# OLH, Haskins, Stage, Tunitas ride report



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

I was off the bike for 2 months from June and July but got to my favorite ride last Sunday. I only intended to climb OLH but the I could not resist the calling of the coastline.

Man, what a reward and what leg soreness!

63 miles, 6000 feet of climbing and a whole lotta views. Starting point is Page Mill and Foothill. Here's some graphs and a new SRM crank I'm playing with.

Anyone else love this ride?

francois


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

I did that same ride on Labor Day, starting in downtown Palo Alto. We started at 10am and the coastal had burned off by the time we got to Pescadero. Weather was sunny and cool, except when it warmed up a little when we got down to the bottom of Kings Mountain.

I think September and October are the best months of the year for Bay Area cycling. The winter/spring rain is over, inland temperatures are moderate, the coastal fog is light, and the days are still long. A lot of people probably agree, since I saw dozens of other cyclists on the road on Monday.


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

Glad to see you are up and going again. We do a version of that ride where we go up Hwy 9 first, then down Skyline to Alpine, where we hook up with Pescadero Road, etc etc, and come home from Woodside through Portola Valley.

I've been staring at your profile for a bit, because there is something strange. I think you have Pescadero in the wrong place. Pescadero should come before the three bumps on stage road. Your label is actually San Gregorio, not that it really matters much.


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

Yes, on the profile, Pescadero will be a little after mile 30. The Archangeli bakery there is a great place to stop for a snack.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

johnny99 said:


> Yes, on the profile, Pescadero will be a little after mile 30. The Archangeli bakery there is a great place to stop for a snack.


Correct sirs! What's labeled Pescadero is actually San Gregorio. 

We stopped by that bakery and I had an amazing cinnamon bar. It got me through Tunitas!!

francois


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## Number9 (Nov 28, 2004)

francois said:


> Correct sirs! What's labeled Pescadero is actually San Gregorio.
> 
> We stopped by that bakery and I had an amazing cinnamon bar. It got me through Tunitas!!
> 
> francois


Glad to know that you're healthy enough to get back on the bike. BTW, you should get their signature Garlic Herb Artichoke Bread next time you're out that way. Also, Duarte's (across the street and about a block south) is a bar/restaurant that is definitely worth a try...


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## deadleg (Jan 26, 2005)

That is a great ride! I start at Canada and 92, up olh down to pescadaro, stage, up tunitas and then down kings mt road. 62 miles. not for the faint of heart though!


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

deadleg said:


> That is a great ride! I start at Canada and 92, up olh down to pescadaro, stage, up tunitas and then down kings mt road. 62 miles. not for the faint of heart though!


I don't know about "not for the faint of heart". Nothing there is seriously dangerous. It's not like you're riding Hwy 17 to Santa Cruz or something.


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## smw (Mar 7, 2006)

Ill be wanting to do this ride in a few weeks. Just need a coouple weeks to get my legs back in shape. I go to the Dr today and Im expecting to get full clearance to get back on the bike. Ill wait till the weekend though, give it a few extra days to make sure the break is healed good and strong.

:idea: Maybe I should use that cool toy of your for my rehab rides, you know, to make sure Im not over doing it. 


Sean


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## Fogdweller (Mar 26, 2004)

Welcome back the road Francois! Must be nice to get back to your old variety of pain, the stuff that makes the quads scream. Rubber side down my friend...


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

johnny99 said:


> I don't know about "not for the faint of heart". Nothing there is seriously dangerous. It's not like you're riding Hwy 17 to Santa Cruz or something.


I think he was referring to the distance and altitude. 

It's one of the safest long routes around. There's hardly any cars. However... there were a bunch of motorcycle groups at Haskins and Stage Road. They like the same route and they're jammin!

There's a lot of riders on OLH and Kings. These climbs are just going to get busier.

francois


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

deadleg said:


> That is a great ride! I start at Canada and 92, up olh down to pescadaro, stage, up tunitas and then down kings mt road. 62 miles. not for the faint of heart though!


Canada and 92... ahhhh. I'm going there today and I'll try to do OLH and Kings. It's a great warm-up and cool-down.

francois


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

Number9 said:


> Glad to know that you're healthy enough to get back on the bike. BTW, you should get their signature Garlic Herb Artichoke Bread next time you're out that way. Also, Duarte's (across the street and about a block south) is a bar/restaurant that is definitely worth a try...


I think I'll try that. I want to add Lobitos to this route so I mighty lunch would be most welcome.

francois


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## Squizzle (Apr 12, 2003)

*Route Details?*

I'm often down in Palo Alto visiting inlaws and would love to do this ride sometime. Could someone point me to a link or provide a detailed route for me? All I need is a starting point, i.e. Page Mill & Foothill, the a list of roads to take and whether to turn left or right. I'll map the rest out in Google Maps.

Thanks in advance!


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

Squizzle said:


> I'm often down in Palo Alto visiting inlaws and would love to do this ride sometime. Could someone point me to a link or provide a detailed route for me? All I need is a starting point, i.e. Page Mill & Foothill, the a list of roads to take and whether to turn left or right. I'll map the rest out in Google Maps.


From Page Mill & Foothill, I like this route:
1. west on Page Mill to Skyline
2. continue west on Alpine Rd down the hill
3. when you get to Portola State Park, turn right to stay on Alpine Rd
4. left on Pescadero Road
5. right on Stage Road into the town of Pescadero
6. lunch at Archangeli bakery (on the left)
7. continue north on Stage Road, past San Gregorio to Hwy 1
8. right on Hwy 1 for short distance (over the bridge)
9. right on Tunitas Creek Road up to Skyline
10. continue east on Kings Mountain Road into Woodside
11. left on Hwy 84 (Woodside Rd)
12. right on Alameda de las Pulgas
13. right on Santa Cruz Ave
14. left on Junipero Serra (around Stanford U)
15. end at Page Mill & Foothill

This route (over Page Mill instead of Old La Honda) is a little longer than the original one, but I think it is more fun and more scenic.


