view of green treetops

Triple Summit 100, CA

I first conjured up this century as a training ride for the Markleeville Death Ride. With 3 significant climbs–Old La Honda Rd., Kings Mountain, and Page Mill Rd., all going up to Skyline–it still doesn’t quite compare to that famed classic which has 5 major climbs and 29 more miles, but it is tough nevertheless!

Route Sheet

TotalSegmentDirections
0 Central Park in Fremont (near Stevenson/Paseo Padre intersection)
0 West on Stevenson
~3 R (north) on Cherry
  L (west-north) on Thornton.
~7 L (west) onto Marshlands Rd. (CA-84)
  West onto Dumbarton Bridge bike path (on south side of Bridge)
  L. (south, then west) on Willow Rd. in Menlo Park (next intersection after University and 84)
  R. (north) on Middlefield Rd.
  L (west) on Ravenswood Rd.
  Ravenswood becomes Menlo Ave; go straight (west)
  R (north) on University for a couple of blocks.
~17 L (west) on Santa Cruz Ave.
19 L (south) on Alameda de las Pulgas
  R (west) on Sand Hill Rd.
 ~3R (west) on Old La Honda Rd.
 2R (north) on Skyline Blvd.
 ~4?R (east) on Highway 84.
 1Sharp R (south) on Portola Rd.
  L (east) on Sand Hill Rd.
  L (north) on Alameda de las Pulgas
  L (west) on Woodside Rd.)
525R (north, then west) on Kings Mountain Rd.
575Make a U-turn at Skyline Blvd. (CA-35) and go back down Kings Mountain Rd.
62 Right (west) on Woodside Rd.
  Straight (south) on Portola Rd.
  R (west, then south) on Sand Hill/Portola Rd.
  L (east) on Alpine Rd.
 ~1.5?R (south) on Arastradero Rd.
 7R (west) on Page Mill Rd. Climb (with short level/downhill sections) for 7 miles up to Skyline!
 ~10Make a U-turn at Skyline Blvd. (CA-35) and descend Page Mill Rd.
  Take Page Mill Rd. (becomes Oregon Expressway) to Middlefield Rd. in Palo Alto. Make a left (north) on Middlefield.
  R on Willow Rd., through Menlo Park, to Dumbarton Bridge bikeway.
  Straight (east) on Marshland Rd. after Dumbarton Bridge (same way you came before, opposite direction)
  R (south, then eventually east) on Thornton Rd.
 3R (south) on Cherry St.
 2.5-3L (east) on Stevenson
960Finish at Central Park in Fremont. Great job!!

From the Logbook

June 22, 2002 (Sat)

Excerpts from an email sent out after the ride:

I’m back home! It’s been an interesting day:

  • First I sleep through my alarm… by over two hours
  • And it would have been even longer if people weren’t making noise outside my place, like they were dragging something across the pavement. And so I finally get out of bed, and right outside of my window, down below, in front of my door, is one of my favorite cars of all time… a shiny new AC Cobra, blue with white racing stripes!!! “I must be dreaming” was my first thought…
  • Alas, no, the neighbors hadn’t decided to buy me it as a birthday present. It turns out one of the neighbors had purchased a Cobra kit that was delivered the other day, and a bunch of people were helping him uncrate and unload the chassis of it. The blue cobra was owned by a buddy of his who came to help. Moments later came another Cobra (this one, black), audible from at least 2 blocks away. So then there were two Cobras in front of my house.
  • After all the excitement I am finally on my bike at 9:40 a.m. and head over to the House of ALM to meet Mike.
  • Mike and I then successfully climb Old La Honda. Mike’s first classic climb!!
  • After heading back and talking with Loren for a little bit I was on my own. So I headed up to Woodside and up Kings. Was really happy with how I was riding…
  • Came back down the same way I went up and I still swear, Mike, that my bike handles better after the wheel overhaul. But when I returned to Portola Valley, a cycling chick blew past me. She was really going hard, like near time-trial pace. Ego prevailing (hadn’t been passed all day while riding alone), I stayed about 15 feet behind her the entire way (to avoid drafting) to Alpine Rd., in which I fairly easily passed her up due to a better aero tuck on the descent. But I then turned right on Arastradero (to go to Page Mill), and to my surprise, she followed me (unbeknownst to me, since I assumed she would continue with the Portola Loop like 90% of all people usually do), attacked, and then passed me up again. But again not wanting to be dropped I kept with her until Page Mill Rd., in which she headed home, and I of course, went up to Skyline…
  • Which after all the cat-and-mouse games, was EXTREMELY PAINFUL! I actually had to stop twice due to leg cramps. It took me 1 hour 15 minutes to get to the top, compared to my usual 45-50 minutes…
  • The descent was fun though. Until I got to the last (really short) hill on Page Mill, after I-280, in which my chain seemed to be skipping. And then, all of a sudden… IT BROKE! (completely separated) Ironically, the location this happened at was the exact same spot Goldie’s fuel pump died on me in November of 1995 one night. Spooooky….
  • Alas, I did not have a chain tool on me. The pin was still there, so I tried putting the chain back together first with my fingers. Despite all that rock climbing, of course my fingers were still not strong enough to do that. So then I tried using a rock to pound it back together… Sort of worked… well for about 1/4 of a mile, in which the chain broke again when I was trying to go through an intersection. Unfortunately, this time I lost the pin.
  • So it was cell phone time. I tried calling your cell phone, Mike, but you weren’t around. Got ahold of Adrian Mikolajczak, but he didn’t have a chain tool, plus sounded pretty busy. So had to think of other options…
  • I figured, I was about 1 mile away from two bike shops, but they would probably be closed, as it had just turned 6:00? (Darn) Crossed my fingers, and then was on my bike, using it as a SCOOTER (you know, pushing off with my foot every 10 feet, much to the amusement of drivers, I’m sure), and about 10 minutes later, was on El Camino Real…
  • and SCORE! The Bike Connection was still open. I went in, and they put back together my chain for $5, no drama.
  • I then merrily rode the remaining 20 miles home, stopping to get a Jamba Juice on the way.

End of story.

So the lesson of the story (though this probably does not apply to Tori ) is to always have a chain tool in your saddle bag. I had last experienced a broken chain in 1995 (a Shimano one, in which I since have [perhaps unfairly] avoided using Shimano chains… the one that broke today was a Sachs), but that time, I was just two miles away from my dorm at Stanford, so I just used the scoot method to get back too. But happening twice already shows it’s not too uncommon…

I guess a second lesson could also be, don’t try to chase a hot-shot for 15 miles when you still have to do a brutal climb like Page Mill.

Anyhow, good riding with you today, and good job!

I awoke from bed only to see a beautiful blue AC Cobra replica right outside my house!
I awoke from bed only to see a beautiful blue AC Cobra replica right outside my house!
On the west side of the Dumbarton Bridge there was some new construction going on to improve the bike route.
On the west side of the Dumbarton Bridge there was some new construction going on to improve the bike route.
Now with Mike, we head up Sand Hill Rd. to the base of Old La Honda Rd.
Now with Mike, we head up Sand Hill Rd. to the base of Old La Honda Rd.
Following Mike down a sweet-but-short descent on Skyline down to CA-84.
Following Mike down a sweet-but-short descent on Skyline down to CA-84.
This is the hot-shot who I was playing cat-and-mouse with in Portola Valley and (shown here) Arastradero Rd.
This is the hot-shot who I was playing cat-and-mouse with in Portola Valley and (shown here) Arastradero Rd.
My faithful C'dale after a gruelling climb up Page Mill Rd. at Mile 75 or so.
My faithful C'dale after a gruelling climb up Page Mill Rd. at Mile 75 or so.