This site is brought to you by the Merced County Association of Governments

GENERAL INFO

BIKING BENEFITS
BIKING TIPS
BICYCLING MAPS
BIKES ON THE BUS
RULES OF THE ROAD
REGISTER YOUR BIKE

LINKS

LEAGUE OF BICYCLISTS
BICYCLING & WALKING

--- BIKE CLUBS ---
STANISLAUS COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
CONTACT US

MERCEDRIDES.COM

The quit steady hum of wheels on a road surface is somewhat like the constant sound of the water parting before the prow of a sailboat. In both cases a cleverly built and aesthetically pleasing product of human ingenuity is conveying passengers along by natural means, without pollution, without noise, and often without life's quotidian worries.

 Bicycling has taken hold of our imaginations in this age of fitness, appreciation of nature, and Lance Armstrong. We remember our first experiences of true mobility when we said to mom, "I'm going for a ride. See you later." The ride back to "wherever" is available to almost everyone nowadays.

Bikes are easy to come by. One can spend a little or a lot on this activity in terms of time and money. Relative to other avocations though, bicycling is inexpensive. And you can ride without a lot of preparation for each trip. Just get on the bike. Edward Blanchard

Merced County Blossom Trails

Almond Blossom Tour of North Merced County

Click here to view this tour - Almond bloom is approximately February 25-28 plus or minus a week

Peach Blossom Tour

Click here to view this tour - Peach bloom peaks approximately March 10 plus or minus a week

Almond Blossom Tour for East Merced County

Click here to view this tour - Almond bloom is approximately February 25-28 plus or minus a week

Apricot Blossom Tour near Los Banos

Click here to view this tour - Apricot bloom is approximately March 1-10 plus or minus a week. It usually corresponds with the last part of almond bloom in the area.

Scenic Routes

EXTRAS

KID'S BIKES & HELMETS
RIDER STATISTICS
SCENIC ROUTES

RESOURCES

CHOOSING A BIKE
ELECTRIC BIKES
BIKE EQUIPMENT
BIKE MAINTENANCE
BIKE SAFETY
BICYCLE TRAFFIC SIGNS

CALENDAR
NEWS
&
EVENTS

AMGEN
McLANE PACIFIC
BIKE SUMMIT
BIKE CONFERENCE
NATIONAL BIKE MONTH
BIKE TO WORK WEEK
BIKE TO WORK DAY
NEWS/PRESS
Selecting Your Route

Depending on your current commute, you may follow the same roads on your bike that you drive, or you may need to choose a more bike-friendly route that avoids highways or
otherwise unsafe roads.

Your local bike shop can assist you in choosing the best routes
toward your destination. They also may have bike maps that show bike-friendly routes in your region, so you can try several different routes.

Another option is to visit MapQuest.com where you can choose directions right from your street address to work. Once the directions come up, click on the “Avoid Highways” tab. This should give you the shortest direction to work using side roads.

As a rule of thumb, commuting to work will take about twice as long as driving, though a study by New York City’s Transportation Alternatives shows that trips less than 3 miles are often faster by bike, and those 5 to 7 miles long take about the same time.

Even if you spend an extra 20 minutes or a half hour riding, that’s time that you don’t have to spend in a stuffy gym. If you’re a cyclist, it’s an easy way to fit in daily training.

Can’t commit to a long commute? Cut it in half. The first day, drive to work with your bike, then ride home that night. Ride to work the next morning, then drive home, and so on. Or drive halfway to a mall or other safe place, park your car, and ride the rest of the way.

Many bus and rail lines allow bicyclists to bring their bikes on board (some require a permit, so check in advance), so you can ride your bike to a Park & Ride lot and catch a ride the rest of the way. Call your local transit station for ride-share options in your area.

Bear Creek

A groundbreaking bikeway utilizing a primary waterway was built with much fanfare in the early 1970's.
Click here to learn more about bicycling the Bear Creek Bike Path.

Rascal Creek

Rascal Creek bike path provides an East-West bike route through North Merced.
Click here to learn more about bicycling the Rascal Creek Bike Path.

Merced College to Lake Yosemite

Merced College provides a pleasant, tree-lined campus from which to begin any number of bicycle rides.
Click here to learn more about bicycling this Bike Path.

South Bear Creek

Many years ago the bridge over Bear Creek at McKee Road was a major observation post for viewing roiling floodwaters that inundated parts of the city.
Click here to learn more about bicycling South Bear Creek.

G Street North to the Merced River

The traditional meeting place for this very popular trip is in the parking lot near Raley’s Market at G Street and Yosemite Avenue.
Click here to learn more about bicycling G Street North to the Merced River.

