Beaker

Well this kind of thing is old hat in the NorCal forum, but it's been my goal since I got my first proper road bike back Jan 1 to make this climb, so here's my text and pics.

Where I'm heading


Mount Diablo is the biggest peak in the East Bay, 3850ft at the summit, 250ft above sea level at its base, you can pretty much see it as the local landmark through the region. Taking the South Gate road, it’s an 11mile climb with an average grade of about 6%, but several places are higher than that, including the infamous summit wall, several hundred feet of 17-18% prior to the point where you crest. It seemed like a good start to the day, heading out from the Athenian School parking lot at 7:30, very clear and a little breezy.

Past the residential potholes once past the South Gate entrance the new pavement was fantastic – very smooth. The first 1-2000ft of climbing were relatively uneventful, great scenery a little bit of a breeze though, that would be a taste of things to come.

Climbing up past 1000ft


The views were spectacular, with the early morning sun playing long shadows over the surrounding hills, and long uninterrupted views. The roads were also pretty much owned by cyclists at that time of day – I was only passed by three vehicles and two of those were park rangers.

Halfway up


Headed here -- the small blip at the top of this ridge:


I made the Ranger Station at the Junction in about 40mins, without too much of a sweat. I kept thinking about what I’d heard about the gradient increasing on summit road and of course there’s the 17-18% wall just before you reach the peak. After a stopping for a couple of pictures, I started up Summit Road.

4.5miles left


It was a bit steeper but not too bad, the thing that got my attention was the wind though. It was absolutely roaring around Diablo, given that it’s the highest point for miles, there’s nothing to stop it, especially on the southern facing roads, conveniently close to the edge of the hill. Turns out that the weather station at the summit was reporting gusts of between 50 and 55mph early this morning.

Early mornings on Mt D.


There were a few times when it felt as though the wind would push me to a complete standstill, or try to change my direction. What was nice was round the Devil’s Elbow hairpin just before you come to the summit area, I had a fantastic tailwind that really pushed my up the hill. A bit more of that would have been nice.


Summit Wall - ouch.


Closing in on the summit wall, I finally reached for the granny gear for the last few hundred feet, having kept it in my 39 ring up until that point. I reached the summit parking lot in about 1h 18min. Not too bad for a first effort, although the record to the top is apparently just under 45mins – truly frightening. Still, it was good to have made it without having to get off and walk and I’m sure I could have gained a few extra seconds without that headwind.

Summit Looking North


Summit Looking East (to Central Valley and Sierras)



After snapping some photos at the top I zipped up my wind vest and put on my arm warmers for the 11mile, 4000ft descent. Glad to say that I didn’t overheat my rims, but the wind gusts definitely made me cautious. It was a really nice ride down, once I got to ~1500ft, I was welcomed with pretty pleasant warm breeze. A fantastic start to the day.

View from below the Ranger Station

bdcheung

I love Diablo. Those pictures don't do that last stretch of road justice - it's truly a religious experience.

ridethecliche

I want to ride up a mountain some day.

I wish I could live close enough to one that I could do a ride like that a couple of times a week.

Awesome pics OP. And nice report and ride!

Beaker

bdcheung -- agreed. I've been riding El Toyonal/Lomas Cantadas in Orinda quite a bit -- I actually think that Lomas is worse than the top of Diablo.

cadencesdad

Congrats on reaching one of your goals. Great pics too.

aham23

so cool. one day man. thanks for sharing. later.

icyclist 

I love this report. I've been up Diablo once, in 2007 and hope I can do it again some day.

PhilaRider

Enjoyed the storyboard [pics + captions]
Congratz on completing a goal.

JoelS

I'm planning on attacking it for my first time in the Spring. And also Hamilton and Tam.

rdclimbr

that looks like so much fun. one day, i will come to CA to ride...

Beaker

Thanks guys - this seems like a while ago, I've made 3 other times up Diablo since. It's a great climb - the last was with a crazy/awesome group from the NorCal subforum.

I'm looking forward to Mt Tam and Mt Hamilton in 09, I'll try to come back with more pics then.

BlastRadius

I just went up Diablo for the first time today. That completes my '08 goal of doing all three Bay Area mountains. It was cold today but not too bad.

ElJamoquio

"All three"

?

terrymorse 

The three biggies, he means: Hamilton, Diablo, Tamalpais.

ElJamoquio

I believe Umunhum is higher than Tam by several hundred feet or more.

Tapeworm21

Sounds like I may be doing this ride on New Years Day. Never done it with a hangover before, may as well try. I haven't been on it since the South Gate has been repaved. Looking forward to it.

markwebb

Is it true on clear days you can see Yosemite from top of Diablo?

Beaker

I've seen the Sierra's from the visitor center - can't vouch for having spied any of the particular peaks around Yosemite for myself.

ElJamoquio

Sierras, Yosemite... what's the difference? Sure. I'm sure you can see some parts of Yosemite. They look like a off-white/light gray blur to me.

WxGuesser

How did you like the last 100m? I loved them!

Nachoman

Great job!

mic2377

Give Mt. Umunhum a shot. That is some fun. The only problem is that the road is blocked near the top (it becomes a private road) and I have heard that the friendly landowners shoot on sight if you are caught. OK, maybe that is an exaggeration.

I was geared 39/23 low gear for the for that ride, and it was just about "red-zone" the whole way up.

The other problem of Mt. Umunhum is the descent. Lots of nasty cattleguards, gravel, and rough pavement. Nasty. I lost a water bottle on the way down, it bounced out over a cattleguard and went over the cliff!

I am trying to find an excuse to visit family again near there, so maybe I'll get a chance to do Diablo too!

Beaker

Awesome, since it's the end of the climb you can give it your absolute all and know that you can recover in the visitor parking lot at the top.

There's something about really satisfying about those "you vs the mountain" moments. That's when we all find out just how much we really suck at this

PhilThee

I "visited" the mountain one time last year when I went to see my sister. That to me is truly a heck of a climb. I don't think I could have made it up there without many stops.

My brother in law does it without stopping. He told me that Levi Leipheimer lives near and he rides the mountain...Several times a day

Tapeworm21

I've made it from downtown Berkeley to the top of Diablo with one stop in Maraga. It's all about pacing yourself. I'd let a 9 year old on a pink bike with tassles pass me if needed.

I found Mount Hamilton to be harder than Diablo though. That climb feels like it's just never going to end.

Also, Levi lives in Santa Rosa. Freddie Rodriguez for Rock Racing lives in the East Bay. Probably have a better shot of seeing him around.