Hi Amysue!
I live in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, and when I'm not busy pursuing my other hobby of knee surgery and recovery, I'm an avid cyclist. There are a million places to ride in Marin County, as well as the East Bay (Berkeley/Oakland), the Peninsula/South Bay (Redwood City/Palo Alto/San Jose) and further north in Napa and Sonoma Counties. Without knowing what kind of riding you like and what level you consider yourself, it's kind of difficult to make suggestions. Within the city of San Francisco itself, there are a few places to ride, but they tend to be in areas where you're likely to find lots of foot and car traffic. You really need to get outside of the city, which means having a way to transport your rental bike(s).
Also, do you and your husband currently ride a tandem? If you've not done a lot of tandem riding, you may want to re-think that idea. Tandems work best when both riders are at similar fitness levels because there is no free ride for the person riding in the back. Typically, the bigger person rides in the front, which usually means it's the man controlling the steering, the gearing and the brakes. I don't personally have a problem with that but I hear many of my friends and acquaintances say that they wouldn't want to be in the back. Also, unless you have a tandem with a suspended seat or a shock-absorbing seat post, the rider in the back (meaning you) usually gets a less comfortable ride. This is perfectly fine if you're planning a short ride, but if you wanted to do a longer day, you might be miserable. (I speak from experience on this one! It takes a while to build up a tandem butt
)
Another thing to consider is, are you planning to have a way to transport the bike outside of the city? You should really consider that because you'll have so many more options of beautiful places to ride. Getting outside of the city can make a drastic change in the weather (20 miles can bring a 20 to 30 degree temperature change!).
If you are interested in doing some long rides, you might want to get a book. I have one at home (I'm at work now) and I can see if it's still in print. Amazon.com lists two books that look like they may be good possibilities: The Best Bike Rides in Northern California and Adventure Cycling in Northern California. One or the other might be money well spent. You would have time to look at the different options and decide what kind of length/scenery/terrain you want to deal with. I'll check my book at home tonight and get the title--it's a pretty good book with a lot of variety.
Finally, here are some bicycle rental outfits:
A Adventure Bicycle
www.adventurebike.com 415-771-8735
A American Bicycle Rental
415-931-0234
Blazing Saddles Bike Rentals
415-202-8888
Start to Finish Bicycles
1-800-600-2453
(We've shopped and had repair work done at Start to Finish and they're a good company. The other three seem like they're more geared for tourists who want to rent for a few hours.)
Sorry to make this so long. Feel free to email me at
[email protected] if you want more info.
Good luck!