Northern California - How bad is 92, really?

Not in terms of the climb... well, ok, that, too... but in how close the cars are.
I climb out of Pedro Point to the top of Hwy 1. That's 1.3 miles, about 8%, I guess, and no real shoulder to speak of. The cars do go by Prit. Tee. Close.

Is 92 up from Hwy 1 to Skyline anything like that?
It's kinda weird, I know, but I'd love to be able to go up there and tell my mom I rode up on a bike.

Is 92 up from Hwy 1 to Skyline anything like that?
It's kinda weird, I know, but I'd love to be able to go up there and tell my mom I rode up on a bike.

Hey...Nice to see you drift over here!
I did 92 a lot through the years before NorCal people showed me that there were many more roads besides 92.
I had a loop from SF down 1 up 92 and back 35 to SF. about 75 miles if I ate lunch at Roberts Market (woodside)
The section I don't like is that one bit from 1 till you start the climb...maybe 3 or 4 miles? It usually depends on time of day. Going down to Crystal lakes is fun for me...but I thrive in traffic (living in the city too long) I'd much rather go a little further down and do Tunitas up and over now though. I'm looking forward to road improvements on 1 from sF though...I like that ride.

Pete

Hey...Nice to see you drift over here!
I did 92 a lot through the years before NorCal people showed me that there were many more roads besides 92.
I had a loop from SF down 1 up 92 and back 35 to SF. about 75 miles if I ate lunch at Roberts Market (woodside)
The section I don't like is that one bit from 1 till you start the climb...maybe 3 or 4 miles? It usually depends on time of day. Going down to Crystal lakes is fun for me...but I thrive in traffic (living in the city too long) I'd much rather go a little further down and do Tunitas up and over now though. I'm looking forward to road improvements on 1 from sF though...I like that ride.

Pete

Hey Pete - I read here a lot... guess I don't post much.
Some of the exploits here are a little intimidating. Really cool but intimidating.

The main point of the ride up 92, for me, would be to visit my mom. I don't up that way much and it seems to be good incentive. As for Hwy 1 to HMB, boy, I'll tell you, that ride up to the top of the Slide is one thing but there is no shoulder at all going down the other side pretty much to Montara. THAT scares the bejeebers out of me.

Hey, I went and checked out your CD online.
Haven't bought it but, dude, you are serious good.
Some real nice stuff.

Hey Pete - I read here a lot... guess I don't post much.
Some of the exploits here are a little intimidating. Really cool but intimidating.

there is no shoulder at all going down the other side pretty much to Montara. THAT scares the bejeebers out of me.
Hey, I went and checked out your CD online.
Haven't bought it but, dude, you are serious good.
Some real nice stuff.

I usually wait at the top for the traffic light to change behind me and you get like almost 2 mins...I just go full speed and hog the lane, there are one or 2 spots you can pull over and let traffic by and do it again...It's such a relief when you get to the bottom, that it almost makes it worth it in a masochistic way!:lol:

Wish I could get my new CD happening, but time and focus have been difficult. I've been writing a lot as in literary too which sucks up all my time but is more immediately satisfying and rewarding....:(

If you really, really want to climb 92, do it early on a weekend morning. I've done that a couple of times, and traffic was tolerable. Mid-day, there are too many trucks and not enough shoulder. Eastbound is a better direction, relatively speaking, because it's wider and better visibility on the uphill direction. As for the elevation, it's around 900 ft and fairly gradual climb.

An interesting alternative to climbing Hwy 92 is to take Higgins-Purisima (near the HMB fire station) and Purisima Creek Road up to Skyline. The latter is a dirt fire road, but mostly not too bad for road bikes. It tops out on Skyline near Kings Mountan Road and you can take that down to Roberts Market for your lunch.

I did 92 to Skyline to the top yesterday (Tues) at around 3PM. Saw a couple of other roadies, but it was mostly just a steady stream of cars. On the way up, it's not too bad b/c it is so curvy that the cars go pretty slow. On the way down, you're pretty fast so not a lot of cars speed past you. Very doable in either case, go for it.

I did 92 to Skyline to the top yesterday (Tues) at around 3PM. Saw a couple of other roadies, but it was mostly just a steady stream of cars. On the way up, it's not too bad b/c it is so curvy that the cars go pretty slow. On the way down, you're pretty fast so not a lot of cars speed past you. Very doable in either case, go for it.

Are you talking about the east or west side of Hwy 92? I think the original post was about the western climb (starting in Half Moon Bay). The west side of the hill is much longer, with faster traffic on the flatter part of the road.

I have not done the climb since the highway was widened several years ago. I always take Tunitas instead.

Are you talking about the east or west side of Hwy 92? I think the original post was about the western climb (starting in Half Moon Bay). The west side of the hill is much longer, with faster traffic on the flatter part of the road.

I have not done the climb since the highway was widened several years ago. I always take Tunitas instead.

Good point. I was talking about the East side climb...

I usually wait at the top for the traffic light to change behind me and you get like almost 2 mins...I just go full speed and hog the lane, there are one or 2 spots you can pull over and let traffic by and do it again...It's such a relief when you get to the bottom, that it almost makes it worth it in a masochistic way!:lol:

Wish I could get my new CD happening, but time and focus have been difficult. I've been writing a lot as in literary too which sucks up all my time but is more immediately satisfying and rewarding....:(

Well, OK... that's it, then. Got to the top of the Slide yesterday, waited a bit and thought "Oh, what the heck..." and down I went and on into HMB. Fun ride and, really, not as bad as I thought. I'll do it again only. next time, I'll come back up 1 to get back home. Yesterday, I did go up (and over) 92 and threw in that little extra bit to get to the top of Skylawn - 1000'. That road cutting through the valley sure looks tiny from up here.