The Best Walnut Creek Has to Offer

Over the Oakland  Hills there is a city. It's a city mostly composed of chain restaurants, boutique box stores, and lawyers. That city is Walnut Creek. Mild density roads create insane traffic down Ygnacio Valley Road,  mall like main streets leave little room between traffic and the door zone, and the food options are all over priced frozen dishes.

Shell Ridge

But there is something else there. And I'm not talking about Rivendell. It's the open space. Hidden behind an office park of medical professionals and a neighborhood of multi million dollar homes is an entrance to Shell Ridge Open Space. I have explored this network of fire roads before, but yesterday I dedicated more time to push further into the open space and see as much as I could see, hopefully making it all the way across the ridge to Mt. Diablo State Park.

The fire roads are perfect for a large tired cross bike (even a skinny one might do well). Rolling hills dip in and out of valleys with wide hardpack to carry speed into challenging climbs. There was only one section that was mildly technical (there is a lack of this in the East Bay, but I don't have an all-mountain bike, so these trails are fun enough). I was going so fast into it I was forced to commit (luckily I kept rubber side down).

The fire roads went up and down through these gorgeous valleys.

It's not really the riding that makes the Open Space phenomenal, it's the scenery. A typical Californian hillside with rolling dry grass pocketed with beautiful oak trees, all backdropped by Mt. Diablo in one direction or the Oakland Hills in the other (the undulating hills cover the sprawling suburbs of the East Bay magnificently). These rolling grasslands do lead to some sun exposure, luckily I had enough water to push on to Wall Point Road. Which if you ever wondered why it's called Wall Point Road. It's most likely because it's a wall. I ended up walking a good chunk of this (no shame in that), but man, it looks killer in the other direction (maybe some day). On Wall Point, the views switched directions, now sitting on the north side of the Open Space I could look straight across Livermore valley to Mt. Hamilton, the only point higher in the Bay Area than Mt. Diablo.

Oak trees stood solitary from their brethren.

The views from Wall Point.

When Wall Point wasn't straight up and down it was a blast.

Diablo was where I headed next. After pushing up steep off-roads all day, the climb up Diablo was pretty tame. I settled in the right cadence. I passed a few riders on the way up. It was getting to be around 4 o'clock when I reached the summit. It was the clearest I had ever seen from the top. I could see straight out the Golden Gate from the top of Diablo, where supposedly you can see the most geographic area in the US. Which makes sense since looking East, everything is so incredibly flat (I was amazed on tour earlier this summer that I was a whole day out and I could still look out and still see Diablo commanding the skyline).

Diablo is always watching.

On the way down I passed all the aggro roadies on their way up. Some really pushing a hard speed to the top. If you ever want to see some of the Bay Area's best riders, this is the place to see it. Sure, I'd rather see a guy going 3 MPH that says hello than someone cranking 11 without the even acknowledgement of another rider, it still is pretty amazing how fast they go. I went down the North Gate road, which I think is the prettier side, as you go through Rock City where the road is covered with beautiful oak trees. Then the road cuts out to some beautiful views of Livermore before finally the road hugs the mountainside so beautifully, as if this were a high mountain pass in the Alps.

The road down Diablo.

I flew down to the suburbs where I flew by traffic before reconnecting with the series of multi use trails. Being late in the afternoon I settled into a calm speed to respect other users (unlike some stretchy pantsed jerks, if you want to ride fast, get on the road). I usually took BART home from these rides in the past, but yesterday I was determined to link back home. My legs were burning but it was only one more climb over the Oakland hills before home. At that moment I was only chasing daylight. By the time I hit Moraga the sun was already shaded by the hills, but there was enough ambient light I felt confident I'd make it home. I took the final turn in Moraga before heading out of town over the hills and something happened. I'm still not sure what, but I hit the ground hard and my front was flatted from the fall (wasn't the cause as it was a slow leak). Dusting myself off, my knee really ached. By the time I changed the flat it felt far too dark to head over the hills. So I headed over to BART to call it quit. Close enough.

Walnut Creek is a strange place surrounded by great riding and I'm excited to have it that close. Between the empty Open Space and the challenging Diablo climb it's a great place to string along a good variety of rides.

Links

- Manny Acosta takes great photos of the East Bay golden hills (I think his photos are mostly south but some are here as well). Check out his Flickr.

- A documentary on Rivendell with great shots of the Open Space.

- Cycleicious' Flickr set on the Tour of California this past summer, where they climbed Diablo on the second to last day.

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.

Diablo Part Deux

I'm trying a new regiment of waking up early to ride, so I can have the rest of my day to bask in unemployment (this blog is quickly turning into an ode to not having a job). Today was my day set for a long ride though, so riding was the main focus. At 7 AM, my alarm went off. Rolling out of bed before I changed my mind, I rapidly threw on my jersey and shorts, grabbed an energy bar for breakfast, and hit the road.

Today was not about the Oakland Hills, so I'll spare the discussion of those roads I've written about on here incessantly. Nonetheless, I cut into Moraga, followed the Lafayette-Moraga trail into Walnut Creek, where it ends, not in Lafayette, like the name would suggest. From here I rode through the outdoor mall that is the WC. Beelined straight to where I want to go unlike last time.

It was cloudy in Oakland, but on the other side of the Hills, Pinehurst was sunny.

Lafayette-Moraga Trail.

Last time I ended up in this same spot, except my tires were 12 mm thinner and much smoother. Now I came prepped for the trail. Unlike the earlier mentioned bike path, the Briones-Mt Diablo Trail actually does connect the two places in its name. I headed west towards Diablo, growing larger and larger with every pedal stroke. The trail had some technical bits at first, including a straight drop down that was mostly jagged exposed rock. I bumped down it and then sped along on mostly hard packed Fire Roads. Diablo kept growing the closer I got. Eventually I was staring it right in the face from the top of one of Diablo's foothills. Erected base to summit, I could take it all in from that spot.

Mt. Diablo-Briones Trail, where I gave up last time.

The Diablo Foothills are surprisingly a lot higher than the towns below.

Forests are great, but the way the trees stand out so singularly here in the hills is pretty majestic.

It wasn't until I actually crossed into Diablo State Park that things truly revved up, literally, up. Coming out of Pine Canyon, the last drop on Burma Road before the climb back up Burma Road. Unfortunately my granny gear was giving me trouble (road riding with no added weight means I never use this gear), so I gave up and did something that would make any road rider sick, I pushed it. But today I'm no road rider. The hope is to make it all the way up to the top by trail.

40 mm Mondials at home on trail.

Cheating the weather, clouds over Oakland.

Pine Canyon

That was quickly defeated. Once I crossed pavement at the junction of Burma Road and North Gate Road the trail kept going up. 7 miles from that point to summit. I'd be there in no time at all. Well, 7 miles means the way the crow flies and that's their advantage, they can defy gravity, I can't. Burma Road was a wall. I've hardly seen hiking trails go up as steep as this one. I decided to get off and carry my bike up seeing if it levels out after this climb. I pushed with my toes, as the physics of it made it impossible to do otherwise. My calves burned and the grade stayed. There was no let down. This was it. Carry the bike to the summit or turn around and ride the road.

Well, frankly, riding sounded better. I almost felt like turning back with 30 miles in and about 10 of that on trail, but I was there, I should summit. Up I went. North Gate was the same road I took up last time, a no holds-bar, elevation busting, gut-wrenching, gear spinning climb. I settled in to my cadence and pressed on. I started around the 1,000 ft elevation thanks to the some bit of climbing on trail. The 2,000 mark didn't seem to come much later. I had my legs under me, for now.

Once I reached the junction my legs were starting to give a little, but hell, push through it. Since I couldn't summit by trail, my new goal was no stopping. Like most mountains, Diablo gets steeper closer to the top. After the junction I minimized out my middle ring (even though I did fix my granny gear on the road) and spun and spun and spun. I kept around 7 mph for the final 4.5. Just focusing on time not distance helped me over come the mental block, and before I knew it, it was my second summit of Diablo. I enjoyed the views, chatted with some folks doing the same, then began the descent.

The view from the top.

The descent was down South Gate as it let me out further West and I was hoping to ride home today, with not getting lost like last time. The South Gate descent was as fun as the North Gate descent, except a little more hair-raising. It reminded me of the last couple miles of the Big Horn descent in WY, where the road just drops off to nothing at times, meaning I hugged those brakes. I swooped around the bends and once the road flattened out I was in the town of Diablo, then turning due north through Danville and Alamo. With a dead GPS I didn't really know where I was, but I knew the hills to my left were the Oakland Hills, so I figured I'm heading north. Unfortunately, I was heading Northeast, so I ended up back in the WC. Not wanting  to get lost again with no GPS I grabbed BART back. 60 mile days before 4 PM aren't so bad anyway now are they?