Riding at Mount Diablo

As I’m pumping the pedals of my bike up the last and steepest hill, people move out of my way, cars slow down and wait for me to reach the top, bikers call out when they pass, and best of all, people cheer me on. They tell me to keep going and that I’m almost there. When I made it to the top of Mount Diablo at 3,426 feet and after 11.36 miles, my legs were shaking. I was congratulated when I finally sat down to rest. 

Throughout the whole ride, I was thinking about how cold it was. Every corner I turned, I was thankful for the mountains for blocking the wind. I rode with my dad and my mom. As my dad was turning a corner, a gust of wind pushed him towards the downhill. He almost fell off the cliff, but he caught himself and got back on the road. 

As you ride on the road, you find that everyone is very nice. Pedestrians walk only on the side walks and trails, cars wait for bikers to get on the turnouts to pass them, and other bikers stay in their lanes and call out whenever they are passing. 

Mount Diablo has been working hard to keep bikers and pedestrians safe. One of their biggest improvements was the turnout. Turnouts are parts of the road where bikers can ride or pull over so cars or faster vehicles can pass. They are usually placed on the corners of the uphill parts. These turnouts are very helpful. Ever since the turnouts have been in use, bike and car crashes have decreased significantly. 

Mount Diablo also has signs that remind bikers and drivers  that it is illegal to ride/drive with headphones on in both ears. This keeps everyone aware of their surroundings and keeps everyone safe. 

Riding down Mount Diablo was really fun yet also scary. You need to make sure that your brakes are in good condition because it is about 12 miles of steep downhill. I was keeping up with the cars and it was really cool. I felt very free and open. It was already cold on Mount Diablo so going down hill very fast made it even colder.

My favorite part of the ride was the constant view of the mountains around Mount Diablo which was beautiful. That definitely made the ride very worth the cold.