Redwood Wildcat

Route Description:
Redwood-Wildcat is a medium length ride with a few climbs. It goes up Tunnel and South across Skyline. Then, the route descends Redwood Road, a long gradual descent into the woods. The descent is fairly straight and easy to ride. Then, the road turns North onto Pinehurst for a short climb and technical descent before heading into Moraga. An shorter alternative to Redwood is to descend Pinehurst from Skyline instead of going all the way to Redwood. This ride is called <em>Pinehurst-Wildcat</em>. Once in Moraga, the ride heads North on busy Moraga Way. It’s best to keep to the shoulder on this stretch of road. Finally, the route returns over the hills to Berkeley via Wildcat Canyon (a common end to many a ride).
Time:

2-2.5 hrs

Distance:

34.40 miles

Difficulty:

Moderate

Climbing:

3483 ft

Mile 0.0 – Sproul Plaza to Tunnel Road.

Mile 6.34 – Skyline and Grizzly Peak. Continue straight on Skyline past Grizzly Peak.

Mile 8.03 – Skyline and Pinehurst. Continue on Skyline at the 5-way intersection.
Alternative Route (in red): Turn left on Pinehurst. The descent is windy with a couple of hairpins. Rejoin the route at the Y-intersection with Canyon Rd. after about 4 miles.

Mile 11.49 – Turn left on Joaquin Miller at the light.

Mile 12.11 – Turn left on Redwood Rd. at the light. This is a nice, long descent on a relatively straight (and wooded) road. During the Winter, this road can be especially cold.

Mile 14.57 – Turn left onto Pinehurst. This is a short climb followed by a winding descent.

Mile 17.30 – At the Y-intersection, turn right on Canyon Rd. (Pinehurst-Wildcat rejoins.) After a short climb and descent, the famous walking man sprint lies just past a bridge (but farther than you think if you jump early).

Mile 19.00 – Turn left on Country Club Dr. one block before the light on Moraga Way.

Mile 19.43 – Turn right at the stop sign, then left onto Moraga Way. Moraga Way has heavy traffic, so it’s best to ride on the wide shoulder on this stretch of road.

Mile 23.53 – Bear left as Moraga Way becomes Camino Pablo. As you ride under the freeway, watch out for cars entering and exiting.

Mile 25.95 – Turn left onto Wildcat Canyon for the climb home. The first half is the steepest part; after that, the grade mellows. This is a nice, wooded climb that doesn’t seem so nice at the end of longer rides.

Mile 28.33 – Inspiration Point. It’s mostly down hill from here. This is a nice place to stop, regroup, and take in the view.

Mile 31.84 – Top of Spruce. Head left to descend into Berkeley via Euclid.