# Diablo Circle



## bobf (Apr 3, 2015)

I can reach lots of good rides starting from my house in Sunnyvale. But I have my eye on a clockwise trip around Mt Diablo, starting near the intersection of Crow Canyon and Camino Tassajara. I've heard great things about Morgan Territory Road on the back side.

For people who've done this, how do you connect the north side of the circle? Is Ygnacio Valley Road decent, or do you prefer other roads nearby? And it looks like I'll be following Marsh Creek Road for a ways. Does that have enough shoulder for riding?

Thanks for any info!


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

I don't think there's a way to avoid Ygnacio entirely. There's no shoulder on part of it but if you ride early on a weekend day it's not too bad. Part of it is a descent. You can take Pine Valley to cut out part of Ygnacio and Clayton. The Devil Mtn Double does that.

Don't miss Diablo. Even if it's just to the junction.


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## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

Ive used PV to cut... the ascent on mill creek was in poor shape to me last time I rode it (last year).. I would hate to descend that side.

Agree... go up southgate to junction and down northgate.. it's fun


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## bobf (Apr 3, 2015)

spdntrxi said:


> Agree... go up southgate to junction and down northgate.. it's fun


To the junction for sure. And yes, it looks like bailing off Ygacio Valley onto Pine Hollow or Michigan Blvd. is a good idea. Looks like there's no alternative to Marsh Creek for a ways. I just hope it's rideable, considering whatever traffic there will be.

To get from the bottom of Northgate to Ygnacio Valley is the Ygnacio Canal Trail a good route?


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## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

I used oak grove... the trail would cut off a little, but Ive never been on it.


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

bobf said:


> To get from the bottom of Northgate to Ygnacio Valley is the Ygnacio Canal Trail a good route?



The road there has not been busy when I've done it so it's not been worth the trouble to use the bike trail.


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## jetdog9 (Jul 12, 2007)

#1 You guys mean Pine Hollow, not Pine Valley, right? That definitely is a good way to cut out a little more of Ygnacio near Clayton. 

#2 The part of Ygnacio that you actually have to do from Oak Grove to Pine Hollow has a giant shoulder, the cars are annoying but it won't take you long to get through that section.

#3 From NG to Ygnacio, trail is fine but not necessary, the section of Oak Grove right there is quiet and suburban, and short anyway.

When you first start on Morgan Territory Road off of Marsh, keep an eye on the the right hand side of the road where there's a pond, the owners made a fake Loch Ness monster, it's kind of funny. Morgan Territory climb is beautiful and generally quiet, but a bunch of it is one lane road so you do have to be alert.

On Diablo, personally I prefer the Northgate climb but for the direction you're going the ride will be great. If you have the legs, from junction to summit is an extra 4.5 miles up and 1600-1700 feet.


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## DC7384 (Dec 7, 2015)

This is the route I took a few weekends ago: https://www.strava.com/activities/445031427. To be honest, it wasn’t a great loop, though the Morgan Territory descent was indeed spectacular. I think this loop will be a one-timer for me, mainly b/c there are better roads that are easier to get to (and that aren’t as life-threatening), but I’m glad I had a chance to cross it off the bucket-list.

I live in SF (and do most of my riding in Marin), so I’m not particularly familiar with these roads, but Ygnacio Valley was terrifying IMO. The shoulder in the “freeway” stretch was indeed wide, but there was also a good amount of glass and debris to accompany the 60+ mph traffic. Marsh Creek doesn’t have much of a shoulder, but traffic was relatively light around Noon on a Saturday. 

Morgan Territory is awesome, but I think that traffic is getting busier. Similar to Old La Honda and much of the Tunitas loop, the road is one-lane, but the cars in general are moving faster than they do in Tunitas; I had a couple close encounters on both the ascent and descent (I slowed down substantially on the descent after the first).


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## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

I agree with DC7384... I have no want to do it again and won't unless it's a group ride or something and even then I will try to change the minds of others.
I don't mind climbing from the livermore side and going back down the livermore side though.


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## jetdog9 (Jul 12, 2007)

Obvious disclaimer that anything can happen and you have to always be vigilant, but I would disagree with the last two posters. To me the Morgan Territory part is one of the more quiet rides you can take, and is absolutely gorgeous. 

I've done Morgan Territory about 7-8 times including 4 this year. No issues on Ygnacio, no issues on Morgan Territory climb. It IS single lane so keep eyes and ears open. Morgan Territory descent can be dangerously fast especially if you don't know the road, but at that point visibility is really good as far as seeing what is coming up towards you.

One rider in our group did have a really close call climbing up Marsh Creek though, when an idiot driver tried to pass on a corner and actually spun out in front of the rider.

