Northern California - Save the Date: Annual Mt. Diablo Christmas Eve Ride

The Plan: Meet Santa and his elves at Pleasant Hill BART at 9 a.m. Ride up North Gate Road.

More details to follow.

Why? Because you know you want to be able to assume the position...

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/5288587551_7e4dff4041_z.jpg

It's on!

I want in -- will hash out details w/c_gallagh, but provisionally we're in.

I am so in.

i think i might join in when you pass my house. is that okay?

Count me in. I'm in Clayton, but will try to meet up on Northgate Rd. somewhere near the entrance to the park.

Oooh, I might join in the fun. It'll be my first BF ride in ages.

Someone has to bring up the rear and make the rest of you look good. :thumb:

Oooh, I might join in the fun. It'll be my first BF ride in ages. Someone has to bring up the rear and make the rest of you look good. :thumb:

I sure hope so, it would be great to see you.

If I can get off work, I'll be there.

Right now it looks highly probable that MyLilPony and I will show up.

None of this nonsense in the last 100 yards though, OK?

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3279/3070415747_7fba399909.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccorlew/3070415747/)
Curtis vs LanceOldStrong (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccorlew/3070415747/) by ccorlew (http://www.flickr.com/people/ccorlew/), on Flickr

None of this nonsense in the last 100 yards though, OK?

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3279/3070415747_7fba399909.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccorlew/3070415747/)
Curtis vs LanceOldStrong (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccorlew/3070415747/) by ccorlew (http://www.flickr.com/people/ccorlew/), on Flickr

This picture brings back so many memories of what makes a Bike Forums ride special. Curtis and I raced up the wall to the cheers and exhortations of a group of much better climbers that were already at the top waiting for us. They were whooping it up and brought out the best we had. You meet great folks on these rides.

Since that day Curtis and I have become friends. We have ridden thousands of miles together including 7 double centuries. To think of what came out of that day for me as a cyclist makes me grateful for Bike Forums.

I want to encourage anyone on the fence about this ride, or anyone who has not done a Bike Forums ride, to join us Christmas Eve. You might make a new friend.

Oh, and by the way, I won that race up the The Wall that day. (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/490487-Mt.-Diablo-Post-Turkey-Ride-Report-and-Pics) A great moment in Cat. 6 history I won by less than 1/2 a wheel. :p
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_pxY28OCdAfg/STH_LIHyX7I/AAAAAAAAA8c/wa4nJkqLz0Q/s640/PB290151.JPG

Mt. Diablo is so out of the way so before I consider further I'd like to ID the oldest and slowest who commits.

Oh, that would probably be me. :lol:

I would soooo love to join you guys but I won't be in the Bay Area till after X'mas. Anyone up for a pre New Year ride just give me a holler. I did Mt. Tam (albeit slowly) the last time I was there and Mt. Diablo is next on my list. Have fun and good luck to all the climbers.

In. Very in. My Lynskey will be done by then!

Less than two weeks away! Everyone who does this ride will get permission to eat unlimited ham on Christmas! (You'll note that I'm leaving off turkey, which no one would want to eat much of anyway.)

Ho ho ho...


http://tallahasseemountainbike.com/news/newsImages/santa_bike.jpg

Unfortunately, we're open until 2pm on Christmas Eve, so I'll be working. Wishing you guys a happy holiday and a very fun ride!

Just checking in to say I am really looking forward to this.
The weather is going to be perfect.

I will achieve my last 2 cycling goals for the year on this ride:
6000 Miles ridden
20 Mt. Diablo Summits

I can't think of a better way to do it than on a Bike Forums ride.

I can't join you because (1) by the time I made it to the top it would be Christmas Day, and I wouldn't want to make y'all miss it, and (2) my wife's family (including five, count 'em, five dogs) is arriving at Chez Bikingshearer that day and I have KP duty pretty much all day.

Merry Christmas/Happy Hannukah/Happy Kwaanza/Happy Winter Solstice to you all, and have great ride.

never done a BF ride but im tempted to do this on saturday. im doing the strava 500km challenge for the holidays...not sure if riding up diablo would make me pay for it in the days to come. i usally average 400 miles for a month, but 310 miles in 9 days is going to be tough.

I'm going to try to make this one.

Aloha Guys! I hope to make this one. It's either the HOP ride or I'm climbing this mountain with you. Hope to meet you all!

Mahalo and Merry Christmas!
Brandon

I keep thinking about this stat. I ride to the summit once or twice a year. Just doing it at all seems epic, each and every time. I don't really even track the speed. I've only not stopped at the junction once, and that was on a BF time trial up South Gate. So OldStrongs summited 20 times this year? That's a lot of up. No wonder that dude is improving. Heck, someday he'll even beat the balloon tire cruizer fellow.

Anyway, tip-o-the-cycling-cap to you, LanceOldstrong.



Just checking in to say I am really looking forward to this.
The weather is going to be perfect.

I will achieve my last 2 cycling goals for the year on this ride:
6000 Miles ridden
20 Mt. Diablo Summits

I can't think of a better way to do it than on a Bike Forums ride.

The ride is on!

I hope we have a great turnout like last year. All are welcome, whether it is your first ride up Mt. Diablo or your 20th time this year!

Each person can ride at his or her own preferred pace. We won't have anyone sweeping, but there will hopefully be enough folks so that we can split into different groups riding at various paces.

And just so you KNOW it is the real deal, here is the official BF disclaimer:
As always, this is not a club or group ride. We are just a bunch of friends. You can be our friend too. But there is no organizer. There is no insurance. Cycling is an inherently dangerous activity. No one is responsible for your health or safety. Please come prepared with warm clothing and appropriate safety gear. Before undertaking any physical activity, be sure to consult a physician, priest, rabbi, or religious guru of your choosing, lawyer, and perhaps a barber (since there will be pictures!). Also, this being bikeforums, you should have your therapist on standby! You will likely need counseling for all the HTFU that will be dealt out on this ride. Be there or be square!

OK, I'm in. Haven't been up to the top this year so this could be a good challenge. It's going to be so cold up there, I'm already shivering.

Yup, last few weekend AM rides have started in the low 30s for me lately. Double glove time.

What time do you expect to summit ? I was thinking of riding from Livermore up the South Gate to meet you at the top on my new toy.

I am guessing that a fast person could get to the top in 90-100 minutes from BART. I am not fast...

I went and checked my Strava from last year, but I apparently didn't start my Garmin until we were close to Walnut Ave; 1:45 would be a good estimate. Wouldn't think you'd be wanting to hang out at the summit for a long time in these temps though.

Could just do repeats of The Wall until we get there! For reference, it took my just under 2 hours last year to get to the summit and I was probably mid-pack of all the riders.

Everyone, please bring warm clothes (especially for feet and hands) for the descent! Forecast is for pretty cold weather.

The ride is on!

I hope we have a great turnout like last year. All are welcome, whether it is your first ride up Mt. Diablo or your 20th time this year!

Each person can ride at his or her own preferred pace. We won't have anyone sweeping, but there will hopefully be enough folks so that we can split into different groups riding at various paces.

And just so you KNOW it is the real deal, here is the official BF disclaimer:
As always, this is not a club or group ride. We are just a bunch of friends. You can be our friend too. But there is no organizer. There is no insurance. Cycling is an inherently dangerous activity. No one is responsible for your health or safety. Please come prepared with warm clothing and appropriate safety gear. Before undertaking any physical activity, be sure to consult a physician, priest, rabbi, or religious guru of your choosing, lawyer, and perhaps a barber (since there will be pictures!). Also, this being bikeforums, you should have your therapist on standby! You will likely need counseling for all the HTFU that will be dealt out on this ride. Be there or be square!

Glad to see that I didn't sign over the rights to any images that would be captured if I participate in this event. I guess I'm free to charge ROJA $1 for every click on any ride report that contains my picture. Sweet!

Should be able to enjoy the fun... and playing the caboose role. Might bring my son too, that is if I can wake him up. May be I should tell him not to go to bed tonight.

to keep warm, i plan on being at the Starbucks until the very last moment before departure.....

According to my strava time only about 80 ppl are slower than me to the summit from n gate side. The odds of one of these 80 being in this ride is quite small. Well see how it goes. I might just junction from both sides and go home. That's still good climbing.

According to my strava time only about 80 ppl are slower than me to the summit from n gate side. The odds of one of these 80 being in this ride is quite small. Well see how it goes. I might just junction from both sides and go home. That's still good climbing.
Only sorta fast people do Strava. You'll never see me there. I prefer to lie about my times.

I wanna summit but
a) I don't wanna deal with the cold finger numbing wind
b) I crashed last time I descended and I'm still afraid of diablo.
c) I need to be back home by 1pm

So just do the junction.



I wanna summit but
a) I don't wanna deal with the cold finger numbing wind
b) I crashed last time I descended and I'm still afraid of diablo.
c) I need to be back home by 1pm

Yea that's what I was thinking of doing, but from both sides and then call it a day.

I wanna summit but
a) I don't wanna deal with the cold finger numbing wind
b) I crashed last time I descended and I'm still afraid of diablo.
c) I need to be back home by 1pm


So just do the junction.

This.

For the cold starts the last couple of weekends, I've ended up wearing two pairs of gloves, that's really helped when the temps have been in the low 30s, maybe carry an extra pair to put on at the summit?

Re-crashing, best thing in my opinion is to not let the fear of crashing again win - lots of good threads on BF about descending and cornering technique and I'm sure plenty of folks would be happy to provide some tips/pointers tomorrow. One of the best things you can do is follow someone who is more comfortable and see what lines they pick.

