Northern California - 9/20 East Bay Hills Ride

My turn to host a ride.

It is quite scenic on low traffic roads. Highlights will be riding thru Canyon under the redwoods, climbing Pinehurst to Skyline (short but steep) and Grizzly Peak, the views from the top of the Oakland/Berkeley Hills, plunging down Wildcat Canyon, the 3 Bears, and the nasty climb on Rheem at the end of the ride. Total mileage is around 53 miles for 4,700 feet of climbing.

Start at Lafayette BART station @ 7:30. (or a bit later if more convenient).

Route:
South on Moraga Rd. and St. Mary's Road to downtown Moraga and Pinehurst.
Northwest on Pinehurst under the redwood forest thru Canyon and up to Skyline over Oakland.
North on Skyline, then Grizzly Peak over Berkeley.
East on Shasta Road and East Park Drive thru Tilden Park.
East on Wildcat Canyon down to the San Pablo Reservoir.
Northwest on San Pablo Dam Road.
North on Castro Ranch Road.
East on Alhambra Valley Road.
South on Bear Creek Road, up the 3 Bears and back to Wildcat/San Pablo Dam intersection.
South on Camino Pablo Road thru Orinda.
South on Moraga Way.
Northeast on Glorietta.
East on Rheem with a nasty short hill and a steeper descent on the other side.
North on Moraga Road back to Lafayette.

After ride gathering in downtown Lafayette, plenty of places to choose from, I am thinking about Papillion on the plaza just across Sharp Bicycles.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Lafayette-Grizzly-Bears-Rheem-Lafayette


IN:
beaker
brentley
BlastRadius
gpelpel
Houdini (a.k.a. taxi777)
Lanceoldstrong
pohlf ???
ROJA

So Far I'm in! It will be nice to ride with you George...I'm getting bored with the W. Bay climbs, need a break.
Hope you get a big turnout.
Pete

That's a little early, but it could be done if SF folks catch the second train at 6:51 (civic center).

http://www.bart.gov/schedules/quickplanner.aspx?orig=CIVC&addr1=&dest=LAFY&addr2=&type=departure&date=9%2F20%2F2008&more=ed&time=6%3a31+AM

Start time could be a bit later, 8 or 8:30 if more convenient.

Love riding in this area.

Unfortunately, I'll be in Oregon during this time.

Great ride, but I won't be making it - we've got not 1, not 2 but 3 soccer games that day!

JB

Not to take away from this ride for those in the Bay area, those that are a little closer to Sac, we have a scheduled laid-back style ARBT ride also on that date. See post: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=443363

Don't know how I missed this post -- thanks Pete and co. for pointing this out to me today. I'm in.

Don't know how I missed this post -- thanks Pete and co. for pointing this out to me today. I'm in.

Good deal, see you there!

I will try to make it- sounds like a good ride.

UPDATE: Still hoping to make it, but not 100%.

I just realized the ride is the same weekend as the Lafayette Art & Wine Festival. So there will be a lot of activities in Lafayette at the end of the ride. Sharp Bicycle usually has an outdoor display with free bike adjustments and discounted goods, there will be some wine testing, all within feet from the cae I was planning us to relax.

This is the same weekend as my Church Festival weekend. With the 7:30 start, I may still make this ride and be back in time for the Festival. :)

I am totally in.
Heck, that is my back yard. I look forward to it.

Great route, thanks for putting this together.

If anyone is looking for a ride in the area this weekend, I am thinking about checking out GPC's ASSR on Saturday. Details at http://grizzlypeakcyclists.org/rides/current.html. I will probably go for the 55- or 65-mile option.

Definitely considering it. I'll be just back from Vegas, and need to check out the east bay a bit.

Normally I'd be in, but I have to drop off my son at his school in San Diego that weekend. Moraga Rd. north to Lafayette? A little too busy for me, especially with the torn up road near Campo.

Normally I'd be in, but I have to drop off my son at his school in San Diego that weekend. Moraga Rd. north to Lafayette? A little too busy for me, especially with the torn up road near Campo.

Sounds like the St Mary's Road detour would take care of that? It's been a few weeks since I rode down there, but I think that avoids all the roadworks.

From the Rheem/Moraga Rd. intersection to Lafayette the road work is now limited to 2 small spots. One is about 100 yards long just off the intersection and the second about 100 yards at the top of the hill. Both are small detours around the work areas on good pavement. The descent to Lafayette has been resurfaced (not final yet) and is actually smoother than it used to be before the work.
So I wouldn't be concerned by these and we still have the option of continuing on Rheem until St. Mary's Rd. if we prefer but it will involve a nasty additional climb, not long but steep at the end.
For the very tired legs there's also the option of riding to the end of Glorietta until Lafayette avoiding all Rheem climbs.

For the very tired legs there's also the option of riding to the end of Glorietta until Lafayette avoiding all Rheem climbs.

I hear you on that one. Glorietta is my usual way back to Lafayette when I ride out that way. I like the corkscrew descent. I attached an elevation profile for Glorietta from Moraga Way to Mt. Diablo Blvd.

