Wednesday, October 15, 2015

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This is a short hilly route around the East Bay Hills on Tunnel Rd and Skyline Blvd to Grizzly Peak Blvd. It continues along Wildcat Canyon Rd through Tilden Park before descending into Orinda on Camino Pablo. Head SE on Moraga Way for a flat-rolling stretch into Moraga for lunch at Moraga Shopping Center. Continue south on Canyon Rd to Pinehurst Rd for the beautiful jaunt under the redwoods and the climb out of the canyon to Skyline Blvd.

Start at the Temescal Park parking lot off Broadway in Oakland.

Begin with an immediate climb on Broadway to the Fwy Overpass; it’s 0.7 mile with gradient ranges of 5-7%.

The Fwy Overpass takes you over Hwy 24 to Caldecott Ln.

Tunnel Rd up to Skyline Blvd at Grizzly Peak Blvd is 3.2 miles with an average grade 4.3%; it’s a nice steady climb that winds its way up through the hillside neighborhoods with multi-level homes.

The climb offers fantastic views of the East Bay and its surrounding hills.

The upper section of the road runs along the ridge through the eucalyptus groves to the intersection at Grizzly Peak Blvd.

South Grizzly Peak Blvd begins with 2 miles of scenic rolling terrain along the ridge top of the Berkeley Hills.

Enjoy the stunning SF Bay views.

The road winds around the ridge and quickly descends to the intersection at Claremont Ave/Fish Ranch Rd.

South Grizzly Peak Blvd tilts up and climbs out of the canyon with an average grade of 5.7% to the Steam Trains at Tilden Park.

The road levels out for a short section to S Park Dr and kicks up for a short climb up to the summit of Frowning Ridge.

Enjoy the spectacular bay views!

The descent on Grizzly Peak Blvd to the stop sign at Centennial and Golf Course Rd is fairly technical with many tight turns. With the smooth new road surface, it’s very easy to catch yourself going much faster than necessary-use caution! The road continues descending through the residential neighborhoods around the Berkeley Hills to Wildcat Canyon.

Wildcat Canyon Rd travels through Tilden Park towards Island Picnic Area for 2 flat-rolling smooth miles.

Regroup at Island Picnic Area:

The road continues on rolling terrain for the next few miles to Inspiration Point before winding down the hill to Camino Pablo.

The route continues SE on Moraga Way through Orinda into Moraga; the terrain on this busy two lane road is fairly flat with a decent shoulder area.

Lunch stop at Moraga Shopping Center-Bianca’s Deli:

The flat terrain on Canyon Rd leads to the bridge crossing over Moraga Creek. The road begins to climb up pass the EBMUD Valle Vista Staging Area with grades of 4-6% and winds down into the canyon to Pinehurst Rd.

South Pinehurst Rd begins on gentle rolling terrain for the first 2.7 miles on an old railroad grade under the shade of the gorgeous redwood forest. It follows the curves of San Leandro Creek to the small community of Canyon.

It continues in and out of the canopy of trees to the hairpin turn at the gated trail head to Huckleberry Regional Preserve. At the switchback, the road tilts up through the canyon for the next 0.8 miles with an average grade of 4.7%.

The next hairpin turn comes at mile 34.2 at the orange 10 mph sign; this is the steepest section of Pinehurst-it’s a 0.5 mile climb with 9-12% grades to the top at Skyline Blvd.

The rolling terrain on Skyline Blvd leads up to Sibley Park.

Descend Tunnel Rd back to Caldecott Ln and Broadway.

Enjoy the spectacular bay views on Tunnel Rd!

This route packs in plenty of hills and outstanding views within a fairly short distance; it’s quality of miles over quantity of miles!

Garmin Stats:
36.35 Miles with 3169′ of elevation gain
Max elevation: 1430′
Max grade: 12%
Terrain: Hilly with a steep climb

Weather: Sunny and warm with clear blue skies. Temps ranged from the high 60’s to the high 80’s with NW winds.

View the interactive RGPS route map & profile

Follow this route for today’s ride: