# Poll: favorite South Bay Area hill climb



## ukbloke

This is a blatant attempt to liven things up in here. What's your favorite South Bay Area hill climb? You have to pick just one. Apologies for the South Bay focus, or if I didn't list your's. You can always reply to the thread.


----------



## JoelS

The only one of those I've ridden is Hamilton. But I live near Sac, so there's my excuse for not driving down to ride there often.


----------



## robwh9

You forgot Golden Oak Dr. in Portola Valley.


----------



## ukbloke

robwh9 said:


> You forgot Golden Oak Dr. in Portola Valley.


I didn't forget it, but it is not included in the "A-list". In fact, I rode it today as part of the Ring of Fire just before writing the poll! The forum software limits me to 10 options. There are dozens of significant hills that I left out. For example, Mt Diablo, Mt Tam and then all those great hills coming up out of the Santa Cruz area. I guess I could have picked say 40 hills spread them randomly over 4 polls, and then had a run-off for top place!


----------



## sometimerider

Mt. Diablo is pretty impressive.


----------



## kmac

Henry Coe!


----------



## rhauft

Diablo (north gate)


----------



## ratpick

So hard to choose.. Tunitas, just because it's an event just to get to the start of the climb!


----------



## HammerTime-TheOriginal

Old La Honda was WAY better 25 years ago. Way too much traffic now.

Now, it's a virtual draw between Mt. Hamilton, Tunitas Creek, and Page Mill.


----------



## rzims

I like Tunitas Creek....although I live in the East Bay so Diablo is my favorite


----------



## ukbloke

You guys are like my 4 year old  

Me: "Do you want spaghetti or chilli for dinner?"
Her: "Pizza"

If I find the time I'll do a combined East Bay/North Bay poll for you Mt Diablo fans, and then maybe a best of the rest poll.


----------



## robwh9

ukbloke said:


> I didn't forget it, but it is not included in the "A-list". In fact, I rode it today as part of the Ring of Fire just before writing the poll! The forum software limits me to 10 options. There are dozens of significant hills that I left out. For example, Mt Diablo, Mt Tam and then all those great hills coming up out of the Santa Cruz area. I guess I could have picked say 40 hills spread them randomly over 4 polls, and then had a run-off for top place!


I was joking about Golden Oak. I hate that hill, and usually skip it. Your list is good. 

I like the Los Trancos - Alpine - Willowbrook - Westridge part of Ring of Fire. It's scenic and off the beaten path.


----------



## ukbloke

robwh9 said:


> I was joking about Golden Oak. I hate that hill, and usually skip it. Your list is good.
> 
> I like the Los Trancos - Alpine - Willowbrook - Westridge part of Ring of Fire. It's scenic and off the beaten path.


Ha - you got me! I'm not a fan of Golden Oak either. It was pretty damp yesterday too and annoyingly steep in places. Los Trancos is like a whole different world. I went up Vista Verde to the end; that road just seems to keep on going. According to google maps there's a mysterious "Military Vehicle Technology Foundation" near Old Spanish Trail and you can see a bunch of busted up tanks parked outside!

<iframe width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Alpine+Rd,+CA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=55.849851,134.736328&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Alpine+Rd,+California&t=h&ll=37.336527,-122.193903&spn=0.000512,0.000858&z=20&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=Alpine+Rd,+CA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=55.849851,134.736328&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Alpine+Rd,+California&t=h&ll=37.336527,-122.193903&spn=0.000512,0.000858&z=20" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>


----------



## rzims

Well, I have to admit, that's not the first time I've been accused of acting like a 4 year old....


----------



## robwh9

ukbloke said:


> Ha - you got me! I'm not a fan of Golden Oak either. It was pretty damp yesterday too and annoyingly steep in places. Los Trancos is like a whole different world. I went up Vista Verde to the end; that road just seems to keep on going. According to google maps there's a mysterious "Military Vehicle Technology Foundation" near Old Spanish Trail and you can see a bunch of busted up tanks parked outside!


