parking lot to practice around Santa Clara

[bucky]

New rider, looking for an empty parking lot to practice around Santa Clara (including Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Saratoga, west San Jose). Daytime during weekdays and weekends.

Possibililies I've thought about (but haven't checked out):

Vallco mall parking lot - not a popular mall, so should have some empty sections, right?

West Valley college - do they have empty lots?

Mission college - I have a feeling this lot will not be empty.

[HondaFreak]

How about the parking lot adjacent to Great America. It's in-between Great America and the 49er training camp. I have seen SCPD doing MC training there. I don't know if it's open to the public however.
OR better yet go take MSF basic or MSF ERC if you haven't yet. Have fun.

Christian

[SVforMe]

I practice at Mission College all the time. Bonus: they hold MSF courses there, so you can find painted guides to use (like boxes for figure 8's, etc.) in one or more of the lots. If you go later in the day (after 6pm or so) on weekends, the lots are wide open. Weekdays aren't so good in my experience.

[characterPi]

Probably the best open area publicly in Santa Clara is Mission College. They seem empty enough on the weekends, especially after the MSF course when I was there.

I wonder if that lot next to Great America is open to the public too. I also saw the SCPD practice there while passing by one day.

I think West Valley college has cement dividers for each row on their lots. Might not be spacious enough.

I'm not too sure about practicing in too public an area like a mall or shopping center.

If there's anywhere else, I'd also like to hear it.
Seems like community college campuses are good places.

[drewl]

i learned how to ride just going back and forth on the alameda (4-block section north of SCU, not the main part that crosses 880)

there's barely any traffic there.

come check it out, we're always hanging out and bbqing at our shop there :)

[dkcwenge]

how about riding around the perimeter of DeAnza?

[strlen]

I practice in the Yahoo/EMC parking lot (adjacent by Mission College) in the evening. It's fairly deserted past 6:30-7:00 PM; it is patrolled by local security and I've yet to have them harass me. YMMV.

[Edit: I did get stopped and asked by a security guard and asked to show my badge. So probably not a good idea to ride there lest you work there.]

[Cyclone]

Originally posted by dkcwenge
how about riding around the perimeter of DeAnza?

De Anza isn't a good idea, after the rider died there a few months back they've been less that welcoming to bikes practicing in their lots.

[drewl]

how did someone die at de anza??

[strlen]

Also, if people mentioning De Anza, once place where I've practiced early on (before I had a bike and was borrowing a friends') was in the parking lot of the Safeway on Miller x. Bollinger in West San Jose/Cupertino. Saw security guards and cops there, they passed by and never harassed me.

[Cyclone]

Last november a motorcyclist was trying out a friends bike in the De Anza parking lot, The report i read suggested that the rider didn't see a curb and went over the bars. The bike landed on him. I could look up the news report if pressured.