Biking Fun

Biking has been the perfect activity for us, both as individuals and as a family.
It is inclusive of all ages, from an infant in a bike seat to an elder in a recumbent.
There are rides for all skill levels, from circling a blacktop to climbing summits.
No need for dedicated gyms or special courts. Go anywhere your wheels can go.
Savor the ride in peaceful solitude, or fraternize with droves of cyclists.
What other activity can match biking's versatility and provide all these benefits?
Exercise
Sunshine
Fresh Air
Transportation
Socializing
Low Cost
Fun!

Disclaimer: OK, we're most definitely not biking experts. We commute to work and do amateur biking for recreational fun with family and friends. All the info we've posted on this site have been gathered from our own biking experiences with family and friends and from what we've gleaned off of other people/sites as being applicable to us. So, take everything with a grain of salt :)

So, for biking, technically all you need is some kind of bike (and helmet) to go on a ride. However, we've found that certain additional items and prep work make the ride more enjoyable and smooth, especially when having to take care of kids or biking with a large group. The following pages contains biking tips/info we've gathered over our rides, and also what you should prepare if wanting to join our biking group:

Biking First Time Setup
Biking Checklist for Each Ride

Other information that you might find useful for biking:
Buying a Bike
Biking wih Kids
Biking Skills
Bike Maintenance

We've got 3 boys 2.5-3.5 years apart. We used to dump the littlest one into a rear baby bike seat when he got tired of biking his 12-inch balance bike, and we'd tow middle J if he couldn't bike the entire route. Check out Biking with Kids for more info on the towing device.

Now the kids are older. The older 2 can bike the entire route, and the littlest one needs some pushing help when going up steeper hills or when tired, and if completely exhausted, we tow him.

Following are bike routes that we've ridden, either with or without the kids.

Start Location	End Location	Bike Ride Details	Trail or Street	Distance (RT)	Elevation Gain
Berkeley	Treasure Island	Bike Ride Berkeley Marina to Yerba Buena Island	Mostly on Bay Trail and Bay Bridge Trail	17.55 miles	725 ft total
Emeryville	Berkeley	Bike Ride Emeryville to Berkeley Kite Festival	All on San Francisco Bay Trail	7.9 miles	93 ft total
Fremont	Menlo Park	Bike Ride Fremont to Menlo Park Facebook HQ	Mostly on dedicated trails, small section of packed dirt trail	23.9 miles	287 ft total
Marina	Monterey	Bike Ride Monterey Recreational Trail	Mostly on Monterey Recreational Trail	16.1 miles	575 ft total
Monterey	Pebble Beach	Bike Ride Monterey 17-Mile Drive	Starts out on Monterey Recreational Trail, then mostly on roads (Ocean View Blvd, 17-Mile Drive)	25.4 miles	450 ft total
Milpitas	Sunol	Bike Ride Calaveras Rd	All or mostly on Calaveras Rd	20 miles	1122 ft total
San Jose (Almaden)	DK's House	Bike Ride Home to DK's House	Mostly on Los Alamitos Creek Trail and Guadalupe River Trail	19.0 miles	203 ft going
San Jose (Almaden)	Downtown San Jose	Bike Ride Almaden to Downtown SJ Grill on the Alley	Mostly on Los Alamitos Creek Trail and Guadalupe River Trail	25.7 miles	192 ft going
San Jose (Almaden)	San Jose Golfland	Bike Ride Almaden to Golfland & MOD Pizza	Mostly on trails (Los Alamitos Creek Trail, Lake Almaden Trail, Guadalupe River Trail)	12.7 miles	105 ft total
San Jose (Almaden)	IBM SVL	Bike Ride Almaden to IBM SVL via ARC	All on streets	20.5 miles	617 ft going
San Jose (Almaden)	Los Gatos	Bike Ride Almaden to Los Gatos	All on streets with bike lines or on residential streets	21 miles	1355 ft total
San Jose (Almaden)	Morgan Hill	Bike Ride Almaden to Morgan Hill	Half on streets, half on Coyote Creek Trail	39.8 miles	1653 ft total
San Jose (Almaden)	Willow Glen	Bike Ride Almaden to Willow Glen	Almost half on Los Alamitos Creek trail and Guadalupe River Trail, the rest on residential streets	22 miles	397 ft total
San Jose	Los Gatos	Bike Ride Los Gatos Creek Trail	All on Los Gatos Creek Trail	15.9 miles	361 ft total
San Jose	Morgan Hill	Bike Ride from Silicon Valley Blvd to Morgan Hill	Mostly on Coyote Creek Trail	24.7 miles	285 ft total
San Jose	Morgan Hill	Bike Ride from IBM SVL to Morgan Hill	Mostly on Coyote Creek Trail	23.8 miles	295 ft total
San Jose	Morgan Hill	Bike Ride Hellyer Park to Aircraft Skypark	All on Coyote Creek Trail	25.8 miles	352 ft total
San Jose	Santa Clara	Bike Ride Ohlone Light Rail Station to Oracle	Mostly on Guadalupe River Trail	28.3 miles	271 ft going
San Jose	Santa Clara	Bike Ride San Jose Guadalupe River Trail	Mostly on Guadalupe River Trail	15.6 miles	351 ft total
San Mateo	Foster City	Bike Ride Foster City Bay Trail	Mostly on Bay Trail	20.9 miles	40 ft going
Santa Cruz	Capitola	Bike Ride Santa Cruz to Capitola	Half on California Coastal Trail, half on streets	17.8 miles	220 ft going
Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz	Bike Ride Santa Cruz Natural Bridges to Boardwalk	Mostly on California Coastal Trail	7.0 miles	75 ft going

Bike Rides for Future Consideration

Following are rides that we might consider trying in the future.

Start Location	End Location	Bike Ride Details	Trail or Street	Distance (RT)	Elevation Gain
Half Moon Bay	Half Moon Bay	Bike Ride Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail	Mostly on Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail	15.3 miles	127 ft going
Marina	Monterey	Bike Ride Marina to 17 Mile Drive Seal Point	Mostly on Monterey Recreational Trail	35.5 miles	584 ft going
Menlo Park	Fremont	Bike Ride Dumbarton Bridge Coyote Hills Park	Mostly on dedicated trails, partly packed dirt trail	16.9 miles	230 ft total
San Francisco	Sausalito	Bike Ride Golden Gate Bridge	Mostly on dedicated trail/lane	14.1 miles	626 ft going
San Francisco	Tiburon	Bike Ride Golden Gate Bridge to Tiburon Ferry	Half on dedicated trail/lane, half on streets	16.0 miles	928 ft total
San Mateo	San Bruno	Bike Ride Sawyer Camp Trail & San Andreas Trail	Half on Sawyer Camp Trail, half on San Andreas Trail	17.0 miles	812 ft total
Santa Cruz	Capitola	Bike Ride Santa Cruz Natural Bridges to Capitola Beach	Partially on California Coastal Trail, partially on Arana Gulch Trail, the rest on streets	20.5 miles	554 ft total