Elkhorn Slough (April 8, 2018)

This is a long road loop in an area where we don't typically do road rides. Seeing that it's in the vicinity of Salinas, you might expect it to be flat, hot, and treeless. But the route actually threads through a gently hilly area, covered in patchy oak woodlands. I've read that several roads on the route are nearly ideal cycling roads (smooth pavement, light traffic). We'll be beginning and ending the loop in the quaint town of San Juan Bautista; a small place with a Hispanic flavor. Along the way, we'll see only one more one-horse town (the tiny Aromas), though much of the area is sprinkled with rural residences. One end of the loop goes through the Elkhorn Slough Preserve, so I expect cool views for at least a few miles. One final point of interest could be the historic mission of San Juan Bautista in the town of the same name, which could merit a quick visit after the ride.

Estimated Distance 45.5 miles Estimated Total Climb 3000 ft Estimated Duration 4.5 hours Actual Distance 46 miles Actual Total Climb 3600 ft Actual Duration 5 hours Ergin's shots

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Coyote Creek Loop (March 25, 2018)

This is a short and easy road ride I picked from a ride book. The ride begins and ends on the paved Coyote Creek Trail. The parts of the loop that aren't in the suburban neighborhoods should be traversing peaceful country roads. There's also a fast descent in the mix, as we complete the loop and connect back to Coyote Creek Trail.

Estimated Distance 28.5 miles Estimated Total Climb 2100 ft Estimated Duration 3 hours Actual Distance 28.5 miles Actual Total Climb 2500 ft Actual Duration 3 hours

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Livermore-to-Tracy Loop (March 4, 2018)

This road ride is aimed at sampling a pleasant road extending east from Livermore, with which I'm familiar as a fun driving road in a car. Patterson Pass Road threads through the hills to get to the central valley from Livermore, while following a shallow and pretty valley. The other half of the loop uses another similar road (Tesla and Corral Hollow Roads) that I've discovered while looking for loop opportunities for this ride.

The ride takes place mostly on grassy landscapes that should look great during the green season. The amount of climbing is very low for the mileage of the route. Although there may be short stretches that are steep, I don't expect the overall ride the be characterized by painful climbs.

Estimated Distance 41 miles Estimated Total Climb 2600 ft Estimated Duration 4.5 hours Actual Distance 41 miles Actual Total Climb 2800 ft Actual Duration 4.5 hours Ergin's shots

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The Geysers Loop (April 9, 2017)

I read about this ride being called a classic road ride loop of Sonoma County and one of its best. It's described as being "challenging". That's challenging despite being "only" a 47-mile ride. So, along with the drive time to get there, this one is likely to end up an all-day affair.

One recurring theme about this ride appears to be "remoteness". Its location is not exactly "right around the corner" to begin with, and it traverses dozens of miles on back roads in the mountains far from even the tiniest settlements. The ride begins right by Highway 101 and follows it very closely for quite a few miles, but then turns away and heads into the mountains in the northeast where most of its mileage as well most of its work takes place.

By the way, there aren't any geysers to be seen on this ride. The ride appears to be called what it is only because it begins from Geyserville and it traverses an area of geothermal power plants (along Geysers Resort Road), which I think we'd get to see from across the valley (but not up close). If we're lucky, we might get to spot some steam plumes that these plants might be emitting, but that's about it.

Estimated Distance 46.5 miles Estimated Total Climb 3600 ft Estimated Duration 5 hours Actual Distance 42 miles Actual Total Climb 4200 ft Actual Duration 5.5 hours

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Garin / Dry Creek (October 8, 2016)

This is one of the rare remaining examples of a park in the Bay Area on which I haven't yet set foot and that has bike-legal trails. There isn't too much to expect, which is why I've waited this long to devote attention to this place. The trails are all fire roads and most of the climbs will be steep. I expect the ride to be similar to Mission Peak, though it doesn't reach elevations as high as that. On the positive side, the views should be great most of the time, and the land should be as pretty as any East Bay park when the grass is green. It's nothing to shout about, but if we feel like we want to try out a brand new option, there aren't too many others left.

Estimated Distance 14 miles Estimated Total Climb 2800 ft Estimated Duration 3.5 hours Actual Distance 14 miles Actual Total Climb 3000 ft Actual Duration 4.5 hours

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Summit Road (May 28, 2016)

This one is an unusual option. It's a bit of an "exploration on bikes". This is a road that I had assumed (along with many other people, apparently) to be a private one ever since I moved to the Bay Area. I recently read that it's not, despite signage to the contrary that's still up. This immediately made me want to try a bike ride on it. I've read good things about the expansive views. Virtually the entire route takes place along the spine of the highest ridge of this section of the Santa Cruz mountains and passes right by the Loma Prieta peak. Views are reportedly available toward the San Francisco Bay as well as Monterey Bay, sometimes simultaneously.

This is really a "road ride" but long segments of this road has a gravel or dirt surface. So, the ride needs to be done on mountain bikes (or maybe I should say "trail-capable bikes"). Incidentally, despite the name, this road has nothing to do with the Summit Road that intersects Route 17.

In these stats for the ride, I've included a side trip to the top of the Lome Prieta peak. Depending on whether we include it, the ride length could range between about 34 and 38 miles. And, since it's an out-and-back ride, we can further shorten the route, if necessary, by picking a different turn-around point. Meanwhile, the total climb estimate for the ride is a rough one. The 5900-foot climb figure seen on the screenshot for the ride's topographic map is certainly a gross overestimate. The real number is almost guaranteed to be less than 4000 feet, and would be substantially less if we leave out the Loma Prieta side trip.

There's also a decision to be made about the starting point of the ride. I've pointed out the northwestern end of the ride as the starting point here. This is a roadside parking spot along Summit Road (the one off Route 17), near Summit Store. It's a spot with plenty of car traffic but no pedestrian presence. We need to decide if we feel that will be safe enough. The other option is to start the ride from its southeastern end by parking in the Mount Madonna County Park.

Estimated Distance 38 miles Estimated Total Climb 3500 ft Estimated Duration 4.5 hours Actual Distance 19.5 miles Actual Total Climb 3050 ft Actual Duration 4 hours

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North Gate Road (April 23, 2016)

This is a way of climbing to the peak of Mount Diablo by a road ride that at least I haven't tried yet. The last 4.5 miles to the peak (by necessity) follows the same route as the climb via South Gate Road. As for the part before that, if anything, the approach on North Gate Road appears to be a bit more merciful in its average grade, if the numbers I can gauge from map data are correct; a bit more like Mount Hamilton Road than like South Gate Road, perhaps. The only thing is that the North Gate Road portion might be a bit less open to expansive views than the corresponding parts of South Gate Road (...perhaps), but we still have the last segment of the climb on Summit Road for the great views. Plus, I get the impression that North Gate Road has significantly less car traffic. In any case, it's there... So we have to try it at some point!

Estimated Distance 25 miles Estimated Total Climb 4000 ft Estimated Duration 4 hours Actual Distance 24.5 miles Actual Total Climb 3700 ft Actual Duration 3.5 hours

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Bolinas Ridge (longer version) (April 17, 2016)

This is a ride to try out more of Bolinas Ridge Trail. The ride includes the entire trail (which is 11 miles in length) traversed in a descending direction. The ride includes 10.5 miles of road riding, nearly 4.5 miles of this in the form of a climb with about 10% average grade, which is the only climb on the ride to speak of. The ride also includes a 5-mile trail segment paralleling Highway 1 that is often overlooked, some of which is singletrack.

Estimated Distance 27 miles Estimated Total Climb 3200 ft Estimated Duration 5 hours Actual Distance 27 miles Actual Total Climb 3650 ft Actual Duration 5.5 hours

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Mount Veeder Road (March 26, 2016)

Mount Veeder Road is a road cyclists' favorite near Napa. It's a nice and leafy mountain road. As far as I understand, it's secluded, pretty, and has almost no traffic. When traversed in this direction, it's a gentle climb that slowly picks up in steepness. The climb doesn't become serious before the last 1.2 miles to the top. That portion is going to be tough, with grades averaging over 10%. After traveling for another couple of miles mostly flatly beyond that point among some vineyards scattered around the higher elevations, the road descends (steeply, in the latter parts) toward the busier Dry Creek Road. The route returns to its beginning on this wider and much flatter road with an imperceptibly descending grade, in the presence of more typical wine-country traffic. This is the shortest route that would allow a full traversal of Mount Veeder Road (not counting a plain out-and-back).

Estimated Distance 22 miles Estimated Total Climb 2400 ft Estimated Duration 2.5 hours Actual Distance 22 miles Actual Total Climb 1750 ft Actual Duration 2.5 hours

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East Bay Canyons (February 20, 2016)

This is a road ride aimed at exploring two canyon roads in the East Bay that appear to be pretty popular with cyclists; Cull Canyon Road and Bollinger Canyon Road. Since both of these are dead-ends, the ride route is in this awkwardly sprawling shape. On top of that, another decent cycling road (Norris Canyon Road) is traversed while connecting those two main canyon roads to each other. It also doesn't hurt that almost all of the climbs on the ride appear to be gentle and the total elevation gain is pretty modest for a ride of this length, which should make this is a suitable option even when some of us are out of shape.

Estimated Distance 37 miles Estimated Total Climb 2500 ft Estimated Duration 4 hours Actual Distance 36 miles Actual Total Climb 2350 ft Actual Duration 3.5 hours

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Three Bears Loop (February 14, 2016)

This is one of the most well known road rides in the East Bay. I'm almost embarrassed that I haven't tried it yet. The ride takes its name from three climbs that are cleared along the way, but it's not supposed to be a memorably challenging ride. The ride's highlights would include numerous reservoir views along the way. It should be doubly pretty while the grass is green.

Estimated Distance 23.5 miles Estimated Total Climb 2200 ft Estimated Duration 3 hours Actual Distance 23.5 miles Actual Total Climb 1750 ft Actual Duration 2.5 hours

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Woodside to the Coast Loop (December 5, 2015)

This ride is to fulfill Han's idea of starting out on the Bay side, crossing the Santa Cruz Mountains all the way to the sea, and crossing them back again to get back. This seems to be the shortest and easiest route that would achieve that. It's completely a road ride.

Estimated Distance 39 miles Estimated Total Climb 4000 ft Estimated Duration 6 hours Actual Distance 37.5 miles Actual Total Climb 4250 ft Actual Duration 4.5 hours

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Big Rock Ridge (May 16, 2015)

The aim of this ride is to sample one of Marin's rare bike-legal singletrack trails and the last one we haven't tried yet: Big Rock Ridge Trail. This is a 2.5-mile descent (when done in this direction). The first half of the ride is a fire-road climb (with a number of ups and downs, unfortunately). Thankfully, there is little tree cover during most of this climb that follows the spine of a ridge, so the views to the surrounding Marin towns and to the bay should be panoramic all the way. The ride does include a 3.5-mile road segment at the very end, though.

Estimated Distance 14 miles Estimated Total Climb 2400 ft Estimated Duration 3.5 hours Actual Distance 14 miles Actual Total Climb 2900 ft Actual Duration 3.5 hours

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Shell Ridge (January 1, 2015)

This is an all-trail ride meandering through the rolling East Bay hills, following mostly fire roads. Still, there is at least one segment that traverses a newly built singletrack. The highlight of this ride is the beautiful velvety looking greenness of the hills and the sprinkled oak trees that look like a model railroad setup. Therefore, the ride should be done between January and when the grass turns yellow (around April). Another reason for doing this ride in that season is because the second highlight of this ride is a short section of trail where it follows a stream. Not along a stream. In the stream bed!

There is an option to shorten the ride to 11 miles, if we need to. We still get to ride the stream and see the same beautiful green hills if we do that.

Estimated Distance 17.5 miles Estimated Total Climb 3000 ft Estimated Duration 5 hours Actual Distance 17 miles Actual Total Climb 3550 ft Actual Duration 4.5 hours

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Mount Hamilton (December 13, 2014)

This is an out-and-back road climb to the peak of Mount Hamilton. The ride starts from Joseph D. Grant County Park and follows Route 130 all the way. It's a constant and even climb all the way, with the exception of a one-mile section that descends a little (which becomes a one-mile climb during the return of the ride, of course.)

As a bike ride, this is like "a longer version of Route 9". It's much longer, but it's also less steep. (The average climbing grade is less than 6%.) The road is pretty narrow; probably narrower than Route 9. But it should have very light traffic; easily much lighter than Route 9.

