Northern California - Going to California...

Hey guys...

Wife and I will be in the area from September 30th until October 9th. We'll be based in Sacramento. We've rented a condo on L Street close to 39th Street. We'll be hanging with our coach the first weekend, but are free after that to explore...

We'll be bringing our bikes with us and we'll be fully into base training so the goal will be some nice long scenic routes...

Any must do rides??

My wife has an old highschool friend that live in Santa Rosa so we'll be heading out that way later in the week.

This will be my first time out there so I'm open to all options...

Thanks,
Rich

Sept. 30 to Oct. 1? Is that a typo?

If you're here on the 15th, this is a must do: http://www.davisbikeclub.org/annual_events/organized_rides/foxys_fall_century. There's also the American River Bike Trail, which is easily accessed from East Sac at CSUS, and you can ride all the way out to Folsom and back. Probably a 50 mile round trip from there.

oops...Should be until October 9th...

San Francisco, across the Golden Gate, and up to Tiburon (or further, if 18-20 miles is too short for you). Mostly flat, since it follows the coast. Good family ride.

Pretty much any stretch of Hwy 1 will give you a nice scenic ride.

I ride mostly in the South SF Bay area. The only ride that I can think of that would be worth the drive to come down this far would be Calaveras rd.

http://www.levisgranfondo.com/

It's a little tight for your schedule, a little expensive, and the Gran is full, but check the course out for your time in Sonoma County. I used to ride many of these roads on regular two-day tours from Davis to the coast.

If someone else will drive your car, you could also ride from Sac to Santa Rosa. It can be a pleasant mix of pancake flat valley, dry grass rollers, wine breaks and fun descents.

You mentioned working with a coach, so I am assuming you both are very experienced riders.
Here are some of my favorites. pm me when you get to CA and I will tell you about them. There are some things you need to be aware of if you ride these.
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/178547
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/125958
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/125966
Short version to Dutch Flat
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/320858
Long version to Dutch Flat
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/125680
Other ones that I have done using other peoples maps. Both are really good
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/176003
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/180147
Rides toward Davis and Berryessa are good choices too although I am not familiar with a lot of them.
Enjoy your time here

Outstanding! Lots of good riding in the area. Let me know when you're in town and I might be able to show you around at least 1 of the days.

Try BikeCal to see a list of all the daily club rides in Northern California.

http://www.bikecal.com/

http://www.bikehikers.com/

http://sacwheelmen.org/

Hwy 29 up the west side of Napa Valley to Calistoga, and then Silverado Trail down the east side. Maybe a side trip to Angwin or the top of Mt George off Silverado Trail.

Based out of Sacramento? Folsom Loop is always a quality ride, do a small loop to include the Old Foresthill climb and a view from the top of the bridge. If you want a challenge I would suggest Iowa Hill.

Hwy 29 up the west side of Napa Valley to Calistoga, and then Silverado Trail down the east side. Maybe a side trip to Angwin or the top of Mt George off Silverado Trail.

Agreed. Ride the Napa Valley. I really like Redwood Road on the west side of the valley-up Mt. Veeder through the redwoods, fun descent.

Here's a great website with rides all around the area in detail.
http://centralcaliforniacycling.com/

It covers rides in the foothills east of Sac plus rides mentioned above in the coastal mountains east of Napa.

If you want a taste of the mountains, consider a ride around Lake Tahoe or near Markleeville, home of the Death Ride. Highway 4 above Arnold is also a really nice place to ride and visit. Others here often ride in the Eastern Sierras near Mammoth, on my list to do. Finally, if you go to Yosemite, bring your bikes to get around the valley. Best way to see the valley.

Hwy 4 is very scenic - check out this from the Ebbett's Pass Century that basically rides up and down 4 between Dorrington and the top of Ebbetts.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/223496-weekend-ride-reports-where-d-ya-ride?p=13146671&viewfull=1#post13146671


Another one to consider is coming to the East Bay and climbing Mt Diablo - it's a little closer, gets you ~3500ft of climbing through beautiful terrain with awesome views from the summit. You can easily make a bigger ride out of climbing diablo - let us know if you want route suggestions. The classic 70miler would be Diablo and Morgan Territory, which combined with get you ~6000ft all in.

