# Santa Clara



## JimmyORCA (Mar 18, 2008)

Are there any good but easy places to ride around Santa Clara area? After the holidays will be too lazy to ride hills.


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## Maaku (May 3, 2009)

The name of it escapes me right now, even though I take this route all the time, but there is a great trail that starts at Monroe & San Tomas Expy. It was recently lengthened, it runs under the Caltrain tracks and avoids overpasses. It ends at Baylands park near Alviso. I like it in the late afternoon to catch the sunset.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

The name of that trail does not fall easily off the tongue - the San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek trail. It has now been extended down to Cabrillo. It is all paved and easy riding.

Once you get to Baylands you can keep going on some trails at Baylands and gain access to the levees around the salt marshes. You can get around the back of the Moffett Field Navy Air base, but not all the way through to Shoreline Park yet (though I haven't checked in a while). Most of these trails near the marshes are packed dirt with some gravel.

If you turn to to the east from the end of the San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek trail you can head out towards Alviso on quiet roads. There are more bay trails out there too, but I've not ridden them.


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

JimmyORCA said:


> Are there any good but easy places to ride around Santa Clara area? After the holidays will be too lazy to ride hills.


Santa Clara is in the middle of suburban sprawl. I'm not sure what you consider easy. There's the San Tomas Aquino bike path, as the other poster mentioned, or you could head west on Fremont or Homestead to Foothill Expy. Turn left of Foothill for a more hilly and scenic ride or right for flatter -- and then maybe Arastradero into the hills or around Stanford U. Woodside and Portola Valley have good riding.

http://www.vta.org/schedules/VTA_Bike_Map.pdf


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

Santa Clara is flat, give or take +/- 20 feet of altitude. You can ride pretty much anywhere. But yes, if you would prefer a trail, there is the San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek Trail, which eventually hooks up with the Guadalupe Trail system which eventually sort of loops around through downtown San Jose, and then ends up somewhere near the Santa Teresa area… although it’s got some completely retarded and unsafe gaps (such as the highway 87/Curtner “connection”).


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## *Dude* (Feb 26, 2004)

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> Santa Teresa area… although it’s got some completely retarded and unsafe gaps (such as the highway 87/Curtner “connection”).



That's what you get from a lame-duck city planner and bicycle coalition :idea:


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## JimmyORCA (Mar 18, 2008)

Thanks for all the advice, will go try some out next week.


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## jmsue_94560 (Sep 10, 2009)

I concur, the San Tomas/Aquino Bike Trail is good. I bike that about 4 times a week from Milpitas, get on the trail to Monroe, turn around and go into Baylands Park, turn back around and head back to Milpitas. The only thing you need to worry about on the trails is the people who take up the whole width of the path, walkers who walk on the wrong side of the path, and other walkers who don't pay attention. Got a few close calls.


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## canascrews (Dec 20, 2009)

Thanks ROBWH9 for the vta map . I will be moving over the hill from Santa Cruz and that map will be a great help in deciding where I want to live for commuting purposes .


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