Estimated Distance 22 miles Estimated Total Climb 2800 ft Estimated Duration 5 hours Estimated Actual Distance 36.5 miles Actual Total Climb 5000 ft Actual Duration 5 hours

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Big Basin Boulder Creek Loop (October 26, 2014)

A long road ride. Starts at the trailhead of Saratog Gap, takes Route 9 into the center of Big Basin Park, then to Boulder Creek, and then back via Bear Creek road and Skyline Boulevard. No killer climbs. (Nothing worse than Route 9.) Just a long road tour and some giant redwood viewing in the mountains.

Estimated Distance 43.5 miles Estimated Total Climb 4400 ft Estimated Duration 7 hours Actual Distance 43 miles Actual Total Climb 4800 ft Actual Duration 6 hours

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Annadel (Two Quarry Trail) (September 6, 2014)

Yet another ride in Annadel. The book from which I got this route describes it as "the big-daddy loop" of the park, though it's still only 12 miles long. The Two Quarry Trail is a technical singletrack that's reportedly challenging. Meanwhile, the Ridge Trail, which this ride also partially traverses, is described as a true gem of "the new school of trail building." I can't wait to see the trail to understand what that means exactly.

The parking place for this ride is a little unclear. The book shows a short dead-end spur leading to the trailhead and the parking place is marked right there, but Google Maps doesn't show it. In any case, we can figure it out when we get there. The red arrow in the map below basically points at the trailhead, rather than where I'm sure the parking will be.

Estimated Distance 12 miles Estimated Total Climb 1400 ft Estimated Duration 4 hours Actual Distance 13 miles Actual Total Climb 1800 ft Actual Duration 3.5 hours

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Repack Road (May 24, 2014)

This ride is to get those of us who haven't tried it yet to experience riding the Repack Road. This is "the place". It's mountain biking hallowed ground. It's where it all started. This is the course for the Repack Race started by a bunch of local biker kids and run between 1976 and 1979 that sparked the beginning of mountain biking, after which most of those kids turned into some of the most well-known brands and legends of mountain biking.

The ride itself starts with Camp Tamarancho and traverses about half of that loop before diverting uphill and heading toward the peak of Pine Mountain, after which the Repack Road fun begins. Only about three miles of the ride is on pavement (the approach and return portions). Other than the part in Camp Tamarancho, I don't expect there's much singletrack.

Repack Road itself is a steep, fairly smooth, fast, two-mile fireroad downhill. The thrill (other than the historic significance) is in the speeds it allows. There are a number of off-camber turns that are pretty scary when taken at speed. But, you don't have to be riding at life-endangering speeds in order to enjoy it; it's enough to descend at your own pace, taking in its "sacred mountain biking air" and imagining the history that was made there.

Repack course map

Estimated Distance 14 miles Estimated Total Climb 2500 ft Estimated Duration 4 hours Actual Distance 13.5 miles Actual Total Climb 2500 ft Actual Duration 4 hours Ergin's shots

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Uvas Reservoir Loop (April 18, 2014)

An easy and short road loop with (as you can see) not much climbing. Could be a good option in wet conditions when we're short on time or in the company of someone who's a little out of shape. It should be very pleasant in the green-grass season, at least as long as the reservoirs have a reasonable water level.

Estimated Distance 22 miles Estimated Total Climb 1100 ft Estimated Duration 2.5 hours Actual Distance 22 miles Actual Total Climb 1150 ft Actual Duration 2.5 hours

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Nicasio Reservoir Loop (March 8, 2014)

This is an excellent option as a modest but scenic road ride. It features very little climbing. The scenery should be a mix of rolling velvety (in the green season) hills of Marin with short stretches of redwood groves. Highlights of the ride include passing through the cute tourist town of Point Reyes Station, and a handful of "barely hamlets" like Olema (population: 55) and Nicasio (population: 96). Other than some weekend traffic on the Highway 1 stretch of the ride (less than 2.5 miles) and perhaps a little on the Francis Drake Boulevard segment (10 miles), I expect the roads through much of the ride route to be semi-deserted.

Notice that the map of the route shown here represents the ride as starting from Nicasio (it's really only significant for the elevation profile plot), but it would probably be a better idea to start it from Point Reyes Station instead (as represented by the parking link), so that some good food and coffee options will be right under hand as soon as we finish the ride.

