MrCjolsen
10-28-07, 10:32 AM
I see the Carquinez Scenic Drive (is it passable for bikes?), Mcuwen road, Alhambra road and the Cummings Skyway.
What's the best?
What's the best?
Northern California - What's the nicest ride from Martinez to Crockett or Pinole?
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John00
10-28-07, 12:47 PM
They are both great rides. Carquinez Scenic Drive is passable with great views of the river and a lot flater than Franklin Canyon -McEwen.
MrCjolsen
10-28-07, 07:35 PM
What river?
Road bike passable? Legally?
I just heard it was closed and washed out in portions.
Road bike passable? Legally?
I just heard it was closed and washed out in portions.
cccorlew
10-28-07, 10:15 PM
Closed to cars, open to bikes. You'll love it! You'll see hikers and dog walkers and lots of bikes.
This is a very short section, just 100 feet, but it's why it's closed to cars.
http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/trish_scenic.jpg
Nice view, Huh?
http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/trish_scenic-2.jpg
This is a very short section, just 100 feet, but it's why it's closed to cars.
http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/trish_scenic.jpg
Nice view, Huh?
http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/trish_scenic-2.jpg
cantdrv55
10-29-07, 12:46 AM
thanks for posting that pic of the washed out portion of the scenic drive. Our bike club rides it every Sunday and I really enjoy that route. I've tried describing it to my wife but a picture is worth a thousand words.
rydaddy
10-29-07, 09:42 AM
It will be nice when the Benicia Bridge is open to bikes/peds. Then you can make a loop out of it, crossing both bridges (Carquinez, Benicia-Martinez). I grew up in the area but did not start cycling until I move to the flat lands....
bikingshearer
10-29-07, 12:22 PM
I see the Carquinez Scenic Drive (is it passable for bikes?), Mcuwen road, Alhambra road and the Cummings Skyway.
What's the best?
Carquinez Scenic Drive is absolutely passable for bikes. You'll have to walk the bike around a couple of gates - no big deal. There are actually a couple of places where some of the asphalt washed away, but only one place (pictured above) where it all washed away, and as long as it isn't muddy, that stretch is easy to negotiate, even on skinny tires. The biggest obstacle in the closed-to-cars section is the cracked pavement with the star thistle growing out of the cracks. (Star thistle = punctured tires.) This road is seldom flat - rollers pretty much the entire way, but nothing horrible
Franklin Canyon = fairly gentle climb. Definitely a rhythm climb up, and a no-brakes, easy descent.
Cummings Skyway = slightly more steep that Franklin, but still a rhythm climb. It has the most and fastest traffic of the roads you mentioned, but also has wide paved shoulders, so it's not a big deal.
Crockett Blvd. = moderately steep, but eminently do-able. It starts out gentle in Crockett and slowly gets steeper as you go - roughly 7-8% for the last half-mile or so. It's about 2 miles long, and an absolute blast to go down.
McEwen = steep. As in nasty, out-of-the-saddle, shift to your lowest gear and wish it was lower, double-digit % grade. Very, very pretty, though, especially in the spring. But steep. Hard going up, scary going down. Did I mention that it is steep?
What's the best?
Carquinez Scenic Drive is absolutely passable for bikes. You'll have to walk the bike around a couple of gates - no big deal. There are actually a couple of places where some of the asphalt washed away, but only one place (pictured above) where it all washed away, and as long as it isn't muddy, that stretch is easy to negotiate, even on skinny tires. The biggest obstacle in the closed-to-cars section is the cracked pavement with the star thistle growing out of the cracks. (Star thistle = punctured tires.) This road is seldom flat - rollers pretty much the entire way, but nothing horrible
Franklin Canyon = fairly gentle climb. Definitely a rhythm climb up, and a no-brakes, easy descent.
Cummings Skyway = slightly more steep that Franklin, but still a rhythm climb. It has the most and fastest traffic of the roads you mentioned, but also has wide paved shoulders, so it's not a big deal.
Crockett Blvd. = moderately steep, but eminently do-able. It starts out gentle in Crockett and slowly gets steeper as you go - roughly 7-8% for the last half-mile or so. It's about 2 miles long, and an absolute blast to go down.
McEwen = steep. As in nasty, out-of-the-saddle, shift to your lowest gear and wish it was lower, double-digit % grade. Very, very pretty, though, especially in the spring. But steep. Hard going up, scary going down. Did I mention that it is steep?
cccorlew
10-31-07, 07:57 PM
McEwen = steep. As in nasty, out-of-the-saddle, shift to your lowest gear and wish it was lower, double-digit % grade. Very, very pretty, though, especially in the spring. But steep. Hard going up, scary going down. Did I mention that it is steep?
I'm relieved to read this. I always found it to be a major grunt, even though my bike book claims it isn't that steep or tough. I thought perhaps it was just me being confused or wrong. Harder than the other ways in or out of the area.
I'm relieved to read this. I always found it to be a major grunt, even though my bike book claims it isn't that steep or tough. I thought perhaps it was just me being confused or wrong. Harder than the other ways in or out of the area.