# Mt Hamilton and Amgen ToC



## patsdiner (Nov 15, 2005)

Hi all,
If I may ask for a little local knowledge, it would be much appreciated. I'll be traveling from NJ to see the Tour of California and, I'm hoping, to see the Mt. Hamilton (or, at least Sierra Rd) portion of it. Is there any way to get out to these places from the CalTrain stop? Via public transit or, perhaps, bike rental (I hesitate because, though I ride every day, I live in the flat lands near Atlantic City; no hills, let alone mountains)? I'd prefer to avoid doing the car thing...
Thanks,
Phil


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## singlespeed.org (Feb 14, 2006)

I know people who ride Mt. Hamilton after taking CalTrain, but that is a lot of riding.

Rental bike and buses may work. Most buses out here do have bike racks. That said - I don't know the bus routes down that way.

Or you may want to see who you can connect with on this board who'd be willing to take a lost soul along. There usually is some sort of ride put together on this board to see the race.


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

patsdiner said:


> Hi all,
> If I may ask for a little local knowledge, it would be much appreciated. I'll be traveling from NJ to see the Tour of California and, I'm hoping, to see the Mt. Hamilton (or, at least Sierra Rd) portion of it. Is there any way to get out to these places from the CalTrain stop? Via public transit or, perhaps, bike rental (I hesitate because, though I ride every day, I live in the flat lands near Atlantic City; no hills, let alone mountains)? I'd prefer to avoid doing the car thing...
> Thanks,
> Phil


The part of Mt. Hamilton they are climbing is on the back side, and it is very remote. It's a long ride to get there from any direction, but from San Jose, it means you have to do a 20-mile, 4500 foot climb (which they will descend). It's not a terribly difficult climb, but it's 20 miles! I'm not sure it's worth it to watch the race.

Sierra, on the other hand, is easily accessible from San Jose, and will have lots of people to hang out with. If you take the light rail to the Berryessa stop, you will be pretty close to Sierra Road. The flat part of Sierra Road. Get on it, ride toward the hills and find your spot. I've done it the last couple of years, and it's fun. Sierra is VERY steep and it is relentless, so it will probably kick your butt as a flat lander.

I don't know anything about bike rentals, but you can probably find more mountain bike rentals than road bikes, and that's probably better anyway because you can get much lower gearing for the climb. 

I don't know where you'll be, so it's hard to give you directions, but Caltrain intersects with light rail at three stations: Mountain View, Diridon (downtown San Jose), and the Tamien station south of San Jose. If you are coming from San Francisco, you might as well connect in Mountain View. I'm not sure how it works, but you may have to transfer at some point to get on the line that goes to Alum Rock.

http://www.vta.org/schedules/lr_interactive_map/lrBusMap.html


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## Woofer (Nov 18, 2004)

patsdiner said:


> Hi all,
> If I may ask for a little local knowledge, it would be much appreciated. I'll be traveling from NJ to see the Tour of California and, I'm hoping, to see the Mt. Hamilton (or, at least Sierra Rd) portion of it. Is there any way to get out to these places from the CalTrain stop? Via public transit or, perhaps, bike rental (I hesitate because, though I ride every day, I live in the flat lands near Atlantic City; no hills, let alone mountains)? I'd prefer to avoid doing the car thing...
> Thanks,
> Phil


Unless you are part of the caravan, you can probably cross off Mt Hamilton.

http://www.ncncaracing.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1057


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## lakes road sheep (Mar 19, 2007)

Its snowing up Hamilton at the moment 
I think the nearest train stop is Great America on Tasman Drive, From there you can get light rail to Milpitas. Not sure how you would get the next jump.
I just read about all the road closures for the event. That is a great shame they have to close the roads to cyclists wishing to spectate.


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## Fr Ted Crilly (Feb 7, 2002)

lakes road sheep said:


> I just read about all the road closures for the event. That is a great shame they have to close the roads to cyclists wishing to spectate.


I haven't read the details of these road closures and whether it is specified that bicycles can't ride up Mt Hamilton after the road is closed to cars, but on Sierra Rd last year cyclists were allowed up long after the road was closed to other vehicles. I'm assuming a similar arrangement will be in place this year again.


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

The post on NCNCA said that they will stop cyclists from going up Mt Hamilton at the Junction and at Grant Ranch but nothing about Sierra.

That's too bad about Hamilton; the last two year I've ridden Mt Hamilton before going up Sierra to hang out and watch the race, that makes it more of a ride.

But Hamilton would not be a good place to spectate from, unless you made it to the top and down the back side where you could see some action.

