Need to rent a bike near Redwood City

[traveller_62]

I'm going to be at Stanford for a few days in late March and will be staying at a hotel in Redwood City.

Does anyone out that way know of a good bike shop that rents road bikes in that area?

Any recommendations for rides (1-2 hours at a pace of 14-16 mph)?

[jobob]

Hi -

I sent you a PM, but in the meantime I found a website which lists a few shops that rent bikes. I suggest you call them though, no way of knowing otherwise if the info is accurate.

By the way, Menlo Park is between Redwood City and Palo Alto.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/cgi/pao_search_fab.cgi?Section=things&Category=by%20bike

Score! http://campusbikeshop.com/page.cfm?PageID=88

[velogirl]

Summit Bicycles in Burlingame (8 miles north of RWC) also rents bikes -- 650-343-8483

For turn sheets, check out the Velo Girls route library. I'd be happy to help you choose rides if you let me know what you'd like to do (time, terrain, etc)

http://www.velogirls.com/resources/routes.php

[traveller_62]

Awesome!

Thanks JoBob and VeloGirl. I'm heading out the door in about an hour for another business trip but I'll take a look at the sites you listed as soon as I land and find a wireless connection!

Traveller

PS - Jo, I replied to your PM.

[DrBadger]

Hey traveller 62-
I am a grad student at Stanford, so do all my riding around there. If you go to either www.paloaltobicycles.com or www.chainreaction.com they have some really good rides listed, lots with maps and directions. Some of my favorite rides are "the loop" which is Alpine Rd - Portola Rd - Sandhill Rd loop just west of Stanford (I leave from campus). You can add some really good hill climbing from there including the Old La Honda climb up to Skyline Blvd (the road that runs along the top of the Santa Cruz Mountains) Any of the routes along Canada Rd are also really nice, and some of the hilly routes in the hills of western Redwood City.

Enjoy your trip!

[traveller_62]

Thanks for the info, PA. I tried to email Palo Alto bikes but my email bounced because their inbox is full! I'm going to call around to the shops that you and jobob mentioned and see what i can rustle up for a set of wheels!

[Veronica]

When are you going to be here? Maybe we can do a meet Traveller ride. :p

V.

[traveller_62]

Hey Veronica,

I'm going to be arriving late on the 26th of March. Should be interesting because I'm getting on the plane in NYC just a few hours after I finish (hopefully) my first half marathon! I suspect I'll be a bit stiff and sore by the time I reach San Francisco airport that night!

My meeting (near Stanford) is the 27th - 30th. I am hoping to get a ride in on Tuesday or Wednesday evening. I think it would be great fun to meet up with local TE members!

I'll post on this thread again when my trip gets closer.

[traveller_62]

Hi all,

It is getting closer to my trip to the west coast. Because I'm out there for work I don't have much flexibility in my schedule. My meeting (which is at SRI in Menlo Park on Ravenswood Rd) goes from about 9 am to 5:30 pm each day.

I don't know the area out there at all...or how much day light you guys have at this point. But it would be great to meet up with anyone interested in riding on Tuesday or Wednesday evening. Early morning riding is also possible for me since I'll be on East coast time.;)

I was thinking of the following rides as possibilities:

Edgewood/Mountain Home Loop
Woodside-Portola Valley Loop
Old LaHonda

Like I said, I don't know the area at all so I haven't got a clear sense of where these rides are relative to where I'll be so I'm open to suggestions!

Hope to get a chance to meet some of you when I'm out that way.

Cheers,

Traveller (Carol)

[velogirl]

I'm getting on the plane in NYC just a few hours after I finish (hopefully) my first half marathon! I suspect I'll be a bit stiff and sore by the time I reach San Francisco airport that night!

Please be sure to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate (with water and electrolyte) on your flight. Also, stay away from alcohol and caffeine products since they can both dehydrate you. Although you may want to sleep on your flight, I recommend staying awake and moving around at least once an hour.

I suffered a DVT in 2003 after completing an athletic event and then hopping on a flight. It's actually not uncommon among athletes.

You can read the article I wrote about that experience here -- http://www.velogirls.com/resources/publications/dvt.pdf

[traveller_62]

good advice velogirl. i spend a lot of time on the road (and in the air) and follow the guidelines you describe when i travel. i've got my own water bottle and little packets of EmergenC with me!

traveller

[jobob]

Hi Carol -

I sent you a long PM about where you are in relation to the rides you mentioned in Woodside.

Here's a route I put together on Gmaps pedometer which takes you from near your hotel up to Alameda de la Pulgas, then west on Woodside Rd up into the town of Woodside.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=83572
I hope it comes out OK. You drag your cursor over the map to move it around, and use the bars on the left side to enlarge or reduce the views.

From there you can hook onto the various "loop" routes shown on the Velogirls and Chain Reaction websites

http://www.velogirls.com/resources/routes.php#peninsula

http://www.chainreaction.com/theloop.htm
http://www.chainreaction.com/bigloop.htm

In the Gmap I drew out a short loop which takes you from Woodside Rd to Whiskey Hill, Sand Hill, Mountain Home back into "downtown" Woodside (Roberts Market and a few other shops), across Woodside Rd to Canada Rd, right onto Edgewood (fun descent!), right onto Alameda de la Pulgas and back down to the hotel.

According to Gmaps the loop I drew is only about 18 or so miles, with minimal hills.
I think you can easily hook on to the loops you mentioned - from the titles they look like the ones on the Velogirls site - once you're on either Alameda de las Pulgas (also called just "Alameda") or one of the other roads I mentioned above.


Sorry I won't be able to join you for a ride. Let me know if you're up for dinner Tuesday (I can't make it on Weds).

- Jo.

[jobob]

As for daylight, this week it's light out by ~ 6 am so you might want to consider an early am ride if you're so inclined. It's dark by ~ 7pm so that might not give you much time for a ride after your meeting lets out.

At the moment, rain is predicted for Tues and Weds, what a surprise :rolleyes: We're growing mould out here.

[traveller_62]

Thanks so much to everyone for their help on connecting me cycling resources in the Peninsula-- especially jobob and velogirl. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to meet up with any of you in person but I hope to be back this way and next time I'll try to stay over a weekend so that there is more time to ride and meet people.

My student and I ended up renting road bikes at the Stanford Bike Shop. They were very helpful and friendly. We pulled some route maps off of the awesome velogirls Web site and ended up doing a loop last night that included a wonderful climb up Edgewood. This morning we started out at first light and made up our own route that included a climb up Jefferson Ave.

If any of you are out my way in Maine drop me a line. I'd be happy to help in finding good routes, bike shops, and even riding partners!

Cheers,

Carol

[BikeMomma]

Traveller -

I'm so glad you had a couple nice rides in California! Alas, I had to work. :( I'm still mulling over another trip to Maine, this time in the summer. It would be fun to get the Maine and Mass TE gals together for a ride! And this time I WILL make the Cape Able ride, rain or shine.

Take care!
~BikeMomma

[traveller_62]

BikeMomma,

If you do make it out here over the summer be sure to drop me a line...and hopefully the weather will be a tad bit better than the last time you were here!

Traveller



Traveller -

I'm so glad you had a couple nice rides in California! Alas, I had to work. :( I'm still mulling over another trip to Maine, this time in the summer. It would be fun to get the Maine and Mass TE gals together for a ride! And this time I WILL make the Cape Able ride, rain or shine.

Take care!
~BikeMomma