That is (or was) Jacques Littlefield's military vehicle collection: http://www.mishalov.net/military-vehicles/military-vehicles.html He even has a Scud missle.

Portola Valley is ready for war!


----------



## Leopold Porkstacker

For the ultimate steep-ass uphill challenge, nothing seems to beat the Hicks to Umunhum route. The second-best steep-ass uphill challenge in my opinion would have to be going up Metcalf Road.


----------



## ukbloke

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> For the ultimate steep-ass uphill challenge, nothing seems to beat the Hicks to Umunhum route. The second-best steep-ass uphill challenge in my opinion would have to be going up Metcalf Road.


Have you tried Bohlman/On-Orbit, or my favourite combination - Bohlman, Norton, Kittridge, Quickert, On-Orbit, Bohlman? I'd be interested as to how that compares with Hicks/Umunhum. I'll have to try Hicks/Umunhum some day, though it's a bit out of my usual stomping grounds. 

Quimby is another good steep one that didn't make the list.

Actually, I did have a reason for mostly excluding the super-steep climbs from the list - it's hard to imagine anyone describing any of them as being their favourite!


----------



## chuckice

Diablo.


----------



## ukbloke

chuckice said:


> Diablo.


You now have two Diablos to choose from over here!


----------



## robwh9

*Hmmm...*



HammerTime-TheOriginal said:


> Old La Honda was WAY better 25 years ago. Way too much traffic now.
> 
> Now, it's a virtual draw between Mt. Hamilton, Tunitas Creek, and Page Mill.


You think OLH has more traffic than Page Mill? I avoid PM on the weekends because of traffic.


----------



## DCTILLER

ukbloke said:


> Have you tried Bohlman/On-Orbit, or my favourite combination - Bohlman, Norton, Kittridge, Quickert, On-Orbit, Bohlman? I'd be interested as to how that compares with Hicks/Umunhum. I'll have to try Hicks/Umunhum some day, though it's a bit out of my usual stomping grounds.
> 
> Quimby is another good steep one that didn't make the list.
> 
> Actually, I did have a reason for mostly excluding the super-steep climbs from the list - it's hard to imagine anyone describing any of them as being their favourite!


thank you for that sir. i was thinking we were all a bunch of masochists. ive done all those climbs but would not wish them on anybody.


----------



## HammerTime-TheOriginal

robwh9 said:


> You think OLH has more traffic than Page Mill? I avoid PM on the weekends because of traffic.


OLH has too much traffic relative to how narrow it is and the difficulty to pass. Page Mill is much wider with better sight lines, although the part below the Foothill Park main entrance is non-meritorious, even though it is part of the climb.

25 years ago, the serenity was part of OLH"s charm. That serenity is no more.


----------



## Leopold Porkstacker

ukbloke said:


> Have you tried Bohlman/On-Orbit, or my favourite combination - Bohlman, Norton, Kittridge, Quickert, On-Orbit, Bohlman? I'd be interested as to how that compares with Hicks/Umunhum. I'll have to try Hicks/Umunhum some day, though it's a bit out of my usual stomping grounds.
> 
> Quimby is another good steep one that didn't make the list.
> 
> Actually, I did have a reason for mostly excluding the super-steep climbs from the list - it's hard to imagine anyone describing any of them as being their favourite!


A good stretch of Hicks Road is a 13% grade, and Umunhum is all about gaining 800 feet of altitude in the first mile after having turned onto it from Hicks. Hicks/Umunhum was the reason I masochistically went from a 12-25 to a 11-23 cassette (I run a 53/39 up front)… just to see if it could be done… it is hard work though.

And no, I haven’t yet been on Bohlman/Orbit. Someday.


----------



## poff

Jamison Creek Rd.


----------



## rzims

Yesterday I met a buddy down in SJ to ride some of his local routes....He decided we should do Old Almaden to Hicks up to humunumumum....or something like that.....wow! That was one steep rd.....


