POO Ride — Port of Oakland Tuesday Crit
Informal weekly criterium-style group ride at the Port of Oakland every Tuesday year-round. A 2.4-mile waterfront loop at 25 mph+ pace for racers and aspiring racers.
The vibe
Controlled chaos on the waterfront
The Port of Oakland Tuesday ride — universally known as the POO Ride — is one of the Bay Area’s most reliable hard group rides. Every Tuesday, year-round, rain or shine, riders warm up at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park starting around 5:30 PM and begin rolling at 6:00 PM through sunset. The format is a freeform criterium: a 2.4-mile clockwise loop on city streets at the Oakland waterfront, hammered at 25 mph+ average pace.
There’s no official start line, no points system, no sponsors. What there is: a significant collection of local amateurs, Cat 1–3 racers, and the occasional pro who shows up to stay sharp in the off-season. The POO Ride has earned its reputation as a place to build actual race skills — reading group dynamics, holding position in a fast pack, recovering from gaps — in a lower-stakes environment than a sanctioned event.
This ride is not for beginners. If you’re not comfortable riding inches from other riders at race pace, spend more time on organized club rides first. But if you’re trying to close the gap between training rides and real racing, the Oakland waterfront on Tuesday evening is one of the better investments of time you can make in the Bay Area.