# Road bike for a week in SJ



## eskolius (Feb 27, 2012)

I'm coming to San Jose in the end of June and need a road bike for a week, frame 58-59 cm (23") or so, depends on the make. I'm staying at The Fairmont Hotel near the university. Suggestions where to rent one? Willing to make arrangements well in advance. Seems that there's at least one great route nearby, up to Mt. Hamilton. 
(and yes, next thing I'll be asking is the club ride schedules  )


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## xls (Nov 11, 2004)

I've demo'd a bike from Calmar Bicycles in Santa Clara before. But they want $60 / day. You might be able to work something out for a week, they were very nice to deal with. The guy let me pick up the bike Friday night and return Monday night for the price of one day.
They're a Trek & Specialized shop. I recommend reserving the bike as soon as you know where and when.


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## eskolius (Feb 27, 2012)

Thanks for the info! I got to contact them. I emailed Bicycle Express which is located near the Uni, but the haven't got time to answer :/


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## Sworker (Jul 22, 2010)

If you will have a car during your stay you can try to rent one out of Half Moon Bay. It is a great area to ride and the Bike Works HMB have brand new Focus carbon road bikes for rent. 650-726-6708 is there phone number. Even if you do not rent from them, come over to Half Moon Bay for cool riding days and great scenery with ocean views, redwoods and great climbs.


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## eskolius (Feb 27, 2012)

With the kind help of LaDolceVelo I found Undiscovered Country Tours, udctours.com Looks promising now.

(oh, I can't post links as I haven't posted 10 messages myself - neat spam reduction system, actually)


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## Sworker (Jul 22, 2010)

Those look very cool, if I had 2k to drop I would sign up too . Seriously, if you over in the Bay Area there are great day rides around Half Moon Bay, up and over the mountains, around the beach, around Redwoods etc.

now if you seriously are not shy about dropping 2k on a bike ride those do sound very cool indeed.


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## thatdrewguy (Aug 7, 2009)

Sworker said:


> Those look very cool, if I had 2k to drop I would sign up too . Seriously, if you over in the Bay Area there are great day rides around Half Moon Bay, up and over the mountains, around the beach, around Redwoods etc.
> 
> now if you seriously are not shy about dropping 2k on a bike ride those do sound very cool indeed.


I think the OP is referring to the bike rental for a week for $140 which seems like a pretty decent deal for a Scott carbon w/Ultegra components.


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## LouD-Reno (Mar 28, 2006)

If I might suggest...

http://www.ridethetrack.com/schedule/saturday-novice/ 

although it may be too much fun....


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## eskolius (Feb 27, 2012)

Yep, that $140 is more to my liking 

I just found out that there's a nice loop around Sierra Rd, too. Such a treat!


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

eskolius said:


> I'm coming to San Jose in the end of June and need a road bike for a week, frame 58-59 cm (23") or so, depends on the make. I'm staying at The Fairmont Hotel near the university. Suggestions where to rent one? Willing to make arrangements well in advance. Seems that there's at least one great route nearby, up to Mt. Hamilton.
> (and yes, next thing I'll be asking is the club ride schedules  )


Might check the ride schedule below:
- http://www.actc.org/ridestats/calendar/calendar.php

And they have some good info on ride profiles, etc.

Another good source:
- http://cycling.stanford.edu/

End of June may have some hot weather, so any of the rides on the east side hills will be pretty exposed to direct sun light unless you get out early. I tend to stick to the west side hills in the summer, more trees/shade and a little cooler, especially since I generally am stuck riding in the late afternoon/evening time frame.


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## eskolius (Feb 27, 2012)

A handy cal, thank you! Oh, what if I just "forgot" my conference and stole those days for riding 

How hot is hot? I've climbed to Omalos plain in Crete in July, and it was ok as I kept my bandana/scarf moist and cool all the time by pouring some water on it.


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

It can get up into the 90s (F) pretty easily, although it could also be in the 70s. Climbing something like Sierra Rd. @ 10% grade in direct sunlight would be pretty brutal if you are not acclimated to it, not sure what part of the planet you are coming from. Seems all the hills on the east side of the valley are pretty barren (few trees, little shade) and get full sun most of the day.


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## eskolius (Feb 27, 2012)

Hmm, might be best to avoid midday then if my schedule allows it. Here in Finland it's a lot cooler, 0-32F in winter and 60-85F in summer... and definitely no hills whatsoever, 200 ft. vertically is regarded a huge climb...

I'm pretty good at acclimatizing if it's not a competition. On Crete (Greece) the climb to 4000 ft. was practically shadowless, weather 95 (F), and as there was no place to fill bottles for 25 miles. Made it with 4 big 24 fl. oz bottles.


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## Sworker (Jul 22, 2010)

Well e-mail me [email protected] and come over the hill to Half Moon Bay. We don't see a day over 70 in summer!!! There are lots of mountains to climb, but you can always stay near the Highway 1 and not climb alot.


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## ziscwg (Apr 19, 2010)

eskolius said:


> Yep, that $140 is more to my liking
> 
> I just found out that there's a nice loop around Sierra Rd, too. Such a treat!


Bring your lungs and legs to that.......................

If you want some nice tall redwoods here's my dodo bird loop with Hwy 9 as your main work.

Dodo bird loop

You can start where ever you like near Saratoga or Los Gatos. Big Basin does have a store for water refills and food.

If that's not enough climbing, you can take a left on Jamison Creek Rd at mile 36 then back down for a nice extra bit of leg pain. 1500 ft in 3 miles is a cruiser ride


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

Yes, usually best early morning or like I go, later in the afternoon. You'll have light until about 8:30PM in June and around here, the sea breeze usually kicks in around 4PM and starts to cool things off. However, if you hit one of the hot weeks with the off-shore winds, then that sea breeze never kicks in and it'll stay hot until after dark. With my work schedule, I can usually only get away later in the day, so I kind of like the hills to the west as you start picking up some shade on them later in the afternoon as the sun goes behind the ridge. Judging by a lot of the club rides, most go out earlier in the day, usually 8-10AM and they try to return before it gets too hot. 

It usually is not as hot as it gets out in the central valley or down in the deserts, but it can get close at times if you hit one of those high heat events. A lot of times, I try and plan my rides around the upcoming weather forecast. If it is going to be on the cool side, I'll hit the more exposed routes and if it is going to be hot, I'll hit a more shaded route.


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## eskolius (Feb 27, 2012)

It'd be wonderful to ride together, Sworker, but I can ride on two days only, and having no car means I got to choose routes close enough to my lodging - thus Sierra & Mt Hamilton (Mo 18th & Sat 23rd June). 

The issue of heat reminds me to pack my behind-the-saddle bottle holder with me. If I avoid the midday heat, those rides will be doable with four bottles.


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## Sworker (Jul 22, 2010)

It will be warm but not like Africa hot..........


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