Saturday A-ride 1/3 - Calaveras Reservoir

Hope everyone have a happy new year! While there’s a slight chance of rain this Saturday, the weather on Saturday still looks better than that on Sunday and might be you’re only chance to ride outside. To dodge the rain, we will go to east bay through Dumbarton bridge to Calaveras. We will regroup at Sunol Corners (26.7 mile) for water and food before heading to Calaveras Rd. Then a small detour to check out Marsh Rd before heading back through Dumbarton. If it starts to rain, we can cut it short through Milpitas/Alviso. As it’s mostly flat, I expect steady pace line (3.5~4 w/kg at the front) most of the time except the hilly part by Calaveras reservoir. Hope to see you there!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3441973094323877048 - 77 miles / 3,152 feet

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto. Meet 9:00 AM, Roll 9:10 AM

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

Ride Leader: Jack Liu

Sunday A-Ride 12/28 - Pacifica & Tunitas

Hello,

This Sunday, the A-Ride heads north to Pacifica. After a quick stop there, we’ll continue down to Half Moon Bay and then roll along Highway 1 before heading over Lobitos/Tunitas and descending Kings Mountain. We’ll keep things steady at an endurance pace on both the flats and the climbs.

Hope to see you there!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3439403907635926460 - 83 miles / 6,700 feet

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto. Meet 9:00 AM, Roll 9:10 AM

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

Ride Leader: Henry Mallon

Saturday A Ride 12/27 - Pigeon Point/West Alpine

Hello friends, for the final Saturday ride of 2025 we will go to the ocean via OLH/84, grab a snack in Pescadero, and climb back up Haskins and West Alpine. Word on the street is there may be a PR train going up OLH which you are welcome to follow, but you’ll have to wait for the rest of us doing the usual steady 3 w/kg pace.

There will likely be lots of road debris from the rain so please descend with care, so that we can make it to Shake Shack in one piece and enjoy our free milkshakes! 

I hope you will join us for some sunshine by the coast!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3439403907635926460 - 83mi / 6,800ft

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto. Meet 9:00 AM, Roll 9:10 AM

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

Ride Leader: Richard Red

Saturday A Ride 12/13 - Pescadero to Pizza Party

Hello friends, I hope you have been staying warm lately. The thought of getting to climb OLH, Haskins, and Tunitas this weekend just made me so excited!! However, you’ll have to do it with me at a reasonable pace of 2.5-3.0 w/kg (as in, like almost a 30 minute OLH) because I am in deep winter mode and can’t go any faster. We’ll regroup at the top of each climb as usual but will try to minimize stopping aside from a brief snack stop in Pescadero, because near the end of the ride we have a mysterious pizza party awaiting us on Crestview 👀 (maybe, pizza is not guaranteed, if there’s no pizza I’m down to get some afterwards if anyone would like 👉👈)

Come join us for a sunny day of climbing to the coast!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3434401508808457992 - 78mi / 7,800ft

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto. Meet 9:00 AM, Roll 9:10 AM

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

Ride Leader: Richard Red

Sunday A Ride: Butano Dirt Century

Ready for an adventure? Meet EARLY at 8am where our gravel escapade begins. I’ve been dying to ride Butano in non-scorching hot weather and this weekend looks perfect.

We will start by going up dirt alpine and descending all the way down to Portola State Park, only stopping briefly if needed before cutting across our second dirt section, Old Haul Road. We’ll stop in Pescadero for a coffee/snack before the challenging but stunning Butano Fire Road climb. This is an area of big basin where the fires burned back in 2020 and feels a little bit like riding on the moon with its ashen terrain (and it even features an old air strip).

The adventure really begins as we crest the climb, carefully descending off-road back towards the coast. We’ll pop out on Highway 1 right by Pidgeon Point Lighthouse, where we can stop for bathrooms/water. We’ll regroup next in Pescadero for food/water, and will take stock of our emotional fortitude to continue. But continue we must, across Stage road, up Tunitas, and home before dark.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3432162769554649108

Stats: 100 miles, 10 thousand feet vert

Meet: Summit 8am, roll 8:10am, Sunday 12/7/25

Leader: Wil Gibb

AVA-E 12/6/25 4 PR Attempts

Saturday's ride will be 4 classic climbs in the area - Page Mill, OLH, Kings, West Alpine - in that order.  It's a "build your own ride" kind of day, and many attempts to PR or do all sorts of intervals on, or just fun climbs with your friends.  Obviously I hope everyone stays for the full thing, but there are many bail out options.

Pace will be 3.5 w/kg+ on climbs and we will regroup at the following areas and for water for about 5-10 minutes.  Regroups:

• 11.9mi: Top of Page Mill after Page Mill climb

• 28.8mi: Water @ Skylonda after OLH climb

• 44.0mi: Water @ Skylonda after Kings climb

• 59.2mi: Top of Page Mill after West Alpine climb

Summary:

71mi, 8660ft

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3420487024638177474

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

The A Ride Classic - Pacifica Tunitas

Tomorrow, Sunday, November 30 I will lead the A ride to Pacifica down highway one a short pitstop in half Moon Bay before before we climb Tunitas. Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving and see you tomorrow.
We’ll meets at 9am, roll at 9:10am at Summit Bicycles in Palo Alto

See you there!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3400932259950910090

Summary: 80 mile route with 6,000 ft of climbing. Summit Bicycles > Junipero Serra > Sand Hill > Mountain Home > La Cañada > Skyline > Sharp Park > > Devil’s Slide > Highway 1 > Tunitas Creek > Kings Mountain Road > Tripp > Portola Rd > Alpine Rd > Arastradero Rd > Page Mill Rd

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9 a.m., Leave 9.10 a.m.

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

Saturday A Ride: Hamilton LKHC + Bonus East Bay Climbs

Hello! This week the A ride will take us to the final LKHC: Mt. Hamilton. Speaking from experience (I’ve ridden it twice this week!), the weather out in the east bay is perfect, with fall colors, green hills, and sunny climbs. This morning I wore long bib tights, a thermal layer, and a thermal jersey - and was a little too warm at the top. The descent was not cold and I didn’t wear gloves.

We will start at the Berryessa Community center which has water/bathrooms, and will give us 3 miles to warm up before a spirited effort up Mt. Hamilton. The observatory at the top should be open, which has water, bathrooms, and a (cash only?) vending machine.

We will descend Hamilton halfway before making a sharp turn onto the often overlooked Kincaid road, which is an out and back rolling segment offering great views and no traffic. After Kincaid, we’ll make our way all the way down Mt. Hamilton road before traversing over to Sierra road. Before starting the segment, we can either stop back at the community center for water/bathrooms, or find a coffee shop. To those brave enough to continue, Sierra road is a beast, 3.5 miles at an average of 9%, but also offers spectacular views and a beautiful wandering loop descending back down to where we started.

Start time: 9am meet at Berryessa Community Center, 9:10 rollout

Strava: https://www.strava.com/routes/3428864910358063446 (70 miles, 9200 feet)

Leader: Wil Gibb

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

AVA-E 11/22/25 Pigeon Point

8AM START

Saturday will be sunny and cloud free, so let's take advantage of that beautiful coast.  We'll be pedaling up OLH to Pigeon Point along HWY 1 southbound to sit in the nice tailwind, taking Cloverdale and Stage Coach to Lobitos Creek Rd up Kings, along Skyline down 84 back into the valley.

Water stops and regroups listed below, with a nice coffee stop halfway through the ride at Pescadero.  Pace 3.5-4.0W up hills (because when is it actually 3.5), and keep it together on flats.

Regroups and water stops below:

- Water: Skylonda (5 min)

- Regroup: Pigeon Point

- Coffee/Artichoke Bread: Pescadero (20 min)

- Regroup: Top of Tunitas

- Water (or continue home): Skylonda (5 min)

Summary:

90 miles, 8200 feet

Summit > OLH > 84 > HWY1 > Pigeon Point > Cloverdale > Stage Coach > Lobitos Creek > Kings > 84 > Summit

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3426373383564914290

Start/End: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 8AM, roll out 8:05AM

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

Ride Leader: Rachel Hwang

Saturday A -11/15/25 - LKHC Portola State Park

Weather is looking up for tomorrow morning, and better late than never, so lets get a ride on the calendar!

