A Ride

 

The A rides are led by the Alto Velo Racing Team and feature a hard, consistent pace for 3-5 hours of riding. The Sunday A Ride is the most challenging ride offered by Alto Velo. The Saturday A Ride offers a pace between the Saturday B Ride and the Sunday A Ride and is focused on endurance. Most routes will include shorter options in case you want to join for the first part but have afternoon commitments or don't (yet!) have the fitness to hang in for the whole ride. These rides do not stop often, so two full bottles and plenty of snacks are highly recommended.

Start Point: Summit Bicycles at 392 California Ave in Palo Alto

Start Time:

  • Saturday A Ride: Meet at 9 a.m. Roll at 9:10 a.m.

  • Sunday A Ride:

    • October - May: Meet at 9 a.m. Roll at 9:10 a.m.

    • June - September: Meet at 8 a.m. Roll at 8:10 a.m.

Pace: Fast. Expect to climb Old La Honda in 21 minutes or less.

Regroups: Rarely. Highly recommended that you know the route and/or download to your head unit.

Example route: https://www.strava.com/routes/10975526

The A Rides are subject to Alto Velo's Ride Rules and all participants must sign an annual waiver.

See below for details of the upcoming rides as well as past rides.

Alto Velo Alto Velo

Sunday A-Ride - Nov 10, 2024 - Black Rd + Skyline + 84

Howdy folks,

This Sunday’s A-Ride will be heading South towards Lexington Reservoir to tackle one of my favorite climbs in the South Bay: Black Road. From there we’ll head back North on Skyline and cruise down West Alpine (people can “bail” on Page Mill to make the route shorter). We’ll then climb west 84, descend east 84 and head back to Summit, or home. Expect a water stop at Castle Rock park.

We’ll aim to stay together with steady pace. Feel free to stretch your legs on the climbs, as long as we re-group on top.

Should be a nice day to play bikes. Hope to see you there!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3289853359648235224

Summary: 75 miles / 7500 feet: Summit Bicycles > Foothill > Eden > Los Gatos Trail > Black Rd > Skyline > West Alpine > 84 > Sandhill > Summit

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

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

Ride Leader: Flo Costa

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

11/09/2024 A-Endurance LKHC Bear Gulch-HMB

Hi all,

Another week, another LKHC segment to bash your head against in effort to be dropped by Matin by a little bit less. This weeks is Bear Gulch which we will get to via OLH, and then weather providing, we can cruise down Tunitas and Lobitos to Halfmoon Bay before coming back over Tunitas and Kings to go home. Its the day before my birthday so, to celebrate, I’m going to end my ride at Alpine Inn. You all are welcome to join.

Last few weeks, the A-endurance has seemed pretty sensible pacing, lets try to keep that up. If you drop me on my birthday you have to by me a beer (LKHC segment excluded)

-Hannon

Summary: OLH, Bear Gulch, Lobitos-Higgins, Tunitas, Alpine Inn.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3286234339598785974

75 miles, 8100 ft

Regroups at Skylonda (water) , HMB (water), Bikehut (water), Top of Kings, Alpine Inn (beer)

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

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

Ride Leader: Hannon

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

11/3 A Ride: Big Basin

Seems like we haven’t had a Sunday A ride in a minute, lets change that! We’ll do big basin, the Cafe is closed but there’s a water stop just after so should be fine. Looks like no clouds, so should be a beautiful day!

It is early season for most of us, so please, if you want to hammer you can hammer on the long climbs where we regroup at the top, but everywhere else we need to take it steady. I’ll personally be targeting around 4 w/kg or so on the climbs, feel free to go steady with me!

Water stops at mile 36 at Little Basin Rd, and at mile 60 at Castle Rock. I added them as waypoints on the strava file so they should pop up on your device if you download the route!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3287530431844907648

Summary: 81 miles / 8200 ft, Summit > Foothill > 9 > Big Basin Way > Bear Creek > Skyline > Page Mill

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

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

Ride Leader: Nathan Martin

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Robin Betz Robin Betz

AV A Endurance - Saturday 11/01 - LKHC Kings

This week’s A endurance ride will take us to this week’s Low Key Hill Climbs segment: Kings’ Mountain Road.

