The Mandarin Road Ride

Not much to this one here. It is just another little aside route that you can add to your day's longer ride or take just to get some fresh air if you are in the area. To get to the start of this ride, head south on San Jose Blvd from 295. You won't have to go very far to reach the right that needs to be taken onto Mandarin Road. Low and slow is the idea here, simply staying on this residential loop and taking it all in. The first part of the ride offers some nice tree cover and a small church here and there that are prime for photo opportunities. A few subtle curves can be found along this stretch as well, adding some fun to your ride. You will eventually pass Walter Jones Historic Park on the right, although I have personally never stopped there. The rest of the ride is just a relaxing cruise. From what I have been able to see, there are some ridiculously large houses along this route placed along the river. If you are feeling adventurous, you might want to pull down one of the side roads to get a closer look at these behemoths. The road itself is very nice with little to no rough spots. Since this road is so relaxing even though it is so short, there is a high tendency to become distracted. Remember that this is quite the residential area and it seems that there are a few older folks that live here. Beware of the blind puller-outers. Follow Mandarin Road all the way around until you get back to San Jose and take a left to head back to 295, or take a right for the back roads to St Augustine. There are a few parks in the inner area of this loop, but most of the roads are located in actual neighborhoods, making them no fun by default.

This loop is a mere 6 miles around and will take roughly 15 minutes.

This one will get 3 out of 5 twists of the throttle. Aside from some nice photo ops and a few curves here and there, it is much too short. By the time you start to enjoy it and get into a groove, you realize that you have already come back around to San Jose.