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Kennedy
19 reviews
3.63 of 5
Long climb. Not technical on the way up. Can be moderately technical on the way down depending which way you go.
Take Main St. toward 17. Go right on Kennedy. Wind and weave about 2 miles on the road-mostly up hill. You will get to a trailhead on the left - there are is very limited parking here so you can try it but I usually park downtown and bike up there.
Summary: Great training ride, no matter how you climb to the top of Sierra Azul. Boring, yes, but, sometimes when you're training, you gotta take your medicine, no matter how boring the ride may be. Just do it.
Recommended Route: 1. up from kennedy, to the top of priest rock, hang a right and grab your nuts...go right on limekiln or straight down priest rock, both dump you on alma bridge road, by lexington reservoir. ride back to your car.
2. up from kennedy, same as above, go past priest rock, ride along the ridge an additional mile or so to the limekiln/woods trail/powerpoles junction, from here, you can go right on limekiln, bomb down to lexington, or, if you want to really put in some mileage: go left on woods, down to the top of hicks, cross the road to quicksilver, now ride back down to either the mockingbird entrance or, the hacienda entrance, ride home or back to your car along almaden road to camden, to shannon, to kennedy trailhead.
3. start from lexington and, from the limekiln gate (SA 1 I think? ) climb: limekiln to woods/kennedy junction (5+miles of climbing) to the top go left and take kennedy trail along the ridge, to the top of priest rock, go left, go down priest rock, go right on limekiln, back down to where you started.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Stevens Canyon, Montebello, Long Ridge, UCSC, Santa Teresa
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Summary: When most people go to this trail and try it for the first time, they either throw the bike off a cliff or come back. Let's be real honest here people, this trail is damm hard on the way up. The climbs makes you want to tap unknown sources in your body and use that energy to kick your so-called friend in nutz. Try many different styles going up such as; don't go to granny gear (stay in middle front chainring) and see how far you can go. Try just regualar riding and make it up without stopping. Or like many crazy dudes out there- single speed it up. Whatever you do= have fun and watch your speed= lots off camber turns that will push you into a berm, Speed contol and brake work will get you back down.
Recommended Route: it's all steep-doesn't matter
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Summary: After rain ride: Kennedy has been reviewed to death but I would like to add that Kennedy trail has a reputation of maintaining good condition after a rain since the soil is so rocky and the pitches so steep. Kennedy lived up to its reputation today. The National Weather Service reported that the Sierra Azul area got 0.2 to 0.5 inches of rain last night. I rode up Kennedy today (blue sky, 55deg F)and the trail was perfect: grippy and very few soupy sections. The bottom line was that at the end of the ride there was little to no dirt or mud on my drive train, and that helps the wallet in the long run, right?
Saw a cyclocross dude and a freakin' single speeder climbing Kennedy. WTF? Skillz!
I give it a 5 for aerobic difficulty due to the "Wall" near the Kennedy-Priest Rock junction. There are more "walls" if you continue up the ridgeline past Priest Rock towards the power poles. If you clean all those walls between the Priest Rock and Limekiln trail junctions, hats off to you.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Belgatos!
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Review Date September 24, 2002
Overall Rating 4 of 5
Ridden Trail: Once a week
Visitors rate this review 1.00 of 5,
1 votes
Reviewed by: seth
, from los gatos
Summary: the singletrack is so sick.
Recommended Route: go up overgrown, then go down kennedy. or go up kennedy then go down the singletrack. both ways really fun.
Other recommended trails in the same area: summit road
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Review Date June 17, 2002
Overall Rating 4 of 5
Ridden Trail: Once a week
Visitors rate this review 4.00 of 5,
1 votes
Reviewed by: Joey
, from Campbell
Summary: It takes approximately 15-20 rides up this 4.1 mile climb, before you really start to like it. Before that, it just doesn't make sense. Also, the difficulty of the drop to Lexington via Dogmeat/Widowmaker/Priest Rock is directly proportional to your average speed. Anyone tipping over at 35 MPH+ on this trail will explain the nickname "dogmeat". As tough and boring as this area is, if you race, you will not find many courses with a longer and more grueling climb than this.
Recommended Route: up, up, up, then down to Lexington.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Would have been Moody (R.I.P), of which lower section is still available from Priest Rock (if you dare)
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3.63 of 5
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