Ride 4A Reason 2024

DETAILS ON THE NEW ROUTE FROM OAKLAND TO SACRAMENTO

The road closures from 2023 that forced us to give up on a 100+ mile course last year have still not been repaired. But this year, we have developed a new course from Oakland to Sacramento. And it’s good to try new things, right? So this year, instead of the easy warm-up around UC Berkeley and the steady, easy grade of Spruce Street, you get a no-warm-up, full assault on the East Bay Hills by leaving Oakland Technical High School and chugging right up Tunnel Road to the top, and then you’ll CAREFULLY descend Pinehurst Road to drop down to Moraga. Next you’ll wind through the eastern ‘burbs and towards Lafayette to pick up Olympic Blvd. for a bit to use Pleasant Hill Road to cross to the north side of Highway 24.

You soon make a left to get on to the light-traffic Reliez Valley Road. This is a nice and pretty bike road with low traffic, but use caution — it’s a little narrow and it has a modestly challenging grade. Descending, you roll through quiet and pretty exurban/rural neighborhood, with Briones park on your left. We’re planning a rest stop along here — watch for details. Then, having sneakily avoided Pig Farm Hill, you get to Alhambra Valley Road, and roll north to and through Martinez, aiming for the Martinez/Benicia Bridge bike path, one of the scenic highlights of the route, IMO.

In Benicia, you now need to aim away from (still closed!) Lopes Road and I-680, so you will use the rural and pretty Lake Herman Road to angle to the west and towards Vallejo. Pick up Columbus Parkway (nice bike lane!) for a while, where we are planning another stop for you. Then the much-famed (?) Solano Bikeway, A.K.A. the I-80 Bikeway. This is an interesting little bit of ride, new to many of you, no doubt. You climb parallel to the freeway, and it’s got great views back down towards Six Flags amusement park, Vallejo, and the bay. Chug along five miles with basically zero cars until you get to Red Top Road, turn east again, and VIOLA (?), you’re back on Lopes road just south of Cordelia. A pretty ride into town and then ride CAREFULLY with all your good cycling habits and skills to get over I-80 by flowing with car traffic.

We’ve trimmed a little bit of mileage from the course here, so pay attention to the new course now, but soon you’re back on the course that you know well from past years through the north side of Fairfield and then the rest of the ride is just "yada-yada” as you join forces with the riders doing the 68 and 45 mile courses. Highlights: Pleasants Valley Road, Lake Solano, Putah Creek Road, the Stevenson Creek Bridge, UC Davis, the Yolo Causeway, and the (shiny!) Tower Bridge in Sacramento. So much of this is very rural and pretty. Flowers! Orchards! Horses and cows!

You can review this new course here. Note that the courses are not yet final, and may well change before April 20, depending particularly on road conditions, because it’s still raining hard...

THE ROUTES

100+ mile ride - https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45129815

68 mile ride - https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45487334

45 mile ride - https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45487338

Ride 4 A Reason Goes Bite-Size!

 We're so excited to be bringing a family-friendly option to R4R this year.  The 9 mile route option will start and end at the Capitol (where the other routes end), and will be a loop through historic Sacramento and along the Sacramento river. You can expect a mostly flat ride, on a mix of city streets and off-street bike paths. Because there is a lot of construction happening in the area, we won't have an exact route until April, and we'll share it with all participants as soon as we know it!  We hope this ride will be a great option for kids, folks who are newer to biking, and anyone who wants a shorter ride!