Kennedy trail hillclimb

Kennedy trail: the ultimate South Bay hillclimb experience!

Strong riders can finish it (gate to junction with Dog Meat) under the hour, climbing uberlords do it on singlespeeds or under 40 minutes.

The climb is on closer inspection not that bad: easy warm-up, steep middle section, halfway break point (the tree), medium grades after that, and steep final stretches with some nasty surprises near the summit. But try to do it as fast as you possibly can and you will likely suffer grueling pain and ordeal as your heartrate goes berzerk, you boink in the heat, or slide off your bike on the final Wall.

There’s nothing technical to find here, except if you want to call a loose gravel infested pitch so steep your front wheel wants to take off and hit you in the face technical.

Once on top, you can choose to do an out-and-back but there are also interesting loops to be made; you can venture off towards Mount Umunhum and Hicks Road (be on the lookout for pot-growing hillbillies protecting their private property), or go down Priest Rock and Limekiln trail towards Los Gatos; the upper part of this route is named Dog Meat for reasons that will become apparent when you would happen to stack it here. Loose, steep, fast, curvy, scary. Lower down the hill, Overgrown is a fun rollercoaster dumping you on the road near Lexington reservoir.