Estimated Distance 27 miles Estimated Total Climb 1800 ft Estimated Duration 3 hours Actual Distance 27 miles Actual Total Climb 1500 ft Actual Duration 3 hours

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Henry Coe (November 30, 2013)

An almost completely singletrack ride in the enormous Henry Coe. Ali and I had attempted a simpler version of this ride, but aborted due to tick infestation. Staying away from the May-to-August tick season when doing this ride should be enough to avoid that problem next time.

The ride traverses at least a couple of interesting trails that follow the bottoms of steep valleys. There's also a nice and long singletrack descent on Middle Ridge, which should be pretty sweet. The route is a bit on the ambitious side (with 19 miles and 3000+ feet of total climb), but we can shorten it to as little as 13 miles if we need to.

Estimated Distance 19 miles Estimated Total Climb 3700 ft Estimated Duration 6 hours Actual Distance 13.5 miles Actual Total Climb 2900 ft Actual Duration 4.5 hours

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Sunol (April 20, 2013)

Sunol is an entry in the dwindling list of places we haven't yet tried riding. It's not exactly a not-to-be-missed option, but it's a ride that should have pleasant scenery in the spring and I don't want to leave it untried. Plus it's a relatively nearby option for those of us in the South Bay.

The route consists of all fire roads and should have no shortage of climbing. There's also an option to reduce the total distance to 13 miles, in case we run out of time or energy, which we can decide well into the ride.

Estimated Distance 15 miles Estimated Total Climb 3600 ft Estimated Duration 5 hours Actual Distance 15.5 miles Actual Total Climb 3850 ft Actual Duration 5 hours

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Mount Diablo Singletrack (March 23, 2013)

This ride allows a sampling of the "remaining" bike-legal singletracks in Mount Diablo State Park. Especially during the season when the grass is green, I'm willing to use any excuse to do any ride in these parts, and exploring these few short singletracks is as good as any, in my opinion. I'm sure the ride will feature as much fire-road climbing as any East Bay ride, but it shouldn't be as bad as climbing Mount Diablo from the bottom to the top.

Estimated Distance 12 miles Estimated Total Climb 3200 ft Estimated Duration 4 hours Actual Distance 13.5 miles Actual Total Climb 3200 ft Actual Duration 4 hours Ergin's shots

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Bolinas Ridge (March 16, 2013)

Combination road and fire road ride (about a 70% - 30% split). Starts from Stinson Beach. Climbs Panoramic Highway to Ridgecrest Boulevard. Traverses Ridgecrest Boulevard--a ridgetop road so pretty and scenic that it's used in many US car commercials. Traverses all of Bolinas Ridge fire road--one of the most well-known mountain bike rides in Marin. And returns to Stinson Beach via Highway 1.

The beauty of this ride is that you do a reasonable climb (the same grade as, but shorter than, Route 9), and then almost never have any significant climb for the remaining 29+ miles of the ride and traverse very scenic roads and a seaside portion of Highway 1, among other things, in the process.

Estimated Distance 35 miles Estimated Total Climb 3100 ft Estimated Duration 6 hours Actual Distance 13.5 miles Actual Total Climb 1600 ft Actual Duration 3 hours

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Pescadero Loop (October 21, 2012)

This is an unambitious road loop through the coastal foothills of the Peninsula without hitting Highway 1. The amount of climbing isn't serious. Eight miles of the ride does take place on Route 84, but the rest of the ride (on Pescadero Road and Stage Road) should see much less traffic. Much of this should consist of a nice and grassy country ride with a limited portion passing through the redwood forest around Memorial County Park.

The ride will take us through La Honda, Pescadero, and San Gregorio. Each could be a nice excuse for a rest stop, but I've plotted the route with the assumption of starting from La Honda, since that will mean the least amount of driving for all of us to get to our meeting point to start the ride.

Estimated Distance 29 miles Estimated Total Climb 2200 ft Estimated Duration 3 hours Actual Distance 29 miles Actual Total Climb 2300 ft Actual Duration 3 hours

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Butano State Park (September 9, 2012)

This is only a fire-road loop, but it's one that we haven't done yet (though Ali and I did the climbing part of it some years ago). I just want to try it out to see what it's like, and also to add it to my website. On the plus side, the environment should be a nice wilderness setting, since it's such a remote location.

