# Old La Honda to West Alpine route



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

I just wanted to share this gem of a ride. I think it is the crown jewel of all south bay climbing rides and I'm still on a high after doing it today. The weather was bad around skyline.... foggy and wet. Doesn't matter though. This is cycling heaven and bikes outnumber cars 5 to 1.

Starting from page mill and foothill, route is
-page mill west, right arastadero, left alpine, right portola, left Old La Honda rd, left 84 and left on west alpine (this turn might have another name) down page mill.

The Old La Honda climb is a classic and the the west alpine climb is a bruiser. The descents are dramatic and the views spectacular. Route is about 40 miles with about 4200 feet of climbing.

Have you done this ride? If not, this year maybe??

francois


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## Henry Chinaski (Feb 3, 2004)

Those are great roads. Sometime try staying on Alpine past Portola. It will turn into a dirt road and will eventually pop you out onto Page Mill near Skyline. And if you want a real rush try descending Old La Honda.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

Henry Chinaski said:


> Those are great roads. Sometime try staying on Alpine past Portola. It will turn into a dirt road and will eventually pop you out onto Page Mill near Skyline. And if you want a real rush try descending Old La Honda.


I thought this was a road bike site. I've been on that dirt road recently and it was messing up my 14 lb road bike  Strangely enough, that road you're talking about, Alpine is not even connected to West Alpine so I really wasn't close to there today. I was on Alpine on side of the ocean. I know it well though from mountain biking days.



Henry Chinaski said:


> And if you want a real rush try descending Old La Honda.


I've descended Old La Honda a few times, mostly because of necessity. If you mean going fast down that, I'll have to pass. It's not safe... and I'm not a prude. Descending down 84, Kings, Page Mill, 9, Montebello are the amazing, e-ticket rides of the south bay.

francois


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## travis200 (Oct 29, 2002)

I personally like to do the same route as you to get to 84 West but instead of turning on left on Alpine go right on Pescadero Rd. Follow that until a right on Stage Rd. Climb that and back to 84 then cross 84 till highway 1 then down 1 and turn right on Tunitas and then up and cross skyline and down Kings Mtn. A good amount of climbing on that route plus some nice scenery. I also like up East side OLH to Skyline and south to 9 and then down. My favorite hill is 9 up or down.


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

francois said:


> Alpine is not even connected to West Alpine so I really wasn't close to there today.


Actually, Alpine is continuous. Page Mill ends where it hits the top of the dirt Alpine trail. Then Alpine continues all the way to Skyline, where it becomes "West" Alpine. That's the way it reads on maps anyway.

One of the most brutal rides I ever did was up Alpine when it was 105 degrees. It was absolutely brutal. There was no breeze at all, so the heat just hung there. It was like riding in an oven. We ran out of water, and still had to get back to Los Gatos via Skyline. I wish they would put in a water fountain at Russian Ridge.


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

We often ride from Palo Alto out to the town of La Honda via Old La Honda Rd. If the coast-side weather is cool, we'll return via Alpine Rd. and Page Mill Rd. If the coast is sunny, we'll keep going out to the coast and return via Tunitas Creek and Kings Mountain. You can get food and water in La Honda or San Gregorio.

If you take the Alpine route, there is a water fountain on the south side of Page Mill Road about a half mile below Montebello OSP. The fountain is on private property, but it is outside their fence, so I assume they installed it for public use.

I have ridden Alpine Road all the way from Stanford University over Skyline and down to Pescadero Road. There is a 3 mile dirt section which is a little messy this time of year. During the summer, it is mostly fine for road bikes, at least in the uphill direction. There is one 200 yard single track section where you need real good balance to avoid walking.


