Distance: 50 mi.
Elevation gain: ~3,800 ft.
Pace: B-C (moderate, occasional stops)
Terrain: 3-4 (moderate hills with some challenges)
Meet up at 8:30 AM for a 8:45 AM ride out.
GPS file, map, and cue sheet
here.
Mines Road in Livermore is a low-traffic, stunningly beautiful road through the East Bay park lands.
Mines Road is like riding through the Sierra foothills, complete with gorgeous wildflowers, soaring raptors, and lots of horse farms, but without the RVs and logging trucks.
This ride is a 25-mile out (
and up) and back), with just one challenging hill at the beginning, and then a couple good rollers just before the Junction. In between, it's flattish with nothing but Sierra Club-calendar like swatches of wildflowers, a small stream that may still be running after all our spring rain (we hope!), and farms and fields and woodland.
The mileage could be more if we opt to ride out into San Antonio Valley in search of more wildflowers. (The "route sheet" includes a brief jaunt out there but that's entirely optional.)
There are no services/restrooms near the start so you may want to stop somewhere in Livermore on the way. DO NOT SPEED THROUGH DOWNTOWN LIVERMORE -- speeding tickets are a major source of revenue out there.
We'll check the weather in the morning and if there's a 30% chance of rain, will cancel and let those who RSVPed know. So please do RSVP.
Don't have a car but want to come? Email the ride leader for ride sharing possibilities, or if you are a member, post a message to the club’s forum.
Meals: Junction Cafe at the turn around point, and post-ride Starbucks stop in Livermore. For more information about the Junction Cafe, go to:
here.
Sweeps? No
Is this a "no rider left behind" ride? No, but we will have a few regroups. We will keep an eye out for each other but if you are a new rider please either know the route or bring a map in case you get dropped from the group.