msincredible

Hi Reid,

Another option might be Central, take that up and then cut over to Foothill at some point.

reidconti

Yeah. I tried my east shore route (got lost, went around Palo Alto airport on some gravel roads, then up Embarcadero to 84, then followed 84 west, then along 101 North by the trailer parks, then some weird cyclocross type route down a dirt trail, (hiked) up a 30 degree gravel slope, 1 foot concrete lip, over a bridge, across a dirt lot to the Nissan dealer...

On the way home I took a bike path on the east side of 101 to Whipple, across 101 to Winslow and down that and Middlefield the whole way. Wow Middlefield is high traffic and no shoulder quite a ways. Only good thing is it's a 25 zone so I could almost keep up with traffic most of the way down, but certainly not safe.

It sounds like Bayshore follows 101 more than I thought it did, so I'm thinking maybe I can cross at Whipple again to the west side of 101, just follow it south for 1 mile to avoid that weird dirt and gravel section, then cross back over to the east side for the ride back down.

I will have to consider Central/Alma and/or Foothill. It's much harder to patch together a decent bike route than I expected, trails and bike lanes seem to start and end for no apparent reason in this area

My bike computer died on the way up, but I'm sure the route I ended up taking was over 30 miles. It should be more like 26-27, and my ride back probably was about 27. The ride north into the wind took about 2h15 (including getting lost) and on the way home I cooked pretty good and made it in just over an hour and a half.

spoketacular

Ola. My name is Scott, 46, 150#, I live in Sacramento, and moved here in April of last year. This is my first time living in California; I'm originally from Iowa (Go Hawkeyes!) and I've lived in IA, MN, SD, MI, IN, OH, VA and MS. Don't think I'm leaving anytime soon, I'm recently divorced and I think (even though the Central Valley gets hotter than hell) I'm here for the duration, unless something better comes along.

I'm a recreational cyclist that's dabbled in bike racing, but I'm a dedicated bike commuter for most of my miles... the rest of the time I'm getting ready to run races from 5K to half-marathons. So my training is kind of schizoid... I've done a triathlon and a tri relay, but prefer duathlons (no swim, please!) for multisport events.

I ride a 2002 Trek 2200 and just acquired a 2008 SE Draft single speed for commuting downtown. I also have a K2 Firebird for playing in the dirt.

dauphin

Nice to see you Scott..welcome to the Golden State. I live up in the Auburn area. Perhaps we will ride together some time. Take care.

spoketacular

Thanks for the welcome, man. I still haven't really gotten out of the flat in Sacramento to ride... with the exception of a charity ride down in the Delta, and participating in last summer's TBF Duathlon # 1 in June, I haven't ridden much anywhere except the American River Bike trail... I've ridden up to Folsom Dam once or twice, but that's it.

redspoke

So you've discovered that your cassettes are only worn on the 15 and 17.
Welcome to the valley Scott!
Been in Sac most of my life. The heat takes a while to get used to.
-Chris

spoketacular

This probably marks me as rather sick and twisted, but I like the heat. Bring it on.

I just escaped from Mississippi and 100 feels a lot less hot here than it does there (a lot less humidity in Sac).

angliru05

Hi All,
I'm Peter, 37 from Burlingame, CA. Newb here, just got a Pinarello Angliru 2005 about 2wks now, a recommendation from BlastRadius. Love the bike!!! Looking to ride for fun, meet new friends, and for health and fitness. =...

x136 

Welcome, Peter. That's a very nice first bike you have there.

BlastRadius

What's up Pete? Let's get you out on a BF ride.
Here's Pete's first time on Canada Rd.
I'm sure he'll get an OCP pic up soon.
BTW, he got a steal of a Craigslist deal... it's even got Campy Veloce

cantdrv55

Welcome! Nice bike. I'm jealous.

msincredible

Welcome Peter, and congrats on the sweet bike, looking good!

spingineer

Welcome to the group Pete. Oh boy, we have another Pete in our group. Looking good!

Siu Blue Wind

Welcome Pete!! And yes, that's a cool bike indeedy!

angliru05

Thank you all for the warm welcome. Pics will be up tomorrow. =

MarkoPolo

Hi, I'm Mark and have been lurking here for a while, so thought I'd introduce myself.

I'm a 51 year old clydesdale from Saratoga. In my 20's I did a lot of cycling, but drifted away from riding due to kids, work, other sports (a serious golf addiction), etc... After reaching 50, I did the usual life-reassessment and it was clear I had to do something more athletic than ride around in a golf cart if I wanted to get back in shape.

I picked up a used Trek Pilot last summer and started riding again and wow, I forgot how much I loved being on a bike. I've been riding 3-4 days a week now, have lost about 35 lbs and am slowly increasing the mileage (and hills) with the goal of completing a century this year.

I did have to take about 6 weeks off after a not-so-minor altercation with a wet railroad crossing in February that resulted in a concussion, ambulance ride to the ER, and fractured ischial bone (I broke my ass! ), but even with that setback I feel better physically than I have in 15 years.

It's been great to read the often inspiring, sometimes silly, occasionally sad, and always entertaining posts from the Bay Area cycling crowd here on BF Norcal. Hopefully someday, I'll be able to ride with some of you.

cantdrv55

I'm glad you're back on the bike. Welcome!

Siu Blue Wind

Welcome to NorCal Mark. Hope you join on the rides!

msincredible

Welcome Mark and congratulations on your progress! Looking forward to meeting you at a group ride soon.

BlastRadius

Welcome Mark. Way to get back on the bike and losing 35# in less than a year.
Hope to see you on a ride sometime soon.

MarkoPolo

Thanks for the warm welcome - it's good to be here!

exhorserider

I'm Becky, 20 years old and am a student in Los Angeles but Palo Alto native- here for the summer! I am currently finishing up a TNT season with the Lake Tahoe century next week and will be here in PA for the rest of the summer. My bike is a silver Specialized Allez Elite.

cantdrv55

Welcome Becky. Which school in LA are you attending? I used to live there so I'm just curious. I did the Marin ride last year with TNT. I'd do it again in a heartbeat but found fundraising harder than the ride.

BlastRadius

Good job with TNT training. Will that be your first century? Seems AMBBR is over 60% made up of TNT riders.

exhorserider

Thanks for the welcoming. I go to Occidental College- a small liberal arts college in LA and Yes, this will be my first century (but not my last!). As a training ride, we did a metric century but other than that this is it. I'm super excited and looking forward to being re-united with my teammates