# Mt. Diablo ride 9/17



## ptfmb71 (May 16, 2007)

I plan on being up in the east bay this weekend and plan on doing a long ride with some good climbing. I have only gone up Mt Diablo via the north gate. I was thinking of just going up twice....unless anyone has some good alternatives to add miles and climbing to Mt Diablo. The reason I want to ride innths area is that it's easy to get to from where I am staying.

Thanks in advance


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## jetdog9 (Jul 12, 2007)

Start at North Gate, go to summit, descend to south gate / Athenian school, go back to North Gate (you could summit again, or not). That's a little over 40 miles and say 5200 feet of climbing if you only summit once.

You can park at Walnut Creek Sports Basement, and before or after the ride, treat yourself to some fun in that store.


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## Rhymenocerus (Jul 17, 2010)

jetdog9 said:


> Start at North Gate, go to summit, descend to south gate / Athenian school, go back to North Gate (you could summit again, or not). That's a little over 40 miles and say 5200 feet of climbing if you only summit once.
> 
> You can park at Walnut Creek Sports Basement, and before or after the ride, treat yourself to some fun in that store.


This right here is a great workout that should keep you busy for a while.


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## PoorCyclist (Oct 14, 2010)

A popular option is to add morgan territory to diablo to make the ride about 60 miles and almost 7000 ft climbing. Use Marsh Creek, Ygnacio Valley Rd etc

A counterclockwise loop is more difficult (south side of Morgan and northgate are both steeper than the other direction)


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## ptfmb71 (May 16, 2007)

jetdog9 said:


> Start at North Gate, go to summit, descend to south gate / Athenian school, go back to North Gate (you could summit again, or not). That's a little over 40 miles and say 5200 feet of climbing if you only summit once.
> 
> You can park at Walnut Creek Sports Basement, and before or after the ride, treat yourself to some fun in that store.


Great thanks...so it sounds like I descend south gate to the school then climb back up to the junction where the north and south gate meet (ranger station)?


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

ptfmb71 said:


> Great thanks...so it sounds like I descend south gate to the school then climb back up to the junction where the north and south gate meet (ranger station)?


Or back to the top.

If you're going down south gate only to come back up, I'd turn around at the gate rather than going to the school. That way you skip the bad pavement and potholes. I've seen guys destroy wheels there.


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## deadleg (Jan 26, 2005)

Perosnally, I would not go counterclockwise because of the steep and rough section in Morgan territory. I am a cautious type though.


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## jetdog9 (Jul 12, 2007)

ptfmb71 said:


> so it sounds like I descend south gate to the school then climb back up to the junction where the north and south gate meet (ranger station)?


Yes, if you're not planning to summit twice. If you feel good at that point, it's an extra 8.5 + miles and ~1600 ft of climbing to go to the top again.

Map It Pronto - jetdog9_Mt Diablo-WC-Summit-SG-WC



ericm979 said:


> If you're going down south gate only to come back up, I'd turn around at the gate rather than going to the school. That way you skip the bad pavement and potholes.


That's a good point. You'll *know* when you hit the bad pavement.


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