I had to skip this week’s LKHC up Welch Creek (maybe it was on purpose), because I lost my glasses on Thursday night, and I had to make an emergency appointment with the optometrist on Saturday.
So Sunday I went with my friends John and Ben riding around Grizzly Peak, 3 Bears, and Pinehurst. I haven’t done this in a really long time. I had forgotten how much good riding there is out here.
Ben was out there with a new saddle bag … This is going to make me hungry on the whole ride …
The route started out with a climb, right off the get go. It basically starts by Tunnel Road, and we climb up to Skyline, which then gives a great view of the bay, overlooking the Bay Bridge.
We then went up Grizzly Peak Blvd, and headed over to Tilden Park, and then onto Wildcat Canyon. We descended South Park, which is the same road that killed one cyclist, trying to get a Strava descent segment KOM … something I wouldn’t even try to do. That descent has some tricky sections on there, so I did not even try to get down into a tuck. Better to be safe than sorry.
They have one stop called Inspiration Point. Looking at this, does it give you inspiration? I just consider it a nice scenic view.
We continued on Wildcat Canyon, which has a nice descent, not too technical, but enough where you have to pay attention. I didn’t have cars breathing down my neck, which is nice. Wildcat Canyon becomes Bear Creek, once you get to the bottom. This is where the famous 3 bears climbs are … but when papa bear and mama bear begins, I have no idea. Maybe someone from that area could tell me, but all I know is that it is a climb, and a descent. It’s nice, because it is fairly wide road, and fairly straight, with just a few switch backs here and there. Very little car traffic coming through, which means you can just concentrate on enjoying the ride.
We continue on to Happy Valley Road, which gives us a whole bunch of rollies. Some are punchy, short steep climbs (~10%), and after a while, it can wear on you.
One stop by Orinda for lunch, and then we are on our way again. We head south to get onto Pinehurst Road, then climb our way back to Skyline. Pinehurst is one beautiful road to ride on. It is covered by all sorts of Eucalyptus trees, and they form a canopy over the road, and keeps it cool. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell it’s the middle of the day, due to the tree coverage. The total climb is ~ 4 miles, with the meat of it being the last mile. Once you get to the second hairpin, you know you are just near the top, and time to kick it into high gear. The last stretch is a half mile sprint up to the top at Skyline.
From this point, it’s retracing our path from this morning, so it’s all downhill from here. Once again, we have some nice views of the bay from here.
The rest of the ride was pretty much downhill from here. Great ride with great friends. At least it breaks the monotony of doing the same rides along the Peninsula all the time.
Stats: 42.1 miles, 5240 feet climbing
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