Northern California - From Santa Cruz to Oakland - Route Planning Advice

Howdy,

I've been asking folks in the Southern California regional board about tour route planning - I'm starting out in Barstow, CA and heading up to Seattle. One of the stops I'm making is in Oakland and I was hoping I could find some advice on the route from Santa Cruz to Oakland.

It seems that some say 17 is unsafe, and I was curious about these ideas:
- Follow Hwy 1 up the coast as far as I can, cut through SF and take a ferry over to Oakland
- Try to find some route East of the SF Bay through Fremont up into Oakland (using 17 or some alternative)

Any specific route ideas or plans would be greatly appreciated as I've never ridden in any of these cities before. I also do not know which of the above two options would be more difficult terrain (both road conditions and traffic) so again, any advice would be excellent.

Additionally, I read the posts that Skyline Boulevard is to be avoided (is this still the case?)

If it is any help, my destination in Oakland is on 13th Avenue about a mile from Lakeside Park.

Many thanks

_S

Also, there was one route that a poster in another thread mentioned to get from Santa Cruz to San Jose, assuming I chose the Eastern route:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Soquel+Dr&daddr=Soquel+San+Jose+Rd+to:Summit+Rd+to:Old+Santa+Cruz+Hwy+to:E+Main+St&hl=en&geocode=FdlkNAIdCBS7-A%3BFQBjNgIdypC7-A%3BFXKqNgIdtuu6-A%3BFUwlNwIdNq26-A%3BFQT0NwIdn7q6-A&mra=ls&dirflg=h&sll=37.205996,-121.961288&sspn=0.077932,0.181961&ie=UTF8&z=11

( Mapped from here: http://www.bikeroute.com/ConnectingRidesFolder/CA-SantaCruzLosGatos.html )

Stay off of 17.

Which of these is a priority for you?
- shortest distance
- amount of climbing
- scenery
- traffic

To get where you are going in Oakland you don't need to avoid the part of Skyline in Oakland that is closed.

You could go up over highway 9 from SC and end up going to fremont and up to oakland on redwood etc.

or you could go up highway 1 all the way to daly city, then bart over to oakland, lots and lots of ways to do what you want.

I don't know anything about riding around Oakland.

For the peninsula part of your ride, I would take Hwy 1 up to Pescadero, then Alpine Road over the hill to Palo Alto. Then take the Dumbarton Bridge over the bay (there is a bike lane).

The Hwy 9 route is shorter, but also has much more traffic and less interesting scenery.

Which of these is a priority for you?
- shortest distance
- amount of climbing
- scenery
- traffic

I prefer safety (traffic-wise), then shortest distance, and finally, the amount of climbing (unless the shortest path entails some ridiculous hills). The trip will have so much beautiful scenery that for this short distance I would like to just expedite the process.

Thanks again!

_S

Another option is to take Hwy 1 up to Daly City, then hop on BART to Oakland. The next day, take BART back to SF and ride over the GG Bridge on your way north.

This thread: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=5239274#poststop

has a number of posts from me that describe a nice route from Santa Cruz to San Jose, and then a bit north. The Dumbarton Bridge is the only transbay bridge that allows bikes, it has a separate and very safe lane. Can't help with the Fremont to Oakland part, but the Krebs map I reference in one of those old posts can get you there. Or you can ride to Fremont and BART to Oakland from there (ok to take loaded bike on BART train except in rush hour, only costs a few bucks, no hassel, just roll it on the train)

Good luck!

/resume lurking....