Forget Moab. Dump Durango. Some of the best mountain biking we’ve found is only two hours from Market Street in a rugged patch of woods called Boggs Mountain in southern Lake County. Packed with ponderosa pine and black fir, the forest is gloriously empty even on weekends. And the bikers who are there are apt to be old-school locals riding fully rigid mountain bikes and sporting neon Oakley Blades. They’re ridin’ for the pure love of it. And oh, those trails—toothpick-tight singletrack rolling up and down through the forest. You'll have your pick, so get a map at the kiosk located below the parking area near the fire station. Our favorites were “John’s” and “Karen’s” (almost all the trails are on a first-name basis here) but we’re pretty sure you’ll find your own sweet sections. The terrain never gets super technical; it’s just swooping singletrack that one local described as “like low-level flying through a forest.” Buckle up! More information.

TIP: After your flight, grab a brew and some comfort food at the newly opened Saw Mill Café & Bistro.  Try the fried chicken (all dishes are garnished with an exotic flower) and check out the historic newspaper headlines, from Nixon's resignation to the German surrender in WWII.

Saw Mill Café & Bistro, 16555 Highway 175, Cobb; 707-928-4086.

Directions to Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest: Take 101 North. In Santa Rosa, exit Highway 12 going east. Go about 4 miles. Turn left on Calistoga Road and take it about 7 miles until Petrified Forest Road. Turn right and take it a few miles until you hit Highway 128, turn left and take it one mile. Turn right on Tubbs Lane, and then left on Highway 29. Take this all the way to Middletown. Once there, go north on Highway 175 toward Boggs Mountain. Just past Cobb, turn right where the sign says “CDF Fire Station” and park. Camping is available in the park.

Mike's Bikes, the Bay Area's premier bike retailer, wants to help you find the answer to this summertime question: what's your bike personality?
This week's bike personality: The All-Purpose Adventurer.

You want it all: Rocky trails, gravel paths, and coastal bikeways. You like comfort and flexibility when riding the rolling hills in China Camp and think fat tires are perfect for a Sunday afternoon spin around Golden Gate Park. The sights, the sounds, the feeling of being in the woods on a bicycle is your cure-all for stress. Yes. You want it all.

Sound like you? You're "The All-Purpose Adventurer." And the Mike's Bikes ride for you: the Cannondale F6. This jack-of-all-trails can take on whatever you feel like throwing at it. Reliable and strong, the Cannondale F6 is also lightweight, with a Rock Shox suspension fork that gives you confidence taking on the singletrack in Marin or the wide fire roads at Wilder Ranch. And you'll love the lockout, allowing you to turn off the suspension on your way to the trail. Dependability is the name of the game with the Cannondale. So go ahead: take on any terrain. Double-dare.

Mike's Bikes has six stores in Northern California: Sacramento (916-446-BIKE), San Rafael (415-454-3747), Sausalito (415-332-3200), Berkeley (510-549-8350), San Francisco (415-241-BIKE), and Palo Alto (650-858-7700).