Trail Recommendations

"czb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Will be at Half Moon Bay, CA middle of January and will ship bike.
Looking for 3-5 hours rides in vicinity with hard aerobic climbs, good
degree of technical climbing, single track. Some fireroads okay.
Recommendations on trails and LBSs? Jan 13th is best day for me to
partner if anyone out there may be riding.

Thanks

If you're willing to go to Wine Country Oat Hill Mine Road is a great
workout. Lots of riding to be done that area. Bit of a drive from Half
Moon though.
Drew

DP said:

"czb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Will be at Half Moon Bay, CA middle of January and will ship bike.
Looking for 3-5 hours rides in vicinity with hard aerobic climbs, good
degree of technical climbing, single track. Some fireroads okay.
Recommendations on trails and LBSs? Jan 13th is best day for me to
partner if anyone out there may be riding.

Thanks

If you're willing to go to Wine Country Oat Hill Mine Road is a great
workout. Lots of riding to be done that area. Bit of a drive from Half
Moon though.
Drew

Or, you could always bring your board and hit
http://www.pbase.com/robv/image/40412084
http://www.pbase.com/robv/image/40412052
http://www.pbase.com/artifact/image/40376975
http://www.pbase.com/artifact/image/40377545
http://www.pbase.com/saratoga_lefty/image/40375195
_____
Slack

On 13 Dec 2005 18:37:09 -0800, "czb" <[email hidden]> wrote:

..Will be at Half Moon Bay, CA middle of January and will ship bike.
..Looking for 3-5 hours rides in vicinity with hard aerobic climbs, good
..degree of technical climbing, single track. Some fireroads okay.
..Recommendations on trails and LBSs? Jan 13th is best day for me to
..partner if anyone out there may be riding.
..
..Thanks

Route 92. During rush hour. Enjoy.
===
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"😉. Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

DP said:

Quoted message said:

If you're willing to go to Wine Country Oat Hill Mine Road is a great
workout. Lots of riding to be done that area. Bit of a drive from Half
Moon though.
Drew

-----------

Thanks. Any idea on distance time-wise so I can plan, given limited
daylight?

* Mike Vandeman <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

On 13 Dec 2005 18:37:09 -0800, "czb" <[email hidden]> wrote:

.Will be at Half Moon Bay, CA middle of January and will ship bike.
.Looking for 3-5 hours rides in vicinity with hard aerobic climbs, good
.degree of technical climbing, single track. Some fireroads okay.
.Recommendations on trails and LBSs? Jan 13th is best day for me to
.partner if anyone out there may be riding.
.
.Thanks

Route 92. During rush hour. Enjoy.

Your death threat is duly noted and reported.

Jason

There's so much good riding around HMB it's hard to know where to
start.

Bike shop: The Bike Works, in a small shopping center right downtown.
(Awesome coffee shop in the same plaza).

Local club: http://www.romp.org

Trails: there are several books on trails in NorCal, check Amazon or
whereever and pick one up.

Closest trails to HMB will be in the Midpeninsula Regional open Space
District, which has a lot of incredibly good trails.
http://www.openspace.org (Warning: not a very bike-friendly
organization).

One of the best preserves is Purisima Creek Redwoods, map at
http://www.openspace.org/preserves/maps/purisima_creek_redwoods_map.pdf
- you can ride south on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, turn left up
Higgins Purisima road (very south end of town) to the end, and then
climb up Whittemore Gulch Trail to Skyline. One of the best trails in
California, and a good, technical climb (although maybe not completely
aerobic).

czb said:

DP said:

If you're willing to go to Wine Country Oat Hill Mine Road is a great
workout. Lots of riding to be done that area. Bit of a drive from Half
Moon though.
Drew

-----------

Thanks. Any idea on distance time-wise so I can plan, given limited
daylight?

The trailhead is at the intersection of Hwy29 and Silverado Trail in
Calistoga. It's around 100 miles.

If it's a weekend morning it's probably 1:45 to get there. Weekday
morning? It all depends upon the traffic getting over either of the
bridges and then the 80 or 880 traffic. It could be a really long drive
mid-week.

It is the best riding in the Bay Area, all things considered.

sunderland said:

and then
climb up Whittemore Gulch Trail to Skyline. One of the best trails in
California, and a good, technical climb (although maybe not completely
aerobic).

Even though I dragged MattB around Purisma when he was out visiting,
this post is an example of why you need to take everything you read
(even my stuff) with a grain of salt.

Whittemore is a nice, mellow, pretty trail.

It wouldn't even come near being described as one of the best trails in
CA if I had to make a list (let alone one of the best trails in the Bay
Area).

pete fagerlin said:

sunderland said:

and then
climb up Whittemore Gulch Trail to Skyline. One of the best trails in
California, and a good, technical climb (although maybe not completely
aerobic).

Even though I dragged MattB around Purisma when he was out visiting,
this post is an example of why you need to take everything you read
(even my stuff) with a grain of salt.

Whittemore is a nice, mellow, pretty trail.

It wouldn't even come near being described as one of the best trails in
CA if I had to make a list (let alone one of the best trails in the Bay
Area).

-------------

ok thanks. to everyone so far.

is there a consensus on anything inside a 90 minute drive where i can
get a 3-5 or 3-6 hour ride in on mostly ST, technical is good. very
technical is fine. but main goal is aerobic climbs. i was hoping that
most folks would agree on top three rides in area with these
charcateristics, and then there'd be plenty of debate on other options.
i am there for five days and have some time to get some good riding in
away from frigid east in an area where i have never before ridden

czb said:

pete fagerlin wrote:

Quoted message said:

is there a consensus on anything inside a 90 minute drive where i can
get a 3-5 or 3-6 hour ride in on mostly ST, technical is good.

If you have your heart set on technical climbs you are going to be
sorely disappointed.

You can put together some long loops at Skegg's aka ECDM aka El Corte
Madera with lots of climbing and descending amongst redwoods and a few
moderately technical sections scattered about. Mixed fireroad and
singletrack with more singletrack than fireroad.

You can put together some long rides with plenty of climbing by heading
to Marin and riding Tam but it's mostly fireroads, with a few
exceptions. Just North of Tam is a small network of singletrack at
Tamarancho where you can do a few loops of singletrack and then head out
on fireroad to extend your riding time.

Heading South you could ride Soquel Demo forest which is fireroad climbs
and flowy singletrack descents.

Just North of Half Moon Bay is Montara Mountain which has a number of
fireroad climbs (seeing a pattern here?) and the most technical trails
on the peninsula (The Crack, The Mile, Boy Scout, 911, etc.). You would
need to hook up with someone for them since they can be tough to find
and link together if you've never been there.

pete fagerlin said:

sunderland said:

and then
climb up Whittemore Gulch Trail to Skyline. One of the best trails in
California, and a good, technical climb (although maybe not completely
aerobic).

Even though I dragged MattB around Purisma when he was out visiting,
this post is an example of why you need to take everything you read
(even my stuff) with a grain of salt.

Whittemore is a nice, mellow, pretty trail.

I agree. I don't recall anything technical on that trail, but it was
still en enjoyable ride. There might have been a tight (ish) switchback
or two, but nothing very difficult or scary.

I did get some poison oak when I stopped to take a leak in the brush
(luckily, no REALLY sensitive skin was affected). Our brush here in
Colorado doesn't make your skin melt like it does over there! I'm sure
that or the drive from Santa Cruz was the most dangerous part.

Quoted message said:

It wouldn't even come near being described as one of the best trails in
CA if I had to make a list (let alone one of the best trails in the Bay
Area).

I'd have to agree and I've only ridden a handful of trails in the land
of fruits and nuts.

Matt

MattB said:

I did get some poison oak when I stopped to take a leak in the brush

I think I'm immune to that junk. I've never gotten a case of it and
have been romping around in the woods of CA all of my life. The day
before yesterday I walked through a bunch of it, no rash. Maybe I'm
part Chumash?

JD

"JD" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MattB said:

I did get some poison oak when I stopped to take a leak in the brush

I think I'm immune to that junk. I've never gotten a case of it and
have been romping around in the woods of CA all of my life. The day
before yesterday I walked through a bunch of it, no rash. Maybe I'm
part Chumash?

JD

More likely your hide is just too thick. I get it but not bad.

Marty

Marty said:

"JD" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MattB said:

I did get some poison oak when I stopped to take a leak in the brush

I think I'm immune to that junk. I've never gotten a case of it and
have been romping around in the woods of CA all of my life. The day
before yesterday I walked through a bunch of it, no rash. Maybe I'm
part Chumash?

