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SF Bay Area Ride Report: Saturday Oct 1, 2022


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  • Member Contributer

* Intro
Thanks to @RC1237V for the route from Starbucks Livermore to Alice’s Restaurant in Woodside, excellent ride!  I broke my ride down to 6 stages and have Google Maps links for each stage with a short description.

The original plan was for a few VFRD members and others I invited to come out and ride. Work and family obligations dwindled the group to me.

 

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Overview of the 260 Mile / 418 Km loop around the SF Bay.

 

* Stage_01 

Home to Starbucks Livermore (43 miles / 69.2 km)

 

The day started late. I wanted to stick to the original group ride schedule and leave my house by 8:00a.  I got sucked into MotoGP qualifying and left at 9:45a.

 

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My 5th Gen warming up.

 

The ride from my house to Livermore is nice for the first 5 miles as you ride along the semi rural San Pablo Dam Road adjacent to San Pablo Reservoir.  Though, you gotta be mindful of deer, coyotes, turkeys, skunks, possums and foxes that frequent the area. Once I get to Orinda and Hwy 24, it’s all freeway riding to lovely Livermore.

 

* Stage_02

Starbucks Livermore to Alum Rock in San Jose (69.4 miles / 111.69 km)

via Mt Hamilton ( elev 4,265′ / 1,300 meters)

https://goo.gl/maps/FW53DAYYkgcQNdGM7

 

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I was looking forward to a few sections of the day’s ride as they were new to me.  The first section was Mines Rd from Livermore to The Junction. The majority of the curvy hillside road runs parallel to Arroyo Mocho.  Sections of the road are just wide enough for 1 full sized American Pick Up truck and 1 motorcycle.  Other than two trucks that appeared from a blind curve, I saw a few bicycles and no motorcycles on the road until the next stop.

 

At The Junction Cafe parking lot, there were about a dozen motorbikes with the majority being KTM Adventure and BMW GS models.  I went inside the cafe looking for a snack but they only had Lays Chips and burgers. Neither were appealing so back to the ride.

 

Mines Rd. outside of Livermore to the base of Mt. Hamilton is a beautiful remote area. There are a few wineries early on Mines Rd, but soon you’re out in the sticks. And yes, there are mines out there and you can also go hunting for “deer, pig, and upland game”.  Love me some upland game.  It wasn't till I got closer to the eastern base of Mt. Hamilton that I stopped for a photo op at one of the many cattle ranches out there.

 

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Cows in shade, VFR in sun.

 

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One of many hairpins up and down Mt Hamilton.  

 

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Work is required tossing your bike around Mt Hamilton.  Great views up there but you have to focus on the road or else.

 

* Stage_03

Alum Rock San Jose to Mount Umunhum (38.7 miles / 62.28 km)

Mount Umunhum (3,489' / 1,063 meters)

https://goo.gl/maps/xumnhLwajdT78TLx6

 

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The ride from the Alum Rock to New Almaden was in San Jose’s suburbs.

 

I keep my android phone in my pocket and rely on Google Maps unmuted for directions. Generally this works well except I forgot to disable “Prefer fuel-efficient routes”. Google Maps kept directing me to the most fuel-efficient route which took me away from the original route provided by @RC1237V.

 

The next section of road I was looking forward to was Mt. Umunhum and it did not disappoint.

  

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You turn left off Hicks Rd and up you go to Mt Umunhum. The road was great! The pavement is generally smooth with limited loose gravel. Though not narrow, you have to watch for on-coming traffic as I ran into a few young men channeling their GTA skills (lack thereof) and folks not used to driving on tight winding roads.

 

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“Sierra Azul Parking Lot At Mount Umunhum Summit Area”


 

* Stage_04

Mt. Umunhum to Hwy 39 / Hwy 9 Junction (29.5 miles / 47.48 km)

https://goo.gl/maps/xHL3HibRGZK6mZ2f7

 

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I rode Black Rd from Lexington Reservoir to Hwy 35 (Skyline) instead of taking Hwy 9 to 35. The detour was beautiful.

 

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A hairpin in the redwoods on Black Rd.

 

While I was taking this picture, I saw motorbikes on the road for the first time:  a large BMW touring bike followed by a VFR 1200.

 

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Another angle from the same spot on Black Rd.


