Martinez to Davis

Saturday, February 5, 2011

For today, Michael and I are doing an abbreviated version of the club’s annual ride from Berkeley to Davis; starting from Martinez, it cuts about 27 miles off the original route.

We head north on Morello Ave to Pacheco Blvd. From there, it’s onto Shell Ave to Marina Vista and Mococo. We get to ride pass our lovely refineries to get onto the I-680 bike path. Once you’re on Mococo, look for the green bike path sign and make a left onto the path that will take you across the Benicia-Martinez Bridge.

At the end of the bike path, make a right turn, you will be on Park Rd. Park takes us through the industrial business area of Benicia. We turn right on 2nd St to Lake Herman Rd/Lopes Rd.

We continue on Lopes Rd for the next 7.4 miles. Lopes parallels I-680 and the rollers along this stretch of road take us into Fairfield. We stop at the Tower Market at Gold Hill Rd. Water and restrooms are available.

We stay on Lopes for another 2.5 miles before it becomes Green Valley Rd. We ride pass vineyards and open fields. There are people out running and walking on the bike path.

The next turn we make is a right on Rockville Rd. There is a nice little 5-6% climb on this road before we drop down to Rockville.

We continue on Abernathy Rd to Mankas Corner Rd. There are plenty of recently turned open fields and everything is green.

Mankas becomes Waterman Blvd. From this point on, we’re riding through really non-descript suburban developments for the next 4 miles or so. The pavement is nice and smooth with wide shoulders. There is a short little climb as we turn on Hillborn Rd. The temps are warming up quite nicely and we stop for a short bit to take off layers. It’s also been very breezy throughout the morning. Hillborn takes us to Lyon Rd which parallels I-80. We then continue on Cherry Glen Rd to Pleasant Valley Rd.

The winds are blowing strong; I nearly get knocked off the bike as I make the turn from Cherry Glen to Pleasants Valley Rd. I just stay tucked behind Michael for the next 11 miles. There are a few short climbs on Pleasants Valley with plenty of sights to see.

Once we make the turn on Putah Creek Rd, the cross winds are there to greet us. For the next 5 miles, we ride pass many orchards and open fields.

We arrive at our lunch stop; Steady Eddy’s Coffeehouse. They serve a variety of breakfast and lunch items along with hot and cold beverages. We sit outside on the front patio and it’s nice to take a break from the winds. Water and restrooms are available inside and also at the park across the street.

After lunch, we continue on Putah Creek Rd for the next 7 miles. It’s a really FLAT ride all along the orchards and fields. The winds are brutal, we’re moving at a slug’s pace.

We reach the turn on Stevenson Bridge Rd and cross the painted bridge to Road 95A. At the stop sign, we make a right on Russell and stay on the bike path all the way into Davis. The path does jog to the left and back to the right for a short distance.

We reach the Amtrak station at 2:10 PM. We can catch the 2:30 train back to Martinez. Make a point to purchase your ticket at the station; it’s much cheaper. It’s even cheaper if you can get a group ticket for 10. Do not buy your ticket on the train, it’s ridiculously expensive! You also need to bring a valid and current ID.