AVA-E 4/25/26 Bohlman/Gist/Huddart

Hello Alto Velo A-Endurance enjoyers, I’ve been riding far too many flat roads lately so it’s time to build some climbing legs.
This Saturday we have a main course of 2 climbs, Bohlman, and Black/Gist with some yummy double digit gradients on offer and even a smol gravel section at the end of Bohlman (I hear).

As a final dessert we will do a little climb in Huddart County Park before looping back to the other dessert, Shake Shack!

Stops:

• Mile 29: After the Bohlman descent (regroup)

• Mile 38: Castle Rock for water / restrooms

• Mile 77: Shake Shack

77mi, 8516ft

Pace: 3w/kg on the “flats”, whatever you feel on the major climbs, we will regroup after these

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9 a.m., Leave 9:10 a.m.

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3481689440758359690 (thanks Richard Red)

Ride Leader: Suhith

AVA-E — 18 April — “Spectating” Berkeley Hills

Hello my gummy worm connoisseurs,

Let’s put the endurance back in the Saturday “endurance” ride.
We’ve got the Berkeley Hills RR this weekend and there are some fine folk from AV racing it.
Disclaimer: Every field will have probably finished by the time we get there ;) But our ride will be fun regardless of how much the racers suffer.

Mt. Diablo is optional in this route since it’s an out and back.
This ride ends at the SF Caltrain station and we can public transit straight back to California Avenue in Palo Alto and Summit Bikes.

Ride stats: 148 mi and 8100 ft (238 km and 2469 m) 9:00 AM at Summit Bikes in Palo Alto. Rolling at 9:10 AM

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3479373524213111584

Regroups/stops:
1. Sunol corners little market (get your gummy worms here)
2. Top of Mt. Diablo
3. Bottom of Mt. Diablo
4. Gas station after Walnut Creek
5. Berkeley Hills RR (near the start-finish) — we will respect the course marshals
6. SF Caltrain station (4th street)

Pace: Zone 2. It’s a long ride so we really should take it easy.
Do whatever pace the devil tells you on Diablo. Let’s try and rotate on long flat/rolling sections.
Stay safe on the descent. Please stop at the stop sign by the ranger station. I’ve seen them pull cyclists over.
Bring lots of carbs.

Ride leader: Paddy

Please read the AV ride rules and sign the waiver if you’re not a member! Links below.
https://www.new.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette
https://www.bikereg.com/alto-velo-guest-waiver

CANCELED Sunday A Ride - 4/12/26 - Roubaix Remix

In honor of the Paris-Roubaix this weekend, we will exploring some lesser-known mixed surface roads in what looks to be some fairly grim weather. UPDATE: I tried to rally the troops and couldn’t get a single person to commit to this ride due to the forecast. Therefore I will NOT be leading this ride today. Tentatively planning to try again May 24.

As with most of my rides, we will be leaving a bit early (note 8am start!) and will only make one true stop for food and water. The goal is to ride efficiently and make it home as early as possible for some hot cocoa by the fireplace. We will be taking on three climbs that I have never ridden including Redwood Retreat, Mt Madonna, and Eureka Canyon. Mt Madonna is tame gravel, typically suitable for a road bike. Eureka Canyon is untamed asphalt, also suitable for a road bike. Make sure your bike is in tip-top shape (top off your sealant!) and bring lots of snacks.

Route summary: Summit > Foothill > backroads of Cupertino > Hwy 9 > Kennedy > Almaden > Uvas > Redwood Retreat > Mt Madonna > Four Corners Market for food/water > Eureka Canyon > Highland > Old Santa Cruz Highway > Los Gatos Creek Trail > return on the same roads back from Los Gatos

Route: https://connect.garmin.com/app/course/447062393

Summary: 111 miles / 6600’

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: NOTE EARLY START TIME! Meet 8 a.m., Leave 8:10 a.m.

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Andrew Ernst

AVA-E — 11 April — A little Colbrelli

Paris Roubaix weekend is here and it’s time to channel our inner Sonny Colbrelli

I’ve plagiarized the rainy day flat Calaveras route our wise master Jack took us on earlier this year.
Fools like us can rattle our bones apart on Marshlands Rd and get muddy.

Extra points if you don’t actively try and avoid those potholes.

Ride stats: 77 mi and 3150 ft (123 km and 960 m) starting at 9:00 AM from Summit Bikes in Palo Alto

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3477507936176286106

Regroups/stops:
Sunol corners little market
Restroom area near Marshlands rd on the way back

Pace: What does endoorance really mean to you? For me, it’s 190-220 W on flat roads on a dry day.
Maybe it’s 300 W for you in which case, plz put on a rear fender on your bicicleta.
I’m fairly slow on descents. Will take downhill sections extra careful in wet weather.

