Saturday, January 4, 2014
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We’re off today for a hilly out and back ride up to Inspiration Point; this route hits both sides of Pig Farm hill, the Bears and Wildcat Canyon.
We make our way through Martinez on Center, Vine Hill to Alhambra Ave.
Alhambra Valley Rd leads us to the climb up Pig Farm Hill.
The climb up the gentler east side of Pig Farm hill has gradient ranges of 7-8% followed by a blasting descent towards Bear Creek Rd.
Bear Creek Rd takes you pass a few horse ranches and the Gan Shalom Cemetery.
The climb up Mama Bear has a 7% grade with two smaller humps in between.
Papa Bear has the same 7% grade followed by a short descent and rolling climb. The long descent down Pump house Grade can get very fast.
Baby Bear is a short 9-11% climb from the bridge crossing up to the top at Camino Pablo.
The climb up Wildcat Canyon is 2.5 miles; the first section up to El Toyonal has an average grade of 7%. It eases up to grades of 4-5% up to the top at Inspiration Point. There are pit toilets at Inspiration Point. You can hang out at the picnic tables under the trees or sit at one of the benches at the Vista Overlook area; there are spectacular views of the Briones hills and even Mount Diablo!
From Inspiration Point, we turn around and descend Wildcat Canyon back to Bear Creek Rd. The climb up Pump house Grade is a longer 2.4 miles with gradient ranges of 6-8% with gorgeous views of Briones Reservoir.
The road continues up the backside of Mama Bear with a series of rolling climbs followed by a long descent on Bear Creek Rd to Alhambra Valley Rd.
The climb up west Pig Farm Hill begins at the gate of JBL Ranch; it’s a steep half mile climb with grades of 13-15%!
From the top of Pig Farm it’s pretty much all downhill; the rolling 3.5 mile descent on Alhambra Valley Rd goes through the canyon out to Reliez Valley Rd. We retrace our way back to Holiday Highlands on Vine Hill, Center and Glacier to Arnold and Fig Tree.
This is a great local out and back route; it gives you quality climbs within a short distance-100 feet per mile!
Garmin Stats:
40.92 Miles with 4275′ of elevation gain
Max elevation: 1033′
Max grade: 15%
Terrain: Extremely Hilly
Weather: Sunny, cool and breezy with temps ranging from the low 50’s to the mid 60’s. NE winds with 62% humidity.
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Slow it down, simply enjoy life!
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Follow this route for today’s ride:
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