The common "Loop" ride, starting/ending in Woodside,
heading through Portola Valley, down Alpine and then back via Sand
Hill and Whiskey Hill... but with an added bonus- an extra 5 mile
run up West Alpine to the infamous "Walking" Joaquim before
returning to the "normal" loop. Not just an extra 5 miles, but
another 800ft of climbing as well!
It's
easy to follow the regular "Loop" ride; starting at Roberts Market
in Woodside, head south on Mountain Home Road all the way to the
end, where you make a right turn on Sand Hill/Portola Road.
Continue past the town of Portola Valley but, before coming to the
"T" intersection with Alpine, make a right turn on Willowbrook
Drive, as seen in the map on the left.
Willowbrook ends at West Alpine, where you once again head right and
follow this narrow, very pretty and fairly-mild uphill grade for a
couple of miles. Towards the end it begins to get steeper; look for
a road coming in from the left. That's the road that's going to make
your legs & lungs scream. Joaquim, also known as the infamous
walking Joaquim.
In a very short distance you are going to climb 300ft. It's not a
crime to have to walk up this piece of pavement.
The plethora of twisty little roads might make it seem easy to get
lost, but that's really not the case. As long as you head in the
"down" direction at intersections, don't take any of the dead-end
options (which are posted) and pay attention to the couple of
one-way road options, you'll find your way out.
And yes, there is a reward for doing this piece. Immediately after
the intersection with Ramona (just to the left of this text),
there's a secret little downhill that you can easily hit 50mph on
without even trying.
Continue to the end of this road, which brings you back to the
"Loop" at Alpine, where you'll make a right turn.
The photo
on the left shows the turnoff from Portola Road onto Willowbrook,
the road that takes you to the nasty stuff on Alpine and Joaquim.
The sign is for "The Sequoias", a retirement home. You'll be ready
for it after the climb.
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