49ers Stadium Taking Shape

San Francisco 49ers stadium in Santa Clara right off San Tomas Aquino Creek trail is taking shape at a rapid pace. Still, it’s not set to open until the 2014 football season.

I’ve warned about riding on the bayland levees after a rain or in a heavy fog, and now I’ll show you why. I haven’t made this mistake for 25 years. I started out from Alviso where the ground was relatively firm after a few days of light rain. However, farther along on the levee about a mile out things changed for the worse.

Within seconds my rear wheel jammed with thick, sticky mud. It’s the kind of mud that literally locks your wheel so it becomes difficult to ride. A mountain bike or cross bike would have fared better, but it would still be a tough slog.

Time to cut losses and beat a hasty retreat on the Alviso baylands trail. I had to stop and clear the mud with a screwdriver.

Butano Fire Road Airport Open for Business

Butano Fire Road Airport atop a ridge overlooking Butano State Park offers few amenities. You can see the control tower in the distance, looking north.

After an eight-year absence I finally made it out to Butano Fire Road to check out the newly improved airport, which now has a solar-powered control tower. Over the past 30 years my visits to the airport with Jobst Brandt and riders always made for interesting discussions as we stopped to enjoy a soda in the airport waiting area. It’s a bit spartan here to say the least — no seating, no food service, no restrooms, no people movers.

Oh, and no traffic. You’d think the Half Moon Bay airport could work out a deal and transport hikers to the airport rather than making them hike a million miles from Butano State Park. It’s not a paved runway, but a small airplane would have no problem.

I saw dirt aplenty today. There’s the mile of China Grade that’s dirt and then there’s another nine miles on Butano Fire Road. The only longer point-to-point route in the area is Aptos Creek Fire Road and Buzzard Lagoon, which goes for 12 miles on dirt.

Over the years the road has become perfectly OK to use as most of it is now in Butano State Park. I saw no logging activity, although it may still take place from time to time.

One of the nice features of the road is that it’s mostly downhill, with only three steep (11 percent) but short climbs worthy of note. That’s not to say you can’t ride up from Cloverdale. I did that once. Despite being a long climb, there are some nasty steep spots of 15 percent. I decided that was one memorable experience I didn’t need to repeat.

Conditions vary but today with the exception of the occasional sandy spot it was perfect. In 30 years the road has remained a gem for cycling and due to its remote location, it will probably stay that way.

Butano Fire Road extends from China Grade to Cloverdale Road. It’s a long nine-mile downhill — a great way to work muscles you didn’t know you had.

A Mudhole No More

For many years this stretch of the Guadalupe River path, at the San Jose airport economy parking area (formerly rental), turned into a mudhole when it rained. No more. The path has been paved from the airport all the way to Montague Expressway. However, the path is closed because some concrete needs to be poured at the intersection. I guess these “green zones” are a way to indicate motorbikes are not allowed.

100 Years and Still Pushing Gears

Stevens Creek Trail is accessible from Sunnyvale now that the Hwy 85 overpass is complete. It’s a nice design and came in at a reasonable $4.2 million.

Where do I begin? So much is happening in the cycling world. Let’s start with the centenarian who set a record on the bike, 100 km in 4h 17m 27s. Robert Marchand rode around the velodrome at Lyon, France. This guy also put the hammer down on his hour-ride record in Switzerland. When today’s cycling greats turn 100 they’ll be shattering records left and right.

Hwy 85 bike overpass
Finally. Hwy 85 has its bike overpass so now you can link up to the recreation trails at Shoreline Park coming from Sunnyvale. Thanks goes to Charlie Gibson, who managed the Mountain View parks and recreation department for decades. I remember checking out the area in the early 1980s. One idea was to have the path go under the freeway, but that proved impractical, so now we have the overpass, which has a nice long ramp for easy access and climbing.

Note that this gorgeous overpass cost $4.2 million. The Taj Mahal overpass at 280 cost $14 million, but it sure is pretty at night.

