I had originally planned on riding up Mt. Tam today, but the weather wasn't cooperating this morning. It was overcast in marin and the city, and for this ride you really want it to be clear so you can enjoy the vistas from the ridge. Alas it will have to wait until another day. In the meantime, I decided to ride up Mt Diablo again, so I could gather more data for my spreadsheet.
The weather in Walnut Creek and Danville was pleasant, and the hillsides are still blooming with wildflowers. While I felt really good all the way up the mountain, my speed didn't improve at all over my last ride two weeks ago. Maybe I felt more comfortable in my pacing but not to the point of pushing to go faster.
It took me 1 hour and 6 minutes to get from the gate to the junction (6.25 miles, 1860 feet of elevation gain), then another 29 minutes to get to Juniper campground, then 31 minutes to reach the summit. So my average speed for each segment was: 5.6 mph (North Gate), 4.8 mph (to Juniper), and 4.1 mph (to the summit). Still slow as hell, but it seems to be getting a bit easier each time.
At the junction, coming back down from the summit, I talked to a guy who was wearing a Death Ride jersey. He said that Monitor pass (the first pass on the Death Ride) was comparable to going up North Gate, but that Ebbetts is more challenging. I asked him if he thought it was a good idea to train at high altitudes, and he said that it doesn't do any good unless you stay at that altitude for the duration. If you go up and train two weeks before the event, but come back down to sea level, then you lose the acclimation. Interesting. I had been contemplating a weekend trip up to Tahoe to get some altitude training in, but maybe it's not worth it.
His other advice for Death Ride preparation was: "climb, climb, climb". Well, duh.
Total Distance: 35 miles
Elevation gain: 4000 feet
Time in the Saddle: 3.5 hours
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