Palo Alto riding

[paczki]

I'm going to Palo Alto for a few days in early May. Any suggestions on where to rent a bike and where to ride?

[taylorj]

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/big_coast_loop.html

One of my all-time favorites!

[paczki]

Thanks for answering two questions with one post! :banana:

How far is that loop?

[taylorj]

PM me if you need more details. I lived there for years, worked at the shop and have ridden all those rides a million times!

[taylorj]

Thanks for answering two questions with one post! :banana:

How far is that loop?

I used to ride it before work and I think it is about 65 miles with 6'000' of climbing (depending upon where you start/finish. Mas o menos.

[Satellite]

I recently took a business trip to Sunnyvale. I too debated on rental and taking my own ride. I ended up taking my own. She received a few bruises from the shipping but in the end I was happy to have taken my own bike. I pre-shipped my bike to the Hotel and it was waiting for me when I checked in. I brought it back on the plane with me for the oversized fee. UPS was $50 w/$1000 insurance and $85 on the airline. Rental the best road bike available was ~$100/24hrs; I rode everyday I was there the cost to ship was less than the rental. Plus I was riding my Bike, that I know fits me so I could just concentrate on finding a place to ride.

BTW I rode the Skyline Pass I think it is pretty close to Palo Alto.

Hope any of this helps?

Satellite

[taylorj]

http://www.svcyclingcenter.com/bikeconcierge/bikeconcierge.php

Not cheap but when you factor in the flying, shipping and damage to your bike, it is a nice option. That said, Palo Alto had a demo Look fleet (not sure what they are doing now). Call them. 650-328-7411. Ask for Jeff. And tell him Joni sent you.

[flux]

You lucky bastard.

[paczki]

I am lucky! But the weather in New England is looking nice over the next week. Boston was awfully beautiful on Saturday.

I have a great Igleheart Breakaway, and I may bring it, but I may just rent to make my life a little simpler -- I have to go to San Francisco first and then to Palo Alto and I'm only there for three days with a lot of business in between.

Can't wait, thanks again for the info!

[DukeHorn]

Big Coast Loop is great, BUT you do have to Old La Honda as well, just because it's nominally the benchmark by which the riders around here talk about their climbing abilities (time it from the bridge).

Supposedly the record is 14 minutes and something by Eric Heiden with Lance coming in around 15 minutes.

Not a difficult climb, but one that everyone in the biking community around here knows about.

[vaxn8r]

Old La Honda is great and then down to Stage road Via La Honda, up Coast Hwy and then back up Tunitas Creek for an even better climb than Old La Honda atmo.

There are some alternate routes up Pescadero and further out the coast if you're ambitious. Great riding!

[girlie]

Kings to skyline......

[taylorj]

Big Coast Loop is great, BUT you do have to Old La Honda as well, just because it's nominally the benchmark by which the riders around here talk about their climbing abilities (time it from the bridge).

Supposedly the record is 14 minutes and something by Eric Heiden with Lance coming in around 15 minutes.

Not a difficult climb, but one that everyone in the biking community around here knows about.

+1. My fastest time up old La Honda was 19:43 and I almost got sick trying! Eric's house (one of them) is half way up the hill. Old La Honda is a must though and is another nice way to the coast. I am heading there myself in two weeks. But I go every 6 weeks or so. It is home.

If you also want rides in SF (or out of the city) there are some nice ones. I used to ride my bike from my house in the city to work at Palo Alto bicycles and there is a lovely route along the Ocean out of the city and into the canyons of the San Andreas fault. Enjoy!!!

[sellsworth]

My son and I just did the climb up to Mt. Hamilton last weekend. What a fantastic ride - very little traffic. The route is highway 130 just to the east of San Jose. Here's a good link:

http://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/mthamilton.htm

[paczki]

My son and I just did the climb up to Mt. Hamilton last weekend. What a fantastic ride - very little traffic. The route is highway 130 just to the east of San Jose. Here's a good link:

http://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/mthamilton.htmBeautiful! But it looks like the ride there from Palo Alto might be a bit gnarly -- I wont have a car.


Thanks everyone, this is great.

[jeffg]

Beautiful! But it looks like the ride there from Palo Alto might be a bit gnarly -- I wont have a car.


Thanks everyone, this is great.

We are located in between Old La Honda and Kings Mountain, about 5 minutes ride from either one.

Send me a PM if you can't locate a bike or want to ride ...

[willy in pacifi]

I'm going to Palo Alto for a few days in early May. Any suggestions on where to rent a bike and where to ride?

If you send me an e-mail I may be able to show you the area as it one of my riding area.

Willy in Pacifica (25 miles north)

[paczki]

Awesome. I will PM you both. But don't expect Old La Honda in 14 minutes :banana:

[RudAwkning]

My son and I just did the climb up to Mt. Hamilton last weekend. What a fantastic ride - very little traffic. The route is highway 130 just to the east of San Jose. Here's a good link:

http://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/mthamilton.htm

My friends and I are going to tackle Hamilton from the east side in a few weeks. Same elevation, half the distance! Never done it before. Should be a ball buster.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4177/1071/1600/MtHamiltonLiverLvl4ProfileII.jpg

As folks have stated, Tunitas, La Honda and King's Ridge are all fun. But they're all quite a ride from Palo Alto. Might be tight without a car depending on how much time you've got.

My club did a ride out of Helyer Park in San Jose that hit Hicks Rd. Remember that being painful. I believe that was in the middle of August too. I remember slowing to a snail's crawl during the shady patches on that one.

[RudAwkning]

Awesome. I will PM you both. But don't Old La Honda in 14 minutes :banana:

Maybe we can get an informal Serotta Board ride going while Paczki is here? :banana:

[chakatrain]

Old La Honda is great and then down to Stage road Via La Honda, up Coast Hwy and then back up Tunitas Creek for an even better climb than Old La Honda atmo.

There are some alternate routes up Pescadero and further out the coast if you're ambitious. Great riding!

I'm a huge fan of this route. Tunitas Creek is an a$$ kicker for me and gorgeous, up a redwood creek.

if climbing is your thing, going up the 10mi Page Mill climb (harder yet if you add the Moody Rd climb at the beginning).

Finally, here's (http://www.westernwheelers.org/main/resources/BA_Climbs.html) 's a link to another great route resource

[rspecker]

I live in the area. The rides that others have mentioned are terrific--and there are many more.

I would probably do the following version (which is just a variant of what others described)--to me this is the classic (and it will kick your butt if you are not in shape):

ROUTE: Foothill, Page, Arastradero, Alpine, Portola, Old La Honda, 35, 84, Pescadero Rd to Pescadero, Stage, 84E, Portola, Sandhill, Foothill.

I would recommend that you go the the web site of one of the premier local clubs www.altovelo.org. They have rides described.

Also, if you are going to be around for any of the "famous" ad hoc group rides, such as the Spectrum or the Noon Ride or The Valley Ride, you might want to sit in. Frankly, I'm not stong enough to hang with these rides--they can be incredibly fast. But if you are that kind of rider it might be worth it. It is not uncommon to have pros in these rides.

Lastly, if you want something totally different, the Grizzly Peak Century in Berkeley is on Sunday, May 4th. It is another famous route--although it can be very hot. Google it for more info. It sells out, so you would have to book it.

Have fun!

[pdmtong]

I'd have to echo TaylorJ/Joni...if you can only do one ride, do the big coast loop. It's got the climbs, the views, the ocean, pretty much all the reasons why we think the riding here is great.

To get an idea of what you are in for...check out http://klimb.org/klimb.html
to plot the route and see the beautiful suffering....

[willy in pacifi]

When you ride down Woodside way, which is where all these rides are, a good rule is to ride up roads with names and down roads with numbers.

UPS
Tunitus Creek
Old La Honda
Kings Mountain
Page Mill
West Alpine

Downs
Hwy 84
Hwy 92

Unless you have no option do not ride down Tunitus or Old La Honda. It is just no fun to be on your breaks the entire decent as these hills are very steep and twisty. Riding down 92 or 84 is way more fun.

willy in pacifica

[Buzz]

My variation: Sand Hill to Old La Honda. Climb Old La Honda. At top cross Hwy 35 and descend westside of Old La Honda to 84 out to coast (stop at San Gregorio General Store). Take a left on Hwy 1 and enjoy a smooth wide shoulder with great views of Pacific for next 7 miles. Mostly downhill. The miles will fly by with wind at your back. Turn left on Pescadero Rd. (More stores in Pescadero, etc.) Continue on Pescadero to Alpine Rd. Climb Alpine Rd. A good serious climb about 45 minutes long. You might have one or two cars pass you on the way up - four if its a busy day. At top cross Hwy 35 and descend Page Mill Rd back to Foothill Expressway.

Trust me.

[sevencyclist]

Maybe we can get an informal Serotta Board ride going while Paczki is here? :banana:

Great idea! I would be interested in bring up the rear.

[paczki]

Great idea! I would be interested in bring up the rear.

Judging from the hills people have been describing you'll have to fight me for it :banana:

[willy in pacifi]

Judging from the hills people have been describing you'll have to fight me for it :banana:

Summary of the hills
East Side Hills to Hwy 35 (Skyline)
Old La Honda, ~3.5 miles, ~1,500 feet
King MT, ~4.5 miles, ~2,000 feet
Page Mill, ~ 9 miles, >2,500 Feet

West Side Hills to Hwy 35 (Skyline)
West Alpine, ~ 5 miles, > 2,000 feet
Tunitus Creek, ~7 miles, > 2,000 feet

I do not climb the numbered roads (Hwy 84 or Hwy 92) as there is more auto traffic. I try to only use those to decend. Very little traffic on the named roads above since most autos use the numbered roads.

OLH, King Mt, & Tunitus Creek never let up. Tunitus mellows out the last couple of miles but OLH and Kings are consistantly up.

My favorite is Tunitus as there are very few homes and if someone just drop you off there you would never guess you were only afew miles from the Pacific Ocean. It seem like you are in a rain forest.

OLH and Kings are linned with beautiful homes. You would not be able to afford the horse barn or the land under the barn. The horses live better than most Bay Area folks

At the bottom of the hill, in Woodside, is where Larry Ellison lives in his $200,000,000 Japanesse compond. The way you tell if someone is just rich or SUPER rich is if you can see their house as you ride by they are only slightly filty rich.

willy in Pacifica

[vaxn8r]

Summary of the hills
East Side Hills to Hwy 35 (Skyline)
Old La Honda, ~3.5 miles, ~1,500 feet
King MT, ~4.5 miles, ~2,000 feet
Page Mill, ~ 9 miles, >2,500 Feet

West Side Hills to Hwy 35 (Skyline)
West Alpine, ~ 5 miles, > 2,000 feet
Tunitus Creek, ~7 miles, > 2,000 feet

I do not climb the numbered roads (Hwy 84 or Hwy 92) as there is more auto traffic. I try to only use those to decend. Very little traffic on the named roads above since most autos use the numbered roads.

OLH, King Mt, & Tunitus Creek never let up. Tunitus mellows out the last couple of miles but OLH and Kings are consistantly up.

My favorite is Tunitus as there are very few homes and if someone just drop you off there you would never guess you were only afew miles from the Pacific Ocean. It seem like you are in a rain forest.

OLH and Kings are linned with beautiful homes. You would not be able to afford the horse barn or the land under the barn. The horses live better than most Bay Area folks

At the bottom of the hill, in Woodside, is where Larry Ellison lives in his $200,000,000 Japanesse compond. The way you tell if someone is just rich or SUPER rich is if you can see their house as you ride by they are only slightly filty rich.

willy in Pacifica
Good info. I would add that the Tunitas Creek climb is deceptive if you only look at summary totals. The bulk of that climb is about 1,200 ft in 2 miles iirc. The rest is pretty easy.

[pdmtong]

vaxn8r...exactly....tunitas is 10-12 miles of 8-10% with the middle 2 miles at 12-14%. It's shaded, redwood trees on both sides, a gorgeous way to suffer....

If time is short, Old La Honda is the most direct way to get over to the coast.

It'd be a shame if you came out and were unable to see the ocean from your ride. I'd pass on Mt Hamilton...that is just a 25 mile grinder with views of suburbia at the end.

The suggestion of riding up west alpine to return is good too....I'd pick tunitas only because the shade and trees are sooo nice. west alpine is exposed so anything late in the day if it is sunny makes for a "hotter" ride...

[chakatrain]

...for a forum group ride while paczki is in town. I'm sure I'll be pushing for "bringing up the rear" rights myself :p

[paczki]

So anyone up for a ride on 5/8, maybe at around 11? Meet at Palo Alto Bicycles?

[jeffg]

So anyone up for a ride on 5/8, maybe at around 11? Meet at Palo Alto Bicycles?

I would love to, but right in the middle of the work day might be tough ...

[flux]

I'm going to Palo Alto for a few days in early May. Any suggestions on where to rent a bike and where to ride?

oh man... it's the best. just go up to skyline and go up and down the canyons.

be sure to go UP. Las Tunitas. DOWN IT is very bad news.

[paczki]

I can't wait -- the forecast says 75 and sunny. I wish Thursday wasn't the only day I had for a long ride!

[taylorj]

...and yes, the weather is to die for! 70's and no wind. Every time I come home I always wondered why I left. Getting some new Record strung on my Seven for next week's Tour of the Unknown Coast. Northern California was created with cyclist's in mind. Enjoy! :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Skrawny]

...for a forum group ride while paczki is in town. I'm sure I'll be pushing for "bringing up the rear" rights myself :p

I'm in too, but I can only ride on weekends.
When are you in town, paczki?
May 10, 11 too late?

-s

[pdmtong]

went up page mill this morinng at 8am. sort achily but sunny. when we hit skyline, the fog was in THICK...visibilty very limited on the ridge. bring warmers and a jacket to ensure your comfort if you make a coast run.

[Skrawny]

I am ready for whatever the peninsula wants to dish out
I did Alpine Dam twice this weekend!
-s

[jeffg]

went up page mill this morinng at 8am. sort achily but sunny. when we hit skyline, the fog was in THICK...visibilty very limited on the ridge. bring warmers and a jacket to ensure your comfort if you make a coast run.

Amen, It was warm and sunny in Woodside but I got hit by rain and isolated rain (top of Old La Honda and Kings were quite wet by late afternoon). Beautiful ride but a bit chilly with a summer vest and warmers.

Hey, anybody up for a ride tomorrow or Wednesday in the morning? Coffee/refreshments at our house if there are takers ...

[paczki]

I'm in too, but I can only ride on weekends.
When are you in town, paczki?
May 10, 11 too late?

-s

Unforrtunately just in town 5/8-5/10. But I only have any extended riding time on 5/8. I will try to sneak out for a few hours on 5/9 and 5/10, in the mid-afternoon. But my window will be short 1:30-4:30.

Thanks everyone for the awesome info!

[pdmtong]

2 bottles is fine. if you make a run to the coast the usual refill stop is the general store in san gregorio on hwy 84 just east of hwy 1. water food etc.

[paczki]

Thank you. I won't bring the Camelbak!

[paczki]

Good god is the cycling great in Palo Alto! The weather was 75 and sunny every day. Old La Honda was tough and fun. I didn't have time for Tunitas -- next time -- but just riding out on Canada Road was as pretty as it gets. Thanks to everyone. That is cyclists paradise.

[Skrawny]

Good to know you enjoyed yourself!
:beer:
-s