Road-rage driver cited
Two cyclists riding east of Boulder, Colorado, recorded an outraged motorist laying on the horn for five minutes as he drove behind them! What a jerk. Police tracked down the driver (you could clearly see the license plate) and cited him for a raft of infractions. That’s quick thinking by the riders to catch it all on video.

Guadalupe River path paving
Patience. In just a month or so the newly paved Guadalupe River path between Hwy 880 and Montague Expressway will open. There’s pavement in place most of the way, but road crews still need to do some touch-up. You can find the details on the Guadalupe River path construction update page. The most awful stretch of trail near the new airport economy parking area will no longer be a mud hole during winter rains.

Critical Mass 20-year ride goes off peacefully
Has it been 20 years? San Francisco’s Critical Mass “protest” ride held Friday nights monthly rolled off to a peaceful start with thousands of riders turning out, some coming from remote corners of the world just to enjoy the experience of blocking traffic (did I say that?). I’ve never done the ride and I have no plans to do so, but I support any activity that makes people think about the alternatives to the car for getting around, ESPECIALLY in San Francisco.

Rather than hating cyclists, drivers should embrace them, because that’s one less car they have to contend with.

Green bike lanes
San Jose has plans for green bike lanes, but I haven’t seen them yet. I don’t think they’ve been painted, although you can check out Cyclelicious to see how they’d look. Will they be effective? You bet. After a green lane was installed on Washington D.C.’s Pennsylvania Avenue, bicycling increased 200 percent and 90 percent of users said they felt safer.

Best cycling cities: Boulder, Davis, Portland
The League of American Bicyclists ranked these three cities as tops in cycling amenities, and if you’ve ever been there, you’ll know why. They got the platinum ranking. Our fair state of California ranked 12th, moving up from 20th in 2011.

Around the Bay, other notable cities include Palo Alto, San Francisco, Stanford (gold); Santa Cruz (silver); San Jose, Menlo Park, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Oakland (bronze).

The Guys on the Bikes

Bicycle Outfitter hosted an evening with RAAM competitors Jonathan Boyer, Michael Secrest, and Chris Kostman. They showed their 1985 duel as recorded by the Wide World of Sports.

Bicycle Outfitter arranged for a rare reunion of Race Across America (RAAM) competitors from the 1980s on Tuesday night and those who attended left with a new appreciation for the world’s most difficult bike race.

Chris Kostman was 18 when he served as a referee assigned to keep an eye on Jonathan “Jacques” Boyer at the 1985 RAAM. He went on to complete the RAAM and helped officiate for a dozen or so years. He had the pleasure of introducing Boyer, 1985 winner, and 1985 second-place finisher Michael Secrest. Boyer was making a rare visit home to Monterey from Rwanda where he spends most of his time coaching bike racers. Secrest lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Kostman showed Wide World of Sports excerpts from the 1985 race when Boyer and Secrest battled it out most of the way. I had never seen ABC’s coverage with announcer Jim Lampley. I got tired just watching the riders suffer through the endless hours of riding without sleep. It takes a special dedication to do this race. Secrest finished RAAM five times, won in 1987, and went on to do a solo cross-country ride in 1990 in 7 days 23 hours, a record that still stands. Boyer rode RAAM in 2006 in a category that required 4 hours sleep per day.

These guys aren’t young in years, but they look like they could go out and complete RAAM tomorrow. I rode with Boyer and other hard-core racers on a super-hot day back in 2003 through the Santa Cruz Mountains and I don’t think Boyer broke a sweat.

Boyer has made a decent living from his professional racing career, as the first American to compete in the Tour de France. He didn’t do RAAM to make money. Quite the opposite. Secrest spent his last dime racing RAAM and going after 24-hour track records. He’s a purist athlete to the core, emphasizing on more than one occasion that he never did drugs, other than the allowed asthma medication.

