Date: Sunday, March 27
Meet time: 8:00 a.m.
Ride-out time: 8:30 a.m.
Meeting place: Three blocks west of the Mountain View Caltrain and VTA station, in the overflow parking lot at the corner of Evelyn Avenue and Franklin Street. (map)
City: Mountain View
Rain policy: Heavy rain cancels
Category: 3 - moderate-fast pace (12-15 mph)
Terrain: 3 - rolling hills with some steep climbs
Miles: 81
Description:
We're heading to the hills just east of Milpitas, where remote and very scenic riding awaits us around the Calaveras Reservoir. But to get up there, we will tackle the challenging climb up the "hard" side of Calaveras Road -- a 2.5-mile climb that ends with a final 0.1 mile that will truly test the legs of even the strongest cyclists. (But it's also quite OK to walk that part; many of your ride leaders do just that.)
Once we reach the summit, then it's mostly downhill or flat for about 30 miles as we pass through Sunol and Niles Canyon on our way to the Dumbarton Bridge. After we cross back onto the Peninsula, we've got a little more climbing on the agenda as we'll head up to Woodside and back through Portola Valley. But after you've done Calaveras, this will seem like nothing by comparison!
This ride features a mix of quiet rural roads and busy urban streets, a little bit of everything the Bay Area has to offer and a good sample of the many types of riding you can encounter in just one day during the event in June.
Total climbing for the day is about 3,000 feet. We'll have a SAG vehicle to provide minor services.
Leaders: Chris Thomas, Judy Gerber, Ally Kemmer, David Gaus, Linda Kemmer
RSVPs are requested but not required. 