We’ll roll from Summit and around the loop for a warm-up, stopping for a regroup and water at Tripp before the effort. Since Kings’ is my favorite training road and I want to keep our friendly relationship, I will bring a small bag to carry others’ water bottles and fix a flat kits up the hill for them in lieu of a full effort.

After regrouping at the top, we’ll roll along Skyline, and down 84.

If the group is interested, I’ve mapped out a coffee stop at Loma Mar store, followed by road bikeable dirt on Old Haul Road to Pescadero State Park and West Alpine. I promise this is actually road bikeable, not just “Robin road bikeable,” as Matin has done it on 25s in the downhill direction. If there isn’t sufficient interest, we’ll just go down 84 and climb West Alpine.

Summary: Summit Bicycles -> Old Page Mill -> Loop -> 84 -> Tripp -> Kings -> Skyline -> 84 [ -> Loma Mar coffee stop -> Old Haul Road -> Pescadero State Park Road ] -> West Alpine -> Page

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3287148843399939734

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

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

Ride Leader: Robin Betz

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

AV A Endurance - Saturday 10/26 - Reverse Pescadero

I haven’t been to Pescadero since the road race, so now that I think I’ve finally recovered from that trauma it feels like a great time to visit again. We'll start by climbing Old La Honda, paceline down Highway 84, and then cruise along Stage Road to Pescadero for an artichoke bread and water stop. We'll then head up Alpine via Haskins and descend Page Mill, finishing at Backyard Brew for coffee. We’ll regroup at the top of each climb, so feel free to ride at your own pace. For reference, I’ll be doing a 22-25 minute OLH.

Hope to see you there!
- Louise

Summary: 66 mi, 6,350 ft
Summit Bicycles -> ▲OLH -> ▼84 -> Stage Rd -> Pescadero -> ▲W.Alpine -> ▼Page Mill

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3284627607567083760

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

Ride Leader: Louise

Regroups:
- top of OLH
- La Honda
- Pescadero (water)
- top of Haskins
- W Alpine & Skyline
- Backyard Brew (coffee)

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

Non-Members:
Alto Velo welcomes non-members to join us on our rides. However, non-members must have a Waiver on file with the club. Filling out the waiver is required one time per year.

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

AV A Endurance - Saturday 10/19 - LKHC Alba

This week’s A endurance ride will take us to this week’s Low Key Hill Climbs segment: Alba via a route that only climbs the decent parts of highway 9.

We’ll roll from Summit up Page Mill and get a nice long warm-up before the main effort with a 50-55 min pace. We’ll climb a bit more on Skyline before heading down 9 to Boulder Creek for a very brief coffee stop to caffeinate and use the restroom before the real fun begins.

After climbing the 3.8 mi at 10+% of Alba at everyone’s max effort pace, we’ll have a generous regroup at the top, roll mainly downhill on Empire grade and enjoy descending the new pavement of Jamison Creek, getting water at the bottom. We’ll return to Skyline via Big Basin and Highway 9.

Summary: Summit Bicycles -> Page Mill -> Skyline -> 9 -> COFFEE (in Boulder Creek) -> 9 -> Alba -> Empire Grade -> Jamison -> 236 -> 9 -> Skyline -> 84

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3281741126648348000

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

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

Ride Leader: Robin Betz

Ride Leader’s special notes:

Pace-wise, I want to get a good time on Alba so I will be enforcing a friendly pace on Page and Skyline, and will probably be tired after the effort so will be friendly through Big Basin as well. By “friendly,” I mean a 50-55 min Page mill with a regroup at the top, and about 2.5 - 3 w/kg on other climbs. If you want to hammer Alba and all the other climbs too, Sunday A-ride is there for your enjoyment.

Fun fact, Alba is the only hill I’ve ever thrown up at the top of and I wasn’t even fast that day. Hopefully I will not be repeating that experience.

After Alba, it’s downhill on Empire grade and Jamison, and there’s water at the bottom of Jamison, so bringing just the water you need for the climb should be adequate. I’ll be bringing 2 bottles and having one full for the climb.

