HillsRUs

Good to start with the climb, the weather forecast calls for a brisk morning. Up Page Mill, south on Skyline to Bear Creek Road, Summit Road, Mountain Charlie Road, around Lexington Reservoir, with a new route through Saratoga!

Distance: 58 miles
Elevation: 5174 ft.
Lunch: Cuesta de Los Gatos Park, AKA Redwood Estates Upper Park on Summit Road at Bayview Dr. ~ 28 miles

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Special Guest Lead by Gary Virshup

Note: This ride will go down Los Gatos Creek Trail (i.e dirt) from Lexington to downtown Los Gatos.

Rain cancels.

In celebration of the week of the Sequoi-tual https://westernwheelersbicycleclub.wildapricot.org/Sequoia, we will be doing the 72 mile route from Shoup Park.  Note the slightly earlier start, both because the ride is a tad longer than usual, and because we don't want to miss the pastries and coffee at the new Loma Mar store, on our descent into Pescadero.  The weather looks... well... Goldilocks.  

We'll start at Shoup again, first heading up Page Mill, and then down Alpine.  From there we'll head up Haskins Hill, and down into Pescadero, stopping first in Loma Mar.  We'll do lunch behind the Archangel bakery, so bring or buy, or do a little of each.  After lunch, we'll do Stage across to Tunitas, and down Kings Mountain, before taking the Portola loop back to Shoup.  

You do not need to be registered for the Sequoi-tual, but if you are, make sure and wear your jersey.  

Starting Location:  Meet at Shoup Park at 8:15 for an 8:30AM roll.

Distance: 72 miles

Elevation: 8100 feet

Lunch: Bring lunch, or buy in Pescadero to eat behind the Archangel bakery..

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Let's go do a regular route and enjoy more great weather.  We'll climb Page Mill Road, descend Alpine Road on our way to San Gregorio.

Lunch at the Bike Hut, so bring food.

Starting Location:  Meet at Shoup Park for a rolling 8:45 to 9:00 AM departure.

Distance: 57 miles

Elevation gain: 5,800'. 

Ride Leader - Jack Jones

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As T.S. Eliot might have said, good ride leaders borrow; great ride leaders steal.  So let's steal most of Don's great ride from last week, but do it in the other direction.  

We'll start at Shoup again, first heading out to Los Gatos and Lexington.  Past Lexington we'll do something a little different from the traditional HRU Lexington route, climbing Redwood Estates out of Holy City, in lieu of our usual Mountain Charlie ascent.  We'll continue on across Summit/Bear Creek/Skyline to Page Mill.  

Make sure and load up with two water bottles before leaving Los Gatos.  There should be food and beverages to buy at the Redwood Estates store, halfway up the climb, but it's wise to have supplies that will last until the Castle Rock parking area.  

Starting Location:  Meet at Shoup Park at 8:45 for a 9:00M roll.

Distance: 58 miles

Elevation: 5200 feet

Lunch: Bring lunch to eat at Redwood Estates Park on Summit. or buy lunch at the small market halfway up the Redwood Estates climb, and carry it up to the park.

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Note:  be aware that there is a 1.5 mile section of dirt on the Los Gatos Creek trail. In this direction the trail starts flat, and then has a short steeper gravel section which is easily walkable.  From there it's quite rideable to the climb across the dam face, although care should be taken when exiting the short bridge onto the gravel, just before the asphalt dam climb.

Well, it's time we had a ride start at Shoup again.  So we'll start at Shoup, climb Page Mill and try to avoid the heat by staying on Skyline as long as possible before descending Old Santa Cruz and heading back through Los Gatos.

Starting Location:  meet at Shoup Park at 8:45 for a 9:00am start

Distance: 59 miles

Elevation: 5500 feet

Lunch: bring lunch to eat at Redwood Estates Park on Skyline

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32358240

Cue Sheet: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32358240/cue_sheet

Weather Forecast: https://bit.ly/3o6rtRt

Note:  be aware that there is a 1.5 mile section of dirt on the Los Gatos Creek trail. It has a short steeper gravel section which is easily walkable and then the rest is flat hard packed dirt which is easy to ride.

Let's finish our HRU big mountain hat trick, and celebrate Cinco de Mayo, with Mt Hamilton, along with Kincaid Road, following Guy Shuman's LDT-D route, which Guy will lead on May 31st, as the finale in the LDT series.  Last fall, during the Fall Fun Series, Kincaid was freshly burned, but I'm hoping we will still see a little green this time around.

Meet at NE corner of Cataldi Park (2979 Cataldi Drive, San Jose, CA), for a 8:45 to 9:00 rolling departure.

Lunch is at the top of Hamilton.  Bring your own food for this ride.  Water is available at the start, at the Grant Lake Trailhead parking area, and on top.  There is no water along Kincaid, so plan accordingly.  There are restrooms at Cataldi and at the Grant Lake Trailhead, but none on top.  

Stats: 60 miles, 7150' of climbing

Ride leader:  Steve Rempel

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Another premier climb, Mt Diablo, with picturesque Morgan Territory following the LDT D route.  This is Guy Shuman's route that he will be leading on the May 8th LDT.

