brron

oh boy, my first BF group ride...

i'm in

btw: i'll be coming from tully & mclaughlin if someone wants to meet up nearby and ride to hamilton together.

jinws

Hey Pete,

I told a few of the fixed kids I ride with about this BF ride, and they will be joining us. Should be at least 5 of them.

I on the other hand hope to heal by the ride, crashed really hard on sunday and my neck and hand are killing me.

jinws

you don't know til you try.

Plus, it's not steep, it'll be my first time riding it, make it an advanture.

And the great thing about that ride is the people, the folks here are some of the finest/friendliest people you'll ever meet.

bigbossman 

Joel,

Sure you are. If I can get up there, anyone can. Be sure to put a 13-29 cassette on, though.

taxi777

Are you canceling the Aug 16th ride? I didn't realize you messed yourself up so bad. I read you thread but I guess it didn't sink in.

I'm on the cusp about the single speed, but if others are going fixed then I'll do it too. I'd like to at least hang on to the "Autobus" without haviing to get off my bike and take a nap!

jinws

nope, so far it's still on. My left hand is getting better but not good enough to use to brake.

And no one I know is taking their fixed. I ride fixed with them on tuesdays, they will be bring their road bikes for Tam and Hamilton.

Ty.S

How did you come to this conclusion?? You may suprise yourself with this. It is very do-able.

You may be tired when you get to the top.. kinda lookin But you'll still be able to , because you'll look out over the valley and be like Might as well load up and scratch this dude off the bucket list. There will be a lot of people on this ride, both in our group and in general. So the safety factor should be pretty good just based purely on our numbers. No time like the present man.

leeh795

new guy here, i'll show up that day - it has been a while since hamilton!

Gordon Ave & Kirk Ave
San Jose, CA 95127

10:30 am right?

Bostic

This is going to be a packed ride! I will be riding from the start but taking the Quimby bypass. Sure would be nice to not ride that hill solo..

taxi777

I'd like to, but I'm "RingLeader"

taxi777

Hey! Welcome...We'll throw you on the Totem Pole
Pete

Ty.S

Eh.... what can you tell me about Quimby? Anything like it compare to Bohlman? or On Orbit?

jonathanb715

I'd be willing to go that way, Ramon, but you'd drop me pretty quickly and still be riding alone!

JB

reidconti

I'll consider Quimby as well. I'd sorta like to see how fast I can climb the 'normal' route but it would probably be more fun to do something different.

backinthesaddle

As I said I've never done this ride.

Everyone's been talking about the climb.

But what's the descent like?

I keep imagining myself losing focus on a 20 mile descent, missing a curve, and flying off into space.

jonathanb715

Believe it or not, I've only done the descent to San Jose, not the climb (I've gone up a few times from the Livermore side, then down to San Jose). The descent is technical - lots of switchbacks. However, it really isn't all that steep, so as long as you're not trying to break any speed records, it's fine. The road can be a bit choppy in places, but overall it's a nice descent.

JB

sweetnsourbkr

Watch for sand.

rumbutter

The descent is split up with some uphills so you arent descending all the way down. I personally enjoy the first part of the descent the least (its bumpy and usually has some debris where you least expect it). Last time I rode it, it was so bumpy one of my Dura Ace Shifters decided to self destruct. The last bit is wonderful though.

bigbossman 

As jonathanb715 said, the top is a bit on the technical side but no big deal. As sweetnsourbkr mentioned, there can be sand or loose gravel in the corners, and since your sight lines are closed in you need to be aware of a quickly changing road bed. You really need to be more concerned with little Japanese cars flying around the blind corners in your lane than anything else. I has a deer cross in front of me about 10 yards out, you it might be a good idea to keep scanning the shrubbery.

It opens up about 5-6 miles down, and since you climbed up and over two minor ridges to get to the top, the descent is broken up by two smaller climbs on the way down. The last several miles of the descent are open and with good sight lines, and since it is a relatively shallow grade you get to glide on into town without too much worry.

Here's the Garmin trace from the time I went - the big pointy thing in the middle is Mt Hamilton :

taxi777

I just close my eyes and go!

The descent is one of the easiest and most exciting in the Bay Area.

johnny99

There are some wide switchbacks and cracks/bumps in the road, but the grade is so shallow that you're not going to go very fast unless you really really work for it. Also, the entire road is exposed to the sun so there are dark shaded corners where the surface is hard to see.

reidconti

They repaved the lower section which has always been a fun and fast descent, although honestly I enjoy the top part of the descent more.

The repaving (and addition of a guardrail?) makes the bottom section seem too narrow for cars to pass each other; it used to seem a lot wider.

All I know is that I hate hate hate the short climbs during the descent. It takes a long time to convince your legs to climb, and by then you've suffered and it's over. I never get into a rhythm on those 2 short uphills.

nachomc

This is my concern. The bay area Subaru guys would do a huge picnic up there every year. And every year there'd be that group of jerks flying up the road by the cyclists. Usually one of the cars would end up on its roof below the roadway. They never hit anyone thankfully.

ericm979

There's a lot of bumps on the top 3/4. Many of them are hard to see. There's always sand and gravel in some turns and a few places have rocks. The bottom 1/4 was recently repaved and is quite nice... except that they also put down gravel on the shoulders and the cars have been kicking it up and across the road. I know of one rider who has gone down on it.

I've ridden it about 25 times a year the last couple years and I have personally come across about two bike crashes a year.

Ty.S

Always a good concern, although on Labor Day.. that road will be choked with cyclist, both from our ride, and from a lot of the local clubs as well. So if anything, numbers are on our side, which does increase driver awareness, courtesy.. well thats another issue entirely.

Who knows.. maybe they'll see all the bike traffic and take their 2 Fast 2 Furious act somewhere else for the day.