Also then we can hammer down Mt. Diablo Blvd past the resevoir, it is a fast run into town.

But I am up for whatever.

From the Rheem/Moraga Rd. intersection to Lafayette the road work is now limited to 2 small spots. One is about 100 yards long just off the intersection and the second about 100 yards at the top of the hill. Both are small detours around the work areas on good pavement. The descent to Lafayette has been resurfaced (not final yet) and is actually smoother than it used to be before the work.
So I wouldn't be concerned by these and we still have the option of continuing on Rheem until St. Mary's Rd. if we prefer but it will involve a nasty additional climb, not long but steep at the end.
For the very tired legs there's also the option of riding to the end of Glorietta until Lafayette avoiding all Rheem climbs.

Actually, it was the amount of traffic on Moraga Rd. that concerned me. I shouldn't have mentioned the torn up road. But it doesn't matter since I won't be there.

Have a good time and be safe.

This is the same weekend as my Church Festival weekend. With the 7:30 start, I may still make this ride and be back in time for the Festival. :)

If you are running a late you still have the option to bail out at the Orinda BART station cutting the ride by about 8 miles.

What will the overall average speed for this one be?

What will the overall average speed for this one be?

Brentley,

Come on out and ride with us, I am pretty big at 6ft. 194lbs so I don't climb like a speedy Europro but there will be others there that I am sure are some kind of mutants they climb so fast. We all find our own pace.

My experience with casual group rides is that they usually string out into 3 groups after a few miles.

The rabbits out in front somewhere around 20 MPH, the pluggers like me in the middle averaging 15 MPH, the caboose group brings up the rear a their customary relaxed pace. (note all this is on the flats - not climbing)

All 3 groups re-group periodically at summits, crossroads and rest points.

I hope I see you there!

What will the overall average speed for this one be?

It will be a no-drop, social ride. We will have several rendez-vous points (viewpoints, water refill).

Stop ideas:
- Top of Pinehurst to take a breather.
- Top of Grizzly Peak to enjoy the view (pictures).
- Inspiration Point on Wildcat (water and view).
- Briones Park Entrance (water, restroom).
- May be Orinda Village.
- Corner of Rheem and Moraga Rd for last regroup before the descent to Lafayette.

d'oh, this month's autocross got rescheduled to 9/20... won't make it :-/

It will be a no-drop, social ride. We will have several rendez-vous points (viewpoints, water refill).

Stop ideas:
- Top of Pinehurst to take a breather.
- Top of Grizzly Peak to enjoy the view (pictures).
- Inspiration Point on Wildcat (water and view).
- Briones Park Entrance (water, restroom).
- May be Orinda Village.
- Corner of Rheem and Moraga Rd for last regroup before the descent to Lafayette.

I didn't think there was water at Inspiration Point? Where's the spigot located?

Riding through Canyon up Pinehurst is one of my favourite rides round here - should be nice to have some company for a change! Who else is in?

I am in, I ride most of route in different chunks on a regular basis.

See you all there.
Brentley

I didn't think there was water at Inspiration Point? Where's the spigot located?

Riding through Canyon up Pinehurst is one of my favourite rides round here - should be nice to have some company for a change! Who else is in?

OOps, I will have to check on Inspiration Point. We might have to stop in Tilden Park where the Grizzly Century has a reststop if someone needs water.

Yes, Canyon is cool. Amazing that they have their own public school and post office. One cannot see many homes around.

I updated the OP with the list of riders.

Being someone that's not a very experienced hill climber, would I be able to keep up at all? Should I pass and wait for another, less hilly ride? I've rode 50 miles with some rolling hills before, but this ride seems like it involves a lot of serious climbing.

Being someone that's not a very experienced hill climber, would I be able to keep up at all? Should I pass and wait for another, less hilly ride? I've rode 50 miles with some rolling hills before, but this ride seems like it involves a lot of serious climbing.

You might be doing fine on the ride. Just take it easy at your own rhythm.
A couple hills are rather steep (end of Pinehurst before reaching Skyline and end of Rheem) but only for a quarter of a mile. So it you take them easy you will be fine.

Here is the breakdown of the climbs:
- Canyon/Pinehurst 4 miles, 3 easy at 3-5%, 0.75 at 8-10%, 0.25 at 12-13%.
- Grizzly Peak: 2 miles at 8-10%.
- Castro Ranch: 1 mile at 7-8%.
- Mama Bear: 1 mile at 10-12%.
- Papa Bear: 2 miles at 8-12%.
- End of Bear Creek: 0.25 mile at 12-13%.
- Rheem: 1 mile, 0.75 at 5%, 0.25 at 12-13%.

OK, I am still recovering from a cold, so we'll see how I feel tomorrow morning. Is it still 730 at Lafayette BART?

OK, I am still recovering from a cold, so we'll see how I feel tomorrow morning. Is it still 730 at Lafayette BART?

The ride is next week (9/20) not tomorrow. And yes 7:30 is still the starting time.

I just realized that =) Oops

OOps, I will have to check on Inspiration Point. We might have to stop in Tilden Park where the Grizzly Century has a reststop if someone needs water.