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## Number9 (Nov 28, 2004)

johnny99 said:


> From Page Mill & Foothill, I like this route:
> 1. west on Page Mill to Skyline
> 2. continue west on Alpine Rd down the hill
> 3. when you get to Portola State Park, turn right to stay on Alpine Rd
> ...


One caveat about this route. The Alpine Rd. downhill is steep, narrow, and technical (all good, so far), but the road surface is terrible. So you blast downhill, pick the optimal line and hit a huge pothole or face a sport ute coming the other way (in certain sections, this is a 1.5 lane road). So if you aren't an expert cyclocross rider, I'd start from the 280/Page Mill park & ride and do the OLH, Skyline north, 84 west route instead. You can take a left short of San Gregorio (sorry, forgot the street name) and hook up with Haskin's Hill (Pescadero Creek Rd.) and then follow the route Johnny99 suggested for the rest of the ride. BTW, 84 west currently has a huge bump in one section, though it's clearly marked with a road sign, so you just need to believe the sign and slow down there - otherwise, it's a decently fast, smooth descent.


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

Number9 said:


> One caveat about this route. The Alpine Rd. downhill is steep, narrow, and technical (all good, so far), but the road surface is terrible. So you blast downhill, pick the optimal line and hit a huge pothole or face a sport ute coming the other way (in certain sections, this is a 1.5 lane road). So if you aren't an expert cyclocross rider, I'd start from the 280/Page Mill park & ride and do the OLH, Skyline north, 84 west route instead. You can take a left short of San Gregorio (sorry, forgot the street name) and hook up with Haskin's Hill (Pescadero Creek Rd.) and then follow the route Johnny99 suggested for the rest of the ride. BTW, 84 west currently has a huge bump in one section, though it's clearly marked with a road sign, so you just need to believe the sign and slow down there - otherwise, it's a decently fast, smooth descent.


The upper two-thirds of Alpine Road is an easy descent. The bottom one-third is a little more tricky because the tall redwood trees keep it a little dark (and mystical), but you should be fine as long as you go slow enough to see where you are going and avoid the potholes. I prefer this route to Highway 84 because it is much more scenic and there is much less traffic. I have done this loop with intermediate level, middle aged, recreational riders and they didn't have any problems. I guess it is only really a problem for the speed demons.

If you are an expert cyclocross rider, I can think of much more fun ways to get to the coast, such as Spring Ridge Road or Purisima Creek Road.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

johnny99 said:


> From Page Mill & Foothill, I like this route:
> 1. west on Page Mill to Skyline
> 2. continue west on Alpine Rd down the hill
> 3. when you get to Portola State Park, turn right to stay on Alpine Rd


The route I took was:
1. west on Page Mill to Skyline
2. right on Arastadero
3. left on Alpine
4. right on Portola Valley Rd.
5. left on Old La Honda, cross 35
6. left on 84
7. left on Alpine
8. right on Haskins Hill.
9... as Johnny described


These are the classic, classic roads of the Peninsula. Lots of cyclists and very safe. 84 has some very nasty dips/bumps close to Old La Honda.

enjoy,
francois


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## Number9 (Nov 28, 2004)

johnny99 said:


> [stuff deleted] I prefer this route to Highway 84 because it is much more scenic and there is much less traffic. I have done this loop with intermediate level, middle aged, recreational riders and they didn't have any problems. I guess it is only really a problem for the speed demons.


Agreed that Alpine is more scenic and fine if you go slow enough - particularly in the lower section, not only because of the poor road surface & light/dark patches but also because around every blind turn you might be facing oncoming traffic (bidirectional traffic on 1.5 lane road - not good), so you need to stay as far to the right as possible on turns that you can't easily see around.


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

If you are a strong enough rider that you'll take on this route, you won't have any problems on Alpine. Be aware of the bad pavement, but don't worry about it.


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

Number9 said:


> Agreed that Alpine is more scenic and fine if you go slow enough - particularly in the lower section, not only because of the poor road surface & light/dark patches but also because around every blind turn you might be facing oncoming traffic (bidirectional traffic on 1.5 lane road - not good), so you need to stay as far to the right as possible on turns that you can't easily see around.


Yes, do stay far to the right on roads with no painted center line. The same also applies to Old La Honda Road (both sides of the hill) which is also 1.5 lanes and not in great condition and gets much more traffic than Alpine Road.


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## Number9 (Nov 28, 2004)

johnny99 said:


> Yes, do stay far to the right on roads with no painted center line. The same also applies to Old La Honda Road (both sides of the hill) which is also 1.5 lanes and not in great condition and gets much more traffic than Alpine Road.


Agree on this also. Which is why I also recommend against descending on OLH. I prefer to climb west Alpine and OLH and descend on other, wider roads with better surfaces where you can work on your high speed lines, but that's just a personal preference.


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## goose127 (Jun 9, 2004)

Great to hear you are back out on the road Francios, lets get a group ride together soon.


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## goloso (Feb 4, 2004)

*Bravo Francis!*

Glad to hear you are riding again!

I've been geting out a couple times a week after work. If you can get out, lets go. I'm sure you can still beat me up page mill rd.

Hope all is well!
G


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## denversean (Jun 14, 2004)

If you ever want to easy-mode that route, the Stop, Drop, and Roll Metric Century ride pretty much follows the same route out of woodside. The proceeds go to a children's burn foundation. We do it every summer...


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