jonathanb715

Oh, I must have been riding somewhere else!

I've also done all 3 - Mt. Tam from Fairfax and from the ocean, Mt. D. from both north and south gates and Mt. Hamilton, but just from the Livermore side. I'm not a great or fast climber, so all of these climbs seem really long. I've ridden Mt. D. enough to know where to push a bit and where to recover (not that I've gotten any faster!). It is a bit harder from the North Gate, but it's not a huge difference. Of course, that last section can be a killer.

Mt. Tam from Fairfax is a really good climb, especially the section from the dam up to Ridgecrest. The 7 sisters always kill me. I think getting up to Ridgecrest is easier from the ocean side - it's one longish, but not too steep, climb. From Fairfax, you climb up to the golf course, then go down to the dam then back up again (and that's the steep section, although it is not very long). The 7 sisters can be tough - a set of rolling hills (are there really only 7? it always seems like more) that are actually on an underlying 3-4% grade - so the downhill sections really don't give you as much momentum as you might think. The last section up to the summit is a nice ride, but really not that tough.

Mt. Hamilton does seem endless - once you settle into the climb, it just seems like you don't get a break - no flat sections to recover on. I think Mt. Hamilton is the hardest, but that may be because I had to go 40 miles or so on Mines Road just to get there! The average grade is also a bit steeper than Mt. D. One of these days, I'll get around to riding up from San Jose.

Even though they're technically not mountains, and are not as long as the 3 mountains, there are some climbs around that I think are tougher. Sierra Road in Milpitas comes to mind, as does Redwood Gulch and Jamison Creek down near Big Basin. I weigh close to 200 pounds, so steep hurts worse than a long, but more gradual, climb.

JB