Im thinking of finishing the strava climbing challenge with two diablos in one day. I'm close to 40,000 ft for the challenge. What do recommend to make this possible? I'm already planning on starting by stone valley rd and Danville blvd. I want to try both summits through south gate. I know I can do one summit and a junction. So far for this challenge I'm averaging about 10k ft a week. Thanks guys

Bring plenty of food and take it easy on the first one. I like to go to the bottom and immediately turn around and start back up. If you stop and think about it too long you're more likely to quit.

If you can do 1.5 Diablos then 2 is not that much harder.

Well I struggle more from junction to summit. That's my main concern. What kind of food would you recommend? Gu gels, pb&j sandwich kind of food?

I know North Gate is a bit tougher but the few times I doubled I appreciated the change of scenery; start on SG to the top, go down NG, and come back. You can still bail out of the Junction on the second try if you have enough of it.
Take it easy, stop for water refills if needed, just set your mind for the distance not the time. Gels or blocks (chews) are fine.
If the day is sunny start as early as you can, it can get very hot on the climb around 11am.

Right or wrong but for me but I never stop at the junction...too easy for me to just sit down there, hang out with random folks, then wind down and then just say "screw it" and head back down. If you can do 1.5 you can certainly do 2...just fuel up at the summit and again at the base. Try to not go too hard on the first attempt.

I agree. Two summits is not that hard, especially since you have a good base going. I would do Southgate to summit, down Northgate to Kiosk, back to summit.

As you descend back to the junction, see how you feel. You never know, you migh feel surprisingly good and be up for another.

br

To underline the "take it easier" message, climb one or two gears easier than you would normally use and don't look at your Garmin lap time. If you're struggling on Summit Rd, part of that is because, well it's steeper than South Gate, but another part is you're probably putting too much effort in before you reach the junction.

Anyway, report back and let us know how it went, I'm sure you can handle it.

thanks for the tips guys. the strava challenge seems to be helping my climbing a bit. im getting faster times on 2-3 mi climbs that i normally do. im planning on doing a summit and junction this weekend, depending on the weather. that should give me a benchmark if two summits will be possible two and half weeks from now.

I'm a fat old guy, and I did the 2x with Northgate first just because it's a closer start to where i live. I think it worked well because South is easier. I was lucky in that I had one of those days where i just felt good. I also had some friends to rid with, which really helped.
If i can do it, pretty much anyone with a bike and a bit of time can get it done.

Enjoy!

CCCorlew, you did it with lanceoldstrong a few weeks back right? I saw his ride on strava. I think he did 3 diablos that day though.

If I were to start at north gate, would I be Ok leaving my car at the Safeway parking lot? I think it's the one on the corner of Ygnacio and oak grove. I've left it at the parking lot on stone valley and Danville a few times already and haven't had any issues.

Yep. I did 2, but that wasn't enough for LanceOldstrong, who did three.
I like to park in the parking lot at Arbolado Park. After driving in with my coffee, i like spot with a restroom. Lance prefers to park by the Mormon church at Doncaster and N. Gate Rd.
I've tried to make a map for you.
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0...2a2978df98ace4

Thanks. I think that place by the park would give me enough distance to warn up the legs before I start the climb. Did you go with a few days rest before doing diablo twice? I might spin light on fri and save the legs for sat.

I also recommend North Gate to Summit #1 then descend the south side to the Athenian School and come back up South Gate to Summit #2. Might as well get the hard one out of the way when your legs are fresh.

Ditto on the suggestion to use easier gears and not worry about your times.
Food? Ask 4 cyclists you will get 5 answers on that one.
Me? I like some protein and fat after about 3 hours of continuous effort. PB&J, Perpreteum, Balance Bars, all good sources and don't forget the power of a Payday candy bar. Some of the science suggests that you perform better if protein and fat are added to the mix during long efforts.
I find it to be true for me.

Good Luck with Los Dos Diablos

I agree about not stopping at the junction. Or anywhere else. When I stop at my car before the third trip up, to pick up more food and drink, I don't sit down and get moving again as soon as possible.