If you’re a B rider interested in A ride, this would be a good one to attend! Women are especially welcome!!! You don’t have to go hard on Alba and if you carry someone else’s fix a flat kit for them, no one will mind waiting at the top (we’ll all be busy throwing up recovering anyway). Bribes are definitely available - if you carry my fix-a-flat kit during my effort I will buy you a coffee.

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

AV-A ride: LKHC Motebello

This week's ride will feature the LKHC segment of the week: Montebello. Whether you already went for it and want to give it another try, or if you were waiting for the right opportunity, come and join us!

We will roll from Summit bicycle along foothill, short regroup before the climb to stash things away and send it up the hill. After a regroup at the top we’ll roll down and climb redwood gulch to HWY9, continue along skyline to Pagemill, down Pagemill back to Summit. Short and sweet.

Strava is down, so no route. But please shoot me an email if you have any questions (shai.traister@gmail.com). It’s expected to be warm, esp with the late start, so please bring enough water.

Summary: Summit Bicycles > Foothill > Montebello up > Montebello down > Redwood Gulch > Hwy 9 > Skyline north > Page down > Summit Bicycles

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

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

Ride Leader: Shai Traister

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

10/5 - Recruiting Ride #4 - OLH & Tunitas

Are you interested in racing with the Alto Velo Racing Team in 2025? If so, please join us this Saturday 10/5 at 9am at Summit Bicycles for our last recruiting ride of the season! This is your best opportunity to get to know the team and show off your strengths on the road. If you are interested in racing and haven’t already applied to AVRT you can do so here.

For this week, we’ll do a classic - up OLH, out 84 to San Gregorio then back up Tunitas Creek. This gives us two climbs to put down good times, plus paceline practice out 84. We will do short regroups at the top of the two climbs and a water stop at the bike hut.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3276304001409924262

Summary: 55 miles / 5,100 feet

Summit Bicycles > Page Mill > Arastradero > Alpine / Portola > OLH (short regroup at top) > Skyline > 84 to San Gregorio > Stage > Hwy 1 > Tunitas to Bike Hut for a water stop > Tunitas climb (short regroup at top) > Kings > 84 > Whiskey Hill > Sand Hill > Foothill > Summit Bicycles

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9:00 AM, Leave 9:10 AM. Note the A ride will start at 9am for the rest of the year.

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

Ride Leader: Greg McCullough

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Cam O'Reilly Cam O'Reilly

9/29 A Ride: Recruiting Ride #3

Are you interested in racing with Alto Velo Racing Team in 2025? If so, please join us this Sunday 9/29 at 9am at Summit Bicycles for our third recruiting ride of the season! After this there is only one more opportunity to join a recruiting ride on Saturday 10/5. These rides are your best opportunities to get to know the team and show off your strengths on the road, so the more you can attend the better! If you are interested in racing and haven’t already applied to AVRT you can do so here.

This week's ride will feature a selection of segments for you to show off your fitness and skills. A long climb up Page Mill Road, a technical descent down West Alpine Road (please ride responsibly), pacelines on 84, and sprints at Willowbrook/Alpine and the Dish.

Please review the route before the ride. If you plan on climbing Page in >40 minutes then please turn RIGHT onto Arastradero Rd at about 3.4mi for a shorter “warm up” loop before the climb. We will have a short regroup at the base of West Alpine and then a longer regroup/water stop at SkyLonda. After descending 84 we will do a rolling regroup and maintain a social pace through the Maze, then kick off some friendly competition on Whiskey Hill racing for the Willowbrook/Alpine sprint (Tuesday TMR finish). If you get dropped during this you can skip Willowbrook and meet the group at Alpine and Portola. We'll do a quick regroup then race for the Dish sprint to finish the ride.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3273513018082995924

Summary: 54 miles / 5,000 feet: Summit Bicycles > Foothill > Burke > Robleda > Purissima > Arastradero > Page (short regroup at top) > West Alpine (short regroup at bottom) > 84 (stop at SkyLonda for water) > 84 > Tripp > Maze > Whiskey > Portola > Willowbrook > Alpine (sprint for the top) > Alpine > Foothill (sprint for Dish) > Summit Bicycles

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9:00 AM, Leave 9:10 AM. Note the A ride will start at 9am for the rest of the year.

