Mountain biking Mt. Diablo, July 17

It's been hot here recently (100+ degrees) and I was going to find an excuse to not wake up early this fine Sunday morning, as I was feeling a bit lazy and didn't want to have the guilt of choosing to not mt bike. Alas, my beloved dog got up at about 5:30 am and proceeded to jump on me, lick me, smack me with his paws and deposit an increasing number of his toys on my face. I woke up, cursed in his direction (an empty curse, of course) and logged on to get some inspiration to avoid the ride from our old pal, Affe. No luck. Affe shamed me into going, ignoring my warnings that it's so hot (85 degrees at 6:15 am) that I may not return. It fell on deaf ears (inside joke). So I reluctantly loaded up the camelback with cold water and hopped on my trusty steed (Jamis Dakar Sport components on a Dakar Pro frame,to those who care...the mismatch is the result of the original Sport frame cracking and Jamis replacing it, generously, with the Pro frame).

So here's what it looks like 10 minutes from my house, right as I enter the Mt Diablo open space area (my community is gated and it has a private entrance to the Blawk Hawk Trail, which is VERY sweet...no one ever is on that trail). It's a straight climb to the top, up that mountain/hill/whatever you want to call it, and winding up the top of the ridge, behind which is even more climbing (though you can't see it from the trailhead picture, here).

This picture is a bit out of order, as it's taken from about the top of the area that I rode to. That's the trusty steed with the trail I rode up in the background to the left. Off to the right is another really nice trail and if you go to my Zhid website, you'll see pictures I took on that trail from May 22 of this year. That May 22 trip's trail was not as fun as the trail that the current pictures are from...the other trail, as you can probably see from this picture, has a much steeper grade so it's all really hard uphill or really tricky downhill (the trail is a lot more rutted and has a bit of slickrock type of material).

Anyway, this picture was taken at a spot that takes about an hour of climbing from the spot that the first picture, above, was taken. It's well worth it and, as you can see, my Republican controlled area does a damn fine job of preserving the environment. Far better than the left wing Democrat controlled shithole of Oakland, which paves over every square inch of open space.

This is the valley that I climb up through to get to the top. It winds up the mountain at about this grade, a few places are much steeper, but overall, it's a do-able climb. Very nice area and lots of wildlife.

I'm not sure where I ride. I know it's part of the Mt Diablo open space and I know that if I take the trail from the May 22 photos, mentioned above, I end up at the top of Mt Diablo, which is pictured here. It's probably 1,000 ft higher than the point I took this picture. That's the beauty of this area...from the trailhead that I start at, I can take at least four separate routes that do not end up in the same place. One of them is single track and not open to bikes (yeah), the other is the May 22 trail that takes you to the top of the mountain, another goes along that valley in the center of the picture and the fourth is the one I like, which is parallel to the highest elevation of Mount Diablo but not, technically, the top of Mount Diablo.

And below is a picture looking down from the top of the ridge towards my house (and development). This is the top of the mountain that is shown in the first picture, looking down at the point at which I took that first picture.




Note to liberal Democrats (especially midlifeinmarin): SEE THE VAST AMOUNTS OF OPEN SPACE. We Republicans don't pave over everything, like you libtards do. Compare the picture of what liberal Democrats do to the environment in Oakland in Oakland, located here


to the picture at the top, which is what we Republicans do to the environment, a mere 20 miles away from Oakland. Click on the Oakland picture to see the full extent of what Democrats do to the environment.

Any questions?

And this is the money shot, on my way back down, of my morning ride. Really beautiful area, interesting rock formations, lots of trees, great trails (note the trail in the center of the picture). All in all, a great Sunday morning ride, notwithstanding the extreme temperatures. I was back home two hours after I started the ride and immediately jumped in the pool to cool off. The pool, at 9 am, was already 85 degrees. Thanks, Affe, for shaming me into the ride.

If it walks like one and quacks like one, it must be a mt bike loving duck.

I'm heading back to the house after a ride today and I stop off at the lake across the street from my house to empty the water out of my camelback. When I was walking up the bank to where I left my bike, I saw this. I don't know why it seemed so odd, but it's not everyday a duck shows such a keen interest in a mountain bike. I stood there watching him and he walked around the bike a few times, went up to it and just wouldn't leave. This duck is ok in my book. I'd still kill him and eat him in the right circumstance, but at least now, if I recognize him again, I'll make sure my dog doesn't chase him.  

And here is a picture I took of the hole on golf course behind the scene of that picture. It just seemed like an interesting picture.