Cool places to ride?

BlitzkriegWulf

BlitzkriegWulf

Well-known member
New forum user- Apologies in advance if there was a better place to post this.

I was just curious if anyone was willing to share good riding roads in or around Oakland? Looking for a few new roads to cruise with my father over summer.

My current favorites are Redwood Road/Pinehurst, Grizzly peak (Although it's always busy near the parks... & pedestrians never open their eyes or ears before crossing the street) and recently Bear Creek Rd. near the San Pablo Dam.


Suggestions?
 
Butch

Butch

poseur
Staff member
The spring rally to Quincy!
I think there might be a thead or two on favorite roads...
 
ScottRNelson

ScottRNelson

Mr. Dual Sport Rider
Get a map of the area from AAA (costs $6.00 for non-members). Look at all the roads made up of wiggly lines. Enjoy. They're all good.

Or you can go to Google Maps and look for stuff there. You can easily find about a hundred roads within 50 miles that are interesting.

Here is a small list beyond the few that you've listed:
  • Mt. Diablo
  • Marsh Creek Road
  • Morgan Territory Road
  • Altamont Pass
  • Patterson Pass
  • Tesla Road out of Livermore
  • Mines Road
  • Del Puerto Canyon
  • Mt. Hamilton
Those are just the ones directly to the east that aren't currently closed. Throw in Palomares Road and Calaveras Road when they open.

Then you can try crossing the bay and try all the good stuff in the Santa Cruz Mountains or in Marin County.

If you get really ambitious, cross the Central Valley and start riding the great roads in the Sierras. I made a list a month or two back for somebody containing a bunch of those that shouldn't be missed.

Lots and lots of wonderful roads to ride around here.

===== Edit =====

Here's the list (most of it) for the good roads in the Sierras:
http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9698853&postcount=7
 
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Smash Allen

Smash Allen

Banned
ScottRNelson said:
Get a map of the area from AAA (costs $6.00 for non-members). Look at all the roads made up of wiggly lines. Enjoy. They're all good.

Or you can go to Google Maps and look for stuff there. You can easily find about a hundred roads within 50 miles that are interesting.

Here is a small list beyond the few that you've listed:
  • Mt. Diablo
  • Marsh Creek Road
    [*]Morgan Territory Road
  • Altamont Pass
  • Patterson Pass
  • Tesla Road out of Livermore
  • Mines Road
  • Del Puerto Canyon
  • Mt. Hamilton
Those are just the ones directly to the east that aren't currently closed. Throw in Palomares Road and Calaveras Road when they open.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately Morgan Territory is still closed at the north end before connecting to Marsh Creek. Great if you want to do laps on the southern part, but don't try and get there from the north side.

Great list of roads :thumbup
 
mean dad

mean dad

Well-known member
Smash Allen said:
Unfortunately Morgan Territory is still closed at the north end before connecting to Marsh Creek. Great if you want to do laps on the southern part, but don't try and get there from the north side.

Great list of roads :thumbup
Click to expand...

Fenced off closed, or just barricades?
 
nebulous

nebulous

Well-known member
Palomares is a good road. Oh wait, its closed due to rain damage that hasn't been repaired.

Calaveras is a good road. Oh wait, it is also closed due to rain damage that hasn't been repaired.
 
Maddevill

Maddevill

KNGKAW
I heard that Polomares was open. Rode it 2 weeks ago and there was a sign but cars and we just rode around it. Did the full road to Niles Canyon and back.

Mad
 
BlitzkriegWulf

BlitzkriegWulf

Well-known member
ScottRNelson said:
Get a map of the area from AAA (costs $6.00 for non-members). Look at all the roads made up of wiggly lines. Enjoy. They're all good.

Or you can go to Google Maps and look for stuff there. You can easily find about a hundred roads within 50 miles that are interesting.

Here is a small list beyond the few that you've listed:
  • Mt. Diablo
  • Marsh Creek Road
  • Morgan Territory Road
  • Altamont Pass
  • Patterson Pass
  • Tesla Road out of Livermore
  • Mines Road
  • Del Puerto Canyon
  • Mt. Hamilton
Those are just the ones directly to the east that aren't currently closed. Throw in Palomares Road and Calaveras Road when they open.

Then you can try crossing the bay and try all the good stuff in the Santa Cruz Mountains or in Marin County.

If you get really ambitious, cross the Central Valley and start riding the great roads in the Sierras. I made a list a month or two back for somebody containing a bunch of those that shouldn't be missed.

Lots and lots of wonderful roads to ride around here.
Click to expand...

Looks like a great list. I've heard about Tesla Road and have been meaning to get out that way to go and ride it with my father.

I've been a bit hesitant about Mines Road, since portions are single lane around corners, etc. (I've had cars use Redwood Road as their personal racetrack and pass me head on and from behind much closer than I'm comfortable with... and I probably average 35-40 where most of it is 25-30mph speed limit. I don't want to meet a car head on, single lane on a blind corner.).

Bear Creek is really nice since it's mostly wide open (40+ foot wide) and just fast sweeping turns, and nobody but the occasional bicyclist to share the road with.

