# Safest, warmest, bay area cycling?



## Scottzz (Jan 12, 2009)

I own an Internet-based software company, with remote employees, so I can live virtually anywhere. I've been living near Napa for the past several years, but the area doesn't meet my needs. Here's what I'm looking for -- if you can think of specific bay area cities or neighborhoods that fit, suggestions would be much appreciated!

-Warm to hot climate, low rain

-Safe road cycling: I grew up in Dallas, where I rode daily around a 10 mile lake called white rock park -- it was safe, low car traffic and 25mph speed limits, and partially bike-path only. I'm looking for something similar in the bay area. Someplace I can ride every day and not fear cars, but straight out and back bike paths are boring for me and I like routes with other (fast) cyclists too so it's not so boring. So, someplace where I can do like a 10-20 mile loop right from my door without having to put my bike in the car, either on very low traffic roads or nice bike paths (that don't have stop signs every block like the walnut creek trail).

Most Saturdays, I drive to Los Altos and do the Alto Velo B ride (foothill, alpine, portola, OLH, canada, whiskey hill, sandhill -- that area), and it's a great group ride, but I want to live in an area where I can ride daily and not worry about cars. There have been far too many car vs. bike accidents along those routes (especially sandhill/280/woodside) for me to feel comfortable riding there every day.


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## rollinrob (Dec 8, 2002)

Move to Sacramento and ride the american River Bike Path. Safe, convenient, and a cheaper cost of living. Whats not to like. I live near the bike trail and ride it quite a bit. However I used to live in Palo Alto, I would give my right eye to live there again, great riding, awesome scenery and tons of riding partners. You are live where you do, ride where you live....


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## grrrah (Jul 22, 2005)

Ive lived and worked all over the immediate bay area. (SF, SJ, Oakland, Peninsula, East Bay). Not sure further west or north (pleasanton, walnut creek, santa rosa, etc..)

Believe it or not, the safest 20-mile loop (with respect to car traffic) from home or work was when I lived in San Francisco. Cruise through the presidio across the bridge around the headlands and back. Pick up the gf, and go for another 10 miles through GG Park with the roads closed to cars. Not the warmest though. San jose would be the warmest, with plenty of safe-ish riding on the south side. On the east side, Mt. Hamilton is nice traffic-wise, but riding there may not be.


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## Scottzz (Jan 12, 2009)

rollinrob said:


> Move to Sacramento and ride the american River Bike Path. Safe, convenient, and a cheaper cost of living. Whats not to like. I live near the bike trail and ride it quite a bit. However I used to live in Palo Alto, I would give my right eye to live there again, great riding, awesome scenery and tons of riding partners. You are live where you do, ride where you live....


I found a video of the american river path on youtube. Looks good. I like sac, but I also like riding in los altos on saturday mornings. hmm. thanks for the input though I might check out that path.



> Believe it or not, the safest 20-mile loop (with respect to car traffic) from home or work was when I lived in San Francisco. Cruise through the presidio across the bridge around the headlands and back. Pick up the gf, and go for another 10 miles through GG Park with the roads closed to cars. Not the warmest though. San jose would be the warmest, with plenty of safe-ish riding on the south side. On the east side, Mt. Hamilton is nice traffic-wise, but riding there may not be.


I've ridden through that area in SF a few times. I like it, but I can't live in the city. too cold for me.

The cool thing about the place I used to ride in dallas, besides being a low-traffic park road, is that it's a 10 mile loop so cyclists pack in there almost like a velodrome so there are often groups to ride with and it's flat, so the speeds are high. I liked it because I could just go down from my apt, get on my bike, get a quick 10-30 mile ride in with other fast cyclists, not worry about cars and be done with my ride for the day. but.. I like living in the bay area and I like the hills out here.


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

*Redwood Shores*

For road riding, I like living in Redwood Shores. 

There are rides of all types from my door - if I feel like riding mostly flat, there's the Bay Trail heading north to SFO airport. A route I've come to really like is up the Bay Trail, past SFO, over San Bruno Mountain (with a climb up Radio Rd for kicks), down the west side and back along Skyline.

