Northern California - beginner rides?

i am brand new to the sport i just bought my first road bike and only have ridden about 120 miles total. I just did my first 35 mile ride around the dry creek area and loved it. i am just looking for any good rides that any of you might suggest. i appreciate any feedback

thank you.

Rides where? Where do you live?

The Western Wheelers bike club (www.westernwheelers.org) has regular "A" level rides for beginners and families with children. These are slow paced rides with few hills, mostly less than 20 miles. Most of these rides are in midpeninsula (Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, etc.) area. Their "B" level rides are a little longer and hillier, but still pretty easy for athletic beginners.

Note that these ratings are the opposite from racing clubs where "A" is usually the fastest level.

Be sure to check out bikely.com as there are a lot of cyclists who have already mapped out routes, of varying difficulty, that you can try.

Dry creek? That's near Russian River valley right? Not aware of anyone prowling these boards from there, but I might be wrong. Either way, bikely is a good suggestion.

Be sure to check out bikely.com as there are a lot of cyclists who have already mapped out routes, of varying difficulty, that you can try.

Unfortunately I believe bikely is no more, they merged with bikeradar.com (http://www.bikeradar.com/).

It looks like they ported over all of the bikely routes, but I can't find a way to create new routes in bikeradar.

Unfortunately I believe bikely is no more, they merged with bikeradar.com (http://www.bikeradar.com/).

It looks like they ported over all of the bikely routes, but I can't find a way to create new routes in bikeradar.

That's strange. I'm still creating routes through bikely.com just like before. Did you try that Paula?

Dry creek? That's near Russian River valley right? Not aware of anyone prowling these boards from there, but I might be wrong. Either way, bikely is a good suggestion.

Well i am from not THAT far away, i live in Rohnert Park only a few minutes south down 101.

That's strange. I'm still creating routes through bikely.com just like before. Did you try that Paula?

Last two times I tried to go to the bikely site nothing appears. :crash:

Last two times I tried to go to the bikely site nothing appears. :crash:

Hmm - I managed to put a route in just this afternoon.

z20ranger, if you'd be more specific about where you live and where you would like to ride, one of us could probably direct you to a club near you. Most clubs have beginner rides.

Last two times I tried to go to the bikely site nothing appears. :crash:

works for me too.

Your first 120 miles included a 35 mile ride? That pretty damn good! I remember one of my first rides was 18 miles. Got home and bragged to the wife all day about it. Looking back.... damn was I a dope!

Your first 120 miles included a 35 mile ride? That pretty damn good! I remember one of my first rides was 18 miles. Got home and bragged to the wife all day about it. Looking back.... damn was I a dope!

Wait, everyone does this right?

Last two times I tried to go to the bikely site nothing appears. :crash:It's a bit slow for me, but it does work. It says "Bikely in association with BikeRadar", but I think it's said that for a while now.

Oh...it looks like it is just Firefox that bikely is no longer working in for me...I can see it in IE.
Bummer but better than not having it.

Oh...it looks like it is just Firefox that bikely is no longer working in for me...I can see it in IE.
Bummer but better than not having it.

It's just your Firefox. It's my only browser and bikely is as it ever was.

Oh...it looks like it is just Firefox that bikely is no longer working in for me...I can see it in IE.
Bummer but better than not having it.

I had bikely die for me in Firefox too. Once I deleted my bikely.com cookies it started working again so maybe that'll work for you too. Good luck and hopefully you're not stuck using IE for too long :lol:

Dry creek? That's near Russian River valley right? Not aware of anyone prowling these boards from there, but I might be wrong. Either way, bikely is a good suggestion.

There's a Dry Creek in Fresno Co, in Sonoma Co, San Mateo Co, Butte Co, Stanislaus Co, and from Roseville through Antelope, Rio Linda, and North Sacramento to the American River in Placer and Sac counties.

I had bikely die for me in Firefox too. Once I deleted my bikely.com cookies it started working again so maybe that'll work for you too. Good luck and hopefully you're not stuck using IE for too long :lol:

You fixed it, thank you! :beer:

There are a bunch of great "beginner" rides all over Sonoma County. A great resource for route maps can be found on the Santa Rosa Cycling Club's website http://srcc.memberlodge.com/archive. They have route directions and you can choose your route based on mileage, terrain, etc. You can also check out rides that are going out to meet other cyclists. Another great resource is the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition's map.

I use bikely all the time on my Mac on Firefox 3.1 beta .... yeah, I'm on the bleeding edge.