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Do You Road Bike?

I wanted to do a ride from S.F. to San Juan Capistrano to bring in the 50th birthday last year but it didn't happen. Looks like it may this spring though so I'm starting check out some possible routes. I'm planning on taking Amtrak from Sacto to Emeryville and then taking the Amtrak bus into the city. First leg would be S.F. to Santa Cruz. Any suggestions on the best route to take?
 
You can ride from Emeryville to West Oakland BART, it's not very far, and you can take that to the city, or go further south like maybe Milbrae?

If you start from SF, you need to make your way west to Great Hwy, which dumps you off on Skyline/35 and that leads to Hwy 1.

Sounds like a good ride. You gonna take Amtrak back?
 
I thought about taking BART but the fare for AMTRAK includes the bus ride. I had read that bikes are loaded in the cargo area under the bus but then I was told that there are bike racks on the buses when I called the Emeryville station today(??). I will check the BART routes though. I think the furthest west I can get on the bus in the city is Fisherman's Wharf. I think starting in S.F. would add greatly to the trip and the stories that are sure to follow!

When I Google'd for a route by bike, it mapped out a ride that headed out near the airport. I searched for experiences about rides along the Great Hwy/Cabrillo Hwy and found one but it didn't contain much detail. Is the Great Hwy/Cabrillo Hwy at all bike friendly or should I ask are bikes even allowed? I'm awaiting a copy of a Pacific Coast Bike Tour book but I've read mixed reviews on how useful it is. We'll see. The Google bike routes contain about a gazillion turns for each leg! Doesn't seem like you ever go more than a mile without turning!

Best friend lives in San Juan Capistrano and offered up a ride back anytime! I'm thinking maybe doing the trip a week before Mother's Day though because he is heading up to Sacto anyway to hook up with his family. I'll consider the trip a recon mission and hopefully do it on a supermoto the next time!
 
The Bay Trail goes down the peninsula on the bay side, but it's in sections and you have to hop from bit to bit. Then you have to find your way over to 1. We've done it, but I prefer to get on 1 up in Pacifica (we just take Sharp Park over) and take 1 straight to Santa Cruz. 1 down the coast is fairly relaxed. The only bit that wigs me out is the climb up Devil's Slide - I just stay hard to the right and climb as fast as I can.
 
Thanks! Would that be the Sharp park golf course? Okay to ride there or should I find another means before I actually start pedaling? Google says approximately 16 miles from somewhere on Market to Pacifica. I think the earliest I can get into the city would be right about 9:00 AM. I'll have daylight savings time on my side so I'm thinking I may be actually able to enjoy the ride!
 
Since I couldn't make it out to catch some supermoto action today, I had some time to surf the internet. I see that if I can find my way to Geary St., I can just follow that all the way to Hwy 1 or maybe cut through Golden Gate Park. I also found a copy of the Aids Lifecycle Ride route. They start off from the Cow Palace though. I think I'll print out a copy of their route since it contains some suggestions along with a few warnings. Getting psyched!
 
I rode from SF to Santa Cruz for the AIDS ride. The shoulder is wide enough that it's not too sketchy along the 1.


Here's the route sheets for the ride. Day one was the leg from SF to SC. :)

Edit: Derp, didn't see you'd found the info. I'm leaving the link for the rest of you. Don't do Geary street, it's not very bike friendly. I suggest the wiggle to GGP for the best, most fun route. PM me if you want more deets. I've been riding around SF for a while and know how to get around.
 
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Got my first road bike 3 months ago (Caad9 4). Will probably upgrade the wheels once I actually ride more than 20miles a week :p

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Looks nice!

Just picked up a new to me bianchi cyclocross. Some of you might have seen it. Spent the day cleaning it and doing some adjustments. Pretty cool bike. Pics soon
 
Here she is after a bath, a quick tune and some new bar tape.
 

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RX311 said:
First leg mapped out! Thanks sfcootz!!!
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My pleasure. Market + the Wiggle will be safer, easier, and more fun than Geary. Have a blast. I just got my first AIDS LifeCycle donation today and I'm super stoked. :teeth
 
Rode the wiggle for the first time on Friday and it was a lot less stressful than the other routes to the Panhandle
 
big pete said:
Got my first road bike 3 months ago (Caad9 4). Will probably upgrade the wheels once I actually ride more than 20miles a week :p

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My 2 cents for regular riding something on a higher side of spoke count. More durable, and if one does break you can still get home.
 
big pete said:
Rode the wiggle for the first time on Friday and it was a lot less stressful than the other routes to the Panhandle
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Oh hell yeah it is. I know lots of little sneaky ways around SF.

So... who wants to take me out for a mellow "get back into things ride"? Maybe Paradise Loop?

Re: wheels, my ample bottom + sf streets = wheel killer. My Mavic Open Pro's have held up to a lot of use. I have the 32 spoke set.
 
I'm sure there are. I just need to get more seat time around the city. I only rode to work 3x since I got the bike :ashamed:
 
big pete said:
I'm sure there are. I just need to get more seat time around the city. I only rode to work 3x since I got the bike :ashamed:
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I'm always up for a bike ride around SF. I commute to work each day and to the weekly meetups. In fact, I'm starting to get teased because I'm showing up on my Public mixte to the meets more than my motorcycle lately. :x

Which neighborhood are you in? I'm not the world's fastest rider but I am pretty good at the urban cycling thing if I say so myself.
 
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