# Bear Creek Road



## CHL (Jun 24, 2005)

Hi Guys:

So I'm itching to head back over the hill. I was thinking of riding up and down Hwy 9. Then I would take Hwy 236 down to Big Basin and use Bear Creek Road to head back to Hwy 35. From Hwy 35, I would reconnect to Hwy 9 and then head home.

Does anyone have any experience with Bear Creek Road (section between Hwy 9 and Hwy 35)? Is it safe to cyclists to ride that road or should I look toward an alternative?

Thanks,
C.


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

It's safe. That's a good ride.


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## tmanley (Jul 31, 2005)

Head down Hwy 9 a little farther and go up Zayante. Less traffic, more scenic in my opinion and it gets you back up to the Summit/Bear Creek intersection.


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

I've not had any problems on Bear Creek Rd but there have been reports of buzzing on that road.

Zayante has its own problems before the Lompico turn off - those ******** just love buzzing cyclists.


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

Bear Creek is a fantastic descent. But I wouldn't climb it. I think it's too dark and winding and attracts too much high speed traffic. It's not terrible in the lower section, below Byington Vineyards, but the upper section is barely two lanes wide with no shoulder. You have to take the lane, which isn't going to make you any friends. I've ridden just about every road in the Santa Cruz Mountains, up and down, but this is a road I would only go down. Most cars can't keep up with you going down.

As has already been mentioned, a better option is Zayante, which, once you get past the town of Zayante (with one stop sign and a small market), has almost zero traffic. It's a pleasant ride. There is a pretty steep section that lasts about a mile before it tops out around Zayante Vineyards. And there are some other fairly short but steep steep slopes after that. 

The only other thing about Zayante is that it can bake like an oven as you get towards the summit, so if it's hot, stop at the store and get something cool in you. It's your last chance. I've cracked on Zayante a couple of times. It can be brutal.

A cooler option on a hot day is to take Mt. Hermon road (which is next to Zayante) to Bean Creek, to Glenwood, and then Mountain Charlie Road. Mountain Charlie is tough climb in spots, but it's a nice scenic climb that doesn't get much traffic, and it's a lot cooler than Zayante. (You can avoid traffic in Scotts Valley by turning left on Skypark from Mt. Hermon and cutting through the park over to Bean Creek. Look on a map.)


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

Bear Creek west up to summit is not that bad early on a weekend morning. I would not ride it on a weekday. In my house we call it Bear Creek International Raceway.


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## CHL (Jun 24, 2005)

Anyone want to join me for this? Was going to start at Bicycle Outfitter at 7:00-7:30AM (riding early in the morning isn't that bad at all) head up to Hwy 9 via Redwood Gulch and then head to 236. Do you guys think that Bear Creek Road will have very little traffic, if I manage to begin the ascent around 9:30-10:00AM? I figure that if there is traffic, it will be going down instead of up as people head toward Santa Cruz/Ben Lomon.

CHL


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

Hwy 17 is majorly messed up these days because of road work they are doing on the Los Gatos side. I imagine you'll see a ton of traffic using Bear Creek, but it will be going the opposite way.


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## CHL (Jun 24, 2005)

My alarm didn't go off so I got a late start on this ride. Instead of starting at 7:00-7:30 as I intended, I started closer to 8:30. Rode up RWG and up Hwy 9. I can't seem to recover quickly after ascending RWG, even when going up at a leisurely pace. The descent from Hwy 35 to Hwy 236 is exhilarating. Rode to Big Basin Redwood State Park and stopped for some refreshments. The views in this area boggle the mind. There was but a minute amount of traffic from Hwy 9 to Big Basin and I rode unencumbered the entire away.

Continued on to Boulder Creek. As I neared Boulder Creek, traffic picked up but wasn't bad at all. Stopped at the corner gas station and downed two Gu Gels. Rode up Bear Creek Road. I was expecting the worse in terms of traffic but it turned out very nicely. The bottom section had a wide bike lane. The bike lane disappeared as the road rose to 8%. Surprisingly at that section, a car didn't pass me for a very long time. As I neared the top, it looked like Cal Trans had resurfaced the entire road and the bike lane returned, albeit very thin. The side brush encroached on the bike lane most of the times. Traffic increased in that area but the gradient dropped to 4%. It's rather open at the top , unlike the mostly covered midsection. On a hot day, this could be a scorcher.

Turned left onto Hwy35 and a nice couple paced me for some time (gentleman with a San Jose Bicycle Club kit and lady in a Zoot kit). Hwy 35 had another section of climbing (about 4 gentle miles) and then descended to Hwy9. Mr. Mustard helped me out with a hot dog and a coca cola. Rode down Hwy 9 to Pierce Road and ascended the backside of Mt. Eden (originally planned to ride down RWG). From there made my way back to Chain Reaction Bicycles, where I parked my car. 

I'm starting to like this area more and more. It certainly is a nice change from riding over Old La Honda and onto Alpine or Tunitas.

CHL


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## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

> I'm starting to like this area more and more. It certainly is a nice change from riding over Old La Honda and onto Alpine or Tunitas.


Isn't it great? I only recently ventured into that area recently on the ride with Ratpick and ukbloke and loved it. Looking forward to riding more in the area.


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