Paved Perfection

Tour de France, eat your spokes out. The Peninsula's Cañada Road is a road biker's Shangri-La: a 7.3-mile scenic stretch of well-groomed pavement from Woodside to the west side of San Mateo. The route is light on traffic and offers great scenery, including the Crystal Springs Reservoir. Start this ride at the northern end, where parking is abundant and rolling hills are a backdrop. Plan to ride on a Sunday—the northern end is closed to vehicles for Bicycle Sundays, so children, joggers, roller-bladers, and bikers have full access to the street. Toward the southern end of the ride, stop and re-fuel with some fine deli sandwiches at Roberts Market in Woodside. Viva Cañada!

Story by Kathleen Chang

To start at the northern end of Cañada Rd.: from I-280 take the Hwy 92 exit west toward Half Moon Bay and turn left onto Cañada Road. There is plenty of parking along the street. On Bicycle Sundays (9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) the 4-mile section from the Filoli Estate (1 mile north of Edgewood Rd.) to Hwy 92 is closed to vehicular traffic. Roberts Market is at the intersection of Woodside Rd. and Cañada Rd.