Community
Our Favorite Bike Rides in the East Bay
By Kristin Arzt | 5.9.2018
Please note: The Crucible is currently closed in accordance with Alameda County’s Covid-19 shelter-in-place order. Some information below may have changed since its original publication.
Since 1956, the month of May has been celebrated as National Bike Month! With the weather getting warmer and days getting longer, we are feeling inspired to explore the beautiful East Bay by bike. Join the greater community to celebrate National Bike Month by ditching your car and biking to work tomorrow, May 9, for Bike to Work Day put on by Bike East Bay!
In need of a tune up before you start exploring by bike? Our Bike Shop helps keep your ride on the road — whether it’s in a Bicycle Mechanic Workshop, during our regular Bike Fix-A-Thons, or at Wednesday open shop hours. At The Crucible, you can fix up your pedal bike you use for everyday transportation, create an art bike, or customize a hot rod. We also have a robust Youth Bike Program, with youth classes in Frame Alteration, Skateboard Building, and Gravity Cars to our weekly Earn-A-Bike program.
We asked our volunteers, faculty, and staff where their favorite places to bike are, and put together this list of our favorite bike rides in the East Bay to get your wheels moving and blood pumping. What is your favorite bike ride in the East Bay?
Click the red lines on the map below to see our favorite bike rides in the East Bay:
Favorite rides from Crucible community members
I like to ride up to the top of Mountain View Cemetery at the end of Piedmont Ave. It has a bunch of winding climbs, but when you get up top it has some of the best views of the bay. When you roll out there’s plenty of good food and cold beer down the street.
There is nowhere like the Bay Trail. I love doing it around sunset so you can see the light bouncing off the water.
When I’m in Oakland, I simply go from BART to my favorite place, The Crucible.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline Bike Path is my favorite bike path because it is quiet, not crowded, and I love to watch the avian wildlife around Arrowhead Marsh.
My favorite ride is to circumnavigate Bay Farm Island in Alameda. This is more for exercise than transportation. It is really fun to ride along the water and see what is happening. I also like to ride along Crown Beach in Alameda. They have a great protected bike way and you can watch the windsurfers as you go.
The ride around Lake Merritt is a great scenic route with a lot going on.
I like the Ring Trail around Redwood Regional Park (for dirt), along Grizzly Peak Road (for a challenge), or out to Treasure Island (for fun).
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