I ride because I love to ride. That seems maybe a bit strange since most of the types of rides I do are rather painful but I'm certainly not a masochist but more of a health nut I suppose.

When I do a flat ride they actually get boring. I have done rides that other people would never think of. Near the entrance of Mt. Hamilton if you go straight rather than turn up Mt. Hamilton Road, you have about a 30 mile ride over a million and one rollers but never gets very steep. I would come in from the other end and exiting that road I can still remember the route back into Fremont which then adds another 20 miles. From my home to that hill road is probably 20 miles so this ride would be 70 miles door to door.

Another route that isn't so obvious is that you can ride DOWN to Fremont and then out through Milpitas to Mt. Hamilton Rd. and ride up to the top of Mt Hamilton. That route averages about 7% though there are some steep sections that aren't supposed to be there (repairs from avalanches I expect). Once you are at the top of Mt Hamilton the road on the other side used to be a pass and so was made after then had mechanized road pavers. It is about 8, 9 and 10% down the other side and past the point where there is a fairly flat road out into the Central Valley. That is the LONG path where you go back to the "half-way house" which is probably still open and run by some Hispanic ladies. You can get a soda or coffee and a sandwich. From there you have to climb up about another 1,000 feet at 7% or so generally into a headwind and then it FEELS like it is downhill all the way back into Livermore which is 25 miles from my house. That would make a century or so if I ever get up to the long a ride anymore. Though being able to stop for a sandwich helps a great deal since Metrics CAN feel short with good feed stops.

But as I've been discovering, too many flat rides and I can't do even moderate climbing rides without being sore for two days.