So Charlie dreamed up this insane mountain bike ride that would go from China Camp in San Rafael all the way to Bolinas. About 10 miles of it would be pavement, connecting roads to the next trail basically. The rest would be dirt. We're not talking "As the crow flies" here either. This was like a back and forth, loop-dee-doo, roundabout ride from A to B with no shortest distance between two points route anywhere in sight. Fifty miles on a mountain bike. "Ah whatever, I've done 60 and 70 miles on my road bike dozens of time," some of you will boast. Uh-huh. And I've walked to 7-11 down the street about 500 times, and that isn't nearly as hard as 50 on a MTB either. Trust me, this was a really freakin' hard ride. But you know what, next year I'll be the first name on the sign up sheet for the second annual Ruta Al Mar. That means "Road to the Sea" by the way. Check out some images from the 8-and-a-half hour long ride, and experience the pain and aching buttocks from the comfort of your swiveling, padded, desk chair.

See the Photos!