----------



## Leopold Porkstacker

rzims said:


> Yesterday I met a buddy down in SJ to ride some of his local routes....He decided we should do Old Almaden to Hicks up to humunumumum....or something like that.....wow! That was one steep rd.....


So, you enjoyed the climb??? Hicks has a substantially steeper section going uphill (13% grade) in the opposite direction (from Camden) near the dam, but I prefer the constant out-of-the-saddle commitment going up from the Almaden/Alamitos side. The cattle grates kinda suck though both going up and down the roads.


----------



## rzims

Enjoyed.....not sure that's the right word for it, but yeah. I guess.
Pretty much full standing the whole way up and I have a compact. 
My buddy warned me about the cattle grates and the one on the downhill side (near the dam) is now paved over with a/c. It's all rough and loose, but still better than a cattle grate I'd imagine.


----------



## ukbloke

So after a slow start OLH has finally taken the lead with 21% of the vote. There was lots of early voting for Mt Hamilton at 18.4% and it is still just one vote behind OLH. Tunitas, West Alpine and King's Mountain are not far behind. Surprisingly Bohlman gets a vote while there's no love at all for Highway 9.


----------



## rox

i vote sierra because its easy to ride from my house, steep but not too steep, and leads to some nice loops via calaveras


----------



## CHL

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> So, you enjoyed the climb??? Hicks has a substantially steeper section going uphill (13% grade) in the opposite direction (from Camden) near the dam, but I prefer the constant out-of-the-saddle commitment going up from the Almaden/Alamitos side. The cattle grates kinda suck though both going up and down the roads.


Hi Leopold:

How do you usually deal with the cattle grade when climbing from the Camden side? I usually dismount from the New Almaden side but it's flat as a pancake there. Have you managed to safely ride over it or do you dismount and restart? I'm curious cause I doubt I could restart with that steep of a grade. Do you lateral then go vertical? I have got to make it up to the top from that side this year! 

CHL


----------



## Leopold Porkstacker

CHL said:


> Hi Leopold:
> 
> How do you usually deal with the cattle grade when climbing from the Camden side? I usually dismount from the New Almaden side but it's flat as a pancake there. Have you managed to safely ride over it or do you dismount and restart? I'm curious cause I doubt I could restart with that steep of a grade. Do you lateral then go vertical? I have got to make it up to the top from that side this year!
> 
> CHL


From the Camden side, I try to crank up some speed, and then just take them straight on out of the saddle. Probably much trickier to do this when the ground is wet though. From the New Almaden/Alamitos side I bunnyhop over them (picking up speed first of course) as well as when going downhill.

And yes, it is a biatch to try to re-clip into the pedals uphill. On a few occasions earlier on (before I was able to just motor on uphill without stopping) it would taken a dozen or so attempts to get re-clipped into the pedals, and even then I sort of had to take a diagonal trajectory toward the middle of the road to keep gravity from kicking my butt.

Oh yeah, I should mention I am using 700x25 Continental Ultra Gatorskins with Panasonic felted Kevlar liners on 2008 Mavic Ksyriums, which seem to be a pretty tough combination. I have had crappy luck with spokes coming loose all too frequently on regular spoked wheels (roads are pretty jacked-up here in San Jose and all over other parts of Santa Clara County).


----------



## Mtn2RoadConvert

CHL said:


> Hi Leopold:
> 
> How do you usually deal with the cattle grade when climbing from the Camden side? I usually dismount from the New Almaden side but it's flat as a pancake there. Have you managed to safely ride over it or do you dismount and restart? I'm curious cause I doubt I could restart with that steep of a grade. Do you lateral then go vertical? I have got to make it up to the top from that side this year!
> 
> CHL


I rode Hicks from the Almaden side last week when it was wet and not much fun. The cattleguard on the Camden side has been paved over, so no more worries about that one. Usually if you ride perpendicular to the bars you'll be fine. My bike club has a race up Henry Coe and there is a cattleguard towards the top that you hit with some speed. Just make sure not to be shifting as it could cause your chain to drop off.

