Courtesy of A News Cafe, Story by Earl Talken, Photos by Earl Talken and Visit Redding
Here, some of the best road rides you can roll in the Redding area. Click on any of the maps below, then click again, to enlarge them:
Fair & Balanced
Fair and Balanced, a name given to a 38-mile Shasta Wheelmen bike ride, offers 17 miles of paved roa
dway and 21 miles of car-free paved trail.
The ride begins at the Sundial Bridge in Redding and heads west along the Sacramento River Trail and the new Middle Creek Trail. Highway 299, Granite Drive and Rock Creek Road take the biker through the historic old town of Shasta to the trail head of the Sacramento Rail Trail.
After a little more than 8 miles of easy riding trail along the river and through an old railroad tunnel, the work of climbing the paved road to Shasta Dam begins. The view of the dam, the lake, and the Sacramento River Canyon are worth the climb. A second climb up from the dam positions the rider for an exciting downhill run to Shasta Dam Boulevard while avoiding potholes on this neglected portion of Lake Boulevard. From here it's all downhill, with a wide paved shoulder on Lake and a traffic-avoiding detour on Quartz Hill Road. After crossing Keswick Dam, it's back on the River Trail to the finish at the Sundial Bridge.
Ride to Centerville & Back
Placer is fairly heavy with traffic but a shoulder gives a cyclist room to ride past the Centerville Feed Store and the Centerville Grange. Texas Springs Road and Branstetter Lane are less traveled and allow for views of dredger tailings along Tadpole Creek, which is dry in summer.
Click to enlarge.
Jack’s Breakfast Ride
This is Jack Ennis’ breakfast ride to the Lion’s Club in Cottonwood. Presented the 2nd Sunday of each month, the breakfast comes with the opportunity to work it off with your choice of three rides of 10, 18 or 24 miles.
The Jamboree Half-Century Backwards
The Shasta Wheelmen, in 1970, organized a cycling event known as the Shasta Jamboree. The ride shown here is a half century version with 2,744 feet of climbing along a rural route that features ranches and streams. The great part of this ride is that the last half is all downhill.
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Jerry’s Excellent Birthday Ride
In 2007, Jerry Counts decided to ride his birthday in miles. Unfortunately, Jerry’s math skills were a little rusty. The ride turned out to be 71, a bonus of 5 miles to grow on. For a less challenging ride, from Balls Ferry Road take Ash Creek Road to Parkville Road and continue back along Dersch Road to the Start/Finish for a total of 35 miles.
Click to enlarge.
Earl Talken is an avid cyclist, past president of the Shasta Wheelmen, author of "Biking the Best: A Guide to 25 of the Best Paved Bicycle Routes in and Around Shasta County, California," and a graphic designer.
