# Best Road Rides in Norcal?



## mrbison (Oct 31, 2014)

Hi, 

I live up in Oregon and have been thinking about taking a trip down into California to do some road riding. I'd probably take 4 or 5 days off so maybe 2 or 3 days to ride plus 2 days spent driving. What are some recommended roads to check out? I've read a lot about Hwy 1 of course but I'm a little worried about the amount of cars driving that road plus the lack of good shoulders to ride on. Like most roadies I prefer low traffic, scenic roads with some twists and a little climbing. Any thoughts?

Thanks!


----------



## 768Q (Jun 23, 2012)

Go on to Levi's Gran Fondo site and look at the route maps, I live & ride in Sonoma county and am spoiled with the chance to ride those roads daily when able not to mention the likes of Rock Pile, Chalk Hill, W Dry Creek, Westside, Geyser Rd, Red Winery road, ect.


----------



## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

While the views are great.. Much of the roads on LGF are crap condition wise..


----------



## 768Q (Jun 23, 2012)

^^^^ very true! That is why I spend most of my time on the other roads I mentioned which for the most part other than Geyser have been re-paved in the last few years and just miles from my house. ;-) Not to mention the scenery that they offer.


----------



## mrbison (Oct 31, 2014)

Been doing more reading, sounds like that Hauser Bridge Rd descent is pretty sketchy. However the Kings Ridge area sounds appealing otherwise. The Levi's Granfondo site offers the Tin Barn/ Hwy 1 as an alternate way to complete the loop without doing the Hauser Bridge road, but it appears to include a long gravel connector which could be kind of annoying.
I read Alexi Grewal once rolled a sew-up off his wheel on that descent and called it "f****in scary. Also looks like a cyclist died on the same descent during the last Levi's granfondo. Definitely makes me think twice. 

Geyser road looks awesome from a google maps view at least. It's pretty long! Can you do the whole thing or there gravel/ rough sections? Anyone done the King's Hill climb or Fort Ross road?

Also if anybody knows any good places to stay (b&bs maybe?) I'd be grateful for tips there as well. Thanks for the great info!


----------



## J-Flo (Sep 30, 2015)

I live in the SF East Bay and think Sonoma County is difficult to beat. The Levi's Gran Fondo route is the best overall long ride I've done (twice). 

Special parts include:

* the Bohemian Highway-Cazadero Road section between Occidental and Cazadero. Fun, fast descent on easy grade through the forest, then cross the river and a flattish ride through the forest to Caz.
* all of King Ridge Road, just incredibly gorgeous country. Pretty much nobody and nothing out there except for a few farms, so plan accordingly and bring plenty of food and water; you won't be able to replenish until Jenner. 
* Meyers Grade descent to Hwy 1 makes me shout for joy when the view opens up (the climb to get there up Hauser Br/Seaview is the hardest of this route). This descent is awesome.
* Coleman Valley Road is pretty nice too, although was very windy in afternoon this year. Lots of dry grass this time of year before you get back into the woods.

I would start and finish in Occidental and you have a fantastic 72-mile loop.

Other great rides in Sonoma include W. Dry Creek, Westside Rd., the list goes on.

In Marin County, the "BoFax" route up Bolinas-Fairfax Road over Alpine Dam, up to Bolinas Ridge, then up Ridgecrest to Mt. Tam is probably my favorite ride. Although Ridgecrest is called a "Boulevard" it has almost no traffic. There are innumerable ways to do this ride. One of the best and shortest may be to start in Fairfax, head up to Mt. Tam (it is definitely worth it to take E. Ridgecrest to the top, although many people skip this -- the views of the City and Bay are spectacular), then down Pantoll to Panoramic to Hwy 1 to Mill Valley and back Camino Alto to Fairfax - 40 miles. There will be some car traffic on the descent but usually not a problem as you will be going about the same speed as most cars if not faster. If you want a longer ride there are many ways to do it, linking in Hwy 1 (the best part of Hwy 1 for cycling is between Mill Valley and Stinson Beach) or other backroad gems such as Chileno Valley Rd. 

And if you are in the area then a ride across the GG Bridge is always interesting and the climb up Conzelman to the headlands is a must.

Most of our cycling routes in the East Bay are less picturesque by comparison, but if you find yourself out here, Pinehurst Road is fabulous.

Regarding safety and the Hauser Bridge descent: to me that does not detract from the King Ridge route, and although I don't enjoy that descent (it is too steep and narrow with close-in trees), I know of no better way around it. The "scary" part is very short, just pulse the brakes and take it relatively slow and all will be fine -- the danger comes when trying to get on the Strava leaderboard, as several people have overbaked the high-consequence 180-degree corner at the bottom leading to serious injury or worse, or forgetting to pulse/feather the brakes and overheating your rim (POP! Carbon clinchers not recommended as some will melt -- I watched an Enve rim explode in front of me a year ago). I am not very experienced and not very fast, and I found it no problem.


----------



## jetdog9 (Jul 12, 2007)

Some of the local "mountains" in the Bay Area are pretty rides and most of the cars are used to cyclists... Check out Mt. Diablo, Mt. Hamilton, Mt. Tam... 

Traffic anywhere in Northern California can be a pain now, so keep an eye on your google maps when you're trying to drive to a location or you might spend way too much time stuck in the car.


----------



## wgscott (Jul 14, 2013)

Mt Tam and Pt. Reyes Station to the Lighthouse are both good (and can be combined). Very little traffic on weekdays.

The Peninsula in San Mateo Co. and Santa Cruz mountains offer some of the best road biking experiences I have had.


----------



## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

The original Climb By Bike book has a lot of California climbs in it. There's a specific California edition with more climbs but the layout is different and makes the book much less useable in my opinion.

It's getting late in the season now but to me the big Sierra climbs are the most exciting and scenic rides in California. There's a bunch around Markleeville and some really long cvery scenic limbs out of the Owens valley from a bit north of Bishop down.

Since you're coming down from Oregon there's also good riding in the Humboldt county area and around and up Mt Shasta.


----------



## slow.climber (Nov 25, 2010)

Several excellent rides mapped out here:

Routes at Bikely.com

The best may be the ones for:

Mt. Tamalpais

Marin Headlands

Paradise Loop Plus San Quentin

King's Mountain - Old La Honda

If you're staying in San Francisco, you can ride south from SF down to King's Mountain. That's the ride called :

San-Francisco-to-Woodside

And then maybe do Kings-Mountain-Old-La-Honda-Loop and then ride over to Palo Alto and then take CalTrain back to the city.

The rides listed there head up the ridge from the east side. You can ride from Woodside up King's Mountain and when you get to Skyline, keep going west. That descends through the redwoods and takes you out to the ocean.


----------

