One of the things James missed most during our month away was his mountain bike. Every time we landed in a populous harbor he toyed with the idea of renting a bike, but would alas decide to wait to get home.

Yesterday we took our first ride up the backside (northeast) of Mt. Tam from Natalie Coffin Greene Park in Ross.

Here we ride up to Phoenix Lake, the smaller of the two lakes in the park.

This route is perfect on a warm day because it’s shaded with sections cooled by small creeks that are miraculously still running in July.

Today we took the short route so the photos of the sweeping and spectacular views from near the summit will have to wait until next time.