Old La Honda/Tunitas Creek

06Aug07

This ride is one of the many options over the Skyline Ridge from the peninsula to the coast. Old La Honda is the easiest climb over the top at 3.37 miles and 7% grade. Dress for variable weather. It can be 30 degrees colder at the coast than in Woodside, no exaggeration. Summer weather pattern is generally warm and sunny in Woodside with a fog bank hanging on the west side of the ridge, all the way to the ocean. Even if sunny all the way to the coast, the temperature will drop considerably. In winter, prepare for cold and wet at the top of the ridge, with snow very rare but possible. You can take this ride in either direction, but OLH is not as fun a descent as Kings Mountain, as it’s too tight for a bombing descent.

RIDE MAPS:

Map My Ride: OLH/Tunitas Creek
Google Earth View (Download)

RIDE DESCRIPTION:

Start out at Woodside Town Hall, which has ample parking and is close to all “Loop” options. Head down Whiskey Hill Road toward Sand Hill road. Take a right (west) on Sand Hill, and follow until you see the turn for Old La Honda on your right (about 2.5 miles or so). It’s not well marked, so keep your eyes out for the green road sign. Head up Old La Honda for 3.37 miles. This is a steady, but fairly challenging climb.

Top out at Skyline (Highway 35) and watch out for extremely fast traffic coming around the corners as you cross. Cross directly and head down west Old La Honda. This is a fun descent, with rollers and quick turns through the trees. As you come out into the open meadows, you’ll be rewarded with spectacular views of the hills and ocean, if the fog is co-operating. Watch for gravel on the corners on this part of the descent.

Connect with Highway 84 and head left down towards the ocean. Route option: Take Pescadero Creek Road to add miles and end up at Pescadero State Beach and town of Pescadero. Hilly. Otherwise, stay on 84 ’till you get to Stage Road and the general store, which is a good place for coffee and a bite. Opens at 9 am most days. On this route, we take Stage Road north to connect immediately with 101 north. Route option: Take Stage Road south to Pescadero. Hilly. Otherwise, climb sharply up Stage Road northbound, and hook up with 101 north. Descend (fun!) down into the creek valley, and take in spectacular views of the ocean and cliffs (fog dependent). After crossing the ravine, take a right on Tunitas Creek Road.

Take Tunitas Creek road all the way back up to Skyline. It starts out shallow, winding through farms, then moves up into a steeper climb in the woods. The middle section is difficult, hitting what feels like about 8-10% grade consistently for a couple of miles on rough, patchy road. About 3 miles from the top, you feel like you’re coming to the end of the climb, but it follows along the ridgeline until Skyline (Highway 35).

Cross 35 and descend steeply down Kings Mountain Road. Watch for cyclists and cars, especially on the many hairpin corners. Surface is generally very good. Has very twisty sections near the top, and smooths out a bit nearer to the bottom, but is windy and fun the whole way down. Take care on this descent.

Take a left a the stop sign at Kings Mountain Road until you hit Highway 84 eastbound, and take a left into Woodside, back to the Town Hall.

RIDE STATS

Distance: 39 miles (63 kilometers)
Total Climbing: 3482 ft. (1062 meters)

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The Good: You won’t believe this remote-feeling ride is right on your doorstep. Feels like hundreds of miles to the nearest city. Great climbs, great scenery.

The Bad: Fog bank can kill views and chill you to the bone.

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Filed under: Peninsula   |  4 Comments

Peninsula Velo Saturday Ride

10Jun07

One of the million variations of “The Loop” in the Woodside/Palo Alto area, this ride is a team training ride for the Peninsula Velo cycling club, and starts at the 92/Canada Road car park area, pictured here. It’s pretty easy to find the group, just get there at 8:00 and look for some red/black/white Peninsula Velo kits milling around and getting ready. If you miss the 8:15 time, you can catch them at Buck’s in about 15 minutes.

RIDE MAPS

“Map my Ride” Map
“Google Earth” Map (download)

RIDE DESCRIPTION

The group meets at 8:15 on Saturdays when there’s enough light and racing is in season. This ride seems not to be as intense as the Tuesday and Thursday rides, as it has rest/regroups at Buck’s restaurant parking lot and the Chevron in Woodside on the way back (top of Whiskey Hill road). Group seems not to mind people just tagging on–there are a few riders from various teams and unattached riders in every ride I’ve done.

Starts out very mellow as the group warms up and makes its way down Canada toward Woodside and 84. Then a 5 minute “regroup”, which is really just a wait for any stragglers in Buck’s restaurant parking lot. Then it heads up 84 toward La Honda, but takes a right on Kings Mountain road, where the pace begins to edge up just a notch. Then take a left on Tripp road, where again the group ambles along. Then you’ll reconnect with 84, and move rapidly along the straightaway, with little room and a lot of a-hole drivers who don’t care for a big group of cyclists forcing them to slow even a little.

BEGINNING OF THE BURN

The group then takes a left on Portola just when 84 starts to move skyward, and the pace increases notably, winding quickly through the turns, up over the rise at Mountain Home road, and then a hard right towards the turnoff for Old La Honda. Pace continues to gain all the way along Portola as the grade steepens along the guard rails, with the occasional flyer going off the front. Good place to stretch the legs, but it’s all coming back together at the Alpine road intersection.

