Vintage Ride up Mt. Hamilton in San Jose, CA. April 27th.
03-23-24, 03:20 PM
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Vintage Ride up Mt. Hamilton in San Jose, CA. April 27th.
Hey everyone,
Planning a vintage bike ride to the top of Mount Hamilton in San Jose, CA. The ride will be on Saturday, the 27th of April and will start at 10am at the corner of Alum Rock Ave. and Mt. Hamilton Rd. There's parking right on the corner. It's roughly a 36 mile ride up and back, with the worst grades around 6% with just under 5000 ft of climbing. There's a park halfway through the ride for water and bathrooms (Grant Park) and vending machines at the top in the Observatory for drinks and snacks (also a water fountain for refilling bottles). About halfway through the ride, it levels out and there's some downhill into a valley (Grant Park) so you get a climbing break. Ride at your own pace and rain cancels, but hopefully the rain will be long gone by then!
Here's the ride with GPS:
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/157531483
Planning a vintage bike ride to the top of Mount Hamilton in San Jose, CA. The ride will be on Saturday, the 27th of April and will start at 10am at the corner of Alum Rock Ave. and Mt. Hamilton Rd. There's parking right on the corner. It's roughly a 36 mile ride up and back, with the worst grades around 6% with just under 5000 ft of climbing. There's a park halfway through the ride for water and bathrooms (Grant Park) and vending machines at the top in the Observatory for drinks and snacks (also a water fountain for refilling bottles). About halfway through the ride, it levels out and there's some downhill into a valley (Grant Park) so you get a climbing break. Ride at your own pace and rain cancels, but hopefully the rain will be long gone by then!
Here's the ride with GPS:
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/157531483
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03-28-24, 06:01 AM
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Not C & V, but you can also buy the jersey at the gift shop. I came from the other side, and it was a long 95 mile day from Patterson.
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03-28-24, 11:08 AM
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I'm reminded that the keeper of my zero bike and multiple time recidivist on my TdMIL rides, @BoltBreaker is a graduate of Lick-Wilmerding High School.
That Lick guy got around.
Andy did suggest we ride up Hamilton someday, maybe he'll bite on this one.
That Lick guy got around.
Andy did suggest we ride up Hamilton someday, maybe he'll bite on this one.
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03-28-24, 09:33 PM
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I'm reminded that the keeper of my zero bike and multiple time recidivist on my TdMIL rides, @BoltBreaker is a graduate of Lick-Wilmerding High School.
That Lick guy got around.
Andy did suggest we ride up Hamilton someday, maybe he'll bite on this one.
That Lick guy got around.
Andy did suggest we ride up Hamilton someday, maybe he'll bite on this one.
I believe he's buried at the top of the mountain! Yep a quick search..."In his last deed he chose the site atop Mount Hamilton, and was buried there in 1887 under the future site of the telescope, with a brass tablet bearing the inscription, "Here lies the body of James Lick".
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03-28-24, 09:40 PM
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I've ridden Hamilton many times, both from Alum Rock and from Livermore. It's a great ride. Unfortunately I'll probably be in the UK on this date, otherwise I'd be there for sure. On weekends they almost always run tours of the original telescope (the one James is buried under) on a roughly every other hour basis. I've done this several times and they are always very interesting and the content varies a lot depending on who is giving the tour. Well worth the roughly hour you spend on the tour. I highly recommend that you try to catch one of these before heading back down.
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03-28-24, 11:02 PM
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He had a lot of money and looks like he knew how to spend it! I believe he's buried at the top of the mountain! Yep a quick search...
"In his last deed he chose the site atop Mount Hamilton, and was buried there in 1887 under the future site of the telescope, with a brass tablet bearing the inscription, "Here lies the body of James Lick".
I believe he's buried at the top of the mountain! Yep a quick search..."In his last deed he chose the site atop Mount Hamilton, and was buried there in 1887 under the future site of the telescope, with a brass tablet bearing the inscription, "Here lies the body of James Lick".
Lick-Wilmerding High School sounds like a Monty Python sketch. My buddy Andy swears it's a real high school, but I've know him long enough to know his life has a lot of similarities to a Monty Python sketch.
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If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
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03-29-24, 06:22 AM
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I was debating doing this ride (starting at least two hours before the rest of you so I might actually reach the top before you all start back down), but have realized that I have a prior engagement all that weekend. Oh, darn!
And I leave to you all to decide for yourselves whether my "oh, darn" is sarcastic or not.
And I leave to you all to decide for yourselves whether my "oh, darn" is sarcastic or not.
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03-29-24, 06:32 AM
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Sure, James Lick's name is all over the Bay Area. But this Wilmerding guy...
Lick-Wilmerding High School sounds like a Monty Python sketch. My buddy Andy swears it's a real high school, but I've know him long enough to know his life has a lot of similarities to a Monty Python sketch.