Yea my issue right now is psychological. When I'm descending these days I just get crazy thoughts in my head. Basically imagining diff ways I could crash on whatever road I'm currently descending. Then I start to freak out and sit on my brakes til it's over. I know it's going to take time to get over this.

Btw, I used to love bombing descents and never thought about the what ifs. I just need practice, practice and more practice.

Yea my issue right now is psychological. When I'm descending these days I just get crazy thoughts in my head. Basically imagining diff ways I could crash on whatever road I'm currently descending. Then I start to freak out and sit on my brakes til it's over. I know it's going to take time to get over this.

Btw, I used to love bombing descents and never thought about the what ifs. I just need practice, practice and more practice.


Yeah, that little voice that says "what if" can really mess things up. What I found worked for me, besides practicing, is to concentrate on the mechanics of the turn: brake point, turn in point, line through the turn, looking through the turn, body position.

Sorry I bailed gang, I wasn't feeling very good this morning and I slept in. You would have only seen me at the start anyhow. :o :D

You sure have a beautiful day, I hope you bundled up well.

Happy Holidays to the BF gang. Cheers!

Sure was a beautiful day for a ride. Thanks Justin.
I only made it to the junction. We had a surprise and very welcomed showing from taxi777 (Pete) who caught up to us on his single speed. :thumb:

any of you guys on strava?

this is my link. http://app.strava.com/athletes/6587

That sure was fun. Thanks for getting the ball rolling ROJA.
My legs felt like a bag of hammers today but that never stops me from having fun.
Some days you get the good legs, some days the meh legs.
Maybe it was starting out at 29 degrees in Concord for the spin to PH BART
or tiredness from a hard ride in the Santa Cruz Mtns. on Wednesday - or both.

Pete is amazing.
He catches up to us all at the junction on the single speed
and beats me up to the summit from there.
Sure was great to see everyone in my extended Bike Forums family.
Christmas is about family, so how perfect that we got together.

I am looking forward to riding with Specialized2K10 in 2012. It was nice to meet him.
Here is my very not special Strava for the day.
It is too bad Strava has no metric for measuring fun.
I would have been off the chart on that one today.
http://app.strava.com/activities/2869804#

Man, I'm glad I went. I say I was toast, but toast is warm. I only made the junction, and when I got there I felt as beat as if I'd gone to the top. Tricia (MyLilPony) made me promise to go up new years day. How much training can one do in a week?


Here's a shot of LanceOldStrong by the ice plumes of Pleasant Hill near the ride start.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6566223311_933754bbd9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccorlew/6566223311/)
Dan at Pleasant Hill BART (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccorlew/6566223311/) by ccorlew (http://www.flickr.com/people/ccorlew/), on Flickr

And such a deal to see Taxi777! He appeared like a Christmas gift. Maybe Santa will bring him a bike with gears this year!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6566224385_641602654f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccorlew/6566224385/)
Taxi777 sighting (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccorlew/6566224385/) by ccorlew (http://www.flickr.com/people/ccorlew/), on Flickr

had a great time!

got home. took three aspirin and jumped a tub full of hot water. pretty beat.

BTW the coffee at Peets, in Danville, was free today! yeah!

Oh I saw you guys out there.. wish I would have started with you to join the fun. I started later.. saw some of you descending =)

Oh I saw you guys out there.. wish I would have started with you to join the fun. I started later.. saw some of you descending =)

the fun started at about 27 degrees, and increased from there...

Surprisingly warm climb after a freezing start - folks I started riding with also pegged the temp at 27F, my coldest start of the year. I had a nice spin up NGR but elected to head back home via SGR rather than summit due to the time. Very nice to connect with folks I haven't seen for a while. Here's some snaps from the junction:

Took me a moment to work out why LO's arms and chest had gone yellow on the climb

http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn384/RDW5980/2011_12_24BFXmasEVe/photo1-1-1.jpg

Admiring HueyHoolihan's single speed

http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn384/RDW5980/2011_12_24BFXmasEVe/photo1.jpg



Adopting the pose:

Specialized2K10
http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn384/RDW5980/2011_12_24BFXmasEVe/photo4.jpg


RoboCheme
http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn384/RDW5980/2011_12_24BFXmasEVe/photo5.jpg


cccorlew
http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn384/RDW5980/2011_12_24BFXmasEVe/photo3-1.jpg

And then Pete makes a surprise entrance

http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn384/RDW5980/2011_12_24BFXmasEVe/photo2.jpg


It didn't take long for him to raise the tone of our conversation

http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn384/RDW5980/2011_12_24BFXmasEVe/photo3.jpg

I was hot 15 mins into my climb but disnt wanna stop and mess up my strava time! :)