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

Ride Leader: Cameron O’Reilly

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

AV A Endurance- Saturday Sep 21- Best of SC Mountains

This Saturday the A Endurance ride is headed to Santa Cruz mountains for some challenging and hopefully fun climbs including Jamison Creek and Zayante.

Pace:

You have the opportunity to do your workouts at whatever pace that suits you on Pagemill, Jamison Creek and Zayante. But we are expected to stay together for the rest of the ride including big basin mini climbs. We will regroup at the top of the climbs and after long descents. We aim to maintain an average speed of 16-17 mile/hour for this ride. We will have 3 quick stops including : fire station at base of Jamison (mile 40) , Felton (mile 55) and Castle rock (mile 74), each stop limited to 15 min. Bring enough food as there is only food available in Felton at mile 55.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3271983049268661164

Summary: 96 miles / 10,700 feet: Summit Bicycles > Page >35 > Hwy 9 > 236 > Jamison > Felton> Zayante> Skyline > 9 > RWG > Foothill > Summit

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

Ride etiquettehttps://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Hoss Hayati

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Cam O'Reilly Cam O'Reilly

9/22 A Ride: Recruiting Ride #1

Are you interested in racing with Alto Velo Racing Team in 2025? If so, please join us this Sunday 9/22 at 9am at Summit Bicycles for our first recruiting ride of the season! This is the first of four recruiting rides; while you don't need to attend all of them, these are your best opportunities to get to know the team and show off your strengths on the road. If you are interested in racing and haven’t already applied to AVRT you can do so here.

This week's ride will feature a selection of segments for you to show off your fitness and skills. A long climb up Kings Mountain Road, a technical descent down Tunitas (you can go fast, but please don’t be stupid), pacelines on 84, and sprints at the Firehouse and Dish. 

Please review the route before the ride. Regroups will be short; if you get dropped on 84 you can skip West Old La Honda and/or take a right on Portola and skip the Mt Home loop.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3270548571985554512

Summary: 60 miles / 5,000 feet: Summit Bicycles > Sand Hill > Whiskey Hill > Kings (short regroup at top) > Tunitas (water at Bike Hut) > 1 > 84 > WOLH (roll to SkyLonda for water) > 84 > Mt Home > Portola (sprint for Firehouse) > Alpine > Foothill (sprint for Dish) > Summit Bicycles

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9:00 AM, Leave 9:10 AM. Note the A ride will start at 9am for the rest of the year.

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

Ride Leader: Cameron O’Reilly

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

Saturday A-Endurance Sep 14 Orbiting Skyline

Join us for another fun Saturday A-Endurance! We’ll warm up on our way to Los Gatos and then take on the challenging Bohlman - On Orbit - Bohlman climb. You’re welcome to take the climb at your own pace; we WILL regroup at the top.  Then, we’ll carefully traverse the brief Motevina gravel section before carefully descending beautiful Montevina. We’ll climb Black Rd to Gist Rd to Skyline, again at a reasonable pace with a brief regroup at the top.  Once we reach Skyline, there’s a bit more climbing until we reach Castle Rock for a water refill and then all downhill to Page Mill and back to Summit Bicycles. 

As usual, let’s regroup at the top of the climbs and stay together on the flats and descents. Plan to bring two big bottles and lots of nutrition!   There is a long stretch with limited water and services from Stevens Creek to Castle Rock.  If necessary, we can divert to Lexington Elementary. Hope to see you out there!

Water Stops:

Stevens Creek Reservoir

Castle Rock State Park

Route:  https://www.strava.com/routes/3269478389456067750

Summary: 60 miles / 7,000 feet: Summit Bicycles > Los Gatos > Bohlman - On Orbit - Bohlman > Montevina > Black Rd > Gist Rd > Skyline > Page Mill > Summit Bicycles

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

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

Ride Leader: Jack Lund

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

Sunday A-Ride 9/15/2024: Bear Creek, Black Rd, and Gist Rd

Let’s tackle some fun climbs in the mountains this Sunday. We’ll stop for water early about 14 miles in because the next stop isn’t until mile 45. It should be a fun route, will be a bit cooler so might be a bit misty on Skyline. We can decide as a group wether to go up Black Rd in its entirety or turn on Gist Rd.

