Northern California - Good climbs in Sacramento area?

Howdy,

Could anyone suggest some good climbs or hilly routes in the Sacramento area?

Are there any good group or team rides that out-of-towners can hook up with?

I am going to be staying in Sacramento to catch some of the Tour de Cali in Feb.

Coming from Colorado and I like to climb, but I've never ridden in NorCal. Race cat3 here in Colo.

Thanks!
Supersonic

Sacramento is pretty flat unless you go east or west a few miles. Come 30 miles west to Vacaville and we can show you some "hors category" hills, as well as some nice loops through wine country. In fact, the Tour rides along Hwy. 128 from Napa to Winters, which is part of what we call the Lake Loop. You should enjoy these local climbs and find them very do-able.

The foothills east of Sac offer more climbs then you'll know what to do with.

My son in Roseville says that the local club (Bikehikers?) should be doing training rides to Auburn right about now.

Scroll down a way...I posted the same question about a year ago (march I think) and got lots of replies. If you can find that thread it has lots of information. I think the thread had the exact same title.

Auburn to Cool along 49. Start at about 1350' go down to 680' then back up to 1525'. Over the course of 5.8 miles. Auburn's half an hour outside downtown Sac, or 15 minutes from Roseville.

This website has some great information about local rides.

http://home.att.net/~rfzipf/BikeRides.htm

Here's some based around Davis, west of Sacramento.

http://daviswiki.org/Bicycle_Rides

Mix Canyon is tough even by Colorado standards if you want a serious workout.

http://daviswiki.org/Bicycle_Rides#head-fd7391b6720b809c7c41ed50cf63fdc87dac6b9d

This website has some great information about local rides.

http://home.att.net/~rfzipf/BikeRides.htm

Here's some based around Davis, west of Sacramento.

http://daviswiki.org/Bicycle_Rides

Mix Canyon is tough even by Colorado standards if you want a serious workout.

http://daviswiki.org/Bicycle_Rides#head-fd7391b6720b809c7c41ed50cf63fdc87dac6b9d

Mix Canyon is currently closed due to snow and ice.....

thanks for all the replies. I will check out those links and also look for that older thread.

appreciate it!

supersonic

Iowa Hill (out of Colfax, CA; East of Sacramento) is a nice steep climb.

Sacramento is pretty flat unless you go east or west a few miles.

This is the understatement of the year. Sacramento is flat-as-a-pancake flat. Airport runway flat. Twiggy flat. That's F-L-A-friggin'-T flat.

The closest thing to a hill in the Greater Sacto area are freeway overpasses. This is not an exageration. If it's hills you want, as others have said, ya gots to head west or east. (Not north or south - in those two directions, it continues to be flat for 100 miles or more - again, that is not an exageration.) If you are staying in downtown Sacto, you are almost certainly going to want to have a car at your disposal.

On the other hand, there is some prety good flat-land riding in the immediate Sacto area. Just no hills.

I was in Sacramento a couple months ago and I was blown away at how flat it was. I didn't quite understand why there weren't more cyclists.

My advice to you:
Find a parking garage and ride around in it.

...I didn't quite understand why there weren't more cyclists...

Oh there are cyclist in Sacramento. To the OP, you might want to call Bicycle Business (916.442.5246) and see if the Tues/Thurs/Sat River Rides are going off.

This is an all teams, racer oriented, speed workout. The group, which usually numbers around 50, rides at a leisurely and well mannered pace through South Land Park to the Freeport Bridge.

The racing then commences going north along the South River Road for 13 miles to a sprint point. Pace is fast, with many pros often in attendance, and if there is a cross wind the group breaks up quickly.

Being able to ride the gutter is an essential skill. Watch for diagonal railroad tracks at mile 6 -- otherwise the road is fairly safe. After the sprint the group rides slowly back through West Sacramento, over the Tower Bridge and past the Capital. The loop is roughly 25 miles with a ride down afterward.

The South River Ride has been going on since the early 70's, and is the training ground for every pro who has come out of Sacramento.