Meet at Diablo Vista Park, 1000 Tassajara Ranch Dr., Danville for a 8:45 to 9:00 rolling departure.

Lunch is at The Grove park in Clayton.  Bring or buy (there's a Subway nearby)

Stats: 67 miles, 6,700' of climbing

Ride leader:  Jack Jones

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Mt. Umunhum!

One of the four premier climbs* in the Bay Area – accommodating weather takes us up Mount Um. Bring legs and lunch, enjoy the views and history. Consider this ride training for the Sequoi-tual!

Starting location: Cupertino Bike Shop, 10625 S. Foothill Blvd.

Distance: 63 miles
Elevation: 5,456’
Lunch: Bring to enjoy at the Summit @ mile 27
Ride Leader: Cathy Switzer (see Member Directory for contact information)

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Sign in 8:45 am – 9:00 am. (NOTE: Summer Hours!). Riders can roll out at any time

*Mt. Diablo, Mt. Tamalpais, Mt. Hamilton, and Mt. Umunhum

This week HillsRUs will go to Santa Cruz again.  This time we will depart from Lexington Reservoir and cross the mountains to Capitola. After checking out the views of the ocean we will head to Corrlitos for lunch before climbing through the beautiful Eureka Canyon and back to Summit Road and Old Santa Cruz Hwy.

Starting Location: Parking Lot .3 mi past the dam at Lexington Reservoir. There is now a $6 fee to park there (Credit/Debit Card). There is also a dirt area across the street from the parking lot that can handle about 6 cars.

Directions: take the Bear Creek Rd exit off of Hwy 17, go across Hwy 17 and turn left like you were getting on 17. Take Alma Bridge Rd and go .6 mi to the parking lot just past the dam

Start Time: be there by 8:45 for a 8:45 to 9 am departure.

Distance: 62 miles

Elevation: 4900 feet

Lunch: Bring or Buy to eat at the park across from Corralitos Market

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26865263

Cue Sheet: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26865263/cue_sheet

Ride Leader: Don Johann

Note: If you are new to HillsRUs please email me in advance (don_johann@sbcglobal.net) to let me know you will be there. No attendance will be taken at the ride start.

HRU for Wednesday 4/7/21  

Let's try something a little different this week - heading up to play in Peter's backyard - San Bruno Mountain.  I only discovered San Bruno Mountain a few years ago, and even though we were fogged on that day, I could tell the views were epic.  This route is a bit shy of the normal HRU 100' of climbing per mile, but I want to test the waters before adding in Sweeney Ridge.  

We'll start at the parking area next to the Pioneer Inn, in Woodside.  This is one of the two new start locations for HRU.  We'll head out Canada Road to Sawyer Camp and beyond, getting on Skyline, before dropping down Manor Dr. to Pacifica.  Manor is a steeper alternative to Shark Park, but it has some killer views on the way down, of both Pacifica and Milagra Ridge to the left.  From Pacifica, we'll work our way up to Skyline Drive, which we'll stay on for awhile before crossing Skyline Blvd for a little urban riding, working our way across to the base of San Bruno Mountain.  San Bruno is a two part climb, the first being a more gentle grade, while the second part is steeper and rougher, but on a park road with no cars.  We'll go all the way out to the end, enjoying killer views of the SF Skyline along the way, as well as all points East, South, and West.  The current forecast looks promising, with Goldilocks temps predicted, and mostly sunny skies.  

From the top we'll retrace our way downhill (with one little tunnel/restroom/water detour) back to Hillside Blvd for lunch.  At the corner of Hillside and E. Market there is a nice taqueria in a little shopping center (Shell station on the corner), or a 7-Eleven should we choose to just get basic snacks.  From there we ride into Colma, the peaceful city of the dead.  Look to your left to see the classic airport view of San Bruno Mountain.  The route continues on a nice bike trail and a few roads before meeting up with Sneath, which takes us back up to Skyline.  From there, we will largely follow the traditional Skyline route back to Canada and the start.  However, at Sneath and Skyline, faster riders may choose to add in Sweeney Ridge  (also an option on the way up to Manor).  

First bathrooms will be 9 miles in at the Sawyer Camp bypass to Bunker Hill.

Bring food to eat along the way, or buy lunch about 35 miles in Hillsdale Blvd and E. Market (base of San Bruno).   There is water near the end of Sawyer Camp trail, and on the way down from San Bruno Mountain (on the right after exiting the short tunnel).  

Let's have people leaving the Woodside parking lot in small groups from 8:45 to 9:00 AM - a staggered and spread out start, a la the LDT series, with the leader bringing up the rear at 9AM.  No attendance will be taken.  Instead, email (fuzznsmoo@gmail.com) your name and estimated start time.

Start: Pioneer Inn (Woodside parking)

Distance: 61 miles
Elevation: 4959ft.
Lunch: Hillside Blvd and E. Market (bottom of San Bruno climb)
Ride Leader: Steve Rempel

Rain cancels!!

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Steve Rempel
1-650-279-6482 Mobile Phone