Morgan Territory Road

I don't remember where I heard of Morgan Territory Road, but it's a straight shot BART to BART ride, meaning that I can go one way seeing all new roads. With the hopes of getting in some mileage I threw my bike on BART and headed toward Concord to ride behind Diablo to the Dublin BART station.

In the East Bay over the Hills anything next to a BART station guarantees some crappy suburban riding. From Concord station this was how the ride started. Luckily it was midday on a Wednesday so there was little traffic plus the occasional bike lane, so it wasn't nearly as bad as some of the suburban riding I had faced in NY (I still get flashbacks to the horrors of suburban Buffalo), but the monotony of these roads does not make for a pleasant ride. I just focused on Diablo in the background, hoping that by the time I got to the foothills these four lane roads would disappear.

Diablo is always watching!

Coming out onto Marsh Creek Road I got my wish and entered into a more rural area. It never ceases to amaze me that these rural communities are so close to San Francisco, it goes against everything I know from the ultra suburbanized turned exurbanized East. The scariest part though was that there was no shoulder on this road, and heavy traffic. I knew that it was about 40 miles from one BART to the next and I was starting to worry that it would be 40 miles of hugging shoulders and praying that the SUV behind me doesn't hit me. This especially worried me once the road started to climb, meaning I'd be going slower, meaning I'd have less control, making passing cars even more terrifying. But I was committed by that point, nothing to do but put my head down and deal with it. If figured if I survived US 20 in Ohio, I could survive nearly anything.

Between the backside of Diablo and Morgan Territory I'd imagine there is some fantastic hiking here too.

I reached the intersection of Morgan Territory Road, the road I came in search of and didn't find much different at first. Just more rural roads with no shoulder and the sun beating down on me. I thought I'd begin to be disappointed, then all of a sudden a sign pointed out "Single Lane Road Ahead." Single lane? I crossed a single lane bridge and the shoulder and opposite lane never reappeared. My first bit of traffic was a group of horseback riders and after that point I saw maybe three more cars on Morgan Territory Road. The road was absolutely stunning. I wondered why anybody put this road here, it doesn't seem necessary on a map, but it sure is beautiful. It started careening around a creek system on the left and the fire trails splitting off into Mount Diablo State Park. The summit was impossible to see over the foothills and the trees that hid the hot hot sun away and made dancing shadows along the roadway.

Another cyclist, who I caught going back up the super steep side of Dublin!

But the sight wasn't the only thing to really marvel about. Realizing the lack of traffic I started to listen and really pay attention. All I could hear was the birds, some frogs, and the buzzing of cicadas. The peace of this road is something I haven't really gotten back to since ending tour. I had heard people recommending this road, but my god, who knew it would be really this good?

Beautiful creeks along the way.

The actual contour of the road coming from Concord is an up and down, that apparently climbs pretty high (2,400 ft of total elevation on the day). It didn't feel like much climbing as every top was easy to get over and then a down would help part of the way on the next up. The road kept bouncing up and down. Looking toward where I guessed the road would go, I couldn't figure out exactly where it was because of a healthy coverage of trees. I really felt out of it. I checked my phone. No service. I had gotten away, even if just for the afternoon.

Lunch at the staging area.

After some more climbing the trees parted way and the Morgan Territory Road staging area opened up to my left. This was the top. I sat had some lunch, chatted with an overly talkative motorcyclist and basked in the shade. It reminded me very much of those afternoons on tour, just stopping and striking up conversation with whomever had something to say. He didn't seem willing to let me leave, but I eventually ducked out and from there it was a rocketed downhill along a beautiful curving single lane road open to the valley, where I could make out the freeway and the communities that hug to it's life. I hit 47 mph on this single lane road I've never been on before, probably not the brightest, but it sure was fun, the fastest I've gone to date.

After some more hot rural riding Dublin popped up out of nowhere. More ugly suburban apartment complexes were going in construction to match the hideous ones that were already there. What an awful place, especially in contrast from the gem that hides on the top of the hill on Morgan Territory Road.