Yes, Canyon is cool. Amazing that they have their own public school and post office. One cannot see many homes around.

I updated the OP with the list of riders.

Apparently you can find water at the Brazil building and also the junction of South Park Drive and Wildcat. I've previously stopped off at Sibley for a refill FWIW.

Roll call for Saturday's ride.
Meeting place is in front of the Lafayette BART station where the bus stop @ 7:30am. There's plenty of parking space either on the main lot or the adjacent one.
Let me know who is arriving by BART or if you might be a bit late. I will post my cell phone number on the OP on Friday evening.

Still In!

Hey George - I'm a maybe. Your key words: social and no-drop helped, and Lanceoldstrong's hill climbing description have got me thinking, "Yes, I can.."

May BART it.

Since I really want to ride with you all, but I have a really important training ride (Mt. Tam) ...I'll try something different and see if I can be in both places almost at once...If that makes any sense? To complicated to explain right now...Too much scorcery, but I'll do it!
Houdini

Since I really want to ride with you all, but I have a really important training ride (Mt. Tam) ...I'll try something different and see if I can be in both places almost at once...If that makes any sense? To complicated to explain right now...Too much scorcery, but I'll do it!
Houdini

That should be interesting. I updated the OP.

Tonight I found out that Skyline is closed about 500 feet north of Snake.

And it is closed, with a 3 foot high wall all the way across the road, I had to climb over with my bike to get through the section. The way the road was torn up it looks like it is going to take them a while to fix this, I will try to determine how long they are going to keep the road closed.

We may just have to go down snake and then climb old tunnel as well. that would add about 1000 feet of climbing.

Bummer! Is there a way to walk past the work area?
The additional 2 miles and 1,000' around seem to have a steep section.

That area was damaged during last winter and only had a one lane section since. I am not surprised they want to fix it before the heavy rain comes back. It will take a while for sure.

I was able to get off the bike and climb over it the walls. There was no one doing construction though.
It won't be open until they are done (one of the lanes is missing) but as long as there is no one there we should be fine, I am looking forward to the ride. If there is someone working on the road on the weekend, then it would be hard to get past them. I will go up that way again before saturday and see if there are signs. I looked at oakland public works and they have the notice for the previous closure but not this one.


brentley

I still plan to be in too - plan to ride to BART, but will call+post if I'm going to be late for any reason.

Bummer about Skyline, there could be a few alternates if Skyline is blocked -- perhaps we could climb Pinehurst, go south to Redwood, back down the other half of Pinehurst and loop back through Moraga and head up to the 3 bears (Pete could peel off to Orinda BART then at ~30mile mark...:D). You could then do the 3 bears or climb up Wildcat and take one of many routes back down to SPDR. Lafayette to the Pinhurst/Redwood loop + 3 bears without wildcat is probably at least 50miles.

I was just going to suggest the redwood route, it is a very very fun downhill.

I was able to get off the bike and climb over it the walls. There was no one doing construction though.
It won't be open until they are done (one of the lanes is missing) but as long as there is no one there we should be fine, I am looking forward to the ride. If there is someone working on the road on the weekend, then it would be hard to get past them. I will go up that way again before saturday and see if there are signs. I looked at oakland public works and they have the notice for the previous closure but not this one.


brentley

So did they final close the road where they've been single tracking it for a while? Every time I've been up there on the weekend, there's only been a single lane open, but you could still get through.

I was just going to suggest the redwood route, it is a very very fun downhill.

BTW have you ridden down South Park in Tilden? That's my fastest downhill in the bay area to date. It's a bit of a beast to climb up (not as bad as El Toyonal) but the downhill is fantastic - sweeping roads, smooth tarmac and good visibility. Redwood is nice though!

so tonight I rode past the construction site on Skyline again.

They have put up fences in such a way that they don't want you go around them. I had to cling to a tree and carry my bike around. I don't know if I will get back up there tomorrow to check it out for the weekend, but we may want to look into a different route.

I have gone down both El Toyanal and South Park. I much prefer south park it is a very fast downhill.
As a younger rider we used to hit 55 on the glorietta downhill into moraga, but that was when I could spin a 53-11.

So don't be frightened if I show up out of nowhere...I've consulted several different wizard "Advisors" and they've all agreed on the wormhole corridor I'll be using. I'm not quite exactly sure where I'll be dropping in. Hopefully I won't be coming in naked on a Unicycle, then I'll know for sure that the witches are surely "Bit$*# and cannot be trusted.

Hopefully we'll be sharing an "Epic adventure" even if we must scale walls and moats over skyline...Don't forget your brooms or you'll be answering to Sir GPelPlel "Grand Wizard" of the Royal French Brigade!

Man these brownies Cathy gave me are really great!!!

Harry Houdini Potter
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa292/taxi777/HarryPotterylaOrdendelF_nixcartelop.png

I went up to the 'WALL' this afternoon. I am sure potter777 will find a trick for us at skyline gate 9 and 3/4.

Ten fingers and LIFT! Heavy guys last...:thumb: