Nifty Ten Fifty Bike Ride

2727 Milvia Street,Berkeley CA 94703

02 April, 2022

Description

What is the Nifty Ten Fifty? It's a bicycle ride in the San Francisco East Bay Hills that climbs 10,050' in just 54 miles. What is the Nifty Ten Fifty? It's a bicycle ride in the San Francisco East Bay Hills that climbs 10,050' in just 54 miles visiting the steepest and most difficult climbs in the East Bay Hills. Berkeley Hills Death Ride and the Vicious Hills Ride, also play a role in the history of this event which usually takes place on the first Sunday in April each year. Note there are some extra miles with the start/finish of the ride being at Sports Basement. The good news is that you will get a little warm up spin before the climbs and at the end, it is literally all downhill to the finish. NIFTY TEN FIFTY 2022 COURSE MAP There is a ride description that details each climb. It's nonsense really, but fun, (sort of), and unique for sure. I'm not sure what came over me in late Winter back in 2002, but my early mornings before work were spent exploring the most difficult climbs in the East Bay hills. The Nifty strings those climbs together in a somewhat sensible way, though applying the word sensible to this ride seems a bit of a stretch. Along the way you will experience east bay parks, old Berkeley architecture along with new, post-fire Oakland hills architecture. You will see hawks riding the updrafts, incredible bay views (weather permitting), and if you ride slow enough, maybe you’ll see an Owl in the evening light on Vollmer Peak. We will no longer have “guides.” Riders sign in any time between 8:00 AM and 8:30 AM and roll in smaller groups when they are ready. There is a detailed route sheet so that anyone can do the ride on their own, at their own pace, but with many turns on residential streets, it's good to upload the route to your Garmin or follow someone who knows the way lest you spend all your time cursing the route sheet. Note: THIS IS A DIFFICULT BIKE RIDE. RIDERS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO DO THIS FULLY SELF SUPPORTED. There will be no guides, sweeps, mechanics, or people on the route. Riding with a group or other people is recommended for safety and if you are going to suffer up Marin Ave, better to not be alone for morale's sake. You will pass many places to re-fill water bottles on the route.