Old LaHonda/San
Gregorio/Los Lobitos/Tunitas Creek 11/21/04
What can possibly be new about a ride
you've done so many times before? You may never find out if you
don't try to look for it. Each of these images will enlarge to
800x600 if you click on them.
Details? Temps ranged from 42 at the
start (8am) to 59 at the Ocean, dropping back down as low as 47 on
the King's Mtn descent at the end of the ride (around 10:30). Kevin
K, Kevin S and "Long" Bob in attendance. Moderate pace (which meant
it was somewhat challenging for me!).
Kevin S (not Kevin K,
who was on the ride but out of the picture) and "Long Bob" (named
for his long legs) pose on Old LaHonda.
So how many times have
I ridden the west side of Old LaHonda and never seen the face carved
in the rock? This is definitely worth a closer look!
Long Bob rounding the
corner at the top of Stage Road, a spot where most never look back
at the beauty of the valley San Gregorio sits in.
How clear
was it? So clear that I'm told those with good eyes could see the
Farallon Islands today.
Tunitas Creek is a trip
back in time, with old barns and beat-up pickups the norm. Today
we're not going straight up; we're doing a detour-
- A detour out Los
Lobitos cut-off, adding a few miles & a bit more climbing, and
passing by a land of very strange sheep & goats.
Los Lobitos
is yet another beautiful, rarely-see-a-car road with breathtaking
views. Today, we also came across two pickups, each driven by
friendly women. Truly an enchanted land!
But great riding is
almost right outside your door. This is on Albion, as we return to
Woodside.
I picked up some company on the ride back home over Jefferson; Jay &
Nicole ahead of me, and Kim heading down the hill in the other
direction.
That's Jay, getting aero on the
Jefferson descent into Redwood City.
Click on the map above
to see the route (in purple).
The profile above, as well as the route map, are
from the excellent "Klimb" program, available as a free download at
www.Klimb.org.
Of course,
what you really want to know is, how much climbing? Not too bad,
really! From Olive Hill & Canada Road (the official start of many
rides on this website), it's about 44 miles and just 4,500 feet of
climbing. Well, it does pass the "tough climbing" test
of at least 1,000 feet per 10 miles. But this is one of those
challenging-yet-doable rides that can be done by most anybody in
reasonable shape.
Route description- Start at Olive Hill & Canada Road and head
one mile north to Robert's Market in Woodside where Canada Road
dead-ends). Head south from Robert's Market (corner of Canada & 84)
on Mtn Home Road, which merges with Portola Road before dead-ending at Sand Hill. Head right (west)
about half a mile, and then head up Old LaHonda to Skyline.
At the top of Skyline you stop to catch your breath and say hi to
the many other cyclists likely to be there, and then head down the
other side. Old LaHonda ends at Highway 84, which you take all the
way down to San Gregorio. On the way you have the opportunity for a
food stop at LaHonda (the Pioneer Market) or hold on a bit for the
more interesting San Gregorio Country Store. Please note that the
San Gregorio Country Store is the last place you'll be able to get
food or water! If you're riding this during warm weather, two large
water bottles are strongly recommended, and it wouldn't hurt to buy
something to drink in the store.
At San Gregorio Country Store (about a mile before the ocean) you
head north, up Stage Road. This dead-ends at Highway 1, where you
get to enjoy a fast and beautiful descent to Tunitas Creek. The
Tunitas Creek turnoff is right past the bridge at the bottom of the
descent; you'll need to slow down a bit to make the turn.
You could just go straight up Tunitas Creek to
Skyline, and for your first trip out this way, that's probably not a
bad idea. We chose to add some miles (and climbing) by heading up
Tunitas Creek to the first left-hand turn you can make, about 2
miles, at the Lobitos Cutoff. This road climbs (relatively gently)
for about a mile before dropping down to meet Lobitos Creek, which
is a hard right turn (actually it's nearly a 180). I
have seen experienced cyclists crash trying to make this turn, by
the way, so be careful. It's made worse by the fact that you don't
spot it until you've almost overshop the intersection.
Los Lobitos is an area favorite, a 4-mile road that's got a fairly
nasty climb in the middle before it rolls along a ridge, eventually
dropping back down to Tunitas Creek.
On Tunitas, you've dropped in pretty much at the start of the real
climb. Not the really steep part; that's about a mile or two up the
road. You've got about 4 good miles of climbing ahead of you, some
of which is really, really nasty. Fortunately, you'll be climbing
entirely in the shade. It will begin to level out a bit and you
start thinking hey, almost there! Not quite. The upper part
continues for about 3 miles, a fairly-gentle climb on a road that's
quite challenging for strong riders... partly because you misjudge
where the end will be (It must be right around that corner! I
remember! Nope.) and partly because the pavement is so chopped up
that it's difficult to steer clear of all the potholes when you're
riding fast.
At the top of Tunitas is Skyline Blvd, where there's not much reason
to stop aside from waiting for anyone behind you. It's a straight
drop down the east side (which is King's Mtn) into Woodside. Make
sure you stay well within your lane on the descent, as cars coming
up the sometimes-narrow road might not. There's a stop sign at the
bottom, and about half a mile past that is Manuella, which you make
a left-hand turn onto. Manuella gently winds around the backside of
Woodside for another half mile, where you take the first left turn,
which will be Albion. Albion climbs a small amount before a short
roller-coast drop & climb; be careful to watch for horses & hikers
in this area! Albion dead-ends at Olive Hill, where you turn right
(the only way you can go) and drop back down to the start at Canada
Road.
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