Tycho Brahe 

I will be driving to SFO for two consecutive weekends to drop-off/pick-up my wife from the airport. That gives me time to do other stuff ... like riding!

First flight is Sunday morning and then I will be going to the Shoreline Theater in Mountain View for the Bridge School Benefit concert that starts at two. I figure I have time to ride between 9:30am and 1pm. Any group rides around that time? If not, any recommended routes that are both challenging and easy to not get lost? Current idea is to back track to San Jose and ride Mt Hamilton.

The weekend after, her flight arrives on Saturday evening, so I have all day to ride. Once again, any good rides? Not looking for A rides, something a bit easier. Challenging, but not at a pro pace! I might be staying with friends in Walnut Creek that night, so I could potentially ride Mt Diablo that day and head to SFO from their place. Or perhaps some of the hills in SF?

Also interested in there is some public shower somewhere. Probably won't happen, but getting clean after a ride would be nice.

A few weeks ago, I asked about stores in San Jose, but now I can shop anywhere in the peninsula (assuming I have time after a ride). Usually when I am in the peninsula, I am with my wife, so shopping for my hobbies is usually not on the agenda. Solo this time! Looking for a place with a great selection of clothing. Not interested in bikes, components, or services, just clothing. I would like to try on all the brands that I hear about, but are not available locally (which is only Specialized and Pearl Izumi).

johnny99

Try https://www.westernwheelers.org/. Daily group rides around the peninsula, mostly starting at 10am.

jfh

Between the airport and Mountain View, one idea would be to park in Woodside, and do Old La Honda or King's. The coast loop with Old La Honda to 84, then Stage Rd to Tunitas Creek is my favorite ride. There are longer variations if you have time.

Be forewarned that traffic to Shoreline for concerts can be really ugly.

Tycho Brahe 

Thanks for the tip. Great site. One ride seems good: https://westernwheelersbicycleclub.me...ate=10/22/2013


The area means nothing to me. Interesting ride?



That ride is amazing. I asked a friend of mine, and he suggested more or less the same area. Not sure if I have time to do a full loop, need to research it a bit more.



I went to the same event last year and I was amazed about how quickly we got in. Then again, we went to the Saturdat show which started later and we arrived late. Looking to go pretty much at the start this year. Would it make a difference if I approached the venue from the north or south?

Tycho Brahe 

First trip done and in the end I did none of the pensiula rides suggested. Ended up going Mt Diablo instead, although I did not ask for DiabloScott's permission first. The friend I was going to the concert with wanted to meet up for a ride first. I said Mt Diablo or nothing. He has not been biking long and hasn't had time in the past month due to work, but he was up for the challenge.

My Strava crashed, but his total time was 1:37. I could have easily finished 15-20 minutes faster. It was a tough start. We did not know where to park, so we simply parked on Diablo Road at the start of the park. Started doing the climb from a cold start and I could not warm up. Was in my lowest gears at the start and it is not even that steep! The last bit at the top came as a surprise, but it was fun. My friend could not make it up and told me that he was stopping, so I sprinted up. After looping back around I noticed that he was gone and probably attempted the finale, so I went back up.

Fun ride with gorgeous views. The only weird part is that almost none of the riders said hello or waved and there were a lot of riders.

Mt Hamilton next week? My friend wants to hike, but I might just do both if I can leave early enough.

genejockey 

I've found that in the Bay Area, especially on weekends, most riders don't wave. Too many other cyclists! It's different on weekday mornings and afternoons. I think it's a "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" thing, where weekday cyclists acknowledge a fellow cyclist serious enough to make time during the busy week for a ride. On weekends, by contrast, there are so many on most bikeable roads that you'd spend half your time with one hand off the bars!

Back when I owned an MG, I got waves from every other MG driver, and also from drivers of other British cars. When I got a Toyota, no waves.

Tycho Brahe 

Ride #2 tomorrow. Not sure if I will do Mt Hamilton or the Old La Hondo loop. If I eventually have to go to Walnut Creek, would it make sense to ride in San Jose and go up the east side of the bay or is the traffic via the Bay Bridge not bad on a Saturday?