# Mt Diablo Help



## Paralizer (Jan 26, 2009)

I've been back riding for about 9 months now. My main ride is a Gunnar cross bike. My typical weekend ride is 50-60 miles with about 4000' of climbing at various points. I'm getting the itch to try Mt Diablo and am wondering about preping for an attempt. Based on my current riding profile what should I work on to attempt Mt Diablo? Also, I will be coming from Walnut Creek BART and I was hoping someone could provide the best route from there. And finally, do people do the attempt without stopping, or are there spots where you rest? Any tips or advice? Thanks I'm advance. 
Paralizer


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## mds (Dec 16, 2008)

Try to pick a clear day for a good view from the top. A super clear day and the view is stunning, ocean, bay and Sierra. Can be very windy later in the fall, but now wind should not be a problem. Go early to avoid heat and traffic. Very popular ride, lots of bikes. You can go either up either North or South Gate Road. Make a loop and do both, use maps.google.com to plan a route. Water is available at the junction North/South junction with the spur road to the top and also at the top, very steep last section just before the top. For a longer loop do Marsh Creek/Morgan Territory, but watch for heat, can be very hot out there.


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## Cliff O (Feb 10, 2004)

You might have an easier time disembarking at the Pleasant Hill station and taking the nearby Iron Horse Trail to the Canal Trail, then following the Canal Trail East to Bancroft near the Countrywood shopping center. Turn right (South) on Bancroft, which turns into Walnut Road where it crosses Ygnacio Valley. Stay on Walnut to Oak Grove/Castle Rock where you'll jog right briefly before turning left on North Gate Road which will take you up the mountain.

The usual stopping point is the ranger station at the junction of North Gate, South Gate and Summit Roads. There is water at the back of the station, and restrooms down the hill slightly in the campground.

edit: Google map link: link


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

Cliff O said:


> You might have an easier time disembarking at the Pleasant Hill station and taking the nearby Iron Horse Trail to the Canal Trail, then following the Canal Trail East to Bancroft near the Countrywood shopping center. Turn right (South) on Bancroft, which turns into Walnut Road where it crosses Ignacio Valley. Stay on Walnut to Oak Grove/Castle Rock where you'll jog right briefly before turning left on North Gate Road which will take you up the mountain.
> 
> The usual stopping point is the ranger station at the junction of North Gate, South Gate and Summit Roads. There is water at the back of the station, and restrooms down the hill slightly in the campground.
> 
> edit: Google map link: link


2nd this route, though it's 'Ygnacio Valley Road.' 

The Iron Horse trail looks like a big sidewalk just to the east of the BART station. Cross Treat and follow the signs and it turns to asphalt.


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

I think you will do fine. Below Ranger Station is a moderate grade and the upper portion a little steeper. There is a very steep section for the last 50 meters but you could walk that. There is a Peets Coffee in Danville you can get water/drinks in if you head over that way at the end. There is also a bathroom at Ranger Station and water behind the building (also water and bathrooms on top along with snack food). It's a great view and a fun ride.


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## jasonwells4 (Aug 7, 2006)

Cliff O said:


> You might have an easier time disembarking at the Pleasant Hill station and taking the nearby Iron Horse Trail to the Canal Trail, then following the Canal Trail East to Bancroft near the Countrywood shopping center....


Just avoid Ygnacio altogether. It couldn't be much worse for bikes.

Take the Canal Trail all the way to Oak Grove Road and make a right.
Then Left on North Gate road.

I don't think you will have much trouble if you are already doing 50 mile rides. Doing it under an hour is another story. I might go after work on Thursday. It is mostly under 10% but the last short section is 17%! Watch out for crazy moms at the top though!


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

jasonwells4 said:


> Just avoid Ygnacio altogether. It couldn't be much worse for bikes.
> 
> Take the Canal Trail all the way to Oak Grove Road and make a right.
> Then Left on North Gate road.
> ...


I agree that the OP should stay off of Ygnacio. I do think Cliff O's suggestion is better, though. Where the canal trail crosses Oak Grove is a bad section of Oak Grove- narrow lanes, fast drivers, no shoulder. It's legal to ride the sidewalk there but it's pretty bumpy. It's less than a mile from there to cross Ygnacio Valley, and once you do that there's a bike lane. 

Another option is to just continue on the Contra Costa Canal Trail, crossing Oak Grove, until it meets with the Walnut Creek Canal Trail about a mile past it, then make a right at that 'T' and follow the Walnut Creek Canal Trail down to a much nicer part of Oak Grove which isn't suicidal to ride. (The WCCT crosses under Ygnacio Valley). The one drawback there is a little section, probably not even 150 yards long, that's ridiculously steep. It might make for a nice warm up for that last section of Diablo, though.


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## Cliff O (Feb 10, 2004)

10.5 miles of climbing the mountain usually ensures I am all warmed up for The Wall... 

If you do get all the way over to Oak Grove and Ygnacio Valley, there is a nice little cafe in the Encina Grande shopping center on the Southwest corner of that intersection. I think it's called the Mia Cafe.


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## Paralizer (Jan 26, 2009)

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I'll head for the Pleasant Hill Station and take that approach. I'm headed out of the country next month for 3 weeks, and I figure I'll need a little time to get back what I lose. I'm not going to be able to ride much while I'm away minus some cursory bike rentals while down under. So I'm thinking sometime in November I should be ready to give this a shot. It will have to be a weekend morning though. Thanks again.:thumbsup: 
Paralizer


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

Paralizer said:


> I've been back riding for about 9 months now. My main ride is a Gunnar cross bike. My typical weekend ride is 50-60 miles with about 4000' of climbing at various points. I'm getting the itch to try Mt Diablo and am wondering about preping for an attempt. Based on my current riding profile what should I work on to attempt Mt Diablo?


It sounds like you are ready. The key to getting to the top is to pace yourself. Don't go too hard on the steeper parts. On south gate there is a steeper section near the bottom before the entrance gate. North gate has some short steep "rollers". Once you have hit the junction where north and south gate meet, there is a steeper section about halfway up that ends at the grapevine picnic area, and another one closer to the top that ends at the big left hairpin. And of course there is the famous "wall" at the top. Save just a bit for that.



Paralizer said:


> And finally, do people do the attempt without stopping, or are there spots where you rest?


I don't stop even when I am doing three Diablos. But that's me, now. My first time up I had to stop for water (available at the south gate entrance station and the Junction in addition to the summit) and I had to walk some of the Wall. That was when road bikes came with 42x21 "low" gears and before clipless pedals, so you had to plan your exit if you were in danger of stalling out out on a hill.

There is a weather station on the summit, it's data shows up at
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryF?MTD

Sometimes the weather there can be markedly different than down in the valley.


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## poff (Jul 21, 2007)

Mt Diablo should not be a challenge to you if you are doing 50mi+ already. I usually ride my bike there from Berkeley, climb South Gate to N. Gate, go down North Gate all the way to the entrance, turn around and climb N. Gate and then Summit all the way to the top. It is fun to clock your time up Mt. Diablo. Unfortunately, I am not that fast. I 2nd the clear day, views are super.


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## jasonwells4 (Aug 7, 2006)

Well I had to take about 2.5 months off of biking for a broken wrist except for a little trainer time.

At about 1 mile from the top I was about to fall over and didn't want to be too fatigued to make it down safely so I turned around. This is not acceptable! I'm planning to go up two days after work next week, and every week after that.

I saw one guy at the beginning of the climb on a fixed gear, then another guy on a single speed! The FG guy had a low cadence even before things got steep, so I kind of doubt he went to the top.


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## jocww (Apr 30, 2009)

I climbed it this weekend about 2 hrs with breaks. Waited for a friend who was on a mtb. I might climb it today we will see.


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

jocww said:


> I climbed it this weekend about 2 hrs with breaks. Waited for a friend who was on a mtb. I might climb it today we will see.


If you've got a Mountain or Cross bike you get the interesting option of going in through Mitchell Canyon- you can get up two thirds of the mountain without touching a paved road.


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## jocww (Apr 30, 2009)

yea u can ride finley rd too.


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## jasonwells4 (Aug 7, 2006)

Still working towards 11 MPH average... Got a ways to go.


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## jocww (Apr 30, 2009)

11 up? thats really good


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## jasonwells4 (Aug 7, 2006)

Well that's what you have to do to complete the Mt. Diable challenge in less than an hour. Then you get a t-shirt... You pad your average a little at the beginning though.

http://www.savemountdiablo.org/Bike Challenge/MountDiabloChallengeHome.htm


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

jocww said:


> 11 up? thats really good


Yeah, that's under an hour.


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## jasonwells4 (Aug 7, 2006)

Yeah, I'll be going up 2 times a week, during the week to see how good I can get before Oct. I have a LOT of room for improvement. But it's good to have a goal.

I think it would be cool to do the challenge at 59:99 on a fixed gear at some point.


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

Try doing some intervals- go at a faster than target pace for about 20 minutes, rest (long enough to ride down to your starting point is good), then do it again, and maybe once more after that. Going from the south gate to the entrance station would work. You'll improve faster that way than if you just do Diablo. Your pace shoud be as fast as you can go for the 20 minutes, which will be about 5-10% faster than your speed for the whole thing.

For climbs, it's more accurate to gauge your speed by rate of ascention- vertical feet per hour (or whatever units you prefer). South gate (from the school) to the top is 3200', so to do it in an hour you have to climb 3200 ft/hour. But there's a couple flat spots which take a few minutes, so it's really more like 3300 ft/hr. If you get the elevations for the south gate and entrance station you can figure out your rate of ascent for intervals between those points.


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## jasonwells4 (Aug 7, 2006)

It was hot yesterday. Now I need to do 3,100 feet of climbing tomorrow so I can bring the week's total to 10,000.


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## jocww (Apr 30, 2009)

you people are insane. haha


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