If I want hills, there's the Belmont/San Carlos hills a few miles away and I've got some fun 90 min and 2 hour loops up to Canada and Skyline for weekdays. If I've got 3+ hours to ride, it's an easy ride to Canada Rd then down to Woodside and to all the great climbs around Portola Valley and over to La Honda/San Gregorio.

We've got freshly constructed bike lanes, fairly slow traffic (thanks to policed 4-way stop signs at every intersection) and a very quiet, leafy neighborhood. It's actually too slow for some - there is really only one shopping center with a few restaurants, although San Carlos & Belmont are just over 101. The climate is excellent, being a little cooler in summer being on the bay.

I work from home as well and find this a great location to do it. If you MTB, Waterdog is only 15 mins ride from RWS.


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

Also consider the San Francisco's East Bay. Once you get East of the Oakland hills you get hot weather. Rain days in Nor Cal are about the same where ever you are, maybe a few less than Napa. 

The Iron Horse trail goes about 25 miles from Concord, at the Martinez boarder, to Dublin.

http://www.ebparks.org/parks/trails/iron_horse

There are also smaller MUT trail systems that interconnect, including the Walnut Creek canal and Contra Costa Canal trails. If you like climbing the Iron Horse becomes part of a loop that allows you to climb 2000 feet of Mt. Diablo (if you take the Summit Road you've got some out and back but add another 1200 feet of climbing). The roads on Diablo aren't usually that bad- nearly empty if you go weekdays out of season. 

If you also do mountain biking their are nice fire roads on Diablo, Diablo Foothills, and Lime Ridge. (Most single track is off limits).


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Santa Cruz


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

thinkcooper said:


> Santa Cruz


Santa Cruz? I've only been there as a tourist, not to ride, but the thing that struck me about Santa Cruz was lots of cars on very narrow roads.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

thinkcooper said:


> Santa Cruz


Yep, for sure, Coop’s onto something.


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## jms (Jan 9, 2008)

*That's Funny!*



thinkcooper said:


> Santa Cruz


Santa Cruz safe? That's funny! One of the reasons I moved away from Santa Cruz area was it had become increasingly unsafe to road ride @ the area. Between the well established and entrenched drug culture, hostile drivers, poor sight lines, and the poor road quality, riding @ the Santa Cruz Mtns. is treacherous and fraught with peril at best: 

I lived in Boulder Creek for 5 years and Bonny Doon for 10, and during that time, I was buzzed countless times @ the SLV valley, attacked by a tweaker on Pine Flat Rd. and hit head on [yes, head on] by a hit and run driver on Hwy 236, 3/10's of a mile outside of Boulder Creek. One of the VP's of EBay [?] died descending Felton Empire after crashing into a port-o-let truck climbing the road, partially due to the horrible pavement quality @ that section of the road - I was driving up from Felton, 10 minutes after that little tragedy played out. I could go on........

I love riding my bike. I don't love riding enough to die for it though - so I moved to San Luis Obispo. The roads @ Santa Cruz are challenging, scenic and beautiful, and I loved climbing and descending many of them, do miss them occasionally, but safe, definitely not safe. 
And the OP's concern @ wet weather - my first year in Bonny Doon we had 112 inches of rain [that just under 9 FEET], and it rained for 43 consecutive days [1997]. 
So, IMHO if you're set on the bay area, I'd say northern Monterey Co. or S. Santa Clara Co communities - the riding isn't as diverse, but you'll be "safe" and drier too.


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## Miiles (Oct 25, 2008)

Morgan Hill. East side of 101.


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## CoLiKe20 (Jan 30, 2006)

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> Yep, for sure, Coop’s on something.


yeah. That guy is weird for sure.


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## walrus (Jan 29, 2004)

North West Marin has the best, quietest hills in the Bay Area, And warm if you stay more then 1/4 mile from the coast. If I could live anywhere that's where I'd go.

North West Marin is for bicycling.


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