Tried Pinehurst on the K1200R.. I won't call it a mistake, but it was far from pleasant. A lot of dirt, wet road, and sharp first gear corners.. and if there's two things that bike doesn't like, it's first gear and sharp corners.

Thinking about the PCH north of San Fran or going in to the Marin Headlands for some photos.

Looked at Palomares and Calaveras road... they look like they could be ridden together pretty easily with their proximity to one another. Any idea when they open up?

2nd edit: Looks like Calaveras road is also partially single lane too. Thoughts on single lane roads?

Sounds like it would be pretty easy to grab a bunch of guys on the forum here to go and hit these two roads over the weekend if people had time during May or so (Still in college in Mt right now... :( )?
 
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ScottRNelson

ScottRNelson

Mr. Dual Sport Rider
Calaveras isn't scheduled to reopen until the end of 2017. Palomares is probably already open.

Most of the good road will have narrow blind corners. You just have to be prepared for that Ford F-350 Dually pulling a "four-passenger" horse trailer to be coming the other way and partially in your lane. It's usually not too hard to avoid oncoming traffic, but you have to expect it. Eventually you will encounter it.
 
jpoppa

jpoppa

Well-known member
BlitzkriegWulf said:
Looks like a great list. I've heard about Tesla Road and have been meaning to get out that way to go and ride it with my father.

I've been a bit hesitant about Mines Road, since portions are single lane around corners, etc. (I've had cars use Redwood Road as their personal racetrack and pass me head on and from behind much closer than I'm comfortable with... and I probably average 35-40 where most of it is 25-30mph speed limit. I don't want to meet a car head on, single lane on a blind corner.).

Bear Creek is really nice since it's mostly wide open (40+ foot wide) and just fast sweeping turns, and nobody but the occasional bicyclist to share the road with.

Tried Pinehurst on the K1200R.. I won't call it a mistake, but it was far from pleasant. A lot of dirt, wet road, and sharp first gear corners.. and if there's two things that bike doesn't like, it's first gear and sharp corners.

Thinking about the PCH north of San Fran or going in to the Marin Headlands for some photos.

Looked at Palomares and Calaveras road... they look like they could be ridden together pretty easily with their proximity to one another. Any idea when they open up?

2nd edit: Looks like Calaveras road is also partially single lane too. Thoughts on single lane roads?

Sounds like it would be pretty easy to grab a bunch of guys on the forum here to go and hit these two roads over the weekend if people had time during May or so (Still in college in Mt right now... :( )?
Click to expand...

My personal Favs are cross Richmond bridge go to Hwy 1 and go North, or if you are feeling brave meet at the Arco station every Sunday at 7:30 am base of Mt Tam
 
BlitzkriegWulf

BlitzkriegWulf

Well-known member
ScottRNelson said:
Most of the good road will have narrow blind corners. You just have to be prepared for that Ford F-350 Dually pulling a "four-passenger" horse trailer to be coming the other way and partially in your lane. It's usually not too hard to avoid oncoming traffic, but you have to expect it. Eventually you will encounter it.
Click to expand...

Not worried about the farmers towing their horses around. Most of the ones I have seen drive safely & are sane. My bigger fear is getting comfortable on a road on my 2nd or 3rd trip up/down, and being comfortable doing 10 over (Hopefully speeding isn't demonized here?), and meeting a sports car going the other way who is doing 10-15 over. A closing speed of ~75 is harder to avoid/react to than a closing speed of ~50.


jpoppa said:
My personal Favs are cross Richmond bridge go to Hwy 1 and go North, or if you are feeling brave meet at the Arco station every Sunday at 7:30 am base of Mt Tam
Click to expand...

I presume you mean the Arco station there at 251 Shoreline? I'd be down for that if you don't leave me in the dust :) (I'm willing to go 10-15* over, maybe 20 if I'm familiar with the road and am reasonably sure I won't run into a LEO or Bambi, but I won't be doing 75-80 in a 30.)

*Still a relatively "new" rider; last thing I want to do is push myself too far chasing someone and have an accident
 
ScottRNelson

ScottRNelson

Mr. Dual Sport Rider
BlitzkriegWulf said:
Not worried about the farmers towing their horses around. Most of the ones I have seen drive safely & are sane. My bigger fear is getting comfortable on a road on my 2nd or 3rd trip up/down, and being comfortable doing 10 over (Hopefully speeding isn't demonized here?), and meeting a sports car going the other way who is doing 10-15 over. A closing speed of ~75 is harder to avoid/react to than a closing speed of ~50.
Click to expand...
If you say that you go a general 10 mph over the limit, you're doing it wrong.

Every part of the road needs to be judged for safe speed. Some straight sections with good visibility can be taken quite a bit faster, and some corners should be right down at the recommendations on the yellow signs, because you really can't see what's around them. And it doesn't matter if you've been through there 100 times before, you still don't know what's around them.

I judge ever corner by what I can see regardless of if I've never been there before or been there dozens of times. That's the safer way to ride.
 
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