hurting for food. Luckily I ran into a group of riders at the top of Mill Valley, and thank god for George, who hooked me up with a Hammer Gel. Funny enough, not 200 yards from running into them I came across a dried fruit stand, and bought as much trail mix as $4 can afford.
I spent the remainder of the ride at a slow tempo, dreaming about sandwiches and water. 50 miles and four and a half hours later I make it home, legs covered in dust and sweat, deflated, but what a ride.