Concord -> Davis: route feedback

[R Samuel Klatchko]

I'm riding from Concord to Davis in a couple of weeks and looking for any route feedback. RideWithGps created this route for me but not knowing the area, don't know if there's any tweaks I should make to avoid bad roads or find prettier areas. I don't mind adding some distance although would like to keep total distance under 75 miles.

[Patrick Kitto]

zigzagging the valley through suburbia sucks.

at a minimum take Pleasant Valley (cus it's pleasant) up to Winters, then Putah Creek Road (home of the DBC Wednesday Night Time Trial) into Davis.

If you want some extra climbing take Green Valley up to Berryessa, then into Winters.

That said, I've never ridden from Concord to Fairfield. someone else may have some suggestions for that bit.

On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 2:44 PM, R Samuel Klatchko <r.samuel...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm riding from Concord to Davis in a couple of weeks and looking for any route feedback. RideWithGps created this route for me but not knowing the area, don't know if there's any tweaks I should make to avoid bad roads or find prettier areas. I don't mind adding some distance although would like to keep total distance under 75 miles.

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[Peter Colijn]

On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 3:17 PM, Patrick Kitto <patric...@gmail.com> wrote:

zigzagging the valley through suburbia sucks.

That part can also be windy. Though in the direction you're going, it might be in your favor. 

[David Goldsmith]

+1

I've done a lot of it heading west instead of east, but like Kitto am not sure how you get up to Fairfield. If you can somehow get to Silverado Trail in Napa Valley, you could then head east on 128 which is pretty nice, and then over to Putah Creek Road.

This cue sheet might have some of what you're looking for (but after Fairfeild): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/752019

- David

[R Samuel Klatchko]

Patrick, thanks a lot for the Pleasant Valley idea as it does look much nicer. Are there any places to refill water bottles on Pleasant Valley or should I make sure to fill up before?

David, taking your highway 128 suggestion, I could bus to Vallejo and ride 29 to 121 to 128. Any idea how those roads are for riding?

[David Goldsmith]

29 out of Vallejo is Not Good. Definitely not recommended.

Murph might have a suggestion for taking a bus into Santa Rosa and then heading over to Napa Valley from there, then catching Hwy 128. I'm not sure how long a day that would be, though.

I have a friend who rides from Martinez up to the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield on occasion, let me see if I can get a route from him.

[Patrick Kitto]

It's been a decade since i rode those routes often. And when I did, winters is an hour from davis, so we would top off at an am/pm or something on both ways through Winters.

Pena Adobe entrance is probably your best bet, but I cant say for sure.

[Nathan Dushman]

On Monday, April 4, 2016 at 3:56:44 PM UTC-7, R Samuel Klatchko wrote:

David, taking your highway 128 suggestion, I could bus to Vallejo and ride 29 to 121 to 128. Any idea how those roads are for riding?

Agree with David that 29 isn't much fun; I've done it in the opposite direction. It's a multi-lane road with high-speed traffic and not a great shoulder. On the other hand, to get there you can take the ferry to Vallejo, which is fun (at least in my opinion). I haven't ridden all of that stretch of 121 and 128, but the parts I've ridden are nice - low traffic, slightly windy country roads. You might have to deal with boat trailers on their way to Lake Berryessa, though, and that too isn't fun, since those roads don't leave a lot of space to be passed by a wide trailer.

You can also Amtrak from Oakland or Richmond to Fairfield (or Martinez), if you want to shorten the ride.

Nathan
 

[R Samuel Klatchko]

Nathan-

I looked into taking the ferry but the first one arrives Vallejo at 12:30 PM which is too late in the day for me (I want to arrive in Davis between 2:00 and 3:00) and Martinez isn't that far from Concord so it's not worth it to me to deal with Amtrak for the ~7 saved miles.

On that other hand, Fairfield is a nice possibility if instead of doing Pleasant Valley, I did Gordon Valley -> Wooden Valley -> 121 -> 128 to get the distance I want. Any thought between those two options?

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[Nathan Dushman]

I've done Wooden Valley -> 121, but then turned left at 128 rather than right (https://www.strava.com/activities/184416595). There's probably a better route out of Fairfield than the one I rode, since the I80 crossing isn't ideal (not worse than the Big Green Sign on Skyline, though). After that the riding is rural and enjoyable. I haven't done Pleasant Valley so I can't compare.

Nathan

[David Goldsmith]

Samuel, my friend sent me his route from Orinda to Fairfield - this might help https://ridewithgps.com/trips/937289

No cues, though :-(

The route I've done is Pleasants Valley from Vacaville to 128. It's a really great road - I was surprised how pretty the hills behind Vacaville are.

David

[Bruce Garretson]

If you want to go the long way you can follow my route and then use Pleasant  Valley to cut over to Putah Creek.

[Bruce Garretson]

With link

https://www.strava.com/activities/23054394

[Patrick Kitto]

Wooden valley option is good, but more fun the opposite direction. 

You could take the pleasant valley route from Fairfield Amtrak, and halfway up make a left on Mix Canyon for an out an out and back detour. It's steep and long and turns to dirt for the last mile at the top. All kinds of type 2 fun. 

[Patrick Kitto]

Ps- at 2pm you will be about 7 hours late for the front yard beer pong tournament. Why on earth are you going to picnic day?

On Apr 4, 2016, at 17:05, R Samuel Klatchko <r...@moocat.org> wrote:

[Justin!]

I think this is almost the exact trip you're planning:

https://bikeeastbay.org/TrainingRide7

[R Samuel Klatchko]

Thanks for all the advice. Based on everything I'm going to do one of the Pleasant Valley variations.

Happy birthday Nathan!

[Thomas Haggerty]

A variation of this route skipping everything up to Lopes Rd in Benicia and just going from Concord across the Benicia Bridge to join up with it.  Certainly one of the best ways to Davis which includes Pleasants Valley Rd. 

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/4612885

If you were compelled to go through Napa, wanted to increase the mileage, didn't mind starting in El Cerrito and wanted company, there's an organized ride on the 16th starting at 0700 that does this route: 

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/2005776

Tom

On Tue, Apr 5, 2016 at 9:55 AM, R Samuel Klatchko <r.samuel...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks for all the advice. Based on everything I'm going to do one of the Pleasant Valley variations.

Happy birthday Nathan!

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