The Climbing Ride, January 5th - Life in a Northern Town

Third time is hopefully a charm for this route.

It’s once again time to ride our bikes through the absurdly over-valued zip codes of the richest cities on the peninsula. This Sunday we’ll be heading north to the scenic hills of Hillsborough. As usual we meet at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce Suffering at 09:10 for an 09:15 rollout. Be there and pedal squares.

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. And remember that 2025 is a whole new year…

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

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18933192

59 Miles, 5200 ft.

Climbs of note: Crestview, Alameda De Las Pulgas from Ralston, W. Hillsdale, De Anza, Ascension, Woodridge/Black Mountain, Hayne/Robinwood/Denise, Ralston, Polhemus.

Ride Safety: Don’t be stupid. For additional 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

Why: Because you’re not like the others. You’re different.

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.