[Rushfan]

Solano County has closed Cantelow Road north of Vacaville west of Pleasants Valley Road to through traffic. Part of the road is sliding off the hill, with big nasty cracks on the west side near the bottom. If you ride this area, don't go fast down Cantelow or you'll run into trouble.

Once they fix it, Pleasants Valley Road/Cantelow Road is a great ride, with an epic climb up Mix Canyon if you want to test your legs.

 

[CFBlue]

Zebra?

Isn't Cantelow where the zebra lives? I saw it when I got lost last fall. I've heard that there are some other exotics around Vacaville, but I've not seen them yet.

Mix Canyon is amazing, don't go up w/o a very good set of brakes.

 

[Rushfan]

Isn't Cantelow where the zebra lives? I saw it when I got lost last fall. I've heard that there are some other exotics around Vacaville, but I've not seen them yet.

Mix Canyon is amazing, don't go up w/o a very good set of brakes.

I've never seen a zebra on Cantelow, but I did have to stop for a flock of wild turkeys. Fortunately, I was going up at the time.

 

[slitespd]

Cantelow is closed but you can still get through there. We went down last Saturday and walked around the barriers at both ends.

 

[Rushfan]

Cantelow is closed but you can still get through there. We went down last Saturday and walked around the barriers at both ends.

Just got this:

"To Local Bicycle Clubs:
I wanted to let you know that Cantelow Road in Solano County is closed about
half a mile east of Pleasants Valley Road due to a slippage in the hillside.
Because of the severity of the damage it is likely to remain closed for several
months.

Although it is posted as Road Closed, many bicyclists are cutting through the
closed part of the road. Can you spread the word to your bike club about this
problem, and ask your members not to use that part of Cantelow Road? I know that
this is a popular route with bicyclists, and I ask for your patience and
cooperation until the problem has been fixed.
Thank you for your help.
Paul Wiese
Engineering Manager
Solano County Public Works Engineering"

 

[sgrenholm]

I think the Zebra resides (or did) on Pleasants Valley Road, just a bit toward Vacaville from the intersection with Cantelow. Haven't seen it for a while...
It does seem polite to follow Mr. WIese's reasonable request. But it begs the question: what's the suggested way onto Pleasant's Valley Rd - I was coming from Midway Rd through Cantelow, and there certainly aren't many options without a long roundabout. And - if Mr. Wiese reads this - Browns Valley Rd. is a death-trap and I don't recommend cycling it - ever. Either traffic abatement needs to put in place, or significant widening for the traffic which gets ever worse.
On to happier things - without a through route on Cantelow, there are almost no cars, not that there ever are. In addition to the turkeys in the road, I saw two peacocks crossing in front of me, a deer, and of course numerous hares.
And no, I didn't regret missing Mix Canyon (just not ready for that one yet this year...)

 

[Rushfan]

I think the Zebra resides (or did) on Pleasants Valley Road, just a bit toward Vacaville from the intersection with Cantelow. Haven't seen it for a while...
It does seem polite to follow Mr. WIese's reasonable request. But it begs the question: what's the suggested way onto Pleasant's Valley Rd - I was coming from Midway Rd through Cantelow, and there certainly aren't many options without a long roundabout. And - if Mr. Wiese reads this - Browns Valley Rd. is a death-trap and I don't recommend cycling it - ever. Either traffic abatement needs to put in place, or significant widening for the traffic which gets ever worse.
On to happier things - without a through route on Cantelow, there are almost no cars, not that there ever are. In addition to the turkeys in the road, I saw two peacocks crossing in front of me, a deer, and of course numerous hares.
And no, I didn't regret missing Mix Canyon (just not ready for that one yet this year...)

On Midway go west until it dead ends, then turn left to Cantelow. Turn left again on Gibson Canyon and go over the hill. Right past the Elks Lodge to Vaca Valley Parkway, then out to Pleasants Valley.

Gibson Canyon isn't the greatest to ride on because of traffic, either, but I've done it several times without any real problems. To make it a little more interesting and reduce traffic, keep going on Cantelow to Steiger Hill, then left on Steiger Hill until it ends on Gibson Canyon, then right on Gibson Canyon.

 

[acousticmotorbike]

yum, tasty sweaty cyclists

This could add a little zip to the ride.

Author: Brian Hamlin/Senior Staff Writer
Article ID:
Date: May 24, 2004
Publication: Reporter, The (Vacaville, CA)
Residents in the Steiger Hill-Cantelow Road region of Solano County are concerned about a series of recent mountain lion sightings in the region. Longtime rural Vacaville resident Bryant Stocking said he's spotted adult mountain lions on or near his property several times in recent months and feels there may be more than one of the big cats prowling the area.. "I'm seeing lions way too much out here," Stocking said.

