Bike Camping to China Camp with Pedal Inn

A few weeks ago, most of the Hipcamp team went on a rad bike camping excursion with the good folks at Pedal Inn. We met the owners, Nick and Lindy, at the Inn in the Mission district of San Francisco bright and early (well, ok, it was a little after 9am) on Saturday morning to find delicious donuts and coffee waiting for us. They helped us get fitted for our bikes, pack up the panniers (cycle-speak for saddle bags) and geared up to hit the road.

We took the route through the city with the least hills (SFers call this, “The Wiggle”), stopping for some views and leftover donuts along the way. We navigated the tourists along the Golden Gate Bridge, cruised into Sausalito and stopped at a local Indian restaurant for a leisurely lunch. After a quick gear tweak on one of the bikes (“Vanilla Ice” was a little squeaky), we were moving again.

We took a scenic path along the inlets of the Bay into Larkspur, stopped at a grocery store to pick up some provisions for the night and caught some nice rollers into China Camp. The sunset was magical as we approached camp. Once we found our site, Lindy strung up LED lights around some trees, we got some tunes going on our Jambox and started getting dinner together. A couple hours later, full of Banh Mi, spicy spring rolls and lots of grilled veggies, we charged into an ambitious up-hill night hike and took in some stars at the top.

In the morning we fueled up on yogurt, fruit and coffee and hit the road, stopping by the historical shrimp-fishing village of China Camp along the way. Nearly 500 people, originally from Canton, China, lived in the village starting in the 1880s. In its heyday, there were three general stores, a marine supply store and a barber shop! History buffs, it’s definitely worth checking out. There’s even a doll-sized diner that sells pies and hot cider. After a few history lessons, we rode back into Larkspur just in time to catch the Off The Grid food trucks before boarding the ferry back to the city. From there it was a short ride back home.

Over the two days we logged a little over 40 miles by bike. It was an awesome trip and really accessible even for the novice bike camper. We’d highly recommend anyone—regardless of their bike camping experience – to check out Pedal Inn. They provide bikes and anything else you might need for the trip, so don’t let gear get in the way of the experience. Some pics of our journey are below. A big thanks to Nick and Lindy for hosting us for the weekend!