Ride leader: Paddy “el stupido”

Please read the AV ride rules and sign the waiver if you’re not a member! Links below.
https://www.new.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette
https://www.bikereg.com/alto-velo-guest-waiver

Sunday A-Ride 4/5/26 - China Grade

In search of some friends to do a big climbing ride with me on Sunday! I’m going to gauge effort by vibes because I don’t have a power meter right now but aiming for 3-3.5 w/kg type effort for you power dorks. Planning to do some big climbing over towards Santa Cruz, highlights include HWY 9 up to skyline, then dropping down East Zayante road into Ben Lomond, climbing China Grade and continuing up out of Big Basin before dropping down Page Mill to finish.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3474859572169187684

Summary: 83 miles / 8,500 feet: See above

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9 a.m., Leave 9:10 a.m.

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Jon Wells

[Los Gatos] Saturday A Ride 4/4 - Henry Coe

Dear adventurers, 

This week, while it is not yet unreasonably and blisteringly hot, we are embarking on an expedition down south to experience a climb that is new for most of us - Henry Coe State Park. We will start from Summit Bicycles in Los Gatos and take Kennedy to Hicks to Almaden to Uvas before crossing through Morgan Hill to reach our mysterious destination, where untold treasures await…

There is plenty of street parking around Summit; alternatively, you can use this lot or the library across the street. I’ll be rolling at 3w/kg all day long. I hope you will come explore with us!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3436968055542727784 - 90mi / 7,700ft

Start: Summit Bicycles, Los Gatos. Meet 9:00 AM, Roll 9:10 AM

Ride Etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Richard Red

AVA-E Saturday 3/28 - Pigeon Point & Shake Shack

Saturday’s forecast is looking perfect, we’ll do an iteration of one our classic routes to take advantage of the sun & scenery to Pigeon Point. We’ll even have a light tailwind if we’re lucky. This will be an efficient ride. Let’s keep it smooth and single or double file on La Honda & Highway 1 and be sure to call out any road furniture to keep everyone safe, rotating through where possible. We will regroup at each climb and have a 10-15 min stop in Pescadero at mile 50. See you there!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3471332048284834284

Summary: 83 miles / 6,800 feet: Summit Bicycles > OLH > La Honda down > Highway 1 > Gazos Creek > coffee/snack in Pescadero > Pescadero Creek up > West Alpine up > Page Mill down > Shake Shack

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9 a.m., Leave 9:10 a.m.

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Sam Moskal

Sunday A Ride: Mt. Tam via Alpine Dam + Hwy 1

Time: 8:45am meet, roll by 9am from Crissy Field East Beach parking lot

Date: 3/29/26

Ride Leader: Wil Gibb

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3472239870892956590 ~70 miles/~7k feet

After a weekend of hard racing, it’s time for a beautiful Mt. Tam ride to refill our cups. This is my favorite way to do Tam, going across Alpine Dam, climbing the seven sisters, and descending down to Stinson Beach before rolling along the most stunning section of Highway 1. The main food stop will be at The Coffee Roastery in Fairfax, and there’s water/bathrooms at the top of Tam. The ride will be endurance pace, except for the Hawk Hill finale — if the wind is favorable maybe we can go for an effort.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Sunday A ride - 3/22 Cat’s Hill hangover

One water stop at pesky this is not a super long route so it should be reasonable. Minimal stopping otherwise. I think we can get it done in 4-5 hours

We should be averaging about a zone 2 pace I might be shelled from the day before but I’ll do my part to keep the pace up

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/54323098

Summary: 72 Miles, Kings, 84, reverse stage, Haskins, Alpine, down page and home

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9 a.m., Leave 9:10 a.m.

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Leo Minami

AVA-E 3/21/26 - Dirt to Race Spectating

Ok this may be more of “a ride” than “A Ride” if you get my drift. Last year Richard Red led a fun looking dirt route to LG for Cat’s Hill spectating but he is unavailable, so we are running the route (mostly) back with me, Temu Richard.

This will definitely be closer to B pace so if you would like some dirt don’t be afraid to join! Ride will unofficially end at the race in Los Gatos, hang out as long as you want or head home when you need to.

Fun fact: I’ve never done El Sereno so some new trails for me! Those wishing to get to racing earlier can either detour off 9 to Sanborn to JNT to black, or skip the second half dirt altogether and just take 9 all the way to LG. Lots of options that the leader may or may not need to avail himself of depending on how hard he gets dropped. See you there!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3469748463556186372

Summary: 64 miles / 6,800 feet: Summit Bicycles > Dirt Alpine> Canyon > RWG > 9 > Saratoga (water/snack?) > El Sereno > Montevina > LGCT > Cat’s Hill > Rail Trail/Foothill back

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9 a.m., Leave 9:10 a.m.

