Route Request: Sacramento to San Francisco CA

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I'm thinking of a ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, but I have a
little extra time and I'm thinking of starting in Sacramento. Is this
a worthwhile ride? Is it worth spending a couple of extra days
doing? This in the early part of June of this year.

Does anybody have suggestions for a route to follow between Sacramento
and say, Oakland then taking Bart of whatever across the bay?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Bob Kastigar
R-Kastigar (munging the address!) @ neiu.edu

In article <28d9c930-a049-404c-8cb6-5759a4e33a1b@y21g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
Sweet Old Bob <Kastigar@gmail.com> wrote:
>I'm thinking of a ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, but I have a
>little extra time and I'm thinking of starting in Sacramento. Is this
>a worthwhile ride?

If you like flat roads, farm lands and 20mph+ headwinds, it's
ideal. The routing can be a bit tricky, there aren't that many
bike friendly places to cross the Sacramento River. If you're
headed to Oakland, rather than the city it's easier. Try

www.crazyguyonabike.com

most people don't enjoy their trip across the Central Valley.
There are beautiful roads out there, but they tend to head
north to south and the Sacramento River is a huge barrier.

> Is it worth spending a couple of extra days
>doing? This in the early part of June of this year.
>

If you've got a couple extra days, make a small loop
north of SF into the Marin Headlands/Wine country.
It's some of the best road biking in the country,
make sure your bike has small gears though.

_ Booker C. Bense

On May 9, 1:07 pm, bbe...@slac.stanford.edu (Booker Bense) wrote:
> In article <28d9c930-a049-404c-8cb6-5759a4e33...@y21g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
> Sweet Old Bob  <Kasti...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >I'm thinking of a ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, but I have a
> >little extra time and I'm thinking of starting in Sacramento.  Is this
> >a worthwhile ride?  
>
If you've got a couple extra days, make a small loop
> north of SF into the Marin Headlands/Wine country.
> It's some of the best road biking in the country,
> make sure your bike has small gears though.
>
> _ Booker C. Bense  

That's the route I took (in the other direction) on the first day of
my San Francisco - Milwaukee trip last August. If you take it, you
need to get bicycle maps of Marin and Sonoma Counties - google those
county names with "bicycling" and you'll find the relevant clubs that
offer the maps. they're about $10 - 12 each. Thre is no single
through route, so you're jumping from road to road. You also have to
know which parts of 101 are open to bicycles.

I considered going through Sacramentn proper and googled for area bike
info but have discarded it. In any event you will find a bike route
across the river that will eventually lead you to Rte. 128 (Going the
other way, I turned north on 102 and headed toward Yuba City).

128/121 are nice riding until the hills that separate the Sacramento
and Napa Valleys. Those hills are difficult. Once at Napa, googling
will get you a Napa Co. Route map,from which you can select a route
that ties into the Sonoma routes. After another round of hills,
you'll eventually hit the coastal area and turn south in Petaluma

On May 9, 1:07 pm, bbe...@slac.stanford.edu (Booker Bense) wrote:

> most people don't enjoy their trip across the Central Valley.
> There are beautiful roads out there, but they tend to head
> north to south and the Sacramento River is a huge barrier.

Using Google maps, I was thinking of kinda following Rt. 160 south out
of Sacramento (there's a bridge with a bike lane, right?)

and then generally following Rt 4 around (is this a no-bike road?)

then one of the little roads down to Walnut Creek

then maybe Rt 24 (is this a no-bike road?) all the way to Oakland and
then either a ferry or BART across the bay.

I tend to follow roads I'd take if I were driving, but if I stumble
across a bike trail I'll take it.

In article <a8cd37d3-645b-4488-af80-d52ed9229f30@d77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>,
Sweet Old Bob <Kastigar@gmail.com> wrote:
>On May 9, 1:07 pm, bbe...@slac.stanford.edu (Booker Bense) wrote:
>
>> most people don't enjoy their trip across the Central Valley.
>> There are beautiful roads out there, but they tend to head
>> north to south and the Sacramento River is a huge barrier.
>
>Using Google maps, I was thinking of kinda following Rt. 160 south out
>of Sacramento (there's a bridge with a bike lane, right?)
>
>and then generally following Rt 4 around (is this a no-bike road?)

160 over the river is the Antioch bridge, a really unpleasent
experience on a bicycle. It's steep, long and there's no barrier
between you and the traffic.

http://bata.mtc.ca.gov/bridges/antioch.htm

I would try and go further south and
follow farm roads until you can hit Marsh Creek Rd.

Rt4 west of Antioch is a divided highway. I'm not sure what
the rules are about bicycles since there are no alternatives
for some long stretches. I would avoid it if at all possible.

>
>then one of the little roads down to Walnut Creek

Those may be little on the map, but they are major
commute corridors during rush hour, plan carefully.

>
>then maybe Rt 24 (is this a no-bike road?)

You can't ride a bike on Rt 24, there are side roads
that parallel it until Orinda and then you need to
either head north or south.[1] Getting through
Walnut Creek can be kind of tricky.

> all the way to Oakland and
>then either a ferry or BART across the bay.
>
>I tend to follow roads I'd take if I were driving, but if I stumble
>across a bike trail I'll take it.

That's a REALLY bad idea in the central valley, at best you will
spend a lot of time riding between stop signs in developements.

You can hook up some reasonable routes, but in general you want to stick to farm
roads as far as possible from the major roads.

_ Booker C. Bense


[1]- I think you may be allowed to ride the stretch from Orinda
to Fish Ranch Rd to get over the hill, but the other ways are
so much nicer. Take San Pablo Dam north to Wildcat Canyon Rd and that to
Grizzly Peak to Spruce down to downtown Berkeley and the BART
station.

On May 21, 11:50 am, bbe...@slac.stanford.edu (Booker Bense) wrote:

> You can't ride a bike on Rt 24, there are side roads
> that parallel it until Orinda and then you need to
> either head north or south.[1] Getting through
> Walnut Creek can be kind of tricky.

Thanks everybody for your help and comments. Unfortunately a minor
medical thing came up and now I need to cancel the trip.

I appreciate the advice, though. If I plan this next year I think
I'll just take Amtrak to Emeryville and be done with it.

Thanks again

On May 21, 9:50 am, bbe...@slac.stanford.edu (Booker Bense) wrote:
<snip.
> Take San Pablo Dam north to Wildcat Canyon Rd and that to
> Grizzly Peak to Spruce down to downtown Berkeley and the BART
> station.


That is the recommend way to get past the Caldecott Tunnel. (Or
through the park.)

TBerk