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

fyi - the Chain Reaction and Palo Alto Bicycles web sites both have good descriptions (with maps and photos) of west Alpine Road. Both web sites have a nice variety of rides in the mid-peninsula area.

http://www.chainreaction.com/turkeyday.htm
http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/rides.html


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## Henry Chinaski (Feb 3, 2004)

francois said:


> I thought this was a road bike site. I've been on that dirt road recently and it was messing up my 14 lb road bike  Strangely enough, that road you're talking about, Alpine is not even connected to West Alpine so I really wasn't close to there today. I was on Alpine on side of the ocean. I know it well though from mountain biking days.
> 
> 
> I've descended Old La Honda a few times, mostly because of necessity. If you mean going fast down that, I'll have to pass. It's not safe... and I'm not a prude. Descending down 84, Kings, Page Mill, 9, Montebello are the amazing, e-ticket rides of the south bay.
> ...


You wrote "right arastadero, left alpine, right portola"--what I meant is just keep going up Alpine--don't turn onto Portola. I guess it might mess up a 14 pound bike...

With regard to descents...84 is kind of boring and you get stuck behind cars. Ditto for Page Mill. Kings is good. Old La Honda is great but you have to watch out for cars pulling out of driveways....

Hey, don't forget about about Tunitas Creek!


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

Henry Chinaski said:


> You wrote "right arastadero, left alpine, right portola"--what I meant is just keep going up Alpine--don't turn onto Portola. I guess it might mess up a 14 pound bike...
> 
> With regard to descents...84 is kind of boring and you get stuck behind cars. Ditto for Page Mill. Kings is good. Old La Honda is great but you have to watch out for cars pulling out of driveways....
> 
> Hey, don't forget about about Tunitas Creek!



Ahh, you're right. I guess I was on that side of Alpine too.

Tunitas is one of my old time favorites. As a climb though right??? The surface is too rough for good descending.

francois


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

johnny99 said:


> We often ride from Palo Alto out to the town of La Honda via Old La Honda Rd. If the coast-side weather is cool, we'll return via Alpine Rd. and Page Mill Rd. If the coast is sunny, we'll keep going out to the coast and return via Tunitas Creek and Kings Mountain. You can get food and water in La Honda or San Gregorio.


That's the best part about that area. Sooo many options. And every one of them is a gem.

We'll have to hook up this season. I have a Tunitas ride this coming sunday if it doesn't get rained out.

francois


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

travis200 said:


> I personally like to do the same route as you to get to 84 West but instead of turning on left on Alpine go right on Pescadero Rd. Follow that until a right on Stage Rd. Climb that and back to 84 then cross 84 till highway 1 then down 1 and turn right on Tunitas and then up and cross skyline and down Kings Mtn. A good amount of climbing on that route plus some nice scenery. I also like up East side OLH to Skyline and south to 9 and then down. My favorite hill is 9 up or down.


Yes, yes, stage and pescadero. I discovered that area last year and absolutely fell in love with road riding.

Skyline going south is a bruiser. I'm starting to work up the speed and power so I actually keep some momentum on those uphill rollers.

Highway 9 is a grand descent. It's been resurfaced last winter so this should be a good year for it.

francois


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## oldskoolboarder (Apr 16, 2004)

francois said:


> Yes, yes, stage and pescadero. I discovered that area last year and absolutely fell in love with road riding.
> 
> Skyline going south is a bruiser. I'm starting to work up the speed and power so I actually keep some momentum on those uphill rollers.
> 
> ...


Looks like we have 2 degrees of separation. I know Twain, our wives are in the same mother's club. Small world.

Thanks for the recs on Kings mountain from Old La Honda. Rode up Old La Honda on Sunday but didn't quite make it to Kings Mtn Rd. (I was slow but didn't stop. Now I have to build up my speed...) I came up north on Skyline and wasn't sure how far up it was. I was just about at Skeggs and thought I missed it. So I went back down Old La Honda. You're right, not the easiest to come down. ESPECIALLY, if you're on a converted CX rig w/ canti's that are not optimized for road riding. I like to have it a little loose so I can slowly brake into barriers but that doesn't work on wet descents. And, wet tar patches don't have any grip either...


