How well do you think that this ride:



will prepare me for this ride:



IOW, the first ride has more elevation gain/loss, steeper grades, and is longer, but the second ride has all the climbing in one dose.

I think you will be surprised how well you do on the second ride. Just find your sweet spot for heart rate and cadence and ride your rythym.

I think the 2nd ride has steeper grades. Doesn't Diablo have some 17% at the top? Also, the second has 3800 feet in about 12 miles, quite a different animal than a bunch of small climbs spread out over 62 miles.
It's hard to predict how you will do on Diablo based on your ability to do that 1st ride. It's more about your general climbing ability and gearing.

It is like comparing apples and celery. Diablo is a moderately difficult climb and the top section is a surveyed 20% although it is only 200 meters. I have done it several times and raced up Diablo. Before attempting Diablo, I practiced on a 3.2 mile 7.2% grade and then descended a few hundred feet and climbed another 6% grade for about 4 miles. Riding a long distance with the same elevation gain is not representative.

That does not mean that you will not do well on the climb. Climbing is about power to weight ratio, gearing and aerobic fitness. If you have enough fitness and the right gearing, you will do fine. It will just take you longer to climb it.

Doing a 12 mile constant grade climb puts a lot of torque on your legs and there is no rest. Even if you stop and rest, when you restart, the legs feel like concrete because you were not able to spin them out. On rolling terrain, after a moderately difficult but short climb, one descends, rests and spins the fatigue out of the legs. Diablo is relentless.

You are climbing from the north side. It starts out easier and there is a little descent. Then the grade increases and gets more difficult on the top 1/3 of the mountain. I suggest going out really easy and save your energy for the top 1/3 or 4 miles of the climb.

The first ride looks harder. Heck, there's only one hill in the second one.

I've ridden both of those, the second one many times. There's no berry bushes on Diablo so bring food.

The difference is going to be that diablo is a long climb. You'll have to make power the whole time. There's no rest unless you stop.
Diablo is not steep except for the last 1/4 mile and a couple ramps on the north gate that will get your attention. You need to set a level of effort that you can maintain for over an hour or whatever time its going to take you- under an hour is very good, the best local racers do it in 46 or 48 minutes during the race, and most normal people out for a ride instead of a race are in the 1:20 or more range.

Diablo is not real steep until the ramp leading up to the summit parking lot. Just pace yourself.

If I have low enough gears to sit and spin up the climb, I do well on long climbs. On the short, mile long, 300 foot local climbs, I'm pushing hard to get to the top. On a long climb, I pace myself much better, using a heart rate monitor.

Like the previous two posts said, pacing is key.

Most climb discussions center around climbing. Depending on the day and time of year, Diablo presents both climbing and descending challenges as well as wind. The first time I did the south approach, it was colder. The top of the mountain was very cold. Climbing was okay but descending was horrible. My hands and feet were really cold and I would shiver to the point I had to stop to get warm. And there are some technical sections. If the weather is nice, it is great both up and down.

lol

Just get into a rhythm early on to balance cadence- legs and lungs. But I reckon that it could take to the 1/2 way point before you stop wheezing.

Are you "tooting your own horn?" You know you are going to kick booty! You have proven climbing skills from that first graph. As Stepfam says, don't blow up early, stay steady.

Thanks for your thoughts.

The bad news is that I have a double chainring, and my lowest gear is 39/28 (37 gear inches).

The worse news is that the woman I'm riding with is an animal, who rides up Mt. Diablo two times per week. I'm going to push for her to carry a weight equal to the difference in the weights of our bikes, and give her a 20 minute penalty any time she goes into a lower gear than mine.

The good news is that you are not climbing Sierra Road with that gearing.

I would offer to check the "Animals" bike before the ride- 60 PSI and a tight headset will not be noticed for a few miles but would tire her after a while.

Here's an alternative climbing training ride in your area:https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view...=1&new_route=1
It's just an out and back (over and back) of The Wall out of Ferndale. It won't give you much relevant practice descending for Diablo, but it will definitely get you some good climbing experience. I've usually got a full touring load on the bike when I climb The Wall, but it seems like it would be a beast even unloaded. If that doesn't do it, just keep going to Honeydew and head on up Wilder Ridge.

Well, I did the ride with her, but it was very hard. It was actually quite disheartening to see how much better she was than I. I had trained a lot, and yet she did it easily with circle riding (she'd ride ahead then come back and meet me). She's about my age. I know, everyone is different, but it still makes me wonder what is wrong with me.

She didn't take a weight penalty, and she had two gears lower than mine.

At the top I almost passed out.

It was much more difficult than my training route, because we hardly stopped at all, and I had to work hard from the beginning to keep up with her. When we did take some short breaks, I was always better for a while after the breaks.

There is nothing wrong with you. Diablo is a tough climb and she climbs Diablo all the time and you do not do long moderately steep climbs.

Do not be hard on yourself and overanalyze the situation. You need more sustained climbing practice and lower gearing. You will do better the next time.

It depends!

I do hilly rides all the time - very hilly rides. Here are some example profiles ...





The thing about these rides though is that after a spell of hard climbing, there is some recovery time. Admittedly, sometimes it is a quick plunge off a hill before tackling the next one, but there isn't relentless pressure on my legs and back. Each ride is a war of attrition and usually by the time I get to the final climb, my back is starting to hurt.

When I took my bike to Spain and was faced with a 1,000 m mountain climb (3,280 ft), my back only lasted halfway up the climb and then its muscles went into spasm. I was having to get off and stretch at regular intervals.

Fit riders probably wouldn't suffer like that, but I think long climbs will often catch out those not used to them. In my opinion, six 500 ft climbs do not equal one 3,000 ft climb!

Agree with Hermes- Nothing wrong with you but I would change the bike. It is obvious that a Blue bike climbs better than a red one.

But you climbed that hill with gearing I would not put on a bike for me. That is an achievement so congragulate yourself for not walking. Think I would have done.

Al - Not knowing either of you, I can't say anything about your respective abilities. But from what I can tell, she's a heck of a lot better looking than you!