[joeband]

A Loop in the Diablo Range

so this morning i decided to do a loop that i have done by car before, but never on two wheels. the diablo range runs on north - south on the eastern edge of the san francisco bay area. formed by uplift of two different faults, the hayward and the calaveras, both splinter faults of the more famous san andreas.



several old roads wind up into the hills connecting historical ranches, (and now mega mansions) to the masses in the flat valleys below.



sierra road climbs quickly into the hill, and has been prominately featured in the bay area leg of the tour of california bike race.

it twists up hill, climbing into the heat and dry grass covered hills.

i do a christmas bird count up in this area every year, and it is a great place to see golden eagles. i was not disappointed as this juvenile buzzed me. that's better than a 7' wingspan. one of the largest eagles in the world, it's capable of bringing down prey as large as young deer.

fog shrouded san jose down below, the temp climbed 15˚F even at 8:30am. the mountains on the far side are the coast range, then the pacific ocean. the windward side is covered in coastal redwoods, the tallest species of tree in the world, the tallest scraping just shy of 400'.

a few miles away, in the rain shadow, the mountains are much drier, and smokey warns of the high fire danger.

the road is all paved, but not much traffic at all, i saw 1/2 dozen cars, easily three times the number of bicyclists and only one other motorcycle.

ranching is still king up here, cows happily munching away for most of the way.

 

[joeband]

these longhorns are perched just above alum rock park. once known as little yosemite, it was made a city park in 1872, part of a spanish land grant from the king in the 1700's

and where ever you have cows, there must be horses.

a stable

and hints of the agricultural past

oaks cover the road for stretches at a time, the shade is welcome.

still life with TW. in these east- west canyons, the north slope (south facing slope) gets much more sunlight, and are predictably drier than the south (north facing). the difference in vegetation is startling. in the southern hemisphere it is reversed, as the sun is in the northern part of the sky.

a fixer-upper

i guess while waiting for the house to be fixed up, you still have needs? not many neighbors to complain....

 

[joeband]

one of the the first commercial grapes planted in california were planted just south of here, what was mirrasou winery, in 1854.

a private vineyard.

the calaveras fault runs down this valley, a great place to build a dam for a reservoir. the calaveras reservoir is part of the san francisco water district, this water comes in part from yosemite's hetch hetchy.

watching over the reservoir, a bald eagle nest at the top of the power pole. though i didn't see any today, they were nesting here in the spring.

a couple of my favorite native trees:

the california buckeye, a relative of the chestnut, they are deciduous and start to fade before summer ends.

up close, though past their prime for this year.

and the bay laurel (or oregon myrtle north of here), a relative of the avocado, it can be used for bay leaves in pasta etc. they smell fantastic and stuffed up your nose can clear plugged up sinuses!

up close

a valley oak up close:

a red tail hawk soaring over poison oak turning red.

 

[joeband]

name that road kill part:

and back down in to milpitas to complete my loop through the city, about 22 miles total, a great start to the day, thanks for coming along on my first trip report.

my sun-kissed TW watches over the city below. i really need to swap out those yellow fork boots for some black ones!

btw: i think it was a wild Sus scrofa hoof.

 

[old mad max]

Great photos.. How do you guys tie so many photos together on one post????? I have trouble with one at a time... OMM.

 

[joeband]

Great photos.. How do you guys tie so many photos together on one post????? I have trouble with one at a time... OMM.

thanks!



i use photobucket and just cut and paste the link. double spacing adds lines in between so they aren't bunched up. i tried flickr, but apparently the coding doesn't work on this forum.

 

[elime]

Very nice report.



I have a friend in Fremont and we have ridden a few of the roads in that area but I don't think I have been on the loop you described. We stayed on Calaveras and ended up in Niles Canyon.



I ran into Lauren a week or 10 days ago and he said he met you while he was riding up to Mt. Hamilton.

 

[Gerry]

Wonderful pictures and great 'narration'. I grew up in the Walnut Creek area and really enjoyed hiking. As I ventured further and further out, I was generally amazed with the 'islands' of wilderness that are scattered about the Bay area. Millions of folks just over the ridge, but in the right place, you're left with the feeling you are the only person on the planet.



Enjoyed the reminder of how refreshing solitude can be........ Thanks. Gerry

 

[Bullspit]

Sweet ride! I enjoyed the natural history lessons as well.

 

[admiral]

the road is all paved, but not much traffic at all, i saw 1/2 dozen cars, easily three times the number of bicyclists and only one other motorcycle.

Really interesting post with good photo's and narration. In what I assume is a large metro area, it's interesting to see an area such as this, near the city, and still tied in some part to the past.



Something about this photo just catches my eye. I like it!



Thanks for sharing

 

[Retrofit]

very nice... tad jealous as i cant ride by right now, cus the damn duro tire wont mount.... thanks for reminding me what i could be doing...

 

[B-dub]

Awesome ride report! I especially liked the shots of the eagle and hawk. It's been awhile since I've seen an eagle. It's hard to imagine a 7' wingspan. I also liked the old wagon. Any idea of what the apparatus on it is? I liked the shots and description of the local plant life, too. Thanks for sharing your ride with us. Do you think it was a sus scrofa, or a sus scrofa domesticus?

 

[Gerry]

Oh you Sus Scrofa experts leave me weary.. Without question, it was a "Sus Scrofa TWis observamotis" while on a 'niceous ridous'. Sooooooooooooo there.........

. Gerry

 

[joeband]

Awesome ride report! I especially liked the shots of the eagle and hawk. It's been awhile since I've seen an eagle. It's hard to imagine a 7' wingspan. I also liked the old wagon. Any idea of what the apparatus on it is? I liked the shots and description of the local plant life, too. Thanks for sharing your ride with us. Do you think it was a sus scrofa, or a sus scrofa domesticus?

the wild pigs in california are mongrels..... domestic pig crossed with wild boar. i was actually surprised i didn't see any living, rooting, mangy pigs on the ride, no turkeys either. both very common up in the hills.

 

[rmartin]

Nice ride and pictures. Always enjoy wishing I could go along.



Here in Illinois the only thing you could show is a flat field with either corn or soybeans.



That one picture is a hay bailer.



We always enjoy going out west and riding. We have been going to AZ the past several years, and for 2 years now I have had the TW with me. I go out exploring on it, and when I find a neat area I take my wife the next day in the Jeep.