The West Ridge/East Ridge loop is an Oakland hills classic - Great on a hardtail mountain bike, and doable on a gravel bike if you're cool with steep, rough descents. Start at the parking lot at the Ranger Station on Skyline Boulevard (it's technically called the Trudeau Training Center if you're into specifics). Head up Dunn Trail. Lots of hikers, but it's a blast to pedal up. Great views out to your right into Serpentine Prairie. When you reach the intersection for Graham Trail, hang a left and begin to climb. There's one little steep section but it isn't too bad. Keep pedaling up through the Scotch Broom and you'll eventually be rewarded with a great view of Mt. Diablo. You'll see a little singletrack on your right that isn't marked. It's a fun little kicker which takes you back down to Dunn. We've heard it called Graham Cracker before, so let's call it that. It's a swoopy, flowy minute or two of riding, which dumps you out back onto Dunn trail. Hang a left on Dunn and head deeper into Redwood. When you see the intersection with Baccharis Trail, turn right and continue down Baccharis towards West Ridge. You can pick up some pretty good speed here (and especially once you dump onto West Ridge). West Ridge is flowy and fast at first, but gets steep as it heads down into the valley. Lots of ruts, plenty of bumps - a section to be careful on for sure, but also one that tests your trail skills. When you reach the bottom of West Ridge, you'll take Stream Trail to connect to the main parking lot. From there, you'll begin the horrible awful no good climb up Canyon Trail, which is a steep, unrelenting pitch that takes you up to East Ridge. It's ok to take a break on this one, it's hard! When you hit East Ridge, make a left and climb up to the top. It's sort of a staircase of a trail - bits of flat sections interspersed with some bits of climbing, all the way to the top. There's some gorgeous tree cover at times, but much of it is hot and exposed. At the top is Skyline Gate. There's water and bathrooms here. On my ride, I like to take a short diversion to the Fire Station at the corner of Snake Road and Skyline Boulevard. That would mean taking a right out of the parking lot and heading down the road apiece. Why the diversion? They have a vending machine with 60 cent cans of sparkling water (and soda). A perfect way to cool off on a hot day. From there, head back to Skyline Gate, and take West Ridge trail back towards the Redwood bowl. Pop out onto the road and peel off at the new Joaquin Miller Pump Track. Take a lap on the track (no braking!) and then head down the singletrack from the far side of the pump track. This is a soft and steep descent right back down towards where you parked to begin your ride.