Ride around Mt. Diablo CA on dirt 10 hours

[cnighbor1]

Note: Nighbor is too old and slow to do this ride

Members of my Bike club GPC did this ride last few days

''On May 3, 2021, at 8:06 PM, stephen chan wrote:

On Saturday morning, 4 GPC riders departed on an all-day, off-road adventure around Mt. Diablo. The route on offer (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35781089) stitched together dirt roads and trails from a large number of land management agencies (CA State Parks, East Bay Regional Park Dist., City of Walnut Creek Parks, Contra Costa Water Dist.). The route advertised 8300 ft of climbing (mostly off-road) over 64 miles. By the end of the day, two cycling computers registered over 10,000 ft climbed (YMMV). By the numbers, the first half of the route is much more challenging but the climbs in Black Diamond Mines should not be minimized.

Most riders choose a rigid, steel bicycle with wide tires (> 44 mm) and low gearing (less than 1:1 ratio). A light, fully suspended, short-travel mountain bike was also used (and a wise choice). The route has enough chunky sections that some suspension (whether in the form of shocks or high-volume tires) is recommended.
The weather forecast appeared quite favorable; sunny, clear, with high temperatures near 80oF. However, by noon, the winds started to build. Although the onshore (marine) breeze kept us cool, it soon became a nuisance that would fight us especially along the ridgelines in Morgan Territory and later Black Diamond Mines. The automated weather station in Black Diamond Mines (PIBC1) reported 25 mph average wind speed with gusts to 40 mph on Saturday afternoon. It was more than enough to make us walk a few sections rather than fight the wind to stay upright.

Evidence of a dry winter was visible throughout the ride. Creeks and ponds that usually have water were dry. Los Vaqueros reservoir levels are down and our route through that area was just starting to recover after being heavily burned last fall. A lot of dry grasses already; some flowers holding but we missed the peak bloom already.

We rolled back to Walnut Creek more than 10 hours later, tired but very satiated from our rambling adventure. Three snakes were lucky to witness our trail passage and countless bovines (including one large bull) greeted us along our travels. A hearty thanks to Steve, Greg, and Cliff for sharing the journey, positive attitudes, and for making this a fun outing.

>A few photos are available in the link below with brief captions of location and points of interest. Thank you for reading!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...ky?usp=sharing ''

[tepextate]

Wow, very cool. Thank you for sharing! Pictures look awesome.

[jpritchet74]

That's amazing!

[Johninflux]

Wow! That looks like a sweet ride!

[weaponsgrade]

Thanks for posting. I don't get out as much to Diablo as I'd like. I'll have to add this one to the list.

[accordvsick]

Looks awesome - were you guys completely self sufficient or were you able to fill up somewhere along the route?

With max grade of about 14% I wonder if doing this on a SS rigid is possible. Guessing as it get's warmer early morning start is advised.

[KJMUNC]

Love this.....I've started shifting my rides to be much more "exploration" oriented vs. miles oriented. I just don't get excited to hit some arbitrary mileage goal but I'm always excited to go ride a new route I've never seen.

thanks for sharing!

[prototoast]

Cool ride. I've done some, but not all of those trails. It's very hot, and very dry, and very snakey right now, but good for them for getting out there.

[poff]

Some time ago we did 3 Diablo Summits ride - Mitchell Canyon was part of the 3rd summit, I almost "died" climbing it.

[RWL2222]

Sounds like a perfect adventure. Wow—several wild pigs.

[Dr Luxurious]

Originally Posted by prototoast

...and very snakey right now

No kidding! I've never seen so many snakes. Tons of them this spring.