HillsRUs

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

A fine day of weather for the coast is on tap, with an added bonus of Bean Hollow Road on the route. 

Start is at Shoup Park with a 9:45 to 10 AM rollout

Distance: 72.4

Elevation gain:  6,576'

Lunch:  Bring or buy at Archengeli Grocery

Ride Leader:  Jack Jones

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Cue sheet

Weather

Spring has sprung! Be on the lookout for California poppies as we climb Old La Honda, West Alpine and head south on Skyline. Can you identify all the wildflowers? 

Distance: 54 miles
Elevation: 5,610'
Lunch: Bring, eat at Alpine Pond 
Ride Leader: Cathy Switzer

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This week HillsRUs will go to Santa Cruz for the first time ever.  We will depart from Lexington Reservoir to explore some scenic roads near Santa Cruz including Rodeo Gulch, Granite Creek and Mountain Charlie.

Starting Location: Parking lot just past the Dam at Lexington Reservoir. Be there by 9:45 for a 9:45 to 10am rolling departure

   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.

Distance: 53 miles

Elevation: 4900 feet

Lunch:  Bring Lunch to eat at the Community Park on Glenwood Drive in Scotts Valley (see route map for location)

Route:https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34738198

Cue Sheet:https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34738198/cue_sheet

Ride Leader:  Don Johann

Note: No attendance will be taken at the ride start.  Email me (don_johann@sbcglobal.net) with name and estimated start time:

HRU for 3/10/21 CANCELLED.

Noaa got it right.  It's raining as I write, with more rain in the hourly forecast - 75% until 3PM.  

-- Steve

With rain likely to cancel, let's stay somewhat local this week.  In case it looks dry enough to launch, this will give us options to bail along the way, should the weather change for the worse.  And if you've been thinking about doing an HRU ride, this is a good way to test the waters.  We really never get all that far from the start - circling the drain as I like to say.   

We will start at Shoup and work our way down near the old Chain Reaction test loop (near Foothill and 280), and zig and zag our way across the Los Altos and Palo Alto hills, working our way over to Central Portola Valley, for a tour through the Westridge area, before heading back to Shoup.  When I did a test ride with my SiP group, I called this ride "The Tour of Gratuitous Hills  and Secret Passages."  One secret passage (new to me) got added in because of that ride.  One of the group commented that he didn't know before that it was possible to stay this local and do over 5,000 feet of climbing.  The goal was to start with my old after-work Los Altos Hills ride and make something worthy of HRU.  The turns are numerous, so this is one worth loading on to your favorite GPS device or phone app.  Except for one short out and back, this route is meant to flow.  

First water and bathrooms will be 26 miles in at Arastradero Preserve.

Bring food to eat along the way, or buy lunch about 28 miles in at Roberts off Alpine Rd. 

Let's have people leaving Shoup Park in small groups from 9:45 to 10:00 AM - a staggered and spread out start, a la the LDT series, with the leader bringing up the rear at 10AM.  No attendance will be taken.  Instead, email  (fuzznsmoo@gmail.com) your name and estimated start time.

Start: Shoup Park

Distance: 50.8 miles
Elevation: 5258 ft.
Lunch: Roberts off Alpine Rd
Ride Leader: Steve Rempel

Rain cancels!!

Route >
Cue Sheet >
Weather Forecast >

Meet at Shoup Park for a 9:45 to 10:00 AM rolling departure.

For contactless sign-in, text me at 650-861-8918 with HRU as the message, please.

42 miles, 5,300' climbing

Bring food, lunch at Saratoga Gap CalFire station

Please follow WWBC Guidelines; club members at this time only, please.

See you there!

Jack

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Back by popular demand, HRU rolls weekly again.  We try one of the fav routes, the Coastal Classic. This variation skips the return on Foothill.

Bring Lunch

Distance: 56 miles
Elevation: 5,821' per RWGPS
Lunch: Bring, eat at The Bike Hut
Ride Leader: Cathy Switzer

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Weather forecast > (check out that wind forecast...)

ALERT: Be prepared for extra traffic for the descent on Kings Mountain Road due to East 84 weekday closure between SkyLonda and Portola.

Rain cancels!

"Let's do an extended version of my first... and last... ride as an HRU ride leader" - by Steve Rempel

Tour through the hills of Los Gatos, on the way to Kennedy... and beyond.  The ride turns around just at the bottom of the North Hicks wall of doom, coming back over Shannon to Los Gatos for lunch.   From there we take the East Saratoga maze, before crossing over to the Western maze and Seven Springs.  

Bring food to eat along the way, or buy lunch in Los Gatos.  

Let's have people leaving Shoup Park in small groups from 9:45 to 10:00 AM - a staggered and spread out start, a la the LDT series, with the leader bringing up the rear at 10AM.  No attendance will be taken.  Instead, email  your name and estimated start time.

Start: Shoup Park

Distance: 58.8 miles
Elevation: 4304 ft.
Lunch: Los Gatos
Ride Leader: Steve Rempel

Rain cancels!!

Route >
Cue Sheet >
Weather Forecast >

Something different for this blog, thought I'd give you a ride report from Wednesday's ride... 

The inaugural 2021 HillsRUs ride enjoyed blue skies, brisk temperatures and clear roads.

Meeting and greeting at Shoup Park, every rider had a face covering and respected the 6’ social distance, thank you!  We rolled out in small groups between 9:00 (led by Steve Rempel) and 10:00. Climbing Page Mill is an easy way to maintain social distance, same with the West Alpine descent.

Lunch in the sun at the Duck Pond in La Honda - several available benches, and the ducks kept us entertained.  Unless eating, we respected the face covering requirement, and kept good distances. We’re getting good at this. While climbing 84, more than a few riders formed a small pace line, and others correctly kept distance.  NOT riding close together in a pace line is something we have to remind ourselves about.

As a ride leader, it's tough to keep track of everyone when we stagger the starts and truly ride separately. The "regular" HRU riders know to send a text message when they're home safely, I didn't remember to ask others to do so, but somehow got word (through Strava and other riders) that everyone returned safely!

All in all, the groups (~25 riders) followed the Club Guidelines for rides. Again, thank you all for helping each other follow the rules.