Saturday was a long ride for us and the first time Anne had a chance to go up Mt. Diablo.  We drove to the ride start up off of Crow Canyon Road and started with a good size group of club members.  After a few miles we started to make the climb.  From the South Gate to the summit it is over 11 miles and a climb of 3,700 vertical feet.  Being  our first time on the tandem, of course I had to time it.  We took just over 1 hour and 21 minutes.  Not bad for part of a long ride.

From a summit of over 3,800 feet elevation there is a beautiful view of the valley below.

Anne and Franz on top of Mt. Diablo

It was a rather nice day in the valley but by the time we got to the top it was quite a bit cooler due to the higher elevation.  The descent down was very cold and we were glad to make it down closer to sea level.  We then continued on route and made a stop for lunch.

By the time we were finished eating most of the rest of the group arrived.  About 6 of us decided to go on ahead and we made our way over to Morgan Territory.  That is another climb, a bit steeper than Mt. Diablo but not nearly as many feet of climbing.  At the top we possed for a group photo.

Group at top of Morgan Territory

On the way back to the start we came upon the route being used by the Cinderella classic ride that day and even caught a few of the tail end of those riders.  By the time we got back to the car we had biked 64 miles and climbed over 6,000 feet.  It was fun day.

Categories: Cycling
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