Wide World of Sports stopped following the race after 1986 and since then it has continued in obscurity. Wikipedia has good coverage of the event. If you’re interested in entering, just go to the RAAM website. Average cost – $20,000.

On my next 100-mile ride I’ll think about this memorable evening and tell myself 100 miles is a walk in the park compared to RAAM.

Photo of the Week

Burrell Vineyards and Winery occupies a knoll overlooking Summit Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Today’s history lesson is about Burrell School in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Summit Road. It opened in 1877. However, the building you see today is not the original. It burned in a grass fire in 1899 and was rebuilt.

It looks like it closed around 1954 and was sold. Dave and Anne Moulton bought it in 1973 and opened the current Burrell School Vineyards and Winery. They have whimsical names for their wines: Teacher’s Pet Chardonnay, Schoolyard Petite Sirah, Detention Red Zinfandel, etc.

As I returned on Schulties Road, the long suffering dirt road does see maintenance. County work crews shored up two sags in the road with substantial lumber construction.

It won’t be long before the harvest begins at vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Squish, squish.

Mountains Behind Fort Collins Great for Cycling

Masonville artwork. “Eagle” and “bear” dominate road names in these parts.

How times have changed since the days I attended Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado, in terms of cycling opportunities.

In the early 1970s many roads in the nearby mountains were dirt. This was before I knew sturdy tires could handle the dirt roads, although I recall the roads had a fair amount of gravel.

Fast forward to September 2012 and a beautiful day in the Rockies. I parked at Big Thompson Elementary School at Hwy 34 (Big Thompson Canyon) and rode north on County Road 27, Buckhorn Road.

It’s a gradual climb through a peaceful valley to Masonville. On the way you can check out the Arkins Park Stone Quarry on your left, where a lot of flagstone is taken out for building projects.

Masonville is one of those outposts from the 1890s back when there was still gold fever. Nothing panned out though. There’s a general store where you can stock up on provisions. Do so now because there aren’t any stores until near Fort Collins.

Turning left, I continued on Buckhorn Road through more lush valleys where you’ll find isolated, modern faux ranch homes scattered among the surrounding hills.

As the miles tick by you’ll start a series of stair-step climbs which get steeper by the mile, probably around 8 percent at their steepest. The elevation only goes to about 7,300 feet from 5,200 feet, with many ups and downs.

Buckhorn Canyon narrows
My favorite section comes where the road narrows as it heads through a rocky outcrop and passes a grove of aspen. If you leave early on a Sunday morning, you won’t see much traffic, although it picks up later in the day as the motorcycle tourists show up to enjoy the view. You will see a fair number of competitive cyclists riding out here.

A narrow section of Buckhorn Road brings you close to the Rockies.

The road name changes to Stove Prairie a few miles before the Rist Canyon Road junction and summit.

It’s also here where you’ll notice the effects of the High Park Fire that burned 87,000 acres, destroyed 259 homes and took one life. It started on June 9 from a lightning strike and was fully contained a month later.

Fortunately the fire skipped along the high peaks and left the valleys I saw unscathed, although I avoided Rist Canyon where most of the damage occurred.

Rist Canyon popular
Rist Canyon Road climbs steadily from Fort Collins at about a 6 percent grade. Coming from Stove Prairie Road there’s a steep climb of about a mile before the descent begins. (It was dirt in the 1970s.)

Final climb on Stove Prairie Road to the summit, 7,300 feet, at the Rist Canyon Road junction.

I continued downhill on Stove Prairie Road because I wanted to check out Poudre Canyon where I spent a lot of time in my youth. Watch out for the cattle guards on the way down. The second one has a wide gap where you can ding your rim.

It’s a brisk descent on the winding road through Roosevelt National Forest. Turn right at Poudre Canyon Road and you’ll have a spectacular view of Poudre River as you head downhill on a gentle grade. If only the traffic weren’t so bad!

Even in the 1970s it wasn’t pleasant, but today Poudre Canyon is the gateway for RVs and trailers going to the high country. I didn’t see a single cyclist on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon, and I’m not surprised.

Call it Karma: As I emerged from the canyon I passed the truck hauling its oversize camper that nearly ran me off the road. Its owner was changing a flat tire as I sped by.

Poudre Canyon, great for riding, if you get there early and beat the traffic.

Ted’s Place a memory
I stopped at the historic Ted’s Place store at the Hwy 287 junction. Today the store is gone and there’s just a cookie-cutter gas station. The original building looked like a Swiss chalet and stocked just about anything a camper could need.

After hours in the saddle on a dry, warm day in the Rockies, you’ll develop a powerful thirst. Bring plenty of water on these days to avoid dehydration.

I continued south on 287 for a short distance before turning right on W. County Road 54E, then left at Rist Canyon Road, which leads to Bellvue with its old buildings surrounded by farm land. There’s a state fish hatchery nearby worth a look.

Horsetooth Reservoir climbs
In Bellvue turn right and continue south on County Road 23, which is also called Centennial Drive. Horsetooth Reservoir’s narrow lake is nestled between two ridges and goes for miles. You’ll enjoy the ups and downs along the way, with grades of about 8 percent. From up here you’ll have sweeping views of Fort Collins. Hughes Stadium is also at the base of the mountain. It’s a nice spot, but too far away from the CSU campus, in the opinion of many.

Once past the southern end of the reservoir, there’s one more long climb before the road levels and it’s mostly downhill back to Masonville on W. County Road 38E, then south to Hwy 34 for a 60-mile trip. An alternate route is to go left on County Road 25E, Glade Road and miss Masonville.

There’s plenty of nearby adventure riding in this area on dirt roads, as documented by Bicycle Quarterly.

Horsetooth Reservoir could use some water. Enjoy the ups and downs here.

A Cinelli Frame with Stories to Tell

Ray Keener holds his frame, built by Cinelli and ridden by Jobst Brandt back in the 1970s. Behind him is his Peter Johnson frame, built in 1980.

While visiting Ray Keener in Boulder, Colorado, I had a chance to see Jobst Brandt’s last Cinelli, the one ridden before he switched to Tom Ritchey and Peter Johnson frames.

Ray is lovingly restoring the Cinelli with a new paint job and no doubt some good components. While Cinelli made excellent frames, they had one design limitation (in hindsight) — lugs. That meant the tube diameter had to be one-inch or one-and-an-eigth for the down tube. Ray says the bike has a lot of flex, although it never seemed to affect Jobst.

By contrast, also shown in the photo, is a frame built for Ray by the Bay Area’s Peter Johnson in 1980. It’s fillet brazed, has no lugs, and that meant Peter could build bikes with larger diameter tubes.

Fillet brazing offered a big advantage when Tom Ritchey started building mountain bike frames starting in 1979. He used larger diameter tubes for more durable bikes.

Jobst started riding Cinelli frames sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s. He purchased his first one from Spence Wolf, owner of Cupertino Bike Shop, which Spence ran out of his house. Jobst showed me the receipt and I think the entire bike cost something like $157.

Ray still rides Peter’s bike day in and day out after all these years.

Jobst Brandt rides his Cinelli (circa 1977) in a field of poppies just off Mines Road after the long descent. Photo by Peter Johnson.

Lick Skillet Road: Can You Say Steep?

Is Lick Skillet Road outside Boulder, Colorado, the steepest county road in the U.S.? Let’s just say it’s steep. This view is looking downhill.

As a veteran Jobst Rider, no ride is complete without some dirt. I had heard there was dirt aplenty in the hills overlooking Boulder, Colorado, from the always reliable Bruce Hildenbrand, so I decided to have a look.

First though I met with Ray Keener to catch up on old times, he being a veteran of Palo Alto Bicycles when I was also working there in mail order back in the mid 80s. Ray is a wheeler and dealer, so to speak. Does Facebook stop counting after 1,000 friends? Ask Ray.

Today he’s preparing for the upcoming Interbike trade show in Las Vegas where he is representing the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association (BPSA), a professional advocacy organization.

Ray mapped out a route for me that called for a ride going east away from the mountains but I’m sure he realized this was just a warmup. Ray was nursing a separated shoulder from a recent bike spill, but some medication took the edge off and he could ride.

We caught up on the old days as the miles flew by. Briefly I rode his wheel and I can’t tell you what great memories that brought back. Jobst and Ray are both 6’5″ and make great drafts. I continued on while Ray returned to Boulder. Nelson Road took me back to the alluring Rockies, as I passed a large Amgen facility. This being Boulder, I saw not one but two organized bike rides.

Lefthand Canyon Drive
Lefthand Canyon Drive looked like the place to go to test my gears, as confirmed by Ray. I had ridden across Colorado in the mid 80s from Durango to Denver and the high passes failed to impress. Way too easy.

I was looking for something with a little more inclination. Lefthand Canyon climbs steadily, but once again I was not impressed. However, I was told by a rider I met on the road that the last two miles before Ward is 12-15 percent (it’s about 9%). At 9,000 feet altitude that’s up there with Sonora Pass in difficulty.

Lick Skillet Road
But I was looking for Switzerland Trail, which Bruce said is worth checking out. I found this squiggly line on the map called Lick Skillet Road that could take me there. As I turned left onto the smooth dirt with plenty of washboard I saw a sign that warned “Steep, Narrow Road.” They were wrong about the narrow part.

Now here was something I could relate to. I climbed OK for about a half mile but at 7,500 feet and having only arrived in Denver two days ago, breathing came with difficulty. I knew there was only one way up this grade that averages 14% (sadly my bike computer with inclinometer had a dead battery), so I used my legs in other ways.

At the top of the climb I discovered the site of the oldest gold mine in Colorado at the town of Gold Hill. It looks like a ghost town but it’s not. People live here, lots of people.

According to Wikipedia, Lick Skillet is the steepest county road in the U.S. I’m not so sure, but I’ll give it some well-deserved respect.

Switzerland Trail being farther up the hill and not flat, I decided to head down Gold Run Road (becomes Fourmile Canyon Drive), which I knew to be all downhill. While dirt roads in the Rockies can be a nightmare on a road bike if they have lots of gravel, Gold Run was relatively smooth and an inch of rain two days before knocked down the dust.

On my way down I saw about 10 riders heading up. It’s not as steep as Lick Skillet, but you’re looking at sections of 10 percent and maybe even steeper. With so many elite riders in Boulder, I was not surprised to see most of the riders on road bikes.

Of course, finding my way back to Ray’s place near the CU campus had me taking the steep 9th Avenue to reach Baseline Road. I have a knack for finding steep. (This ride is officially Jobst Approved.)

Gold Run Road heading to Boulder winds through a pine forest, but recent fires have devastated the area.

Highline Canal a Cyclist’s Delight in Denver

While the real riding is in the Rockies, the way there from Denver is made easier by the Highline Canal, which winds through the city for miles and miles and miles. This is the intersection with the Cherry Creek Trail, which heads downtown.

I’ve done limited riding in Denver and this was my first time riding on the Highline Canal, which did not disappoint. This ditch was dug eons ago for irrigation and fortunately it has been left intact all these years.

For anyone wanting to ride from Denver into the mountains, a good way to go is the Highline Canal, at least until Colorado Boulevard where you’ll take Dartmouth Avenue over to Bear Creek Bikeway and then into the mountains via any number of roads.

There are a few major roads that require stopping for lights, but most of the other crossings, while at grade, don’t see all that much traffic.

There’s a great bike map issued by the Denver Bicycle Touring Club that shows the many trails through Denver as well as identifying the good roads to ride. It’s sold at the better bike shops in Denver.

As with most multi-use trails, it’s best to ride here early on weekends or on a weekday. Note that the trail is lined with plenty of puncture vine. Beware.