Date: Saturday, May 5Meet time: 6:30 a.m.
Ride-out time: 7:00 a.m.
Meeting place: Parking lot at Villa and Franklin streets, Mountain View (across from the Tied House) (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: 113
Description:
Today's ride is just a little bit longer and a little bit more hilly than Day 2, the longest day of AIDS/LifeCycle. But if you've been on our Gilroy ride in past seasons, you know that the winds can sometimes play tricks on us and make the day either easier or much more difficult. This year, we have an all-new route that offers even more amazing scenery while (we hope) reducing the chances of strong afternoon headwinds.
We'll start with a flat, direct route past the San Jose airport and through the heart of downtown San Jose, which should be interesting and not too stressful early on a Saturday morning. After a direct route to Morgan Hill on Monterey Highway, we'll head east and climb partway to Gilroy Hot Springs before riding the very remote and very scenic Cañada Road (the route used by the Tierra Bella rides) and heading into Gilroy for our lunch stop. After that, we'll return north around the Chesbro and Calero reservoirs on our way back to San Jose. We finish through Los Gatos, Saratoga, Cupertino, and Sunnyvale.
Total climbing on this ride is about 3,100 feet.
Our meeting place is near houses and condominiums, so please respect our neighbors and keep early-morning noise to a minimum.
RSVP now RSVPs are requested but not required.
