Pleasanton Cycling Routes Vol.1 Mines & Del Valle

Along time ago when google maps first came out I asked for a feature. The ability to construct routes through via points. I know that I'm not the only one that ever asked for this feature but I am one of the happiest that they implemented it. It allows me to easily make cycling routes and make them available online. I'm going to try publish some of my cycling routes.

This one is the easy route. It is 21.2 mi:
Main Street Pleasanton to Tesla & Mines Road Livermore

This one is a bit longer, 28.2 miles, it goes to the base of Del Valle hill. Mines road is a slightly sloped up:
Main Street to the base of Del Valle Hill

The real route is Del Valle Hill. It is only a couple miles longer, 31.4 miles but it includes a lot more climbing:
To the top of Del Valle Hill That paricular hill is used by local cyclists to keep tabs on their fitness. They keep track of their times from the sign at the bottom which is also marked with a ribbon to the top where there begins a curb which is painted yellow on the end.

If you are ambitious, you can do both sides which is 36.2mi:
Main Street and both sides of Del Valle Hill Most cyclists stop at the guard shack most of the way down the hill but I like going a bit farther and crossing the bridge. There is a good reason to do both sides of the hill if you can hack it. It is one thing to do one big effort but it is totally another to be able to ration your energy such that you can do a hill like that twice. Thankfully, the back side isn't quite as steep and the turns aren't bad so you can really descend at speed.

A slightly different ride is not going up Del Valle but rather going up Mines Road. Though the hill is less steep than Del Valle but it is much longer. It climbs quite a bit but then levels out at about 2200'. You don't have to go all the way to the top. You can turn around anywhere that you want on the hill, but a good place to stop is a small bar/cafe called the junction:
Main Street to the Junction Admittedly the full ride is much more challenging than any of the others, it includes a lot of climbing and it is 77 miles. There is a lot of good things about this ride, including the fact that it is the beginning of many more longer rides. However, there are some downsides to it. A few of the residents on Mines rd. don't seem to like cyclists very much and there isn't any water between the little park at Holmes & Whetmore and the Junction.

Finally the route that I want to work myself into shape to do is this one:
Full Mines Patterson Tesla loop