I love bicycling up and down mountains. Ironically I live in Champaign-Urbana, IL (i.e. the flattest place on Earth). The past several times I’ve travelled to San Francisco for WWDC I have ridden Mt. Tamalpais, just to the north of the city in Marin county. I decided to mix it up a bit this year, so after the conference ended on Friday I grabbed my bike, hopped on BART, and travelled to Contra Costa county in the east bay to ride Mt. Diablo.
I started at the Walnut Creek BART station. From there I headed down Ygnacio Valley Road (which had a little more traffic that I was expecting). From there I turned onto Walnut Ave. (not Walnut Blvd.). I turned right at the traffic circle at Oak Grove Rd., then I took a quick left onto North Gate Rd. This leads into Mt. Diablo State Park. Before the ride I read that bikes didn’t have to pay so I blew through the park gate.
![Mt Diablo map](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3377/3630852901_5d84b20c46.jpg)
Mt. Tamalpais rises 2500 ft in around 10 miles, whereas Mt. Diablo rises 3500 ft in 10.1 miles (average 6.5% gradient). So Mt. Diablo is noticeably steeper most of the way.
![Mt Diablo elevation](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3588/3631666370_5601765f25.jpg)
![Mt Diablo gradient](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3370/3631666392_39fec7cf04.jpg)
Mt. Tamalpais has a fair amount of shade, while Mt. Diablo is almost completely out in the open. So I baked in the sun. This was somewhat unexpected, as the weather had been 60˚ F and overcast all week long in San Francisco. As soon as I left the city the temperature was much, much hotter.
Traffic was light. I think I saw more bikes on the road than cars. Incidentally, most of the cyclists were all decked out in cold weather gear like jackets. Meanwhile I was sweating like a hog and shedding clothes. The flies apparently liked the way I smelled, because a swarm of 6-8 of them followed me the last 6 miles of the climb.
Just like both the West and East peaks of Mt. Tamalpais, the road up Mt. Diablo throws in a 16% gradient to just before cresting the summit, though this steepest section on Mt. Diablo was much longer. I was afraid to stop for fear that I wouldn’t be able to get started again. It was that steep.
![Rob at summit of Mt. Diablo](http://static.flickr.com/3600/3620300483_80aed96bba.jpg)
The views were spectacular the whole way up. The lack of trees (and guardrails) allowed an unobstructed view. The view from the top did not disappoint either. I could see miles in all directions. I couldn’t quite see San Francisco. I think there was a shorter range of mountains/hills between Mt. Diablo and the city that blocked the view.
![View from summit of Mt. Diablo](http://static.flickr.com/3625/3620300681_3090c57fb3.jpg)
The ride down was super fast (well above the posted 25 mph speed limit). I recorded the whole thing with my Flip video camera. Here it is at 5X speed.
Anyway, the ride was awesome. I’m a little sad I didn’t get a chance to ride Mt. Tam also, but maybe I’ll do that next year.
Ride Information | |
Date: | 2009-06-12 1:33 PM PDT |
Mountain: | Mt. Diablo |
Road Elevation: | 3849 feet |
Climb Distance: | 10.1 miles |
Climb Ascent: | 3471 feet |
Climb Average Grade: | 6.5% |
Climb Maximum Grade: | 16% |
Ride Distance: | 32.75 miles |
Ride Total Ascent: | 4400 feet |
Ride Maximum Speed: | 35.9 miles/hour |
Ride Start: | Walnut Creek, CA (200 feet) |
Ride End: | Walnut Creek, CA (200 feet) |
That is a beautiful sight. I have two questions:
Did you have any problems with ears popping or balance when you were going up?
How did you keep from wrecking going down. I know you’re a pro, but that was a pretty steep downward ride.
I’m just happy you got to do it.
gscho
No ear popping. The change in elevation happens pretty gradually.
As for not crashing… caution, concentration, skill.
i have no questions … except to ask you to please put a few stops in the ‘down’ video so i can watch it again without getting sick!!!!!!!!
cannot begin to imagine the ride ‘up’!! Great stuff!!
hugs, auntie
Very nice climbing. I am going to have to ride up a real mountain someday.
ABOUT THE RIDE DOWN THE MOUNTAIN! I thought, hmmmm. ok, I’ll try it. sooooooo I put on my helmet , strapped on my SEAT BELT and HUNG ON FOR DEAR LIFE!!!!!! ( I may have thrown up in my mouth a couple times) In fact, I almost took a breath/’at the one stop THINKING WHEW~~ IT IS OVER, and YOU WERE OFF AGAIN<<<< ..thanks for the ride, sure glad we made it down SAFELY!!!! take it easy, hugs, nan
I enjoyed the car parked across the road near the top. What’s a fast, winding descent without some hard obstacles?
That descent must have been dizzying even at 1x speed!
Looking at the pictures and videos of your cycling and feeling very jealous. :) The video from the the descent looks scary at 5x.
My wife’s and my bikes were stolen from the storage in our building back in April, and I can’t work up the courage to get a pair of new ones. Wasn’t easy to get over the whole incident.