Historic New Almaden

One of my local cycling friends had reached out a while back, wanting to enjoy a ride together. The catch is, she's less comfortable on the road than on mountain bike trails. [Hmm, I should tap her for an easy trail ride one of these days ...]

I had proposed an excursion to New Almaden (with some hills through residential neighborhoods along the way). I offered the option to return by climbing Hicks, but she had declined (fearing too much traffic).

Ironically, when I saw the local Alfa Romeo club heading up one of our hills as I set out, I knew where they were going. [Hicks. Perhaps Mt. Umunhum, too.]

And, I was right—and my friend unnerved—when the parade of Alfas came down through New Almaden (albeit on the other side of the road).

My friend has lived, and biked, in this area much longer than I have. She pointed out one of the historic cottages in New Almaden where one of her coworkers had lived, and happily agreed to continue to the public end of Alamitos Road. There we found a shady glen next to the creek where we stopped to chat and enjoy our snacks.

How many times have I biked past the intersections with Bertram Road and wondered what was back there? Although our club rides have introduced me to so many wonderful backroads, the traditional routes rarely venture off their well-established paths. It's been fun, riding on my own, to be a renegade and go exploring.

And so it was today, when my friend asked if I'd seen the Hacienda Hotel and turned onto Bertram Road.

The early history of the hotel, from the sign:

Built after the tragic 1875 fire destroyed the original 1848 adobe hotel. First two-story hotel in California. Used by the Almaden Quicksilver Mining Co. for unmarried employees & and to house visitors to mining settlement.

Oh, the historic sites I've bypassed, all this time! A social and educational 32 miles with a healthy 1,300 feet of climbing.