TheJANG
04-11-2004, 11:39 PM
Here's the route:
Redwood Road from the Castro Valley side,
to Pinehurst Road, ends at Skyline Blvd, where you immediately go
to Shepherd Canyon Rd,
to Snake Rd,
to Skyline,
to Pinehurst :twisted:
to Redwood Road back to Castro Valley
All speeds are referenced by the posted limit.
It starts with a drop-off from civilization down into a very wide 40mph road and quickly gets trimmed to 35mph as you pass some ranch areas and a small golf course. You get a handful of s-curves that are actually fun within the legal speed range, but before long the big "25" sign bears down on you. However, this is where some actual nice little turns start to show up, including one interesting, very long sweeper that catches you off guard by gradually tightening.
The road lightens up as you come close to a parking area, but then gets interesting again as you descend down into an area of heavier, greener vegetation. You'll soon find yourself smelling the beautiful aroma of Redwood Regional Park drawing near, but make a sudden 135-degree turn to your right onto Pinehurst.
Pinehurst throws some good stuff at you right away as you head uphill a bit. The road is wide enough for two pickups to successfully navigate at speed and still have a little breathing room. You pass a side-entrance to the Redwoods just before the top of the hill, and then begin a winding descent. The road narrows significantly and adrenaline kicks in fast as the turns are tight and dangerous, with all too little room for error. Places that need guard rails on the outside have none. Instead, you get rails on the insides of a few turns where you really don't want to see them! There are a couple of truly awesome high-camber s-curves along the way.
Eventually you pass the adrenaline zone and get to a more sane stretch after a Y in the road (watch for traffic and go left). The speed limit goes up to 35 for a bit, but when it drops to 25 again, obey the limit and be prepared to go much slower still. There's a small school tucked away in the Redwoods followed by a tiny post office, and the turns around these are double-blind and just plain hazardous. Rest your nerves here, but stay sharp and don't hit any pedestrians.
You quickly emerge into slightly lighter vegetation and a lightweight stint of road. There's no speed sign here (somebody must have taken it out), but this is actually a 35 zone. Watch for a sign denoting 1.4 miles of twisties ahead. You might as well downshift to 2nd or even 1st at this point, because this is the high point of the drive. It's a rock slide area, turns are VERY tight, the road is VERY narrow, the rocks to your right are VERY steep and VERY hard, and the bends are VERY blind! Watch out for an occasional bicyclist on your side or F-150 pickup cutting turns in the opposite direction :evil: Buuut wait! It gets worse! You'll come upon a particular recommended 10mph right turn. It's actually a hairpin. A true hairpin. Plus, it has an elevation change of about 4' UP. Lots of diff case scars in the asphalt here! I hit it with a little speed and hard on the brakes at full lock steering, and got on 3 wheels! W00t! :peace: After this, it's not long before you hit a stop sign at Skyline Blvd.
From here, I went straight, over a blind drop-off into the winding Shepherd's Canyon, a fun little Oakland residential road. There are a couple hairy ones in here and you want to air on the side of safety & control so as not to drift off into somebody's living room. Even at very safe speeds, though, it's fun.
The aptly-named Snake Road pulls off to the right at a stop sign. It goes through more residential areas, but the road is plenty wide and there's not much to worry about. The snaking goes on up to Skyline, where you hang a right, drive along the ridge for awhile, and soon turn back down Pinehurst. The trick here is that Pinehurst starts with a dropoff and is completely hidden from view. You just need to remember the look of spot where you emerged -- it's a very wide, open plaza of asphalt, with Shepherd's Canyon falling off to your right.
Now, Pinehurst from the Skyline side is nothing like Pinehurst from the Redwood Road side! The first thing you'll notice is that many of the turns are off-camber, but at least you don't have a crumbling rock cliff by your side, trying to reach out & grab a side view mirror. Going back, you get to discover just how killer the killer elevation-change hairpin turn really is. It's a full lock turn on the outside lane :paranoid: Have fun through the rock slide area and then don't forget to take it easy past the post office & school. The rest of the drive up and over the hill is probably even more exciting on the return trip than it was the first time through, especially after the peak.
Redwood Road on the way back is a unique experiene as well, with some crumbling rock faces on your side of the road this time, giving as many rally-style "don't cut" spots as rally-style "cuts." Things basically start to warm down here, with the exception of those s-curves in the 35 zone, which are much, much more exciting on the return trip.
Lather, rinse, repeat? Hell yeah!
