I joined the Valley Spokemen for their weekly morning Mount Diablo practice ride, leading up to the Mount Diablo Challenge October 5. They also have an after-work practice ride on Wednesdays. I got to see, for the first time, the unpaved bike/pedestrian easement that has allowed access from Alameda Diablo to Mount Diablo Scenic Boulevard since 1916. The city maintained the easement starting in 1973. Two years ago, local landowners erected a six-foot iron fence at both ends of the easement and locked the gate. Local cyclists challenged the landowners' right to close a longstanding easement. Eventually, they went to court. In August, a judge ruled for the cyclists. On September 2, club riders reported that the gates had been reopened. So we were one of the first groups to go through, but in those eight days, probably hundreds of people have used the easement on foot, on bikes, walking dogs, and so on. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/08/11/public-access-battles-california-contra-costa-county-bicyclists/ I was happy to make it to the summit today, but it was hard. Half of the ascent and descent was in cloud, so very cold. I had extra layers, but I was still as cold as I've ever been on the descent, until I got back down out of the clouds and into patches of sunshine. I was the last rider to finish, no surprise. As every time I've climbed Mount Diablo, except the first time, in 2018, I had to walk up the last, very steep pitch to the visitors center. It's less than one quarter mile, but it's all over 10% and some of it is over 16%. I don't know if I'll ever be able to ride up that bit again, after such a hard climb to get there. I finished in 170 minutes, not including 17 minutes stopped. From the easement to the summit was 125 minutes, 5.4 mph. In 2018, I rode it in 99 minutes, about 6.3 mph. Still, I really enjoyed the ride. Mount Diablo is one of my favorite places, and even the cold didn't get me down.