Sunday afternoon ride...

The week before last I was thinking of exploring Mt Diablo's mountain bike trails. I've never ridden up there other than the road and am really curious about the trails.  Unfortunately, I fear my fitness is not at the same level as my curiosity so I decided to do the road bike instead.

I was able to con Jack and Lynn to join me in the "fun" and we agreed to meet at the bottom of the hill after I was done with church. Turns out the post-service socializing took longer than planned and I found myself running late. I texted both Jack and Lynn to let them know and Lynn agreed to wait. Jack said we could "catch him on the hill"

It was a gorgeous day for the first weekend in January. Clear and cool, but sunny. This made for nice weather riding up the hill with some amazing views of the bay. You could see San Francisco, one tower of the Golden Gate and Sutro Tower.

The fact that the weather was nice and the views were amazing did not in the least detract from the suffering I was experiencing though.  I have to admit, I'm at the heaviest I've been in a long time and I haven't been riding nearly as much. Both of these factors contributed to the level of suffering I was experiencing as we climbed the mountain....several times I pushed on the shift lever only to find I was already in the lowest possible gear....

Eventually, as Lynn and I got near the top, we saw Jack on his was down. So, no Jack, we will NOT "catch you on the hill" Amazingly enough, he agreed to turn around and head back to the summit with us. I guess he was feeling particularly fiesty and wanted the bonus miles.

As we reached Devil's Elbow and made the last push for the top, Lynn said she wasn't doing the driveway and I agreed, that I had had enough for one day.  When we made the last turn though she pulled over for the parking area and I just had to keep going. I don't think I can deal with riding all the way up there and not going to the summit.

As I suffered up the driveway I thought about stopping several times. I didn't though. I once walked up the last section and coming over the top to see everyone watching you walk up the hill pushing your bike is something I don't want to do again....

The views from the top were just as amazing as they had been all the way up the hill.  You could see Antioch and the Delta to the northeast and as far as Livermore and beyond to the southeast.

 


Although the cool and sunny weather had been perfect for the climb, the ride down was freezing... we actually stopped a couple of times, supposedly so I could take pictures, but more so I could thaw out my fingers....
Overall an absolutely beautiful day with incredible views, good friends and lots of suffering.....a perfect ride!