BTW - OLH is nice, mostly because the grade is not super steep and the distance of around 3 miles pretty manageable. It is a bit narrow when there is traffic, but the tree canopied climb on a warm summer day is pretty sweet. Alpine is a better climb that seems to keep on climbing, similar to Tunitas...IMO


----------



## CHL

Hi Mtn2:

I think next Saturday I will pay Hicks a visit (from the Camden side) if the weather cooperates. Henry Coe is a nice climb but man I hate the descent. 

The road isn't very smooth and doesn't lend itself to a speedy smooth descent. It doesn't help that I have the worst skills going down. I was scared s...less to ride over it but I did see several others just wizz over it. Uncliped and walked over it.

I just finished riding 17 mile drive and went over some pretty nasty grades east of Highway 1. Never knew Monterey had such wonderful roads for climbing.

CHL


----------



## Mtn2RoadConvert

CHL said:


> Hi Mtn2:
> 
> I think next Saturday I will pay Hicks a visit (from the Camden side) if the weather cooperates. Henry Coe is a nice climb but man I hate the descent.
> 
> The road isn't very smooth and doesn't lend itself to a speedy smooth descent. It doesn't help that I have the worst skills going down. I was scared s...less to ride over it but I did see several others just wizz over it. Uncliped and walked over it.
> 
> I just finished riding 17 mile drive and went over some pretty nasty grades east of Highway 1. Never knew Monterey had such wonderful roads for climbing.
> 
> CHL


I think the descent of Henry Coe is similar to the upper portion of Mt. Hamilton. I tend to take descents a bit slower when the pavement is uneven and potholes around the bends. One of my favorite descents is Mt. Hamilton from just past Grant Ranch down to Alum Rock...nice smooth pavement, predictable turns and no braking =  

Is the area down in Monterey you're referring to Carmel Valley? Or North or there?


----------



## grrrah

I voted for Hamilton as my favorite single climb, but my first choice would be OLH+Tunitas.


----------



## ukbloke

grrrah said:


> I voted for Hamilton as my favorite single climb, but my first choice would be OLH+Tunitas.


Ahhh, so you wanted both spaghetti and chilli, but since you couldn't have both you went for the pizza! This is logic that my 4-year old would be proud of 

The other thing is that Mt Hamilton shouldn't qualify as a single climb anyway. It is really 3 separate climbs. The author of the bike climbing book discounts Hamilton for that reason.


----------



## CHL

Hi Mtn2:

I actually did a clockwise loop starting at Aquajito then going over Iris Canyon Road then Viejo and then onto 17 Mile Drive. There wasn't anything long in that area but it was dotted with a number of fairly short stee pitches. Certain areas of Valenzuela Drive off Viejo Rd/Dr. could give Joaquin a run for its money. 

CHL


----------



## frecciaceleste

Anybody do Welch Creek off of Calavaras road east North East of Milpitas.
There some 15-20% grade on that road.


DS


----------



## SystemShock

I understand that Bohlman/Orbit is the hardest climb in the Bay Area.

True?
.


----------



## Kristatos

poff said:


> Jamison Creek Rd.


Ouch. 

I voted Tunitas, when I bring my bike up north I always hit my favorites which are OLH, Tunitas, Kings Mtn and West Alpine, but Tunitas is the winner as everytime I ride it there is little to no motorized traffic and it's just a fun climb.

This poll could be very long and include even more choices (Bonny Doon, San Jose/Soquel not to mention many more in the East Bay) which is a testament to how lucky you all are. Down here in San Diego there are some good climbs but it's hard to bag more than a couple without making it a really long ride.


----------



## ukbloke

SystemShock said:


> I understand that Bohlman/Orbit is the hardest climb in the Bay Area.


I would agree with this, though I haven't ridden Hicks/Umunhum which gives it a close run. It does depend on how you define "hard". If you mean steep, then for maximum steepness and sustained steepness Bohlman/Orbit is very hard to beat. When looking at its steepness you need to exclude the run up at the bottom to Norton and then the run-out after Boy Scout Camp to the end of the road because these bring the average down.

John Summerson picks out this hill in his book "The Complete Guide to Climbing (by bike)" as #89 and #95 in his list of top 100 toughest USA road bike climbs. However, he also has Hicks/Umunhum at #68 and Alba Road at #76. The reason for this is that those climbs are about 50% longer. which makes them slightly harder by his composite formula. Bohlman/On Orbit comes in at #5 on the list of most difficult 1 mile climbs, and #3 on steepest climb of at least 2 miles in length.

I "prefer" the Bohlman-Norton-Kittridge-Quickert-On Orbit-Bohlman route as featured in this year's Low Key Hill Climb series. It is quieter and more scenic than the direct shot up Bohlman itself.

If you ignore length of climb, there are others that are much steeper, notably Filbert St (31.5%) and 22nd St (31%) in SF, and Marin Ave (18.1%) in Berkeley. Also, being in the pro peleton going up Sierra Road in the rain, wind and cold of February in the Tour of California must be much "harder" than any of these. Here is Mark Cavendish crying for his mama:


----------



## ukbloke

Kristatos said:


> This poll could be very long and include even more choices (Bonny Doon, San Jose/Soquel not to mention many more in the East Bay) which is a testament to how lucky you all are. Down here in San Diego there are some good climbs but it's hard to bag more than a couple without making it a really long ride.


By popular demand, I did a North/East Bay poll too. That one pretty much comes down to choosing between Mt Tam and Mt Diablo. I'd like to post a Santa Cruz poll too as there are many good climbs out of there, but since I haven't ridden _any_ of them yet I don't know which to list.

Thanks for the info about San Diego. I'll remember that the next time my wife suggests moving down south.


----------



## Kristatos

ukbloke said:


> Thanks for the info about San Diego. I'll remember that the next time my wife suggests moving down south.


Definitely resist moving down south, if your wife gets established down here you'll never leave w/out a divorce and who can afford that?


----------



## sometimerider

ukbloke said:


> I'd like to post a Santa Cruz poll too as there are many good climbs out of there, but since I haven't ridden _any_ of them yet I don't know which to list.


Ok, I did one for Santa Cruz county - here.


----------



## lastchild

Any poll of Bay Area climbs that doesn't include Diablo is sorta pointless...I mean it's steeper/longer than Alp D'huez!


----------



## ukbloke

lastchild said:


> Any poll of Bay Area climbs that doesn't include Diablo is sorta pointless...I mean it's steeper/longer than Alp D'huez!


This is the South Bay Area poll. I couldn't find a way to fix the title on the forum page. The East and North Bay poll is here and has two Diablo offerings. There's now a Santa Cruz poll too. I could imagine doing polls for other NorCal areas (e.g. the High Sierra), but the real difficulty is getting out the vote.


----------



## ukbloke

I just noticed that Tunitas is currently in the lead with 12 votes, beating OLH and Mt Hamilton with 10 votes each!


----------



## SystemShock

ukbloke said:


> I would agree with this, though I haven't ridden Hicks/Umunhum which gives it a close run. It does depend on how you define "hard". If you mean steep, then for maximum steepness and sustained steepness Bohlman/Orbit is very hard to beat. When looking at its steepness you need to exclude the run up at the bottom to Norton and then the run-out after Boy Scout Camp to the end of the road because these bring the average down.
> 
> John Summerson picks out this hill in his book "The Complete Guide to Climbing (by bike)" as #89 and #95 in his list of top 100 toughest USA road bike climbs. However, he also has Hicks/Umunhum at #68 and Alba Road at #76. The reason for this is that those climbs are about 50% longer. which makes them slightly harder by his composite formula. Bohlman/On Orbit comes in at #5 on the list of most difficult 1 mile climbs, and #3 on steepest climb of at least 2 miles in length.
> 
> I "prefer" the Bohlman-Norton-Kittridge-Quickert-On Orbit-Bohlman route as featured in this year's Low Key Hill Climb series. It is quieter and more scenic than the direct shot up Bohlman itself.
> 
> If you ignore length of climb, there are others that are much steeper, notably Filbert St (31.5%) and 22nd St (31%) in SF, and Marin Ave (18.1%) in Berkeley. Also, being in the pro peleton going up Sierra Road in the rain, wind and cold of February in the Tour of California must be much "harder" than any of these.