:skid:
Redwood Road from the Castro Valley side,
to Pinehurst Road, ends at Skyline Blvd, where you immediately go
to Shepherd Canyon Rd,
to Snake Rd,
to Skyline,
to Pinehurst :twisted:
to Redwood Road back to Castro Valley
All speeds are referenced by the posted limit.
It starts with a drop-off from civilization down into a very wide 40mph road and quickly gets trimmed to 35mph as you pass some ranch areas and a small golf course. You get a handful of s-curves that are actually fun within the legal speed range, but before long the big "25" sign bears down on you. However, this is where some actual nice little turns start to show up, including one interesting, very long sweeper that catches you off guard by gradually tightening.
The road lightens up as you come close to a parking area, but then gets interesting again as you descend down into an area of heavier, greener vegetation. You'll soon find yourself smelling the beautiful aroma of Redwood Regional Park drawing near, but make a sudden 135-degree turn to your right onto Pinehurst.
Pinehurst throws some good stuff at you right away as you head uphill a bit. The road is wide enough for two pickups to successfully navigate at speed and still have a little breathing room. You pass a side-entrance to the Redwoods just before the top of the hill, and then begin a winding descent. The road narrows significantly and adrenaline kicks in fast as the turns are tight and dangerous, with all too little room for error. Places that need guard rails on the outside have none. Instead, you get rails on the insides of a few turns where you really don't want to see them! There are a couple of truly awesome high-camber s-curves along the way.
Eventually you pass the adrenaline zone and get to a more sane stretch after a Y in the road (watch for traffic and go left). The speed limit goes up to 35 for a bit, but when it drops to 25 again, obey the limit and be prepared to go much slower still. There's a small school tucked away in the Redwoods followed by a tiny post office, and the turns around these are double-blind and just plain hazardous. Rest your nerves here, but stay sharp and don't hit any pedestrians.
You quickly emerge into slightly lighter vegetation and a lightweight stint of road. There's no speed sign here (somebody must have taken it out), but this is actually a 35 zone. Watch for a sign denoting 1.4 miles of twisties ahead. You might as well downshift to 2nd or even 1st at this point, because this is the high point of the drive. It's a rock slide area, turns are VERY tight, the road is VERY narrow, the rocks to your right are VERY steep and VERY hard, and the bends are VERY blind! Watch out for an occasional bicyclist on your side or F-150 pickup cutting turns in the opposite direction :evil: Buuut wait! It gets worse! You'll come upon a particular recommended 10mph right turn. It's actually a hairpin. A true hairpin. Plus, it has an elevation change of about 4' UP. Lots of diff case scars in the asphalt here! I hit it with a little speed and hard on the brakes at full lock steering, and got on 3 wheels! W00t! :peace: After this, it's not long before you hit a stop sign at Skyline Blvd.
From here, I went straight, over a blind drop-off into the winding Shepherd's Canyon, a fun little Oakland residential road. There are a couple hairy ones in here and you want to air on the side of safety & control so as not to drift off into somebody's living room. Even at very safe speeds, though, it's fun.
The aptly-named Snake Road pulls off to the right at a stop sign. It goes through more residential areas, but the road is plenty wide and there's not much to worry about. The snaking goes on up to Skyline, where you hang a right, drive along the ridge for awhile, and soon turn back down Pinehurst. The trick here is that Pinehurst starts with a dropoff and is completely hidden from view. You just need to remember the look of spot where you emerged -- it's a very wide, open plaza of asphalt, with Shepherd's Canyon falling off to your right.
Now, Pinehurst from the Skyline side is nothing like Pinehurst from the Redwood Road side! The first thing you'll notice is that many of the turns are off-camber, but at least you don't have a crumbling rock cliff by your side, trying to reach out & grab a side view mirror. Going back, you get to discover just how killer the killer elevation-change hairpin turn really is. It's a full lock turn on the outside lane :paranoid: Have fun through the rock slide area and then don't forget to take it easy past the post office & school. The rest of the drive up and over the hill is probably even more exciting on the return trip than it was the first time through, especially after the peak.
Redwood Road on the way back is a unique experiene as well, with some crumbling rock faces on your side of the road this time, giving as many rally-style "don't cut" spots as rally-style "cuts." Things basically start to warm down here, with the exception of those s-curves in the 35 zone, which are much, much more exciting on the return trip.
Lather, rinse, repeat? Hell yeah!
:skid: