Numbers in brackets [] are traffic lights or stop signs. There are also six sets of RR tracks on the Doolittle/Williams and Williams/Merced stretch.
Return trip: Everything in reverse, except I cut off Stoneridge to take Stoneridge Mall Rd through the mall.
No serious traffic issues in the morning (except for the lights), but coming home there's always a problem at Stoneridge/Johnson/680 (hard to merge with the straight-through lane) and Stoneridge Mall/Dublin Canyon Rd (can't trip the straight-through light).
Distance: 26 miles Time: two hours in the morning (not a record-breaker, I'm sure), and 2:10 coming home due to traffic and headwinds.
Route Evaluation: Way too many traffic lights and stop signs (just under 50, I believe). Some industrial mess around Doolittle/Davis/Williams, some quiet neighborhoods in San Leandro and Castro Valley, a real park road ride past Lake Chabot, some real urban street riding in Castro Valley and Pleasanton, and the next best thing to a country road (Dublin Canyon - with a speed limit of 55 mph), but right next to a freeway.
I've had to wait for skunks around Mt. Trashmore, yell at deer around Lake Chabot (Hey Dummy! Get out of the road! seems to work best) and I was once delayed for half an hour by a woman on a spooked horse on East Castro Valley Boulevard. The stretch along Dublin Canyon/Castro Valley BL has been under construction for over a year, but they seem to be almost done. I carefully planned this route to minimize climbing, since I'm not good at it. Keith Vetter's excellent klimb program says there's about 970' of climbing overall. There's nothing I would call steep, and many a fitter cyclist has passed me with a cheerful "Good Morning" or "Are you OK?" going up Lake Chabot Road and Castro Valley Boulevard. The stretch along Dublin Canyon Road (also known as the Dublin Grade if you listen to radio traffic reports) is not steep, but is a couple of miles of steady climb, maybe 3-4% grade. Climbing seems to be much easier if you weigh less, which I don't, so I think this is probably a conditioning question, not a gearing question. This route is also cleverly planned to go near as many BART stations as possible (San Leandro, Castro Valley and Dublin/Pleasanton), in case things go wrong, or you have to get home in a hurry. I love every minute of it, and it never seems to get old, but it is not an idyllic romp in the countryside. Headwinds coming home at night are the norm.
Some people are aghast at the "waste of time". Here's my thinking: by car, the one way trip is 40 minutes (rounding up). By bike, 120 minutes (rounding down). If I go to a club to work out for one hour, it takes me 90 minutes to do the workout, and commute to and from the club. If I bike, I save 10 minutes! Of course, if you count the return trip, and assume I wouldn't go to the club twice in one day, things get a little hazier - I get to subtract one hour because I enjoy riding my bike, and I don't enjoy driving, so I'm only out 10 minutes.
From the 580/150th street point, you can also take Foothill through to Castro Valley.
You can cut out a few of the zigs and zags by taking a right turn from Dolores onto Bancroft instead of a left (toward Estudillo). Then go all the way to 150th and make another left. Proceed up the hill till you cross over the 580 freeway and take a right at the light. Go to the next light at Fairmont and turn left to go up the hill. After passing Lake Chabot, continue to Castro Valley Blvd. and make a left. Continue through town and go up the hill again after crossing the intersection at Crow Canyon Rd. At the bottom of the hill the road goes back under the freeway and ends up taking you right to the intersection of Dublin Canyon Rd.
posted: Wed, 17 Sep 2003