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Montara Mountain
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This week presents a scenic and steep dirt road to the spectacular views of Montara Mountain. Road tires are non-optimal but perhaps sufficient, but the steep grades will reward low gears.

Check back after the climb for a results form!

auweia photo
From the top ( auweia photo )


results?not yet!
profileprofile
distance3.76 miles (6.1 km)
climbing1766 ft (538 meters)
grade8.93%
where?see below
when?23 Nov 2013
what timeregistration none to none
climb starts @ any time Saturday
ResultEnter result here after the climb!
waiverPlease fill one out before the climb!
how?self-ride
how much?$10 (free for juniors
and those with volunteer credit)
why?Ask not why; just do!
coordinator
volunteerssign up!
weatherWeather Underground
deja-vu?New!
VeloViewer
BikeMap

Cover your head, not your ears...

Sorry, folks! Our insurance requires all riders wear helmets during the climb, and we follow the USA Cycling rule against ear buds or other head phones. Rock to tunes before the climb, perhaps, but we need riders to pay attention to what's happening during the climb...

Directions

You're on your own this week! It's GPS timed with riders doing the route on their own any time during Saturday.

Feel free to ride with others, but groups must be smaller than 20 riders, per Open Space regulations. There are other trail users, so please follow the rules of the trail, yielding to all pedestrians and equestrians. If you're forced to come to a complete stop to yield right of way, let us know. If it's early enough in the ride you're not too fatigued, you can also always head back down the hill and try again if conditions aren't right for a fast attempt the first time.

Note this is an optional climb (you only need four results during the series to get a maximal score). Please use discretion and courtesy in climbing the hill! You're responsible for your own decisions with regard to weather and conditions.

Pay careful attention to the BikeMap. Satellite view is best (there's a pull-down in the upper right of the map: select "Google satellite"). The start is at a junction with a building. We take a trail to the right. The actual start is the junction past the building but you're want to start a bit early to make sure you're moving when you cross the start line, and to account for possible position errors from GPS.

The route follows the dominant trail from there. There are no sharp turns: go with the flow. In particular there is a junction with the another fireroad, the less steep option from where you started. Don't go there: continue climbing on the main trail (bearing right).

A bit further, you'll encounter a single-track trail descending to the left down steps and with a sign that says "no bicycles" and prominent tire tracks in the dirt. This is a very nice hiking route to San Pedro Valley Park, but save it for later. Today you continue up the main trail, which climbs steeply ahead.

After a substantial amount of further climbing, you may notice a rusted car on the right of the trail. After you've recovered from the shock of such an unexpected encounter, it's time to sprint! You're almost to the finish. After a short rise, you come with a junction to a trail to a peak on the left: the West Peak. Don't go there. The finish line is at this junction. Keep riding ahead to make sure you've cleanly crossed the line. If you were to turn left to the West Peak access road, which you won't do, you might not cross the virtual finish line.

There's a Strava segment to the top of the following peak: the East Peak. You've finished the Low-Key, but you may as well log this Strava segment. Turn left onto the peak access road before the fence blocking this trail, then bear right to reach the top.

So in summary: start to the right, then keep climbing until you can't climb any more.

Volunteer!

No volunteers are needed this week, since it's a self-ride. Please consider volunteering for one of our fully supported climbs using our volunteer form! Thanks!!!

The Low-Key Way

Low-Key is all about a group of friends riding up a hill together. It's like any other informal group ride, except we time you to the top and report the results on our web site. But we have no road closures, no lead vehicle, no follow vehicle. We are traffic, sharing the roads with other traffic, following the laws and courtesy which applies to traffic. Think of it as a human-assisted Strava. We're each responsible for our own actions out there, on and off the bike, both as users of the road as as courteous visitors to the neighborhoods we pass through. "Ceci n'est pas un race".



"Get your ass up that hill!" -- Kevin Winterfield, Fovnder
Dan Connelly