The Climbing Ride January 18: Making Hay Out of Your Legs While the Sun Shines

It’s supposed to be warm this weekend so we’ll tackle what’s normally the coldest Climbing route of the year. Hopefully we won’t be freezing our extremities off, but I still expect it to be pretty chilly down in the forest on Star Hill & Native Sons. Temperature aside, this is the most scenic Climbing route, so clean your sunglasses and polish up your camera lens for some great views.

If you are not an Alto Velo member you will need to fill out your yearly waiver at https://www.bikereg.com/alto-velo-guest-waiver

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, “If you are going up hill, keep going".

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/7253576

57 Miles, 6200ft

Climbs of note: Bear Gulch (east side), Oak Kill, Kings, Star Hill, Native Sons, Swett, Bear Gulch (west side).

Ride Safety:

For ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Climbing Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot on semi-random Sundays at 09:10 and leaves at 09:15. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Rides are 40-60 miles with 5000-7000 feet of climbing. The emphasis is on little-traveled hills with grades of ten to twenty percent. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks, and discouraged from vomiting in people’s driveways.