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

oldskoolboarder said:


> Looks like we have 2 degrees of separation. I know Twain, our wives are in the same mother's club. Small world.
> 
> Thanks for the recs on Kings mountain from Old La Honda. Rode up Old La Honda on Sunday but didn't quite make it to Kings Mtn Rd. (I was slow but didn't stop. Now I have to build up my speed...) I came up north on Skyline and wasn't sure how far up it was. I was just about at Skeggs and thought I missed it. So I went back down Old La Honda. You're right, not the easiest to come down. ESPECIALLY, if you're on a converted CX rig w/ canti's that are not optimized for road riding. I like to have it a little loose so I can slowly brake into barriers but that doesn't work on wet descents. And, wet tar patches don't have any grip either...


Ahhh, that's too bad you missed Kings. You were a couple miles away but mostly downhill.

Twain... small world indeed. I've been riding with him regularly and I'm about to meet him for lunch today. Don't tell his wife but I have some <a href="http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=24436">bike jewelry</a> for him. He wants to break the 20 minute OLH hillclimb barrier and he's going to spend his way through it!!!

Thanks for your advice on the cross bike btw. My cross bike should be here in time for all this lovely weather.

regards,
francois


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## oldskoolboarder (Apr 16, 2004)

francois said:


> Ahhh, that's too bad you missed Kings. You were a couple miles away but mostly downhill.
> 
> Twain... small world indeed. I've been riding with him regularly and I'm about to meet him for lunch today. Don't tell his wife but I have some <a href="http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=24436">bike jewelry</a> for him. He wants to break the 20 minute OLH hillclimb barrier and he's going to spend his way through it!!!
> 
> ...


HA! My wife already told me I'm not allowed to play w/ Twain because he'll feed my already growing obsession. I was jealous cause Twain has a Hunter frame.

First time up OLH, took me about 32.5 minutes. Slow, but now I have a goal. My coworker rides for Pen Velo and he's already at 18 minutes. I could hear him talking about it in my head during the whole climb... I got passed but I at least passed one person.

Enjoy the cross and don't miss out on this upcoming season. I'll have to cut a few races because of a new baby coming but I'll make at least all of the Pilarcitos races. Those are the best, next to any in Watsonville.


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## JAishima (Apr 29, 2003)

*Redwood Gulch was wet on Saturday*



francois said:


> Yes, yes, stage and pescadero. I discovered that area last year and absolutely fell in love with road riding.
> 
> Skyline going south is a bruiser. I'm starting to work up the speed and power so I actually keep some momentum on those uphill rollers.
> 
> ...


I went OLH, West OLH, 84, Pescadero Rd, West Alpine, Skyline south, 9, Redwood Gulch, Foothill. Somebody else had the same idea, at least for OLH and West Alpine, I was following him much of the way.

9 was a really nice descent, but Redwood Gulch was very wet and a bit scary.


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## travis200 (Oct 29, 2002)

The Gulch is a nasty decent. I would ride up it any day versus going down it. Those 2 steep sections are pretty hairy and usually wet. Not to mention banked so unperfectly. Blechh what a crappy road to ride down. Next time I would stay on 9 till Pierce Rd then make a ldft on Mt. Eden and go up that little doozer then it drops you back onto Stevens Canyon.


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## Merlin (May 6, 2002)

francois said:


> Ahhh, that's too bad you missed Kings. You were a couple miles away but mostly downhill.
> 
> Twain... small world indeed. I've been riding with him regularly and I'm about to meet him for lunch today. Don't tell his wife but I have some <a href="http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=24436">bike jewelry</a> for him. He wants to break the 20 minute OLH hillclimb barrier and he's going to spend his way through it!!!
> 
> ...


Hey is Twain the guy that rode with us???
Also that is the loop that we did right??

It was great


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## JAishima (Apr 29, 2003)

*Well, I was running late...*



travis200 said:


> The Gulch is a nasty decent. I would ride up it any day versus going down it. Those 2 steep sections are pretty hairy and usually wet. Not to mention banked so unperfectly. Blechh what a crappy road to ride down. Next time I would stay on 9 till Pierce Rd then make a ldft on Mt. Eden and go up that little doozer then it drops you back onto Stevens Canyon.


Yeah, I was thinking about doing that, but I was running a bit late and didn't want to get stuck out in the dark, especially if I got a flat or something.

I may only try the Gulch descent again if it's been dry for a long time (like mid-summer).


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