Bike Training Routes

Ahwahnee Loop - Start at the Old Highway and Buckeye. Time to complete is about 4.5 hours. Hard Loop. All climbing finishing with a long tough climb up Ben Hur (even if they lie and say they aren't - they are) ... The descent from Ahwahnee down to Raymond is great-fast, open and smooth.

Bagby Loop - Start at Merced Falls. Time to complete is about 3.5 hours. Much climbing, but not all climbing-there are some good down hills. Up over Hornitos-warm-up hill. Then up Bear Valley, tough, variating % grade. Over the top - 50mph to Bear, left down to Bagby. Smooth, wide open desert - but can be tricky - couple of sharp turns. Up the 12 mile climb to Coulterville, down to Lake McClure, then begin the four walls heading back to Merced Falls. Once over the last one, it is usually fast-tailwind all the way back to the car. Great way to finish a ride.

Catheys Valley Loop - Start in Merced. Time to complete is around 4.0 hours. Long fat burning ride. No major climbs, one slight climb over Hornitos and rollers to Catheys Valley. Then quick return to Planada. Usually a head wind to Planada, but mostly down hill. Take Randy Longnecker along - he likes to pull from Catheys Valley back to Planada.

Ken's & Jerm's Loop - Start at Merced Falls. Time to complete is about 4.75 hours. This was a loop I used to do almost every Wednesday afternoon in the winter with Ken Watkins, Jerm Holdway and Mark Duroy. This was before Ken had all of the trick equipment that you can't beat up on grueling, rough, sharp roads like Indian Gulch.

Indian Gulch is a road you should only take if you can handle rough, steep and dangerous roads. It is a one lane, with an ugly 50mph, one lane descent down to a 12 land wooden bridge with huge gaps in between the wood rails for the tires. NOT SAFE. On top of that there are a number of short steep walls on Indian Gulch that you can't stand up on because  your wheels will slip out from under you or you will get a pinch flat. Once over this character builder the road goes up the Old Highway to Mariposa, then over the hill to the dump and on the rollers to Bear Valley. Once in Bear Valley it goes over the brut of Bear and into Hornitos, then back to the car. It's a good long hill ride without any long 3 mile climbs. Good overall fitness ride if you are seriously training in the winter season.

Kyles Hundo Loop - Start in Merced. Time to complete is about 5.0 hours. Called Kyles Hundo because Kyle thought it was "about 100 miles," so he put on a century one year to benefit MS. The ride is mostly rolling hills with one climb up to Don Pedro Dam on Hwy. 59 just past LaGrange. This is also the portion of the ride with the most cars on it Once to Don Pedro the ride climbs pretty well over the dam and on longer rollers over to Merced Falls Road. Once over the walls on Merced Falls Road the ride goes gently downhill with a tail wind back to Merced Falls, then flat back to Snelling. Then tail wind back to Merced. Great fat burning-long training ride.

Long Bear Valley Loop - Start in Merced. Time to complete is about 5.0 hours. The ride starts and ends on the flats, but it's what is in between that kills you. I personally have never done this loop, but the difficulties are Hornitos Hill, Bear Valley, (hard even on a short ride), Mount Bullion and Mount Bullion Cut Off. From there it is fast down Guadalupe Grade and fast rolling down into Planada. What makes the end tough is that you usually have a head wind from Catheys Valley all the way back to Merced. This can be real ugly, especially if you are bonking on the way home. Strong riders only with good endurance.

Meadow Loop - Start in Merced. Time to complete is about 2.5 hours. Mellow ride, basically all flat.

Race Course Loop - Start in Merced. Time to complete is about 2.5 hours. Flat with some rolling hills. Usually a head wind going out and a tail wind coming back to Merced. Named after the Snelling Road Race that first started back in 1984 as a training race for the US National Olympic Team that stayed in Fresno for four weeks every year.

Triangle Loop - Start at the Catheys Valley Store. Time to complete is about 3.5 hours. The description may be way off on this one, as the guy writing this has never been on this loop. But it is similar to the Old Highway with an additional, hiller loop on it. I would think the climbing from Mariposa and back to Mariposa through Boot Jack is pretty hilly. The loop can be lengthened a bit by going on Darrah road from Boot Jack up to Triangle Road, instead of cutting over on Silva. The down hill from Midpines Summit back down to Mariposa is really fast.

Turlock Lake Loop - Start in Merced. Time to complete is about 3.5 hours. Mellow ride. Rolling hills, good wind workout. Usually head wind thru Snelling, behind Turlock Lake. Then many rollers over Hawkins usually where a group goes hard back home. Good tail wind back to Merced.