Whoa...

Thanks for all the info guys...

Race season is done, just got back from Vermont and the Green Mountain Stage Race so I'll have more time to dig through the links...

Have some compacts coming from PBK, Vermont and Catskills before that showed us (wife and I) that we need better gearing to climb the big hills...

I enjoy climbing and so does my wife, to a certain extent, but we know you can't ride hard everyday....So we'll make sure to make the most of the time we do have...

I know the climbing out east can get pretty steep (Devil's Kitchen has many sections over 15%), how are the hills out west? More gradual climbing?? I love the 6-8% stuff where I can get a good rhythm going...

Figured you were pretty experienced
Review post above. All grades are in there. Iowa Hill is a steady 13% for two miles. Then the climbing stars. Minimal support. PM if you want to talk

Yes...Took a closer look at the profiles, cool!
Never used Ride with GPS before...

This is when having a Garmin 800 would be nice :)

I know the climbing out east can get pretty steep (Devil's Kitchen has many sections over 15%), how are the hills out west? More gradual climbing?? I love the 6-8% stuff where I can get a good rhythm going...

You can find all sorts of climbs around here - steep stuff? Plenty of prolonged climbs in the teens. If you're looking for the 6-8% stuff, then you really should do Diablo. North Gate Rd from Walnut Creek is more sustained climbing while South Gate has a flat section in the middle, but either route gets you a 10-11mile climb with ~3,500ft gain. Mt Hamilton will get you 19miles of climbing albeit interspersed with a couple of breaks, but that might be a little too far out of your way?

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kp8pzTqG2ak/Ry-0L7Nj27I/AAAAAAAAByM/5DARwQqLslU/s640/Diablo%252520Profile.jpg

Going to California...


Soundtrack: (I couldn't resist)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luDgb5vVHuA

Great band...Great song...

Whoa! You guys are sure spoiled...Lots of fantastic riding...

Been here since Friday and been doing lots of climbing...Rode Foresthill on Saturday. Drove to San Fransisco on Sunday and rode across the Golden Gate bridge, did the Alpine Dam loop and the Seven Sisters (*****es)...Then today we hit Diablo...

Tomorrow is an easy day around Sacramento riding from bike shop to bike shop with a coffee stop along the way...

Wednesday looks wet, Thursday looks like we'll be doing some sprint work with our coach...Then Friday is Santa Rosa, not sure where we will ride there, but it might include some of Levi's Grand Fondo route...Wife would like to ride a section of the PCH...

The week is going to go by real fast, but we are enjoying every minute of it :)

Looks like we're not going to get a ride in then, you seem to have the rest of your week scheduled out. Glad you're having a great time.

If you haven't already come to Marin I highly recommend it. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge (http://weliketobike.com/2011/05/26/the-golden-gateway/) is a MUST. Sacramento is not far from San Francisco or Sausalito. On the down low, there's a parking lot beside Mike's Bikes in Sausalito that people frequently park at to go cycling.

Check out some great rides in Marin (http://weliketobike.com/trails-2/marin-county-trails/) with turn by turn directions, videos and HILL PROFILES (http://weliketobike.com/trails-2/marin-county-trails/) of what the trails are like. I am a big fan of Stinson Beach (http://weliketobike.com/2011/06/17/roller-coaster-ride/) to the Pacific Coast Highway (1) (http://weliketobike.com/2011/06/22/dog-days-are-over/). http://weliketobike.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/gopr0061-251.jpg - It's just that beautiful! Muir Woods (http://weliketobike.com/2011/06/26/boom-boom-pow/) is also great! Be sure to make it here on your last day! Hope you've enjoyed your California cycling. We love it here!!!