Pescadero, San Francisco Peninsula, California.

Directions to location by car from Fremont (Niles):

Head over the Dumbarton Bridge - take 101 North to Woodside Road. Head west on Woodside Road (HW 84) and drive the 25 miles to HW 1 in San Gregorio. Head South on HW 1 for about 6 miles and head inland from Pescadero State Beach to the town of Pescadero

Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes.

The Course, road by road:

The route is north on Stage Road from Pescadero to San Gregorio, east on HW 84 to La Honda and south-west on Pescadero Road to Pescadero. The lap is about 28 miles, and contains 1,800' of climbing, so this is one for the mountain goats.

Stage Road is a great road which starts flat. If there is a wind, then this section of the course is the most exposed of the course and you will be heading into it. Once the hills start, the wind becomes less of a factor. There a two climbs on Stage, the first starting not far after the interesting sculpture at the farmhouse at the end of the tree-lined section of the road. Don't get distracted, and beware of the peacocks.

The first climb is a little desceptive and goes on longer than you might think the first time up. The descent is fairly technical and ends in a sweeping, large-radius left-hand bend, after which the road goes up again immediately for the second climb which is steeper than the first. Both climbs are long enough for non-climbers to be ejected from the back of the bunch. The second descent is more technical than the first and at the end, there is a little dig climbing up to HW 84.

HW 84 is a rolling, trending upwards drag with a really grainy surface, the good news being that if there is a wind, it will be a tailwind. The turn-off onto Pescadero Road comes as a little of a surprise and be ready for the reasonably steep uphill immediately after the corner.

After about a mile, the road sweeps right over a bridge and starts climbing. This is Haskins Hill, which is the longest climb on the route and the top of this climb will host the finish line. The climb is not as steep as those on Stage Road, but is hard enough for good climbers to really blow the race apart.

The descent of Haskins is fast and fun. If you are a good descender, you can test your tyres to the limit, as seen in the photo "Testing Tires" on this page. This photo was taken on the first left-hander on the descent of Haskins - take a protractor to the image and work out the angle of lean (this is the designer of the tyres I ride testing them out...)!

After the main descent, there are rolling roads trending downhill towards Pescadero, and if the wind is blowing, then it becomes more of a factor the closer you get to the flats around Pescadero. There are a couple of places on this road where it is single lane only - I expect there to be marshalls controlling these places. Before you know it, you will be back in Pescadero ready to do it again...

Other stuff you might need to know:

More info on the race can be found at the Alto Velo website.

You can expect fog or wind near the coast. Further inland, the sun will most likely be shining and you are sheltered from the wind, so expect a noticable change of temperature round the course.

39x23 should be fine gearing for the climbs. There isn't anything too steep, but they will be where the main selections are made, so you will have to be climbing fit and warmed up ready to climb.

There are a couple of stores in bustling down-town Pescadero, and I think there is even a gas station should you need it.

A map of the area: