I bike, therefore I appreciate reasonable weather. We recently relocated to the Bay Area and the ability to bike nearly year round was a definite plus. One of the first things a cyclist does after relocating is pull up their Strava app and have a look at the heat map. It shows you a map of anywhere you care to look and the thickness of the red on the road indicates how frequently it is ridden by cyclists and by extension, which roads are the best to ride.
When we got to sunny San Ramon I noticed a particularly juicy red line that had some lovely curves. Welcome to Mt. Diablo. The Tour of California takes advantage of this hill every year as its signature mountain stage. It's not Alpe D'Huez but since it's only 12 miles from my house it couldn't be more ideal. It's a lovely Category 1 climb with very little traffic. I can be on this climb for an hour and only have 4 or 5 cars pass me. Makes me feel like I'm climbing in France without the croissant's.
The climb is the work but the descent is the reward. This is the part where I hope my wife isn't reading my blog. On the way up I'm only average in the Strava rankings because climbing ability is dependant on your VO2 max. Descents however, award a different characteristic, fearlessness. Apparently I don't value my life. Of the 5,904 people who have sped down the hill, I'm currently ranked #39. When I'm flying down the mountain my Tarmac and I are loving every turn, but after I'm done, I replay it in my mind and wonder how I'm still alive.
Maybe that's the point. It makes me feel alive. :-) Vive le Spesh!
**Update: As of today (Feb 12th, 2018) there are 10,149 unique individuals who have descended Mt. Diablo. I'm now #17. Again...don't tell my wife.