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: this can’t be right… Jonathan?

AVA-E 3/14/26 - China Grade

Sorry for the late ride posting — I was only recently bullied into being A-ride leader for the weekend. Since I’m the ride leader and I am also racing Bariani on Sunday this is going to be basically the exact opposite vibe of Rachel’s ride last weekend: we will be doing steady endurance. and maybe a hint of tempo on the climbs.

B riders who are contemplating A ride are especially welcome! I’m thinking a 50-55min Page Mill pace (please wait at the top if you’re fast or just keep going if you want to be fast all day) and safe, friendly, and SMOOTH pacelines on the flats. If we can be courteous to other road users and not blob out into traffic when there is a bike lane that would be appreciated.

Food stop in Boulder Creek will be efficient but enjoyable.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3467724944509143796

n.b. if you would like less climbing, feel free to descend Highway 9 on the way home.

Summary: 86 miles / 9,000 feet: Summit Bicycles > Page Mill > Skyline > water @ fire station > driveway/skinny Skyline > Bear Creek > coffee/snack in Boulder Creek > China Grade > 9 up > [Skyline > 84] or [9 down > RWG > Foothill]

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9 a.m., Leave 9:10 a.m.

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Robin Betz

Sunday A-Ride 3/8/26 - Pigeon Point

Feels like it’s been a while since we’ve had one of these on a Sunday right? It should be really nice out this weekend, so this should be a good one. My coach wants me to do “steady endurance” pace, so this should be about 3-3.5w/kg the whole time. We’ll have a quick water stop in Pescadero after the Cloverdale loop, but minimal stopping otherwise (I don’t want to wait for 15 minutes at the top of every climb).

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3254515217037370706

Summary: 84 miles / 8,100 feet: Summit Bicycles > OLH > 84 > Haskins > Cloverdale/Gazos Creek > Hwy 1 > Bean Hollow > Pescadero (water stop) > Stage > Bike Hut > Lobitos Creek > Tunitas > Kings > Summit Bicycles

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9 a.m., Leave 9:10 a.m. (also remember DST starts Sunday)

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: George Wehner

AVA-E 3/7/26 - Bonny Doon

8:30AM START

It’s another beautifully sunny day out, and there are no races this weekend which means the ability to destroy our bodies comfortably in a type 2 fun kind of way on a nice Saturday ride. I’ve been wanting to do this route for a while so take a look at the route link that’s what we’ll be doing. There are two water stops listed below. We can choose to stop at Pesky for coffee and pastries or find something further, I just don’t know where a good place to stop is. Stop lengths will depend on how much time we’re making up on the ride so we don’t get back too late. Pace will be 3.5w/kg. Note to meet at 8:30am.

Stops:

• Pesky mile 31.4

• Jamison mile 71.5

Summary: Page Mill —> West Alpine —> Pescadero —> Clover —> HWY1 —> Pine Flat —> China Grade —> Big Basin —> HWY9.

109 mi, 10,800 ft

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3444442616716402214

Start/End: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: meet 8:30AM, roll out 8:40am

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Rachel Hwang

AVA-E Saturday 2/28/26 Shake Shack

It’s looking sunny for the first half of the day, so going towards the coast! Route will be up Page Mill, along Skyline, stopping in Pescadero for a really quick water/coffee break at mile 39.5, loop around Purisma and Higgins Canyon, up Lobitos/Tunitas, down Kings to Shake Shack. Pescadero will be the only water stop so remember to fill up. My goal is to get to Shake Shack at a reasonable hour. Pace will be 3.5-34.0 w/kg on climbs, together on rollers, and will regroup at the top of each major hill.

Summary:

88mi, 8800ft

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3444442616716402214

Start/End: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: meet 9:00AM, roll out 9:10am

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Rachel Hwang

Saturday A ride 2/21- Kings - Hillsborough + Emerald Hills

I don’t entirely trust the weather to not turn this weekend, but for now its supposed to be nice and with an odd wind from the south. To make use of that wind we will start our ride on the noon-ride/spectrum route over to Kings. Then descend down to 92 before doing some smaller sharper climbs in Hillsborough and Emerald Hills on our way back. Not really sure what water stops are best, but like old store if we really need it, but more likely it will be the corner of Skyline and Crystal Springs is our first water stop. We will do loops on SkyFarm and Black Mountain Road and work our way back over to Palo Alto. We can get a coffee stop in either on the way back through crystal springs or at Emerald Hills Coffee Roasters.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3459792156556993862

