Bay Area - Peninsula cyclists - Is Ralston safe?
07-25-16, 03:24 PM
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Bay Area - Peninsula cyclists - Is Ralston safe?
Planning to ride up to caņada road this weekend and take ralston back down to Old County Road but the upper half(?) of Ralston looks like it could be a little sketchy. Any thoughts?
07-25-16, 08:58 PM
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I've only done it once, but I'm a chicken so I rode on the sidewalk, not directly on Ralston. The sidewalk path then diverts further away from Ralston up the slope, so that felt pretty safe. I made my way from where the path ends at the parking lot on Ralston, to Hallmark where I turned right to make my way to Club Drive (my start/end was Carlmont High School); Club is really steep but I much preferred that descent to the traffic on Ralston. I have seen people descending Ralston with the traffic, but I'm a much more cautious descender.
07-26-16, 07:33 PM
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The upper half of Ralston is a bit high stress, especially if you're not used to riding in traffic. You can avoid it by taking the Lake Road Trail (accessed via Hallmark Drive) through Water Dog Lake Park, which is a smooth, well-maintained and scenic dirt road, easy even on skinny tires. The bottom of Lake Road is at Lyall Way, which connects to Ralston right before the bike lanes start at Alameda de las Pulgas.
07-27-16, 12:12 PM
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Thanks; appreciate the info. Not sure if I am going to do it this weekend or in a few weeks. I may just ride up alameda / san carlos to ralston and then down. that portion seems fine, it looks/sounds like the upper half is the sketchy part.
07-29-16, 04:25 PM
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Yea, I would ride the sidewalk up or down Ralston if I did it. Going up it may not be a big deal but going down it may be.
It's a heck of a climb though after passing Carlmont which I'm contemplating. I live close to 101 off Ralston.
It's a heck of a climb though after passing Carlmont which I'm contemplating. I live close to 101 off Ralston.
08-20-16, 09:55 PM
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I'm from Massachusetts and staying in Sunnyvale for a few weeks. I rode Caņada it's full length from whisky hill, took the Ralston bike path over the freeway. I took a left onto Ralston to get to Crystal springs rd. I felt fine the whole distance.
08-21-16, 06:43 PM
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Off topic - My wife's from Worcester. Love Bertucci's, yum!
08-23-16, 12:39 PM
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https://ridewithgps.com/routes/4556042
Welcome Ghazmh, I spent my college years in Cambridge MA. Off topic, but from Sunnyvale I can suggest Montebello for a easily accessible low-traffic good climb, and Stevens Canyon / Mt. Eden for quick moderate elevation gains.