As usual, let’s keep it steady on the flats, have your fun on the climbs as we’ll regroup at the top of each major one.

Reminder: The A-ride meets at Summit Bicycles on California Ave in Palo Alto at 8 am Sunday

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3269497402091148454

Summary: 82 miles / 8,800 feet: Summit Bicycles > 9 > Bear Creek Road > Summit Rd > Black Road > Gist Road > Skyline > Page Mill > Summit

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 8:00 AM, Leave 8:10 AM

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

Ride Leader: Nathan Martin

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

Sunday A Ride - 9/8/2024 - San Carlos Hills - 92/Skyline - Portola - LAH

Come one, come all to this Sunday’s A Ride! It’s sure to be a blast as we start by traversing the hills of San Carlos and Hillsborough. We’ll then ascend 92 and Skyline as we take in the gorgeous views of the ocean on the right and bay on the left. Come down Kings Mtn, wind our way through Portola Valley. Then we’ll make our way up upper Alpine, down Trancos. Finally, we’ll cap off the day by winding through the hills of Los Altos. Looking forward to seeing you out there!

Reminder: The A-ride meets at Summit Bicycles on California Ave in Palo Alto at 8 am Sunday

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3267216540661242800

Summary: 66 miles; 6500ft climbing; San Carlos Hills - 92/Skyline - Portola - LAH

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 8:00 AM, Leave 8:10 AM

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

Ride Leader: Brad Lovegren

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

Saturday A-Ride - September 7, 2024 - Not not Pescadero

For this week’s A Endurance Ride, we’re not not going to be riding through Pescadero. We’re going to include some longer suspended climbs on Highway 9 and Tunitas, so break out your lighter wheels and smaller chainrings if you have them.

We’ll aim for a steady 3.0 W/kg pace, riding efficiently with the option to paceline on the flatter sections. There will be regroups at the top of each climb, and a brief water stop at Pescadero, with the option to refill again at the base of Kings if needed; otherwise, stops will be minimal. Please pack in all the nutrition you will need for the duration of the ride. Personally, I’ll be bringing two bottles of high carb mix, 2-3 clif bars, and 4 energy gels (all courtesy of our sponsor, The Feed) with the plan to refill using plain water.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3266579554288998492

Summary: 80 miles / 8,352 feet: Summit Bicycles > Stevens Creek > Mt Eden > Hwy 9 > Skyline > W Alpine > Pescadero (water stop) > Stage > Bike Hut > Lobitos Creek > Tunitas > Kings > Sand Hill > Summit Bicycles

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: Clark Penado

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

Sunday A-Ride 9/1/2024: Bohlman - On Orbit - Bohlman and Bear Creek

Join us for another fun Sunday A-Ride! We’ll warm up on our way to Los Gatos and then take on the challenging Bohlman - On Orbit - Bohlman climb. After regrouping at the top, we’ll carefully traverse the brief Motevina gravel section before descending and making our way to Bear Creek Road. Once we reach Skyline, there’s a bit more climbing, and then all downhill to Page Mill and back to Summit Bicycles. 

As usual, let’s regroup at the top of the climbs and stay together on the flats and descents. Plan to bring two big bottles, as we’ll likely stop once at Castle Rock (it shouldn’t be too warm on Sunday). If necessary, we can add a water stop at Stevens Creek Reservoir or divert to Lexington Elementary. Hope to see you out there!

Reminder: The A-ride meets at Summit Bicycles on California Ave in Palo Alto at 8 am Sunday

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3264738613782904812

Summary: 60 miles / 7,200 feet: Summit Bicycles > Los Gatos > Bohlman - On Orbit - Bohlman > Montevina > Bear Creek Road > Skyline > Page Mill > Summit Bicycles

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 8:00 AM, Leave 8:10 AM

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

Ride Leader: Henry Mallon

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

AV A Endurance - 8.24.24: Zack’s Farewell (for now!)

Hey all! I’m moving to Boston this Sunday. It will be a while until I get a chance to ride in the Bay, so the endurance A ride will be a blowout of some of my favorite roads. The ride’s end destination is the AV Picnic at Shoup Park, where we will devour tacos in celebration of our epic journey. Picnic starts at 3pm so we have a time goal.