 

* Stage_05

Hwy 39 / Hwy 9 Junction to Alice's (13.7 miles / 22.04 km)

https://goo.gl/maps/59CsdSnxAWRPqUe49

 

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Skyline (Hwy 35) on the Peninsula (SF Bay) is very popular with the motorsport crew.

 

On the north, the Skyline is bound by Hwy 92 in Redwood City.  On the south by Hwy 17 40 miles later in Los Gatos.  Skyline is a beautiful road that has access to other great roads to take you down to the coast. My short 13.7 mile trip was pleasant.  For safety, I kept my speed within reason.  Not on this trip, but in the past, I’ve seen cars and motorcycles fly on Skyline.  The road surface is in great condition and the turns are for the most part sweepers compared to my local 60 mile out and back.  

 

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By the time I arrived in the area, Alice’s Restaurant was super busy and decided to have lunch across the street at Skywood Trading Post.

 

With the fog coming in from the Pacific,  I had to get moving.  I thought of riding the 57 miles home but the only way to end this ride report was to go via The Golden Gate Bridge and add another 13 miles.

 

* Stage_06

Alice's to Golden Gate Bridge (Ft Point) (39.6 miles / 63.73 km)

https://goo.gl/maps/PaX2GrnQC1CuNpiSA

 

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Without traffic, Google Maps says the 40 mile ride from Alice’s to Fort Point at the southern base of the Golden Gate Bridge is about an hour.

 

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With weekend traffic gridlock, this 8.5 mile stretch on Hwy 1 (19th Ave) can take an hour.  The only way to handle this stretch, fold your mirrors back and lane split the route.  The lights are well timed to the speed limit +5mph.  If you can keep the pace, you can get through the gridlock in good time.  


 

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On weekends and holidays, this area is full of people and traffic. I had to wait for a clear photo op. Note that on the right side of the picture you can see blue skies a few miles away in Tiburon.   

 

* Conclusion

Great day of riding and thanks again to @RC1237V for the route.  Next time, I’ll ride it counterclockwise!

 

 

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  • Member Contributer

Wow, awesome you made the ride! Some of my best days were solo rides :goofy:

 

We are spoiled with good roads here!

 

I hope we can all get together for a ride next time....

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  • Member Contributer

Your ride report is excellent Tirso, thanks for taking the time to organize your thoughts and photos. Once again apologies for not making it after pushing for this ride. Hope to join you and your apples and oranges (OK, maybe lemons) 5th gen.

 

Stage 2  (mostly Mines Rd I believe) is often used as a a Tour of CA bicycle race stage, got to check the calendar before a weekend ride! 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Member Contributer

Really nice description. Thank you. I want to ride that leg after Mt Ham to Alice's.  I was in the city during fleet weekend. Ugh...  After SF did you head over Grizzly Peak and down Wildcat back to SPD Rd?  I take Bear Creek home to Martinez.

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  • Member Contributer
19 hours ago, RRluv2RIDE said:

Really nice description. Thank you. I want to ride that leg after Mt Ham to Alice's.  I was in the city during fleet weekend. Ugh...  After SF did you head over Grizzly Peak and down Wildcat back to SPD Rd?  I take Bear Creek home to Martinez.

  

Thanks, regarding Mt Hamilton to Alices as a reminder, my Google Maps was on “Prefer fuel-efficient routes” from Hamilton to New Almaden.  There may be better roads to take.  Also, from Mt Umunhum to 9/35, I took Black Rd. which is a different riding experience than taking the sportier 9 from Los Gatos.

 

After the GG Bridge visit, went to Super Duper Mill Valley and grab'd a burger. From there, The San Rafi / Richmond bridge.

 

I don't like riding: Castro Ranch, Bear Creek, Alhambra Valley, Releiz Valley.  My VFR's suspension not well suited for those roads.  When I had a Super Tenere, it was a different story. 

 

I do run Wildcat/Grizzly/Skyline/Redwood a few times a week. https://goo.gl/maps/81Krj6MpnJBjhd247 Not the smoothest roads compared to what they have on the Peninsula or Hwy 1 in Marin/Sonoma but better than the roads around Briones. 

 

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  • Member Contributer

Awesome ride and report!!! Great photos! So nostalgic, I used to do Big Basin & Black Rd almost daily when I lived in Saratoga.

Here's video I found of Mines from Livermore Starbucks to The Junction and beyond.

 

 

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