Silicon Valley - Ridge to Ridge

My Goal was to start out in the Silcon Valley ride to the top of the easter slops of the eastside mountain range. From San Jose to Mt. Hamilton to the top is the University of California owned Lick Observator. After reaching the top I then descended back into the valley towards the town of Saratoga up Hiway 9 to the top of the pass at Summit Road and then back down into the Valley.

The ride is about 92 miles and includes around 8,880 feet of total climbing. I left around six in the morning figuring I could make it to the top in under four hours (ok so I'm slow)take about two hours to get back down the hill stop for some lunch and then proceed up highway 9 for the final push.

Using my Garmin Vista GPS the plan was to capture the route and then download it to Google World (formerly Keyhole). I kept having issues with the unit however as it kept shutting down. I have been told that it is just the battery connection comming loose and that if you jam a piece of cardboard or something in the unit it will be fine. Let me tell you it was a bit annoying to have the thing shut down so often.

Up until this time I had down Mt. Hamilton and I had climb hiway 9 through Saratoga many times but I had never done them together in one day. It was a tough ride but given the time it takes I am going to have to save the ride for next year, given the time it takes.