Wow UK, you are a veritable climbing route encyclopedia. Thanks for the book link as well. :thumbsup: 
.


----------



## SystemShock

ukbloke said:


> I just noticed that Tunitas is currently in the lead with 12 votes, beating OLH and Mt Hamilton with 10 votes each!


Maybe it's the new 'hot' climbing route, since the re-pave?
.


----------



## ukbloke

SystemShock said:


> Maybe it's the new 'hot' climbing route, since the re-pave?
> .


But watch out for the Bigfoot ...


----------



## SystemShock

ukbloke said:


> But watch out for the Bigfoot ...


Disturbing. :lol:
.


----------



## CHL

Hi Leopold:

I finally made it up Hicks via Camden. There's good news. The cattle grate from the Camden side has been paved. I made it to that area while sitting down and had to stand up to complete the climb. Some way up, there's a momentary respite where the grade dips to around 10% and I was able to take a breather before standing up again. As I near the summit, the gradient eased back to easy spinning. 

However, I am never going up that road again. The climbing was loads of fun, but the descending (towards New Almaden) was just too hairy. My contact lens almost popped out.

CHL


----------



## desmo13

From this list, I vote for the only one I have ridden, Hamilton. I did it from liver more up mines road to climb the back side. its just over 90 miles and over 8k in climbing.


----------



## SystemShock

ukbloke said:


> If you ignore length of climb, there are others that are much steeper [than Bolman-Orbit], notably Filbert St (31.5%) and 22nd St (31%) in SF, and Marin Ave (18.1%) in Berkeley.


Well sure, but as you allude to, Filbert is only at that grade for one whole block, IIRC. So for sheer unadulterated *pain*, seems like you'd have to give it to Bohlman-Orbit.

I think the steepest part of 22nd St is also quite short. Don't know about Marin Ave, haven't been on it.


BTW, and to go a bit OT, some folks insist that Filbert isn't even the steepest street in The City. One uber-obsessed guy, with a protractor affixed to his bike and a plum bob, swears that there's a section of Stanyan that comes in at 33 percent, and a piece of Broderick Street (which admittedly is really a walkway/alley) between Vallejo and Broadway that weighs in at 38 percent(!).

https://www.bicycletimesmag.com/content/endless-ascent-confessions-hill-climber

Like Filbert, this is only a block of ultimate-steep, but still... whoa. :shocked:


Some pics of Broderick:
























And, Googling around, there are apparently some other *'steeper than Filberts'* out there in SF:


1? Bradford above Tompkins (41% grade- but is only at that grade for 30 feet. To me, this is cheating/a non-starter.)
2? Romolo between Vallejo and Fresno (37.5% grade- but like the Bradford section, extremely short as well)
3. Prentiss between Chapman and Powhattan (37% grade. A no-doubt-about-it 'real' street, ties the infamous Canton Street in Pittsburgh. Pic is below.)
4. Nevada above Chapman (35% grade)
5. Baden above Mangels (34% grade - block-long, poorly-paved pseudo-street) 

and also

6. 31.5% Ripley, between Peralta and Alabama (ties Filbert, but stays at that grade longer- 400 feet)


Prentiss:












Read more: *https://www.weathersealed.com/2009/11/10/the-steeps-of-san-francisco/#*
and *https://www.weathersealed.com/2010/02/04/more-steeps-of-san-francisco/
*.


----------



## pdainsworth

I voted for OLH, though I don't know if I should even get a vote. I grew up in Palo Alto, but left in 1988. I haven't done OLH since. I did do Page Mill a Couple of years ago.
My favorite on the Olympic Peninsula, where I now live, is Hurricane Ridge, FWIW.


----------



## ukbloke

SystemShock said:


> One uber-obsessed guy, with a protractor affixed to his bike and a plum bob, ...


Awesome data and the article was a good read too. For example:



> Heaven hath no pleasure like whipping past such a cluster of clowns, especially on a 25lb. Surly bearing fenders, a travel rack, a U-lock and a wicker basket up front, in which I may carry picnic wine or just a good book.


I think I've come across this guy. On one of my rides over Pacific Crest and Ebbett's Pass on Highway 4 either last year or the year before, there was a rider going in the other direction with a wicker basket up front. How many of those can there be in California? It wasn't the Death Ride just some random summer weekend riding between Bear Valley and Markleeville. I almost crashed my bike laughing!


----------



## SystemShock

ukbloke said:


> Awesome data and the article was a good read too.


Almost makes ya want to do some of these 'nastier than Filbert' uber-steeps, eh? :lol:
.


----------



## ukbloke

SystemShock said:


> Almost makes ya want to do some of these 'nastier than Filbert' uber-steeps, eh? :lol:
> .


Err, not really. I'm just not into urban riding. But if I were to do it, there's some kind of organized event that has a route that seeks out the worst of the SF climbs. I think it is in the fall. I saw it mentioned on the low-key mailing list. For these grades I'd probably want the gearing on my mountain bike - 30 chain-ring x 34 cassette.


----------



## Francis Cebedo

I fixed the title. This is an excellent list and shows your understanding of the local area climbs. It really is the must-do of the area. 

I like the combo of OLH, Pescadero, Stage, Lobitos and Tunitas Creek.

That's what's amazing about the area. There's 50 great climbs.... and you haven't even left the South Bay.

fc


----------



## SystemShock

Hmm... from the poll results, seems pretty clear that Tunitas, OLH, and Mt Hamilton are the 'Big Three' of South Bay climbs.

Popularity-wise, not hardness-wise, a'course.
.


----------



## WMBigs

I lived in South San Jose for 5 years back in the mid, late eighties. Really got into cycling back then. I usually started from the house. My favorite was ride to Los Gatos, then up Hwy 9. Sometimes back home from there, sometimes to Santa Cruz. Once in awhile when I was feeling strong, ride up Hwy 1, and find Tunitas Creek rd. Take Summit back to 9 or drop down into Palo Alto if memory serves. About 120 miles. Didn't care for the Palo Alto route so much, more traffic. It was fun coming down east side of 9 passing cars. 
Hicks was tough. Make a person strong. 
Having a hard time remembering Camden. Seems I would take it out of town and it would turn into a perfect hill. At the top of the hill was a fire road. About 45-60 minutes up, the fireroad would would intersect another loop of road. This other loop was getting way out there. Sometimes thought I might run into some weed farms up there. Super fun roller coaster. If I did the roller coaster route, the whole ride from the house was about 3.5- 4 hours. That was all on my mtn bike. 
I used to be able to ride through the IBM complex. Depended on the guard on duty. After some time they shut me out. 
That was cycling heaven. Not too hot, not too cold. Living in Montana now. Snow and ice on the roads since November. Put studded tired on my 29er and went down real hard back in early January. Been serving time on my trainer, MP3 player makes it barely tolerable. 14 degrees F out right now. Would venture out but we have about 4 inch fresh fluffy powder on top of all that ice- no fun. 
Loved all the centuies down there. Death Ride, Solvang, Hotter than Hades- appropriatly named, Banana Classic, Davis Double. Forgeting more than I'm remembering. 
Anywho, have fun!


----------