JD

More likely your hide is just too thick. I get it but not bad.

Marty

I used to pull poison ivy out of our yard in Michigan and never got a
rash. I think my CA experience was my first exposure to poison oak,
which I wasn't worried about since I was pretty sure I was immune to
poison ivy and figured they were basically the same.

Man, was that a mistake. That stuff made me look like I was a leper or
atomic blast survivor. It literally made my skin bubble and melt. The
itching was like nothing I've experienced. Very unpleasant!

I'll take brutal cold over that any day!

Matt (it was +25 last night when I rode home, 62 degrees warmer than
Thursday morning. It felt like summer!)

Per MattB:

Quoted message said:

That stuff made me look like I was a leper or
atomic blast survivor.

I recall reading somewhere that poison oak exposure was the leading cause of
disability among forest fire fighters.

Imagine what must happen when you're in a cloud of smoke from the stuff.
--
PeteCresswell

MattB said:

Marty said:

"JD" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MattB wrote:

> I did get some poison oak when I stopped to take a leak in the brush

I think I'm immune to that junk. I've never gotten a case of it and
have been romping around in the woods of CA all of my life. The day
before yesterday I walked through a bunch of it, no rash. Maybe I'm
part Chumash?

JD

More likely your hide is just too thick. I get it but not bad.

Marty

I used to pull poison ivy out of our yard in Michigan and never got a
rash. I think my CA experience was my first exposure to poison oak,
which I wasn't worried about since I was pretty sure I was immune to
poison ivy and figured they were basically the same.

Man, was that a mistake. That stuff made me look like I was a leper or
atomic blast survivor. It literally made my skin bubble and melt. The
itching was like nothing I've experienced. Very unpleasant!

I'll take brutal cold over that any day!

Matt (it was +25 last night when I rode home, 62 degrees warmer than
Thursday morning. It felt like summer!)

Good to know that they are not the same. I am immune to Poison Ivy and
wondered about Poison Oak. Next time on the left coast I'll remember to
leave it alone.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

"pete fagerlin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

czb said:

DP said:

If you're willing to go to Wine Country Oat Hill Mine Road is a great
workout. Lots of riding to be done that area. Bit of a drive from Half
Moon though.
Drew

-----------

Thanks. Any idea on distance time-wise so I can plan, given limited
daylight?

The trailhead is at the intersection of Hwy29 and Silverado Trail in
Calistoga. It's around 100 miles.

If it's a weekend morning it's probably 1:45 to get there. Weekday
morning? It all depends upon the traffic getting over either of the
bridges and then the 80 or 880 traffic. It could be a really long drive
mid-week.

It is the best riding in the Bay Area, all things considered.

Great ride, I absolutely miss it now that I live in KY...an even longer
drive mid-week.
Drew

"(PeteCresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Per MattB:

Quoted message said:

That stuff made me look like I was a leper or
atomic blast survivor.

I recall reading somewhere that poison oak exposure was the leading cause
of
disability among forest fire fighters.

Imagine what must happen when you're in a cloud of smoke from the stuff.
--
PeteCresswell

Caught it all the time when I was a kid. After I worked for California
Department of Forestry as a firefighter at Howard Forest in Willits, CA. I
do not think I catch it anymore...but I am still afraid of it and stay away
from it. They have both ivy and oak in Mendocino County.

On Wed, 14 Dec 2005 06:24:39 -0400, Jason <[email hidden]> wrote:

..* Mike Vandeman <[email hidden]>:
..> On 13 Dec 2005 18:37:09 -0800, "czb" <[email hidden]> wrote:
..>
..> .Will be at Half Moon Bay, CA middle of January and will ship bike.
..> .Looking for 3-5 hours rides in vicinity with hard aerobic climbs, good
..> .degree of technical climbing, single track. Some fireroads okay.
..> .Recommendations on trails and LBSs? Jan 13th is best day for me to
..> .partner if anyone out there may be riding.
..> .
..> .Thanks
..>
..> Route 92. During rush hour. Enjoy.
..
..Your death threat is duly noted and reported.

That's my copyrighted line. You have to pay me to use it.

..Jason

===
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"😉. Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande