"Nasty Turns"

[Steven Bixby]

I don't know about "nasty" in the sense you mention, but I have something
similar - on the E-to-W climb of Mount Hamilton, just east of San Jose area.

This road is flat-out the twistiest road I've ever been on.  It's a good 15
mile long climb, with probably 150+ turns, with many of them having a radius
of literally just 8-10 feet.   I might go two or three miles at a stretch
never leaving 1st gear.

Some of the turns are right handers in which you gain 20 feet of altitude in
30 feet rolling - you gotta be really good on the friction zone.... "or
else". :)   Once you finally do get to the top, you stop, get off the bike
and spend a half-hour unkinking your shoulders for the ride down the other
side, which is almost as twisty!

A Google Maps link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=mt+hamilton,+ca&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=58.425119,74.53125&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Mt+Hamilton,+Santa+Clara,+California&ll=37.332631,-121.680708&spn=0.058146,0.072784&t=h&z=14

Alternatively, a tinyURL version:

*http://tinyurl.com/yft7pdt

*
On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 4:05 PM, John Soliday <johnsoliday at msn.com> wrote:

> OK, this would be a nice new thread; what's the nastiest low speed turn
> you've ever ridden on your GPZ?  I need to take a picture of mine but Mike
> and Charles probably know this turn.  It's a uphill, 180, usually covered
> with sand, and (I am not kidding) there was a small dead bear on the side
> of
> the road there.  If I had my camera or my phone (wish, darn it I forgot to
> take, but there's not cell coverage up there anyway) I would have loved a
> shot of it.  Anyway, it's the turns out of Ward, CO right before you hit
> Peak to Peak Highway, up by the Mill Site Inn.  And since the dirt turns on
> Old Stage Road, I would never take my GPZ on, they don't count!
>