Lick-Wilmerding High School sounds like a Monty Python sketch. My buddy Andy swears it's a real high school, but I've know him long enough to know his life has a lot of similarities to a Monty Python sketch.
The James Lick Observatory is way cool, but I shall leave unstated my thoughts about the James Lick Freeway (US 101 between San Francisco and San Jose). Edit: Actually, the James Lick Freeway only runs on SF and maybe a little further - most of 101 down to San Jose is the Bayshore Freeway. Both the James Lick and the Bayshore are subject to bouts of parking-lot-itis.
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Last edited by bikingshearer; 03-29-24 at 01:06 PM. Reason: Becasue I shouldn't post oin the middle of the night.
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03-29-24, 10:11 AM
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I'll be one month into a surprise sabbatical and beings I grew up riding Mt Hamilton and around the South Bay and California I would love to make this ride! Decisions...decisions...
Dale B Phelps
Montagna lunga Colorado USA
Dale B Phelps
Montagna lunga Colorado USA
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03-29-24, 10:57 AM
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I was debating doing this ride (starting at least two hours before the rest of you so I might actually reach the top before you all start back down), but have realized that I have a prior engagement all that weekend. Oh, darn!
And I leave to you all to decide for yourselves whether my "oh, darn" is sarcastic or not.
And I leave to you all to decide for yourselves whether my "oh, darn" is sarcastic or not.
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03-29-24, 11:03 AM
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I've ridden Hamilton many times, both from Alum Rock and from Livermore. It's a great ride. Unfortunately I'll probably be in the UK on this date, otherwise I'd be there for sure. On weekends they almost always run tours of the original telescope (the one James is buried under) on a roughly every other hour basis. I've done this several times and they are always very interesting and the content varies a lot depending on who is giving the tour. Well worth the roughly hour you spend on the tour. I highly recommend that you try to catch one of these before heading back down.
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03-29-24, 11:48 AM
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Yes, the name does sound suspiciously Python-esque, or maybe like the punchline of a moderately bawdy joke, but Lick-Wilmerding is a real place. This is from their website: "A private school with public purpose, Lick-Wilmerding High School develops the head, heart, and hands of highly motivated students from all walks of life, inspiring them to become lifelong learners who contribute to the world with confidence and compassion."
The James Lick Observatory is way cool, but I shall leave unstated my thoughts about the James Lick Freeway (US 101 between San Francisco and San Jose).
The James Lick Observatory is way cool, but I shall leave unstated my thoughts about the James Lick Freeway (US 101 between San Francisco and San Jose).
James Lick is two miles south of Mt Hamilton Road. It opened in 1950 as the first high school serving the area.
I attended and graduated from the latter in the seventies. Wonderful school back then, but since the 90's it plummeted in every aspect.
As a teen, I routinely rode to the top and many turnaround points in between. Tough ride when one chooses a rapid pace.
Doing it on a vintage bike these days means a seven pound handicap and possibly harder gearing. Good luck for everyone accomplishing the feat.
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03-29-24, 01:07 PM
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Edit: Oops - you weren't responding to me. It would help if I actually read stuff before responding . . . .
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03-29-24, 03:16 PM
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Ha! My plan is actually start at Manchester Airport, ride through the Peak District then the Yorkshire Dales on my way to the Lake District. In the Lake District the plan is to ride Velo Retro, after which I will head for Scotland. We'll see if all this comes to pass though.
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03-29-24, 03:44 PM
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Hmmmmm. I last (and first, for that matter) went up Mt Hamilton on 1 January 2000. I still have the bike I rode, which is surely vintage by now!
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03-29-24, 08:58 PM
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Ha! My plan is actually start at Manchester Airport, ride through the Peak District then the Yorkshire Dales on my way to the Lake District. In the Lake District the plan is to ride Velo Retro, after which I will head for Scotland. We'll see if all this comes to pass though.
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03-30-24, 12:21 AM
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That sounds great. My calendar is clear on the 27th so I’ll try to be there. I’ve lived in the Bay Area since ‘96, and have yet to try the Mt. Hamilton climb. I’ve made it up Mt. Tam & Mt. Diablo, so this would complete the Bay Area tall-peak trifecta.
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03-30-24, 09:19 AM
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Someday someone should put together a 3 day event for all three peaks. Maybe one per weekend in the fall? Or for the ambitious, consecutive days. I'd travel down there for that.
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If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
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03-30-24, 11:14 AM
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03-30-24, 12:06 PM
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03-30-24, 12:19 PM
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https://www.strava.com/activities/773580
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03-30-24, 02:18 PM
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One time a long time ago, almost a past life, I did all three in one day..not on a C&V bike though :-/
https://www.strava.com/activities/773580
Guy
https://www.strava.com/activities/773580
Guy
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