Our Favorite Rides on the Peninsula, near Palo Alto, California

Trip 1: Up Page Mill Road, Down Old La Honda Road

Summary	Image Gallery	Trip Map
Date: May 27, 2001 Route: Park at Page Mill Road & I-280 Park-and-Ride. Climb Page Mill Road to Skyline Blvd. Scenic detour to Borel Hill. Return to Skyline Blvd., descend on Old La Honda Road. South on Portola Road, east on Alpine, south on Arastradero, and finish. Total distance: ~25 miles.   Total climb: 2800'.	Click Here

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The night before this ride, we decided that demons needed to be purged. The climb up Page Mill Road extracts said demons and much, much more. When all is said and done, you're 2000' above the freeway where you parked an hour ago. By the time we climbed to Skyline, the weather was clear and warm, though we could see fog in all directions. We took a scenic detour to Borel Hill, one of the few places in the Bay Area with a 360-degree view of the surroundings. Skyline Blvd. was a wash, both literally and figuratively. I felt as if I had jumped out of the swimming pool by the time we got out of the fog. Our descent of Old La Honda was par--most dangerous part is not cars, not curves, but oncoming bikers on the left side of the road! We enjoyed the recently-repaved surface of Portola Road, and managed not to get a stop-sign ticket from the San Mateo County Sheriff.

Trip 2: Mountain View to Pacifica - Peninsula N-S Mega-tour (with a detour to Sweeney Ridge)

Summary	Image Gallery	Trip Map
Date: June 9, 2001 Route: Start from our apartment in Mountain View. Foothill/Sand Hill/Whiskey Hill to Woodside. Canada Road to Highway 92. Skyline Blvd. from 92 to San Bruno. Up Sneath Road, climb Sweeney Ridge for visit to Nike Missile site. Total distance: 62.2 miles.   Total climb: ~3700'.	Click Here

I promised some online friends of mine that I'd visit the Nike Missile radar site on Sweeney Ridge. So I figured that I could turn it into an epic ride. Epic might not be the right word. Punishing and underestimated are better descriptors. All I will say is that I'm glad I didn't con Kim into coming along on this one (she was out of town). I left Mountain View at 6:30 a.m., reached the Nike base 33.6 miles and 2.5 hours later, spent a half hour there, and took 2.5 hours to limp back to Stanford, where I type this report.

Mile	Action	Comment
0	Central Expressway & Rengstorff	Started at 6:30--a nice clear morning.
3.7	Arastradero Road & Foothill Expressway	I'm feeling like a dog today. Bad omen!
6.5	Sand Hill Road & Foothill Expressway (Juniperro Serra)	Savor the flatness while it lasts. The rest of the ride is an up-and-down nightmare!
11.3	Woodside city center turn right on Canada Road	I took Sand Hill to Whiskey Hill, but you could probably take Alameda de las Pulgas to Woodside Rd.
14.7	Pass under Edgewood Road	A bit of easy climbing. Get ready to fly down the smooth, flat part of Canada Road.
18.6	Reach Highway 92, right on Skyline Blvd.	Careful here--lots of traffic, narrow shoulders.
20.9	Pass Crystal Springs Road	Skyline kind of sucks. Steep hills and narrow shoulders. Luckily traffic is usually light.
22.2	Dead end at Golf Course Right on Golf Course (Hayne) Rd. Immediate Left on Skyline Blvd.	Detail map
25.2	Reach Trousdale Blvd. Get onto I-280 N No Joke!	You can also take an irritating route over a bike/walk path, but it is perfectly legal. Take the first exit--Hillsdale Blvd. You will be prompted by the Bicycles must exit sign. Be careful! The exit is narrow, and the cars are doing 65+ mph. Use the "sidewalk" on the right. Detail map
26.7	Pass Larkspur Blvd.	Keep following Skyline Blvd.
28.9	Pass San Bruno Blvd.	Another freeway jaunt. You get on here, but again, take the first exit, which is (believe it or not) Skyline Blvd. Keep following Skyline.
29.9	Left on Sneath Blvd.	This is the first stoplight past San Bruno Ave. Get ready for a steep climb.
31.3	Reach GGNRA Parking lot at dead end	Go through the pedestrian gate. Start an immediate steep downhill.
33.6	Reach Nike Missile base	Climb up the paved trail (600', with some steeps). Veer right at top of hill, staying on paved trail.
38.3	Retrace path on Skyline Blvd. to San Bruno Ave.	Get ready for another freeway experience. After San Bruno Ave. Pass a parking lot on the right, with San Andreas Reservoir in the background. Get on I-280. Take the first exit, which is Larkspur Ave. From here you can get back on the "normal" Skyline Blvd.
42.0	Retrace path on Skyline Blvd. to Trousdale Blvd.	Yet another freeway segment. I was surprised--it really isn't that bad. The shoulder is wide (10 feet) and relatively clean, but the speeds of cars are certainly unnerving! At Hillsdale Blvd., you must Cross under the freeway and ride up the ramp. Take the first exit, which is Trousdale. Go back under the freeway to Skyline Blvd.
45.0	Right under freeway at Hayne Rd., left onto Skyline Blvd.	I screwed up royally and missed this. Don't make my mistake! You'll aimlessly wind around, up, and down the dead-end streets of a very affluent neighborhood.
48.6	Retrace path to Highway 92, left on Canada Rd.	Narrow shoulders and high speeds -- be careful!
55.9	Retrace path to Woodside city center, left on Woodside Road, quick right on Whiskey Hill Rd.	Stop at the stopsign -- tickets are $100.
62.2	Back to Stanford: Whiskey Hill, L on Sand Hill, R on Juniperro Serra	My body was bushwhacked!

Trip 3: Up Moody Road, down Page Mill Road

Summary	Image Gallery	Trip Map
Date: Many times! Route: Start from our apartment near Gunn HS (Arastradero & Foothil Expressway). South on Foothill, west on El Monte Road, past Foothill College. Veer onto Moody Road, climb hill. Downhill on Page Mill Road, Arastradero back to starting point. Total distance: 11.4 miles.   Total climb: 950'.	Sorry...

If you're busy or otherwise unable to take a long bike trip, this may be the perfect Peninsula hill-climb. Under 12 miles and 1000 feet of climb, so you're never too far from home, but believe me, the last leg up Moody Road will test the lungs of every biker! Certainly less of a commitment than any of the "normal" hill climbs to Skyline Boulevard (Page Mill, Old La Honda, Kings Mountain), but enough to keep most of us in shape. Traffic is never a serious issue, though it is always preferable to get an early start, i.e., before 8 a.m.