We will aim for a steady 2.5-3.5 W/kg throughout the ride. Although I plan to smash the climbs, I will enforce solid regroups to make the ride widely accessible. Let’s aim to climb at around 3.5 W/kg.

First, we are all going to PR up Page Mill Road. As motivation, and in the spirit of my move, you can listen to Shipping Up to Boston for inspiration. After a solid regroup (and water refill), we will descend Alpine Road to Haskins, head toward Pescadero, branch out to Pigeon Point, then return to Pescadero for another food/water break. We will then go up Tunitas (with a water break at the Bike Hut if needed) via Lobitos Creek. Finally, we will descend Kings, then follow Portola Valley to Shoup park.

If we’re running low on time, we will cut out Lobitos Creek (saving 5 miles and 500 feet). We can also follow Skyline to 84 instead of descending Kings, but will play that by ear.

See you soon!

Zack

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3261931862358927642

Summary: 88 miles / 9,000 feet: Summit Bicycles > Old Page > Page Mill > Alpine > Haskins > Cloverdale > Gazos Creek > Pigeon Point (via Highway 1) > Bean Hollow > Stage > Bike Hut > Tunitas > Kings > Portola Valley > Shoup Park

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

Ride etiquettehttps://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Zack Berger

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

AV A Endurance -Saturday 08/17

This Saturday the A Endurance ride will take you to HMB to reclaim one of our favorite roads “Higgins Canyon” which I heard is open to bikes again. We will try to practice pace lining on Hwy 1 and 84 ( a skill that I realize needs to refreshed on AV rides). We will then climb W-Alpine before descending back to summit through Page.

Pace:

You can do your workouts on two big climbs (Kings & W-Alpine) in this route, whatever that keeps you fit. However, we will stay together and keep a steady pace at 2.5-3 W/kg everywhere else. We will regroup at tope of climbs and after long descents. Please respect the pace, if in doubt, don’t pass the ride leader. We will have a 20 min stop in HMB and if required a quick water stop in fire station in La Honda before final climb.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3259257417620625206

Summary: 76 miles / 7,300 feet: Summit Bicycles > Old Page> Aras> PV> Trip > Kings > Tunitas > Lobitos > Verde > Purisima Creek > Higgins > HMB > Hwy 1 > 84 > W-Alpine > Page > Page > Summit

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

Ride etiquettehttps://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

Ride Leader: Hoss Hayati

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

Saturday A-Ride - August 10, 2024 - Pigeon Point

For this week’s A Endurance Ride, we’ll head out to Pigeon Point for a fun ride at the coast! This route includes some of my favorite backroads, namely Cloverdale, Bean Hollow, and Lobitos Creek.

We’ll aim for a steady 3.0 W/kg pace, riding efficiently and pacelining on the flatter sections. There will be a brief water stop at Pescadero at mile 47, and we’ll also quickly regroup at Alice’s; otherwise, stops will be minimal. I recommend you carry all the food you’ll need for the ride (i.e. around 400-450g carbs).

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.

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

Ride Leader: George Wehner

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Alto Velo Alto Velo

Sunday A Ride August 11, 2024 - RWG9/ Montevina

Hello! This Sunday the plan is to start the ride with a leisurely ascent of Page Mill to Altamont. We will then head south on Foothill to ascend the short but not too sweet Redwood Gulch. We will continue climbing up Hwy 9, take a left on Skyline, and continue climbing as we hit the Castle Rock high point. As we descend skyline, we will meet the ‘squiggly’ section and weave our way south where we will descend Mt Charlie/ Old Santa Cruz Hwy. We’ll cap off our climbing by going up and over Montevina to descend down a technical Bohlman (be careful!). We’ll take the flat way back to foothill and call it a day!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3255894757325201304

Summary: 69 Miles, 7100ft climbing - Summit Bicycles -> Page Mill up to Altamont -> Foothill -> RWG9 -> Skyline south -> down OSC -> up Montevina -> down Bohlman

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 8a.m., Leave 8:10 a.m.

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

Ride Leader: Brad Lovegren

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