I first encountered The Bike Hut when I rode the Sequoia Century Ride. I’ve been meaning to somehow use that as an aid station on a long run and found the perfect route for it. Post all of the bay area storms, I charted this out and back route starting from a picnic table in Woodside, up and over Skyline ridge via trails on Huddart Park and down on Tunitas Creek Road to The Bike Hut at mile 15. Here’s my Strava activity:

The Bike Hut

I parked along the side of Tripp Road, on one of the few public parking spaces in Woodside. I double backed a couple of times to check the signs to make sure I was parked legally. Definitely didn’t want to get my car towed after having run for 31 miles!

One of my favorite pictures! I was running up Crystal Springs trail and happened to look up to see the morning sun light up the crowns of the redwood. Just felt incredibly alive being there that morning. There were a few downed trees along the way and the trails were covered with the soft redwood needles.

I was a little disoriented when I got to the top of Skyline Ridge and had to find the short section of Kings Mountain Rd which connects up to Tunitas Creek Rd. It was pretty hard to tell that this was actually a road, which was covered with redwood leaves!

After a couple of miles, the road ran along the creek and the gushing sound kept me company for most of the way to Bike Hut. What a gorgeous downhill run!

Right around mile 15, I could see the Bike Hut come up. The owners of Potrero Nuevo farm converted this one time garage into a fully equipped Bike Hut – espresso machine, bike fixing gear, water, chocolate pretzels, you name it! I mean you can’t go wrong with a shot of espresso and dark chocolate covered pretzels at mile 15. What a gourmet treat!

Took my time there to use the restroom, reload my Tailwind and chatted with a couple of bikers (Kim and Tim?), one of them training for a Triathlon. Headed up Tunitas Creek Rd and Kim rode slowly along my side while I shuffled up the climb. Something about her husband running Dick Collins 50M a while back (I was wearing the shirt) and some bits about Ann Trason and what an amazing runner she was. Once she peeled off, I remember the last section of the road going on forever!

Pretty close to the top, saw this big leaf Maple tree just stand out amongst the redwood leaves. The first thing that came to mind was, “who are you?” I guess Braiding Sweetgrass book has made a huge impression on me in addressing trees as standing people (not “it”). Stopped, looked around and found the sole maple thriving in the company of redwoods. The descent down Crystal Springs was largely uneventful. I was recollecting how I used to push hard on these downhills on the last stretches of a race. But there was no such hurry now. Eventually made it back to the car in 6:22, just happy and content for a day in the woods.