You can refill your bottles at the top each time. That saves stopping at the Junction. The water there doesn't taste very good anyhow.

I bring the same food I normally use on rides. Sometimes I have a bagel in the car which I eat on the next trip up, assuming I didn't wolf it down in the parking lot while waiting for my friends to get moving.

Go for it. Normal riding food should be fine. I agree with the North Gate 1st crew. Eat to avoid bonking, stay determined and you got it.

Arbolado Park is a great place to stage. The climbing doesn't really get interesting until 1.5 miles past the NG kiosk anyway.

I did one summit and a south gate climb. You guys are right, climbing both sides is better than staying on one side. I started the ride with derailleur issues the first 2-3 miles of the ride which made me think i was going to have to turn back. eventually got it fixed and kept going to the summit. Diablo was crowded today. Ive done junction about 10 times and summit 5, but i have never seen this many people. Saw a few guys descending that were cutting by cars and crossing the yellow line to get by, probably worried about their strava time, not worth the risk to me though. overall, it was a good ride. I felt better than i expected by the time i climbed south gate. I felt like going up summit a second time and seeing how far i could get but fiance called and I had to come home.

side note...one cool thing today, while crawling up the wall there was cyclist by the elevation sign encouraging a couple of cyclists and myself not to give and finish the climb. he had already reached the summit and i assume he was just hanging out, but him encouraging me gave me that push i needed to finish strong. man that wall sucks...all previous summits, i have stopped at the bottom and let my legs rest a couple mins...today i kept pedaling...lungs were ok but the legs were aching from all the climbing.

also, im starting to realize that nutrition is just as important as training...getting hungry and weak has always been a problem for me on long rides. i think i found my items to keep me going. i had 12 shot blocks, 3 gu packs, 1 peanut butter and honey sandwich, 28 oz of gu brew, and about 44 oz of water. by the time i got back to the car, i wasnt hungry. most of the time my stomach is growling and i want to go to the nearest buffet and pig out.

this is the strava link https://app.strava.com/rides/6743761 with more training im sure two summits is possible.

Good job.You'll get it next time.Having company sure helped me with all that climbing when I did it.

Good work, that is a hard slog anyway you slice it. More climbing than most recreational cyclists would consider attempting.
So Kudos to you sir. I agree with Midland about company, maybe next time he and I can join you.

There was something going on at the summit yesterday. The parking lot up top was completely full. I actually had to cut around a car at one point unfortunately. Hated doing it but he kept slamming on the brakes to back me off despite the fact that I was already backed and sandwiched between cars...basically riding my brakes for 3 miles. It wasn't a fun descent.

Yea the summit to junction descent was pretty slow for me. Too many cars coming up and cars driving slowly down the road.

BTW that's an awful lot of calories (looks like around 1500?) for just 3 hours (of which a good chunk of that is descending/zero work)...for me anyways. Everyone is different obviously but :shrug:

It looks like it's a guess by Strava. Unless it's based on actual measurements (i.e. a power meter), it's not accurate. Often not even close.

I looked up one of my rides- 3 south gates- and I put out 2950 kj which is about 2950 calories (or slightly more).

yea i made the mistake in the beginning of actually believing what these numbers were and i would eat more than i had burned. i dont pay attention to the calories anymore. the garmin total was about 2200 calories, i guess strava is more "conservative" at 1800. until i get a powermeter, ill just ignore this number. I did consume about 900 calories in those 3 and half hours though. wasnt hungry at the end, which is rare for me. you guys think thats too many calories?

Sorry for the confusion...I wasn't even referring to Strava. I just did a quick tally in my head of "12 shot blocks, 3 gu packs, 1 peanut butter and honey sandwich, 28 oz of gu brew" and it seemed to be around 1500 cals (maybe there's a lot less in shot bloks than I thought). I usually do 250-300 or so/hour but whatever works for you...I'd just watch for eating too much.