Holy Hoo-Koo-E-Koo

Besides having a great name, the Hoo-Koo-E-Koo trail offers incredible views of the San Francisco Bay, downtown, and the expansive Pacific coastline. Yesterday's mountain bike ride may be a third candidate for a great Mt. Tam area Sea Otter Classic training ride, but whether or not you're training for Sea Otter, these are great trails to explore.

As with many of my Winter rides, I began at Ross Commons in Ross, CA, and rode to the trail-head at Natalie Coffin Green Park (the fireroads around Mt. Tam drain incredible well and make for great winter riding). From there I rode around Phoenix Lake, and climbed Eldridge Grade to the East Peak of Mt. Tam. I came back down Ridgecrest slightly past Eldridge and took a left on Old Railroad Grade, which was over 3 miles of twisty, fast fire road, with each steep downhill section looking like it could dump you straight down into the Pacific Ocean. This trail also takes you past the West Point Inn. I then took a left on the famous Hoo-Koo-E-Koo trail, which descends past several small waterfalls, through redwood groves, and by more great views of the Pacific and San Francisco. I then had to climb a bit up to Blithedale Ridge and then up Indian Fire Road, which took me back to Eldridge Grade. From the 1450' mark at Eldridge, it was pure downhill the rest of the way back to Ross Commons.

Overall, the ride was just over 19 miles and 3200' of elevation gain . . . very similar figures to past Sea Otter Classic loops. Check out my two other Sea Otter training ride candidates: Lance's Sea Otter Classic Training Ride and the Mt. Tam Epic Twin Peaks Ride, each of which is just over 19 miles with more than 3200' of gain.

See the full details of the Mt. Tam Summit - Eldridge Grade-Hoo-Koo-E-Koo Mountain Bike Loop at MarinFatTire.com, or check out the GPS data at Motion-Based.