If you ride up Sierra, please hang out until the entire race is past. It gets a little dangerous with race caravan vehicles coming up (often very fast) and spectators going down, plus it is disrespectful to the riders at the back who are suffering up the climb.


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## frecciaceleste (Feb 4, 2005)

I have been an avid cyclist for nearly forty year's. I have always followed the pro ranks and longed for a truly great race such the Amgen Tour of California. 

So when the TOC was coming to my town (San Jose) a couple of years ago I was ecstatic, but at the same time I wondered why the tour didn't climb over Mt. Hamilton. A stage over that brute could certainly level the playing field among the racers. When I heard the announcement last year that in fact it was going too really, happen I was beside myself. 

Then I read a recent NCNCA blog that we the spectators would be restricted access, I said this cannot be. We will not be able to view the race up close on one of the great climbs in the bay area if not California. 

First and foremost, this is professional bike race and if they want to promote it and have it become a truly great race, they need to make it personal not some still shots and Helicopter views from afar. 

People need to see the race first hand. To be able to watch a race up close, as on Sierra rd. or other vantage points on the tour is what makes people bond to the sport and come back for more.


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## patsdiner (Nov 15, 2005)

It does seem pretty lame that they'd restrict access to Mt. Hamilton (thankfully, I asked and got all this great info from everyone, rather than plan my trip on the unattainable). I've read somewhere that the reason they have those great mountain-top stages in Europe, with tons of people, is because they have ski resorts at the peaks; allowing room. Does Mt Hamilton have a ski resort?


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

The only thing at the top of Mt. Hamilton is the <a href="http://mthamilton.ucolick.org/">Lick Observatory,</a> and there isn't enough room to park all the vehicles for a mountain top finish. Personally, I don't think Mt. Hamilton is all that great a place to watch the race. It's mostly a descent on the San Jose side, with a couple of really minor climbs, so the riders will be flying by at 40 mph. The whole race plus caravan will pass in probably two minutes! Plus, with a 20 mile descent, it's unlikely that the race will be made there. Forget about Hamilton and go to Sierra Road. That's where the fans will be, and that's where the action will be.


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## Fr Ted Crilly (Feb 7, 2002)

patsdiner said:


> Does Mt Hamilton have a ski resort?


No ski resort but it does have snow at the moment.

I agree with MC, Sierra Rd will be a better place to watch, for no other reason than there will likely be thousands of cycling fans riding up there screaming and shouting as the race goes by. It wouldn't quite be the same experience on your own on the back side of Mt Hamilton.


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## unclemimo (Aug 24, 2005)

As a side note, here's a link to Mt. Hamilton's webcam: http://mtham.ucolick.org/hamcam/imageOnly1.html


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## grrrah (Jul 22, 2005)

lakes road sheep said:


> Its snowing up Hamilton at the moment
> I think the nearest train stop is Great America on Tasman Drive, From there you can get light rail to Milpitas. Not sure how you would get the next jump.
> I just read about all the road closures for the event. That is a great shame they have to close the roads to cyclists wishing to spectate.


a bit wrong..

that is the ACE/Amtrak stop. closest Caltrain stop to here is near Lawrence/Kifer. The best bet is to transfer in Mt.View. That should be a direct train from Mt. View to sierra Rd on the Capitol Corridor line so no transferring once on light rail. (But you should confirm as I am not sure if the train is continuous or you have to transfer at Tasman Station)

patsdiner-be aware that public transit here is extremely slow! from SF to Sierra Road may take you 2-3 hours, where as its about an hour driving.


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## BlackSteel (Jul 10, 2007)

*MH Road Closure*

The latest rumor is that MH road will be closed at 10:00 am at Grant Ranch. I may still ride up before 10:00. It will be along wait to get back I'm sure. I may bring a trailer.


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

BlackSteel said:


> The latest rumor is that MH road will be closed at 10:00 am at Grant Ranch. I may still ride up before 10:00. It will be along wait to get back I'm sure. I may bring a trailer.


Not a rumor. The race director has e-mailed many of the local cycling clubs saying that MH road will be closed to bicycles at Grant Ranch at 10am. Not sure when it will be closed to cars (perhaps much earlier). I think the closure is understandable given the high speeds the racers will probably have coming down the narrow mountain road.

Sierra Rd. is a safer place to watch because the uphill part of the climb is more easily accessible by spectators. Last year, the closed Sierra Rd. to cars many hours before the race, but allowed cyclists on the uphill until just before the lead racers arrived.


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