This week's LKHC segment is Portola State Park (<-that’s a hyperlink): an out-and-back segment off of West Alpine. Because of the rain we will only be doing the road portion and not connecting it via Old Haul. It’s also been quite rainy and the mountains like to do what mountains do, so I’ll also be keeping this ride a little shorter than the usual Endurance A.

We'll start out up Old La Honda to wake the legs up. Feel free to go hard, we’ll wait up over the top before heading down 84 before turning off onto Pescadero toward West Alpine. Please dont take off here as we’ll be turning right at the overlook down Portola State Park Rd. Please be mindful on the descent as others will assuredly be climbing while we descend. Note that the segment continues through to the top of West Alpine. Once we start the segment, please keep going until we hit Skyline / the water refill spot on the right and we’ll regroup there. We’ll then head south down Skyline to 9, and take Eden to Foothill home.

On the flats and rollers we'll be keeping it "endurance" pace (3.0-3.5 W/Kg) to keep the legs fresh for the main climb. Feel free to take the climbs (OLH, Portola State Park Rd.) at your own pace; we'll be regrouping over the top of each.

Water refill at Skyline & West Alpine fountain.

https://www.strava.com/routes/3424539058421593332

Summary: 59 miles / 6800 feet: Summit Bicycles >OLH > 84 > West Alpine > Portola State Park Rd > Skyline > 9 > Mt Eden > Foothill > Summit Bicycles

Start/End: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9 AM, roll out 9:10 AM

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

Ride Leader: Kevin Kauffman

Saturday A Ride 11/8 - LKHC Bohlman

Farewell daylight, old friend. Now that the sun sets earlier, making the most of the weekend rides is even more important, right? This year’s steepest LKHC segment, Bohlman, is our target on Saturday. We’ll keep it easy along Foothill to start, and meander our way through neighborhoods to Saratoga before we begin the climb. Rumor has it, we’ll have a special guest offering SAG for the climb..! After a regroup at the top, we’ll take the brief gravel connector to Montevina, descend to Lexington Reservoir, and head up the beautiful Old Santa Cruz Highway climb. Our primary snack/ water stop for the day is Summit Grocery Store. From here, we’ll take Summit to Skyline and back down Page Mill.

TL;DR - steady to Bohlman, full gas up Bohlman, 0.75mi gravel connector, classic endurance pace the rest of the ride with optional water stops at Lexington Elementary & Castle Rock SP and a snack stop at Summit Grocery Store

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3419880583037808720 - 71mi / 7,700ft

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto. Meet 9:00 AM, Roll 9:10 AM

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

Ride Leader: Sam Moskal

Saturday A Ride 11/1 - LKHC Felton-Empire

Hello hill climbers, don’t party too hard this Halloween, because the very next morning we’re targeting another new LKHC segment, Felton Empire Road! To get there we’ll go up Page Mill and take Skyline all the way down to Bear Creek to minimize our time on Hwy 9, and after we climb it we can just descend right back down and have a quick lunch in Felton before going home via Zayante. Aside from the target climb, I will be holding a steady 3w/kg for the rest of the ride.

Please remember to register for LKHC if you haven’t already - even if you’re not the fastest, being part of the leaderboard helps bump the scores for others on our team. http://lowkeyhillclimbs.com/2025/index.html

I hope you will join us for this year’s final long ride before daylight savings ends and we all become depressed, hollow shells of our former summer selves…

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3411819563047851014 - 93mi / 9,600ft

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto. Meet 9:00 AM, Roll 9:10 AM

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

Ride Leader: Richard Red

[East Bay Start] Saturday A-Endurance 10/19 - Claremont LKHC

You might get some dejavu from Vasyl’s ride post last Sunday, but you wont get dejavu from the ride since none of you went on that ride (apart from Vasyl and Michael Matthews), but I got some intel from them on the roads and we are headed back out there to target the LKHC Claremont segment for this week. We will start at 9am from Redwood Canyon Golf course, which also serves as the parking lot for the south entrance of Lake Chabot Regional Park.