San Ramon/Danville area: Suburban, Camino Tassajara and Blackhawk have good bike lanes but somebody did get killed there earlier this year. Lots of cars.

Mt. Diablo south side climb: extremely popular climb and there are multiple cyclists on it all the time. Not many cars, and many of them know the road / expect the cyclists or are driving slow because they don't know the road.

Mt. Diablo junction to summit climb: Same road conditions as rest of Diablo, except if it's cold it can actually get snow or ice and even gets closed sometimes. It definitely gets cold on Diablo this time of the year, especially descending.

Mt. Diablo Summit to junction / North Gate descents: Steeper than South Gate. Park rangers will give speeding tickets, you should probably take it slow anyway if you've never done it before.

Oak Grove vs Canal Trail: Take your pick, Oak Grove is a quiet enough road but taking trail will shave off a little Ygnacio.

Ygnacio Valley: From where the Canal Trail hits Ygnacio to Pine Hollow, it's a little over 2.5 miles. 1 mile of climb and then descent/flat. Definitely freeway speed traffic and road debris, but the shoulder is giant.

Pine Hollow: Super quiet

Clayton Rd or Marsh Creek Rd through Clayton: Decent amount of local traffic but this section isn't too long. Somewhere around here there's a CVS or Walgreen's that is your last civilization for while in terms of buying a Gatorade, etc.

Marsh Creek to Morgan Territory: To me this might be the sketchiest part of the ride, about 3.5 miles. Parts of it are fine but parts have no shoulder. A lot of traffic and some the drivers are not cyclist-friendly. Descent to Morgan Territory is surprisingly fast and has a couple turns that feel sharper than the map makes it seem so be careful.

Morgan Territory climb: First few miles pass by rural housing and road is still wide enough for two lanes. Nice scenery, not too much traffic. When you ride through the park/preserve part of it, you definitely have to keep ears/eyes out on the one lane road. However, I've never found traffic volume to be high. Honestly every time we've done it there haven't been more than 2-3 cars. Tree cover is really good which is nice in the summer when it's sunny.

Morgan Territory descent to Livermore: 5 miles down, good visibility but VERY steep and fast.

Manning/Highland to Camino Tassajara: Generally quiet / rural, can be windy.

Camino Tassajara again: Bike lane is wide, but I don't love this road. Lots of intersections (they do have lights, it's a big road) and tons of traffic. You're in the suburbs with Lexus SUV drivers and the like.


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## MoPho (Jan 17, 2011)

Morgan Territory may be one of the quieter routes, but the drivers that do use it are aggressive. I've been on it a few times this year and every time I've had a close call, once even being clipped by a mirror and another time our group was nearly hit head on by someone flying down the road on the wrong side. 
The road is also pretty rough, so not particularly fun either IMO
The descent to Livermore on the other side is epic (if you are a good descender)

As an LA transplant, Camino Tassajara is a joy


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## bobf (Apr 3, 2015)

jetdog9 said:


> Obvious disclaimer that anything can happen and you have to always be vigilant, but I would disagree with the last two posters. To me the Morgan Territory part is one of the more quiet rides you can take, and is absolutely gorgeous.





MoPho said:


> Morgan Territory may be one of the quieter routes, but the drivers that do use it are aggressive. I've been on it a few times this year and every time I've had a close call, once even being clipped by a mirror and another time our group was nearly hit head on by someone flying down the road on the wrong side.


Thanks, everybody who replied. I was going to do this solo but now I'm thinking twice. The mention of getting clipped has me imagining it in my elbow, ribs, or kidney. (Did that guy stop? If not I think he's guilty of hit & run.) My route would be:

Ride N on Blackhawk Rd from Camino Tassajara
Take Mt Diablo Scenic to South Gate
Ride up to the junction and down North Gate
Take Oak Grove to Ygnacio Valley
Get off YV at Pine Hollow (or sooner at CSUEB entrance if I hate YV)
Onto Clayton Rd at the end of Pine Hollow
Oak St. into Clayton and pick up Marsh Creek
Onto Morgan Territory and watch out for Nessie (on the RHS?)
At the other end of MT, take Highland Rd back to Camino Tassajara and return to start.

Seems like the sketchiest parts will be Marsh Creek, which is impossible to avoid and Morgan Territory, which is at least half the point of doing the ride. YV looks avoidable by means of Treat Blvd, etc., but I doubt the detour is worth it.


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## jetdog9 (Jul 12, 2007)

Your route is sound and is basically a popular route plenty of people do. Treat is no better than Ygnacio, arguably worse. Still lots of cars and much less shoulder / bike lane.


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