The climb is a substantial one, though not bad enough to be "legendary". One interesting quirk of the ride is that it takes us through an airplane landing strip atop a ridge, in the middle of the forest. That's not something that can be said about any other ride in this area.

Estimated Distance 12 miles Estimated Total Climb 2400 ft Estimated Duration 3.5 hours Actual Distance 14.5 miles Actual Total Climb 2750 ft Actual Duration 3.5 hours

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Flume Trail (August 4, 2012)

This is another ride that requires an overnight stay. Flume Trail is arguably the most famous mountain biking trail in the Lake Tahoe area, though it's not because of its technical merit or challenge, but more for its setting and scenery. It's roughly a four-mile trail carved almost perfectly horizontally into the face of a steep hillside overlooking Lake Tahoe. (The topographic map seems to imply that it used to be an aqueduct.) I've encountered the difficulty of Flume Trail itself described as "can be handled by any 13-year-old". That must be as long as you don't mind the risk of your 13-year-old tumbling a few hundreed feet down if he veers of by more than a few feet along some stretches.

This is not a shuttle ride; it ends where it starts. It initially climbs about 1600 feet in eight miles, making a loop around Marlette Lake (a reservoir that's "just over the ridge" from Lake Tahoe). Flume Trail is traversed on the return half of the loop around Marlette Lake. There's also about a one-mile stretch that follows right along the edge of the Marlette Lake coast.

So, this won't be a ride where our mountain biking skills will be challenged or improved, but it's likely to be the most scenic ride we've ever done. You can find a zillion photos of the trail and its views if you do a Google image search for "flume trail", but the following photos are some of the better ones in terms of showing the general area traversed by this ride (the smaller body of water in all photos is Marlette Lake, which is looped during this ride):

Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3

A general park map showing the trails along with some more details of what else is around and the amenities along the way, is here:

Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park map

Estimated Distance 22 miles Estimated Total Climb 3700 ft Estimated Duration 6 hours Actual Distance 20 miles Actual Total Climb 1600 ft Actual Duration 6 hours Ergin's shots

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Old Coast Road (July 7, 2012)

The Old Coast Road follows the course that Highway 1 used to take (up to 1932) until the Bixby Bridge was built. (Bixby Bridge, for those who may not be familiar, is the most iconic sight on the stretch of Highway 1 along the Central California coast.) The portion of the ride on Old Coast Road is all fire road with no shortage of climbing. A little less than half of the ride is the return on the pavement of Highway 1 back to the starting point.

This ride is widely described as very scenic, but don't expect the inland half of the ride to have constant views to the ocean (though it does have some occasionally). It's not a very interesting ride from a technical viewpoint, but it's a reasonable choice for a first ride to try near the Big Sur area, and is among the widely known mountain biking routes near the Bay Area. The selling points are the scenic mountains, valleys, and forests; the views to the ocean; the remoteness (real wilderness); and a long stretch of riding on curvy Highway 1.

If you need more information to convince yourself about this ride, there are links below to two other sources where it is described. Both of these describe a counter-clockwise loop, though. I prefer the clockwise loop, because the climbs are a little milder. (We'll be going against the prevailing winds on part of the stretch on Highway 1 this way, but I'd rather take some headwind while pedaling on a 2% average grade, rather than having to reach the highest point of the ride on a 12% average grade instead of an 8% average...)

Pedal! Damn it! blog posting  (tons of photos)

Estimated Distance 19 miles Estimated Total Climb 3100 ft Estimated Duration 6 hours Actual Distance 19 miles Actual Total Climb 3100 ft Actual Duration 4 hours

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Briones (June 30, 2012)

Briones is not a place where most of us would be biking for the first time perhaps, and it's not exactly one of the most exotic options on this list, but I still want to go back there badly enough that I wanted to include this option here. This will only be my second time riding there (if you don't count hiking). This route is a longer option than what I did on my first ride.

There's not much to say about the ride itself. It's 100% on fire roads. Plenty of steep climbs. It would be better to do in early spring, when the grass is green and the weather is still cool. In other words, the standard East Bay rules apply.

Estimated Distance 13 miles Estimated Total Climb 3000 ft Estimated Duration 4.5 hours Actual Distance 14 miles Actual Total Climb 3400 ft Actual Duration 4.5 hours Ergin's shots

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