bitingduck

Anyone done this route?
It looks like it could be nice. I'm traveling for work and trying to squeeze in a nice ride somewhere.

Drew Eckhardt 

More or less (I start in Sunnyvale). There are a number of roads which climb the Santa Cruz mountains to Skyline, and a number which descend to Santa Cruz or the Pacific Coast nearby.

For a less mountainous route I might take Sunnyvale-Saratoga to Highway 9 over the mountains, refill water bottles at the Felton Safeway, and go left on Graham Hill to Mt. Hermon road within 0.25 miles to avoid UC Santa Cruz.

bitingduck

"Less mountainous" is definitely not my style. The hillier the better What's the best climbing route?

Crewchief911

Many years ago I rode with a club from Alameda to Santa Cruz, through the Santa Cruz mountains. I would never try that one again.

Drew Eckhardt 

Stevens Canyon to Redwood Gulch to CA-9, go right instead at Felton on Felton Empire road to Empire grade, then left there to descend into Santa Cruz.

Some of the classic climbs (Old la Honda, Kings Mountain) also get you to Skyline, but start higher above sea level so they're less fun.

Redwood Gulch:

Come back some other way off Highway 1. Alpine and Tunitas Creek are good routes to Skyline.

Or go for a longer ride elsewhere with taller climbs. Mt. Hamilton (4200') in the morning is a nice warmup for Mt. Diablo (3800') in the afternoon with almost no civilization for 50 miles from the peak of Mt. Hamilton to Livermore (get water at Lick Observatory open 8am-5pm and the Forest Service fire station).

bitingduck

Awesome, thanks.

Wulf

Last time I rode Alpine Rd (portola Valley -Skyline) the middle section was unpaved dirt. 1973.

Nachoman

Yeah I was pedaling up around there too, all pre-mountain bike era.
Off roading on our road bikes, was not an issue.

Drew Eckhardt 

Alpine road on the Santa Cruz/Pacific/west side of Skyline is entirely paved.

On the Silicon Valley/east side there's still an unpaved section starting at Page Mill which has been closed to motorized vehicle traffic for a long time.

Drew Eckhardt 

Oh yeah - FWIW the SF Bay area is considered part of Northern California even though it's essentially central. Posting in that regional forum might get other opinions from people who live here.