bike route from Santa Clara to North San Jose

You could take Hedding to the Guadalupe Trail north, or Martin, left on Delacruz, right through the fence at the crosswalk, left to loop around within the airport, left on the airport island bridge, right and u-turn onto the Guad Trail north.

The trail will take you out to Trimble, west of First Street.

Paul Metz
pcmetz@yahoo.com

Try riding on San Tomas and Montague Expressways. They have wide shoulders, well maintained pavement, gentle grades to climb, long sight lines, and few intersections to negotiate. (That last part is key, because intersections are where collisions happen.) The biggest drawback of cycling on the county's expressways tends to be a lack of shade in the heat of summertime, because the pavement is so wide the trees can't overhang very far.

Hmm, the subject of my message didn't make it. My suggestion applies if you are comfortable on your bike on hardpack with some loose rocks. Wider tires will feel more secure on that.

If you do ride on expressways, take care at the intersections. Expressway exits are not usually a problem, as cars are watching in front of them. At expressway entrances, the cars may be looking back for traffic, and not see you crossing in front of them. Either stop, or try to cross quickly; I usually merge quickly to the right even if it means going a few feet out of my way.

Paul Metz

I used to ride that route years ago. San Thomas is not actually as bad as it seems (you'll get used to being in the proximity of speeding cars in time). The dangerous spots are crossing the CalTrain bridge, though, and the 101 merges. I had no qualms about picking a timid-looking driver and taking the lane over the bridge, but I haven't ridden it lately so don't know if they finally widened it. Back then the sign said "No Pedestrians, Equestrians, or Bicyclists" and it took a little bit of advocacy to get them to cross off the last part.

Good luck!

Hi- If you're still investigating this...
(the Martin/Airport route below may be much more direct) I do the approximate reverse commute daily (Montague x 680 to Central x Lawrence Expys.) If the San Tomas Aquino Creek trail (parallel to the expressway, a couple of blocks northwest) has been completed thru Homestead (or even El Camino), that would be the most fun morning commute ride...

I would ride as far northeast as Mission Blvd. or Agnew Road (at fire station behind Great America/Yahoo), turn right and loop back to Montague Exp., then the expressway the rest of the way (unfortunately). You can find quieter backroads (and industrial parking lots) that bypass the expressway, but each will add 5 to 10 minutes to what will likely be a 45 or 50 minute ride, on a good day (unless you're Lance).

Montague in Milpitas and San Jose is suprisingly clean and smooth, having been repaved last year. But the freeway crossings (expecially 880) are the big red flags, especially for relatively new bike commuters. Your other disadvantage is that you are riding into the sun both ways (as are the cars). This doubles the danger.

Montague drivers are generally better than we sometimes give them credit for, if we do our part to be aware and yield when appropriate. We (I tandem with my son) typically encounter 2 hostile drivers per week, versus probably 3 helpful drivers per day (over a dozen per week).

best of luck... it took me 40 years of biking to get to this relatively moderate commute stage, so don't worry if the first few months are daunting. Start with 1 or 2 coolish days a week, when the traffic is lighter, until you become drawn to the adrenalin rush of weaving gridlock, breathing exhaust, and honking horns. :)