 

[Rushfan]

This could add a little zip to the ride.

Author: Brian Hamlin/Senior Staff Writer
Article ID:
Date: May 24, 2004
Publication: Reporter, The (Vacaville, CA)
Residents in the Steiger Hill-Cantelow Road region of Solano County are concerned about a series of recent mountain lion sightings in the region. Longtime rural Vacaville resident Bryant Stocking said he's spotted adult mountain lions on or near his property several times in recent months and feels there may be more than one of the big cats prowling the area.. "I'm seeing lions way too much out here," Stocking said.

Yeah, when that story came out, I took a break from riding Cantelow. But I've seen dogs and wild turkeys up there since, and haven't heard of any new sightings, so I feel prety comfortable on those roads.

 

[CFBlue]

Any Update

on the road closure?

as a side note, I was surprised to find Paradise Dr, a major bike route in Marin County, to have a washout and closure. Quite a winter we had in the Golden State

 

[SadieKate]

I have not been over Cantelow since May 20. However, the road is just fine until half way down the west (and steep) side. There is a cement barricade, then 75 ft of a pavement/gravel section which is about 2 ft lower than when installed, about 50 feet of intact pavement, then around the corner (where you can't see it) another cement barricade. The barricades are just those standard cement divider barricades you see on the highway during construction. You can lift a bike over them. Lots of other cyclists were out doing the same. As long as you are expecting it, it's not that big a deal but don't speed because the barricade at the lower end is around a blind corner.

Now that it is dry, it is easy to walk through. We're just treating it as a cyclocross section and since we're riding east to west, stopping and walking is easy. I would not want to stop, walk and try to remount going uphill on the steep side, so we're just planning our rides to go up from the east.

I imagine that back in April that it was a mess and it was not appropriate to walk through. They obviously got some equipment in there to dig some drainage and install a drain hose. I'm curious about when it will actually be repaired. The closure doesn't prevent residents from getting home as it is really easy to go down and around via Vaca Valley or north to Winters on either side of the mtn range.

 

[slitespd]

Just ride it folks. We aren't doing it any harm by walking around the barricades. Call me a radical but I don't see the reason that Paul Weise (Engineer) wants us to avoid this section.
The sky is falling........................the mountain could come down on us.
No disrespect to Rushfan but we just see it differently.

 

[Rushfan]

Just ride it folks. We aren't doing it any harm by walking around the barricades. Call me a radical but I don't see the reason that Paul Weise (Engineer) wants us to avoid this section.
The sky is falling........................the mountain could come down on us.
No disrespect to Rushfan but we just see it differently.

No worries. I wouldn't want to be caught by surprise coming down, that's all.

As for why Solano County doesn't want anyone on it, that's pretty obvious in this litigious society.

 

[cy1]

Any Updates?

Any updates? Has the road been officially opened yet? or are the barricades still there?

 

[SadieKate]

The cement barricades are down but the gravel patch is still there. The gravel is rideable but is deep on the downhill end. Until the gravel portion is fixed, we are riding only east to west as I really don't relish the idea of riding the section uphill on skinny little tires.

 

[Trail Punk]

Is the road repair complete yet?

Any new info?

 

[SadieKate]

Nope. Same conditions were there on Monday. It's rideable except for a very short stretch. The drop from the pavement to the dirt/gravel is getting pretty deep on the uphill end from the car traffic, so be careful. Otherwise, don't let it change your ride plans.

 

[Rushfan]

Nope. Same conditions were there on Monday. It's rideable except for a very short stretch. The drop from the pavement to the dirt/gravel is getting pretty deep on the uphill end from the car traffic, so be careful. Otherwise, don't let it change your ride plans.

It's probably safer to ride up from Pleasants Valley Road so when you go through the gravel section, you're heading uphill. But I did it a couple of weekends back without any problems.

 

[RedRex]

"probably safer to ride up from Pleasants Valley Road so when you go through the gravel section, you're heading uphill."

agreed. But still, I rode up from Pleasants Valley through the gravel, took a nap on the top, (I was on a 160 mile ride, ugh), and rode really, really slow through the gravel on the way down.

I mean, really slow, like less than 5mph, and I still almost went over the side. I would probably walk my bike if I went through there again. It sure doesn't look very dangerous, but sure enough I almost slipped over the side.

 

[Trail Punk]

When repaired?

This is taking too long. It's getting ridiculous. What are they waiting for? A big storm to wash out the gravel?