# Berkeley, CA ride: Pinehurst Loop



## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

*Berkeley, CA ride: Skyline, Pinehurst Loop, Grizzly Peak*

I brought my Ritchey Breakaway travel bike on a trip to Berkeley, CA.
I started the ride right after 6AM, before the sunset with the larger than usual moon still out.
After a few miles of solo riding I hooked up with another rider, Joseph from Germany, a scientist working at Berkeley Lab. He took me up to Tunnel Rd. climb to Skyline and then on a wonderful loop, called "Pinehurst Loop", and back to Grizzly Peak that circles the Berkeley lab at the top of the hill. Apparently this is a classic ride for Berkeley based riders, very popular on Strava. 13 strava riders rode Tunnel climb that morning alone, before 8AM!
Fantastic panoramic views of Bay Bridge and Golden Gate bridge, as well as San Francisco downtown. No fog. Highly recommended if you are visiting East Bay/Berkeley area.
Tomorrow I plan to ride Mt. Tam before flight back home.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

That moon shot is great (now level the horizon! ).

MB1
Bringing out the inner photo geek in me..... :blush2:


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

MB1 said:


> That moon shot is great (now level the horizon! ).
> 
> MB1
> Bringing out the inner photo geek in me..... :blush2:


HA! Fixed - how does it look to you now? Sorry didn't have time to edit the photos much, I know what you mean about horizon.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

55x11 said:


> HA! Fixed - how does it look to you now? Sorry didn't have time to edit the photos much, I know what you mean about horizon.


You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to 55x11 again.


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## fredstaple (Jun 2, 2003)

*Great RR*

nice shots and cool trip


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## MaxCycles (Nov 24, 2009)

Used to ride the Redwood/Pinehurst/Skyline loop a lot when I lived in the East Bay. Makes me miss home! Probably my favorite road loop of all time.


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## 2cflyr (Apr 9, 2002)

MB1 said:


> You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to 55x11 again.


took care of it for you.

great pix!


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## txzen (Apr 6, 2005)

Nice - this is my backyard, practically. 

I like the stem-mounted shots. What sort of camera and mount did you use?


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

txzen said:


> Nice - this is my backyard, practically.
> 
> I like the stem-mounted shots. What sort of camera and mount did you use?


it's GoPro Hero HD, and I use standard GoPro stem-mount with relatively open (non-waterproof) clear casing, works well.


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## charlox5 (Jan 31, 2011)

beautiful pictures and reminds me of my 2nd home (go bears)

lots of great riding in the bay--mt diablo is not to be missed!


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Very nice. Never tried riding around Berkley.


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## BigTex_BMC (Dec 30, 2011)

I used to live in the Bay Area, didn't miss it all that much, until I picked up cycling. California has to be the best places in the us to ride, great weather, awesome roads, great scenery, and all kinds of terrain.


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## jrm (Dec 23, 2001)

*Glad you liked it*

thats my after work ride


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

Nice! Looks like a good ride for my Bike Friday, along with Marin Ave, which is supposed to be one of the best steep sufferfests in the area.

I've heard Pinehurst referred to as "Painhurst" before, which means I've just _got_ to climb it someday! 

Got any video? :wink5:


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

*Nice photos.*

A Breakaway question. Do the airlines ever charge you the bike fee for it? I have a Bike Friday, which has paid for itself in saved airline fees, but I'm tempted to get a Breakaway.


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Homesick. Great photos, thanks.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

robwh9 said:


> A Breakaway question. Do the airlines ever charge you the bike fee for it? I have a Bike Friday, which has paid for itself in saved airline fees, but I'm tempted to get a Breakaway.


Never charged. My Breakaway had been on 5 domestic and 1 international round-trips since August 2011 (Madrid, Chicago, Tennessee and 3x Bay Area), and I saved $1,000 already. If I traveled more on United ($200 each way nowadays!) and less on Southwest ($50 one-way) I could have saved even more!  The frame+fork+bag cost me $1,050 plus $99 S&H, so it's pretty close to being completely paid off - a few more trips.

Technically I guess airlines could have charged me because my (soft) case is 2 to 4 inches over the 62 inch linear W+H+L limit. But they never do. And if you use curb-side checkin, which I lately discovered, it's very unlikely they would raise any issues about those few extra inches.

One could get a S&S hard case (which will work with Breakaway) and be completely "legal", but it may be more trouble than it's worth - the hard case is heavier than soft-sided case and since with gear, shoes, food, extra clothes, helmet and tools I am often at 46-47 lbs with soft sided bag, I would be over 50 lbs with S&S case for sure. One also has to deflate tires completely (I don't), and take off the cranks and fork, which adds time to assembly/disassembly. As it stands now, it takes me 15-20 min to put it together or take it apart - my record is 10 minutes, but it was a bit rushed, on the road I usually take my time to inspect everything. I am also not sure if S&S case would work with cyclocross (35mm) tires, or if I would have to take them off to fit the wheels in.

The soft-sided case I have also looks like a regular (even if fairly large) piece of luggage, and attracts less attention. I think if you pack the bike well, it stands about the same chance to get damaged inside soft or hard S&S case.

Bike Friday has an advantage of being able to fold it and unfold it more quickly - useful for taking it on public transport, etc.. It's also smaller when packed - I even read stories of folks bringing it as carry-on! (Probably larger than allowed carry-on size though). 
But Ritchey to me is nice since it handles and looks just like any regular bike - in fact a lot of people are even surprised when they learn that frame comes apart - it just looks like a nice steel frame. S&S frames definitely make it more obvious. I also like the fact I can easily swap a lot of componentry between my carbon road bike and Ritchey - seatpost, wheels, stem/bar, etc.


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## walrus (Jan 29, 2004)

I've ridden the Redwood/Pinehurst/Skyline loop many times. They call Pinehurst "The Refrigerator", can't imagine how cold it was at 8:00 AM in March.


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## bismo37 (Mar 22, 2002)

Great shots! Looks like a great ride.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

walrus said:


> I've ridden the Redwood/Pinehurst/Skyline loop many times. They call Pinehurst "The Refrigerator", can't imagine how cold it was at 8:00 AM in March.


thanks everyone! it was really cold descending to the bottom. I had armwarmers but otherwise warm-weather gear. I will definitely ride it again next time I am in Berkeley.


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