The primary water stop will be the Redwood Valley Railroad parking lot (affectionately known as the Steam Trains for anyone who has been a child in the East Bay). We will pass this spot 3 or 4 times depending on how we run the back half of the loop, but it has bathroom and fountain so will be suitable for empty and refill.

From our first pass at the Railroad we will descend Centennial Drive past Lawrence Hall of Science and LBNL to get to the base of the LKHC segment.

The next time through the peak we will descend Grizzly Peak to do South Park drive up through Tilden Park and then head down Lomas Cantadas to go to the Berkeley Hills Road Race loop if we are interested and its not wet. We can stop for some lunch/coffee/food in Orinda either before or after this loop as needed. Finally we will head back down Skyline to our start point.

I don’t know what our pace will be, a lot of the route is rolling hills so we wont be pushing too hard to avoid blowing up the group, but we can feel it out. I don’t have a power meter so everybody’s pretend “3W/kg” doesn’t mean much to me anyway

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3416536437687763864

Summary: 87 miles / 9600 feet

Start: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VrDNXic9mLZes1RD8

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

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

Ride Leader: Hannon Ayer

[East Bay] Sunday A-ride 10/19 - Berkeley Hills

Welcome to the East Bay Alto Velo A ride.

This Sunday, we will head to the Berkeley Hills via Redwood Road. We’ll do one loop of the Berkeley Hills Road Race route and then continue up Grizzly Peak Blvd. We’ll aim to maintain a good pace (~3 W/kg). You’re always welcome to push hard on the climbs — we’ll regroup at the top.

You can take BART: it’s about a 10-minute ride from the Castro Valley BART Station to the start. We’ll also pass the Orinda BART Station around 10 a.m., so you can join us there (at Camino Pablo Street).

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3399651446337075422

Summary: 82 miles / 7,400 feet

Start: Castro Valley Community Park

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

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

Ride Leader: Vasyl Stokolosa

Saturday A -10/18/25 - LKHC Purisima Creek

It's looking like we'll have a beautiful, dry, warm day this Saturday -- let's hope for some dry trails!

This week's LKHC is Purisima Creek: a road-bikeable dirt alternative to Tunitas Creek. While it is certainly off-road, in the sprit of fast climbing everyone should be ok riding it on a road bike. Just look for easier gearing and lower pressures as you can slip getting out of the saddle on the steeps. Richard did it on a 25mm tire and made it up just fine if you trust that precedence.

We'll start the day getting some morning sun on Page Mill before descending West Alpine toward Lobitos. We'll stop at the base and top of the main climb for folks to do as they wish with their tire pressures and such. After Purisima Creek, we'll regroup and keep together across Skyline down to Canada and take the Spectrum route back at an inevitably spicy pace before heading back to Summit.

On the flats and rollers we'll be keeping it "endurance" pace (~3.0 W/Kg) to keep the legs fresh for the main climb. Feel free to take the climbs (Page, Purisima Creek) at your own pace; we'll be regrouping over the top of each.

Water refills at The Bike Hut and probably Woodside. See you all out there!

https://www.strava.com/routes/3402895477176204834

Summary: 74 miles / 6800 feet: Summit Bicycles > Page Mill > West Alpine > 84 > Lobitos > Purisima Creek > Skyline > 92 > Canada > Alpine > Summit Bicycles

Start/End: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: Meet 9 AM, roll out 9:10 AM

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

Ride Leader: Kevin Kauffman

Sunday A-ride 10/12 - Big Basin via PageMill

This Sunday we will head to Big Basin through Pagemill. This is a good opportunity to stretch the legs and accumulate some miles before the expected next week’s rain forecast.

We will remain in lower Endurance pace in flat/roller sections (~ 2.5 W/kg pace) . Feel free ride the two longer climbs (Pagemill and Bear creek) at your own pace. We will have a quick water stop at the fire station on skyline before the 4 corners, a 10 min stop in Boulder Creek for food/water, and another quick water stop at castle rock.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3343760593285469472

Summary: 82 miles / 8,200 feet: Summit Bicycles > Page > 35 > 9 > 236 > Boulder Creek > Bear Creek > skyline > 9 > Foothill

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

Saturday A Ride 10/11 - Mt. Vision LKHC (FROM SF)

Hello hill climbers, this week we’re targeting a brand new climb for LKHC, Mt. Vision! We will meet at the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center at 8:30am and leave at 8:40am. The plan is to roll there with minimal effort (not without a quick coffee stop in Fairfax, of course), attack the segment as hard as you can, and then roll back down Hwy 1 and enjoy a chill bofax/seven sisters climb.

The first half of the Mt. Vision segment is the steepest, averaging around 9% with some hairpins exceeding 10-12%, but then it flattens out to like 3-4% so it may serve you well to have a wheel to follow in the latter half. The road surface is a little bumpy which is more of a concern for the descent back down afterwards. As with any ride from SF, there is free and ample parking at Crissy Field, and also remember to register for LKHC if you haven’t already http://lowkeyhillclimbs.com/2025/index.html.

I hope you will join us for a proper smashfest!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3401471698089872606 - 96mi / 7950ft

Start: Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center, San Francisco. Meet 8:30 AM, Roll 8:40 AM

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

Ride Leader: Richard Red

AV A Endurance - 10/04/25 Pacifica and Tunitas

Hello everyone,

This Saturday the A Endurance ride is headed North to Pacifica via Portola Valley, La Cañada, and Skyline. We’ll drop down Sharp Park, pass through Pacifica, Devil’s Slide, Half Moon Bay, and cruise south on Highway 1 to the base of Tunitas.

Flats and rolling roads will be 2.5 - 3.5 w/kg, climbing at 3.5 w/kg

We’ll meets at 9am, roll at 9:10am at Summit Bicycles in Palo Alto

See you there!

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3400932259950910090

Summary: 80 mile route with 6,000 ft of climbing. Summit Bicycles > Junipero Serra > Sand Hill > Mountain Home > La Cañada > Skyline > Sharp Park > > Devil’s Slide > Highway 1 > Tunitas Creek > Kings Mountain Road > Tripp > Portola Rd > Alpine Rd > Arastradero Rd > Page Mill Rd

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: J Evans

AV A ride-10/05/25: LKHC MB + Boulder Creek: Start 9 AM

Note we are returning to 9 AM start this Sunday.

This Sunday the A ride is going to Montebello for 1st climb of LKHC. We will stash our stuff at the base, do an all-out effort on the climb, descend MB and then head to Boulder creek through RWG/9/Castle rock/Bear Creek. After a 20 min coffee stop we will head back through highway 9/skyline/page.

Pace:

You can go do your workouts on Montebello and both sides of Highway 9 climbs but please stay with the group on all other segments/rollers/short climbs ( expecting 2.5-3 W/kg everywhere else).

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3409399489274178946

Summary: 84 miles / 9,300 feet: Summit Bicycles > Foothill > MB > Stevens Canyon> RWG > Hwy 9 > Skyline > bear Creek > BC > 9 > 35 > Page > Summit

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: Hoss Hayati

A Ride - 9/27/25: Recruitment Ride

Are you interested in racing with the Alto Velo Racing Team in 2026, or just looking for a fast ride that isn’t Spectrum? If so, join us this Saturday 9/27 at 9:00 AM at Summit Bicycles for our 2026 Recruitment Ride! This is your best opportunity to get to know the team and show off your strengths on the road. We should have something for everyone from fast climbing to fatigued end of day sprints, so be sure to pack a generous amount of nutrition and sunscreen. If you are interested in racing and haven’t already applied to AVRT you can do so here.

For this ride, we will head out from Summit Bicycles East via Sand Hill, go up Old La Honda, and come down 84 to the Woodside Store on Tripp for a regroup/water stop. We will then do an out and back on Cañada to spin the legs before heading back to Portola Town Hall for another regroup. From here we will follow a classic pop-up crit course of a Mountain Home Whiskey Hill Triple, ending past the Windy Hill Guardrail with a firehouse sprint.

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3405044347849089246

Summit Bicycles > Sand Hill > Old La Honda > 84 East > Woodside Rd > Tripp > Cañada > Mountain Home > Portola Town Hall > Mountain Home Whiskey Hill Triple > Alpine > Shake Shack

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

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

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

Ride Leader: Clark Penado

Summary: 65 miles / 4,283 feet