![mirror on Hamilton](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sG3AwO-tUQFN0WMb9QHUsO1ptNGy4TUgiS2uvPFqcCw66v3LL2bLqVZDwzNyIoNgf_zV2HpcJMmkDh2TcVdTj9i4JIcoxQm2ELoop3AUcHsQmAG4HbKgJ_Kd3NCWqqwOs=s0-d)
LanceOldStrong of Bikeforums.net and I had never ridden up the famed Mt. Hamilton. It's a classic SF Bay Area ride, so we figured we'd better get it done this summer. It was a stellar day, so sunscreen was in order. More is better, too much is just right.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHCjPjkcJ3-Oi5e68ckfp_VaLAI7hmri68fvihtvVfpJj9pamecRycQPqfq5RoCmY1hqma7-XMxfjfvJavhOEu-pAy8mmosDAaHR0yn_ObH0w8w_wPnI-z5Nj4dXS15K5V-er/s200/war+paint.jpg)
The ride up is about 20 miles, with a couple of short downhill sections in the middle. The whole thing makes for just a bit over 5000 feet of climbing. Since the road was built to haul up huge parts for the
Lick Observatory it never gets steeper than about a six percent grade. That makes for a very nice ride indeed. The observatory is old school UC Berkeley architecture. It makes you feel smarter just from walking through it. It's really a beautiful place.
The ride back down is a blast. It isn't as steep or as technical as Diablo, so you can feel almost like you're skiing it without thinking that you might miss a corner any second. The pavement was a delight, especially near the bottom, where it's baby-butt smooth. All in a all it's a very rewarding 40 mile round trip.
We're thinking about doing a future ride as a 100+ mile loop from Livermore, and up the back side. It's supposed to be a bit harder, and it's over 100 miles.
We were wearing our new Northern California gear. Our fans seem to love it.