Hard left on Alpine. Catch your breath and enjoy the speed on the descent, because there is going to be an acceleration at the hard right onto Arastradero, and the first really hard pressing of the pace on the short climbs immediately following the turn. Everybody screams down the other side of the rise, and a few might sprint(ish) for the sign at Page Mill.

LAST PUSH

Regroup at the stop, then save a bit for the rise on Page Mill, where the group will press the pace again. Left on Junipero Serra, and a relatively calm but strong paceline will quickly get you to the turn at Alpine. Save it on Junipero, as the climbs coming up on Sand Hill road get faster and harder, and can turn truly gut-busting over the last rise before the descent to the turn at Whiskey Hill. Keep every bit of speed you can on the sweeper from Sand Hill onto Whiskey Hill, as they will press the pace hard here. The first rise on Whiskey Hill will often drop about 2/3 of the group, then a few guys will form a regroup, then someone will take a flyer one the last rise back into Woodside. Keep it in the big ring and dig, and you can stay with it. If you’re feeling it, this is a good time to really let it loose.

Stop and catch your air at the Chevron. 5 mins here, then gently up Canada Road again, until the top of the first set of risers, where the pace will start burning and a paceline will form. Drive on in a paceline until the last two climbs on Canada. The first rise will break up the group. Try to stay on the front and create a re-form, then drive another big ring climb to the finish. Someone will go for the “line” and if you’re feeling good it is the time to really let it rip.

Good fun ride, a great pace usually that pushes me hard, but doesn’t kill me. Solid interval training and a great place to brush up on those group riding skills. You need to focus and work hard to get the most out of the ride. Be careful and respect the group!

RIDE STATS

Distance: 34 miles (55 kilometers)
Climbs: No significant climbs. Rollling with some risers.

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The Good: Good roads and shoulders (mostly), good pace, strong riders, nice variation in the pace. A good group will paceline strongly and make it hurt.

The Bad: Invariable jerk drivers on 84 and Portola in the narrow sections. Be careful. Can be cold and windy if fog bank is hanging over the hill at the start/finish.

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Golden Gate/Mount Tamalpais

05Jun07

RIDE MAPS:
Here is the route map for this ride, which will link you to the downloadable Google Earth map. Just click “View this route in 3-D (Google Earth)”. Download Google earth if you don’t have the latest version, which I recommend for its much cleaner navigation interface.

RIDE DESCRIPTION

The ride starts at the south end of the Golden Gate bridge. Parking can be found under the freeways along Chrissy Field or at various little lots in the Presidio. Head under the bridge and cross on the west side. The east side is for pedestrians only.

Obviously it’s a lot of fun riding over the Golden gate with the views of the Pacific and the Marin headlands pulling you along. After crossing the bridge, descend in to the town of Sausalito, where views of the city beckon you if you take a moment to look back the way you came. Pretty early in the ride for a lunch stop, but it’s a great town to wander through.

Out from Sausalito the route follows a bike path along the bay and freeway, and heads up into Mill valley, Larkspur, etc. Actually can be fairly confusing threading through these towns, but they are pleasant, eclectic, bike-friendly towns. The key point is to hit the Bolinas road climb up Mount Tam. The climb winds up a narrow road through houses clinging to the hillside, offering views of the residential valleys in Marin. It comes out of the trees at the golf course, and flattens a bit here. When it starts heading up again, it does so rather sharply, but it doesn’t last too long before you’re dropping down a twisting, fun descent into the reservoir. At the bottom, the road goes right over the top of the dam. This is a pretty good place to stop for a bite and a photo.

The climb from the dam winds up through the trees at a steady rate for about a mile or so, and then you come out into the open meadows on the ridgeline. Views of Bolinas, Stinson Beach and the Pacific stretch out before you, and after a bit you will come on some dramatic drops which more often that not are the site for hang-gliders launching off over the ocean. The climbing in this section comes in steep, short pitches, and I’ve heard some call the section “The Seven Sisters”, alluding to the seven short but punchy climbs that bring you to the top of the ridge.

The descent down the other side is a fast, bombing, turning, thrilling ride! One of the best descents in the area in my view. The road surface is good, and you can go fast enough that traffic is not really an issue, unless they get in YOUR way.

Then it’s back through Mill Valley and Sausalito and back over the Golden Gate. The ride is challenging, incredibly scenic, and offers a lot of surprises in terms of terrain and interesting things to find along the way. Who knew there was a reservoir and dam halfway up Mt. Tam? The views of the Pacific from the top of the ridgeline are nothing short of world class. All in all, it’s a memorable and unique ride, not to be missed by any bay area cyclist or visitor.

RIDE STATS

Distance: 48 miles (78 kilometers)
Mt. Tamalpais climb: 1949 ft. (594 meters) Challenging at times, but variable pitch offers relief when you’re ready to quit. Long.
Special features: Add a loop around Tiburon for an extra 15 miles and more incredible scenery.

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The Good: Unique, variable and world-class scenery, cycling-friendly drivers and towns, good road surfaces, nice distance, city to suburban to rural environs.

The Bad: Jonesing for this ride when you get back home.

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Filed under: Marin   |  2 Comments