79pmooney

Scott, is that red section the really steep section? I have memories of trying to push my friend there on a ride of (self-made) challenges. I went with my best friend. We had been to sea together, seen storms, raced (on different boats) on days when not all came back. This was just to be a loop around Mt Diablo. We'd both done it before. We drove to the Athena School then road clockwise. In the early miles, my spare innertube slipped out of the toestrap under the seat and jammed in the rear wheel. Destroyed. My friend was riding sewups. On Morgan T, my friend started running our of gas. He hadn't ridden much. I tried pushing him, but man was that hard! He couldn't ride steady and he was 195 lbs and 6'7. (The day was getting late so we needed to keep moving.)

Finally made it. Do that grand descent. I'm up ahead and my friend doesn't make the big right hand turn. Scrapes and bruises but no more. Get to the T with Manning Rd (?). OK, not far to go. My rear tire goes. So I'm strong, no tire, no spare. My friend is beat up and tired. I make the decision that I should take his rear wheel, go get the car and come back. That goes well. (There are really good things about DT friction shifters and this is one!) Came back to find him rolling slowly with his spare sewup on my clincher wheel. He would have made it but probably not before dark.

So Morgan Territory is permanently associated with "epic" in my brain.

Ben

DiabloScott

Yeah, pretty close. It washed out because it's on the edge of the grade without enough earth below it. Check out this Strava segment for a nice memory:
https://www.strava.com/segments/4806950

nslckevin

Is it passable now? I saw on Strava that some people rode up it in the last week. I've got a group of friends that I'm planning on taking over Morgan Territory on Saturday and want to know what's in store for us.

Thanks.

Kevin

cyclintom

I don't think that it's open yet. And I don't remember there being any particularly steep sections but then memories always make roads seem flatter. Or in the case of the north side of Palomares - steeper.

poonkorama

Per the most recent CC County update, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 2 to celebrate the completion of the MT Road repair project. A specific date for road re-opening has not yet been announced but one would hope at least on or around 12/2 (unless they are just celebrating being close to completion haha). Nevertheless, nice to see some of the roads back in good shape again. Just in time for this years rains

Morgan Territory Road Update (11/9/17)

Kaminokaze

November 15: Morgan Territory Road Repair Project Update

The County’s contractor is completing final paving, guard rail and retaining wall work this week. With the completion of that work, the County plans to open Morgan Territory Road by 5pm on Saturday, November 18. When Morgan Territory Road is open, the access road will be closed. The message boards and other signage will be changed to communicate the status of the road opening.

Contra Costa County, CA Official Website

bikingshearer 

TV news (don't remember which channel) said Morgan Territory was open. I hope they're right.

jarazmek

This looks like a nice ride, but I've heard its really bad with cars speeding on the single lane parts and the moss on road. Can anyone confirm if this is a good road to ride or go elsewhere?

poonkorama

I rode Morgan Territory last weekend for the first time and it was awesome. I did encounter a small handful of occasional cars/trucks on the narrow parts, but not that many and it was not at all disruptive. Really nice ride, actually! In my opinion, the worst parts were the suburban stretches on either end (Concord and Dublin, lookin' at you), as some of those roads were borderline scary. Once out on Marsh Creek Rd, it was less stressful and much more wide open. Definitely recommend!

jarazmek

Awesome to hear, I see a ride in my very near future.

Kaminokaze

This is one of my all-time favorite rides around Mt Diablo. I have never really had a problem with drivers on this road. I will say this on the south end dropping down into Highland Rd. It is fast and tight so you should be careful. I have added a video that has the downhill side in full so you can see it before you try.

prathmann

It's one of the few roads where I have a definite preference for the direction. Going north to south you have a nice scenic climb on a tree-lined road and it's easy to avoid the numerous bumps in the road since you're going slow on the climb. That's followed by a fast downhill on smooth pavement and pretty good sight lines. OTOH, south to north you're climbing some really steep grades with no tree cover followed by a fast descent on bumpy pavement where the bumps are frequently hard to spot due to shade and/or sharp turns.

poonkorama

Nice video of the climb and descent!

jarazmek

Looks fun.

cthenn

That's funny, I'm completely the opposite. I despise MCR, the yahoos out there do NOT like cyclists, and some of them let you know about it. I've even seen a truck with a handmade sign stuck to the back window of the cab saying "NO CYCLISTS ON MARSH CREEK ROAD" and then a picture of a cyclist with a big red "no" circle/slash symbol through it. I also do not like the approach to the one-lane portion of MTR on the Clayton side. I had one of my worst run-ins with a driver out there, yelling screaming threatening...fun times. But, once you get to the one-lane portion, I love it. Most drivers who go through there are on their way to the regional park and are polite. But I'll maybe run into one car the whole way. Once at the top, the descent is exhilarating down to the Livermore side. I've never had any issues on that side of the hill, and all the roads leading out from there.

I haven't ridden it in a while, but now that they've completed the fix of the road, I may venture out there again.

poonkorama

Yeah, don't get me wrong, Marsh Creek was still crazy, just slightly less so than the strip-mall/industrial park boulevards going through Concord and Clayton, at least when I was there. Was much happier once I was further up the one lane part of MTR. Mind you I only have an N of 1 for that route, so not much experience with the area. But bad behavior towards cyclists (as you have experienced) would come as no surprise to me at all out there, given my experiences in similar settings elsewhere.

blt

I agree completely about Marsh Creek Road, it is not fun at all. Morgan Territory Road is another matter, it is virtually all people going to or from the regional park, or residents (and there really isn't all that much residential traffic).

I would rather do an out and back on Morgan Territory from the south than get there on Marsh Creek Road. Since I live on the south side of Morgan Territory, it is convenient for me to do that, and just getting to MCR any other way means going through Walnut Creek/Concord/Clayton, which isn't all that fun to begin with.

I've never had any issues on the approach to the one lane portion on the Clayton side like you have, but I am confident that you can run into an unpleasant Clayton side resident here or there (whoever was nasty probably wasn't on the way to the park but a resident). While the closure was in effect and residents on the Clayton side south of the closure had to go the really long way around, there were some who wanted to go fast and were annoyed by anything slowing them down, including cyclists, even if it meant an extra 5 seconds driving time. There were fewer cyclists during the closure, because (unless you were going to navigate the closed stretch) it was an out and back ride from the south; nonetheless, there were some residents from the north side south of the closure being pissy with cyclists.

Except during that closure, those residents go the Clayton direction, so your negative run-in could have been with one of the same people who were causing run-ins to the south during the closure. I am fortunate enough that I have not had any such run-ins on the Clayton side. Marsh Creek OTOH, not friendly in both your experience and mine.

cthenn

Clayton is hard core red-state territory, which in my experience has more unfriendly-to-cyclist drivers. Sure, there are plenty of a-hole drivers wherever I ride, but I get way more nervous out in the sticks with some of these pickup truck drivers buzzing and harassing me...When the closure was in effect, I wouldn't have dared to go out there.