Summary: Alpine/portola/tripp, Kings, 92, Sky Farm, Black Mountain Road, Polhemus, Ralston, Hastings, crestview, Jefferson, Canada, Whisky Hill, Sandhill

Start: Summit Bikes Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9:00 AM, Leave 9:10 AM

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules 

Ride Leader: Hannon Ayer

Saturday A ride 2/14- OLH-Pescadero + Cloverdale

This week we’ll head towards the coast for a loop around Pescadero and Cloverdale. We’ll do stops at Sky Londa and Pescadero for water. People can send it on Old la Honda and West Alpine if interested, but lets keep the group together on the rollers/flat sections. Weather looks ok so far, but we can modify the route if it looks like some rain will move in. Rumor has it there will be a stop at Alpine Inn at the end of the ride for interested parties.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3456864894159130310

Summary: Sandhill, Old la Honda, Skylonda, San Gregorio, Cloverdale loop, Pescadero, West Alpine, Pagemill

Start: Summit Bikes Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9:00 AM, Leave 9:10 AM

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules 

Ride Leader: Steph Hart

Sunday A-ride 2/8/26 — Bohlman/Soda Springs/Hwy9 + AVRT picture day

As the race season started, it’s time to do some long steady effort! We will do three major climbs 🏔️ — Bohlman, Soda Springs (not full climb, just first 6k then we’ll go down a side road), and Hwy9 from Saratoga. Feel free to go as hard as you want on the climbs, but I’ll try to (until fail) set a steady ~4.2 w/kg tempo, with regroup on the top of each climb. We will also check out cat’s hill course and have a ☕ coffee break in Los Gatos. Lots of places you can bail on this route, and the view around Lexington reservoir is always incredible — hope to see you there!🌊✨

Note: If you are on the race team and miss the Saturday photo shot, Wil will be there at the start on Sunday too!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3454006010880478546

Start/End: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: meet 9:00 am & roll out 9:10 am. Race team - meet 8:30 & wear team kit for photos

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Jack Liu

Saturday A Ride: Butano Gravel + AVRT picture day, 2/7/26

Hello everyone! The weather is warming up & there hasn’t been rain for awhile, which means it’s a perfect weekend for Butano, the back door into Big Basin. This is my favorite ride in the area, hands down. We will start by climbing dirt alpine, and going allll the way down west alpine to Portola State Park for a brief water stop. We will then traverse Old Haul Road, the first dirt section, down to Pescadero. We’ll briefly stop for a coffee/pastry/water - the last water stop for about 2 hours. The real fun begins after, where we climb Butano fire road, where, at its peak, you can see all the way to Monterey. After ten miles of gravel, we are spit out onto China grade/big basin, where we will climb up highway 9 to the fire station for water. After the fire station, we’ll head down skyline, -> page mill -> summit. This is a big, beautiful ride so we’ll try to make efficient stops to allow for time spent dismounting to hop over trees and taking photos at the old air field.

Note: If you are on the race team, please arrive to Summit at 8:30 & wear team kit for photos :)

Equipment: Gravel bike

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3454294432426423576

Start/End: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: meet 9:00 am & roll out 9:10 am. Race team - meet 8:30 & wear team kit for photos

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Wil Gibb

AVA-E: PM-Jamison-Soda Springs 1/31/2026

Hi all,

A little birdie told me that there was no AVA-E ride in the works for Saturday and that made me sad :(
So I came up with this little route to fill the ride shaped void in my heart :)

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3416627466380533656
~108 mi, 12300 ft
Start: 9 AM at Summit Bikes, rolling out at 9:10
Pace: Endurance on flats/rollers. 3-3.5 W/kg on climbs longer than 5 mins. Choose your own adventure on descents.
Regroups: Top and bottom of long climbs/descents
Stops: Water at Jamison Creek Rd fire station, gas station at Felton, water stop after the Lexington reservoir gravel connector.
Ride “leader”: Paddy
P.S. Soda Springs climb can be tackled/skipped by popular vote. But I’m in favor!!!
P.P.S. I heard there might be some Shake Shack-ery. So somebody please get on the front and pull so we can make it back on time

Sunday A Ride 2/1 - Team Pescadero Loop

For Sunday, we will meet at Summit Bicycles as a team and head to Pescadero via Old La Honda. We will then take in the nature on the west side of the mountain range by riding along stage, and head back to Skyline via Tunitas. From there we will descend back down King’s Mountain with caution, headed back to Summit Bicycles.

There will be a coffee stop along the way, but otherwise we will aim to keep stops to a minimum with the option to add on some more miles at the end of the ride.

66.26 mi, 6,554 ft

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3244363266010356798

Start/End: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: meet 9:00 am & roll out 9:10 am

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Jack Lund