With all
the fanfare of the Tour de France route announcement (not!), we
bring you the routes for our 8th Annual Turkey Trot ride.
Start time is 8am (sharp!) from Olive Hill & Canada Road. This is about
one mile north of Woodside, with parking available at a Park N' Ride
about two miles away (at 280 & Woodside Road) as well as on a
cul-de-sac just up Olive Hill Road. If that's too early, you can
catch us at about 8:15am at the base of Old LaHonda. We won't be
stopping there, so be ready to catch the train as it heads up the
hill.
For
the first time we're listing two "official" routes, a 54-mile
version that should get people back by our 12:30pm deadline without
trouble, and a longer, 61-mile option that includes more climbing
but is more likely to get people in trouble with their significant
others.
As always, there is no support whatsoever, just friendly people
showing up for a good ride. Water is available at San Gregorio and
Pescadero, and while it can't be guaranteed, it's likely the general
stores in San Gregorio will be open for food & drinks. As of
11/21/04, the weather is supposed to be very nice, but leg warmers,
wind breaker and long-finger gloves should be considered mandatory.
This is not a good "first ride" to the coast, since
we're under a time constraint. We'll regroup at the top of major
climbs, and it will be possible to bail out and shorten the ride at
several places (but once you're past San Gregorio, you've got no
further bail-out options). Anybody who can climb Old LaHonda in
under 28 minutes is probably fast enough (which allows for a pretty
wide range of capabilities).
The map above, from the excellent (and free)
Klimb program, shows the standard
route for our '04 Turkey Trot. Starting at Olive Hill & Canada Road,
we ride south through Woodside, up Old LaHonda, down the west side
of Old LaHonda to 94, west on 84 to San Gregorio (first water
opportunity, and probably the only open store), then south on Stage
Road to Pescadero.
If the bakery were open (not too likely on Thanksgiving) we'd stop
there for a morning pastry.
From Pescadero we ride over Haskin's Grade to LaHonda, up 84 to Sky
L'Onda and then back down into Woodside. 54 miles, 4500 feet of
climbing. You'll have earned that turkey!
If time allows and
riders are suitably masochistic, they may opt to head up Alpine Road
to Skyline, instead of straight up 84. This adds 7 miles and quite a
bit more (and steeper) climbing.
This optional section is shown in the
smaller map on the left. Most likely this won't get you back by
12:30pm though (which is our arbitrarily-determined time after which
it's likely you'll get in trouble for ditching your responsibilities
for the family meal).
This is
the profile for the extended option. Surprising that it's only 7
miles longer; it certainly appears to be more than that on the map!
But rest assured it's 7 quality miles. Steeper & more
scenic, particularly the views from Skyline.
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