2010 WNR 10

Four of us tonight.  

Great weather.  This pandemic stuff is getting even scarier though, so we all kept a good distance from each other for safety.  Word is the worst of it won't be for another couple weeks... I can only imagine.  Anyway, I felt GREAT, except a little tired after yesterday's hard effort.

Our pack broke apart right at The Gate, with JB in the lead.  I stayed a constant 5-10 seconds behind Charlie -  he always goes faster when he's in front of me, and today he beat his own PB by over two minutes.

Supererogatory Junction

Nice day, no work, RIDE!

Word was that The Park was still closed to vehicles but open to bikers and hikers.  But when I got to The Gate, both barriers were closed and I had to re-evaluate - checked the web pages and they all agreed, so I went around.

Other than some windy sections, the conditions were ideal and I went hard. Broke 45m for the first time this year.  Felt good, and I appreciated not having a respiratory illness... knowing that could change at some time during this pandemic.

Not sure what the Highway Patrol was doing on The Mountain,
but they weren't in a hurry and they immediately ID'ed me as a law and order kind of guy. 

Cal jersey autoblog

This ranger was kind enough to hold the gate open for me.

2020 SMR 11 (*)

(*) Rain day makeup ride. Actual ride date = Sunday.

Saturday's weather wasn't horrible, but there were no breaks in the light rain predicted for the whole day... me 'n JB mutually agreed to cancel. But The Park is CLOSED to cars for pandemic reasons, so it would've been some good ridin'.

Enter TODAY - not exactly sunny but mostly clear so I went for a solo ride about noon.

There was a group of folks walking miniature horses at The Circle... photo below.

There was nobody at Junction to talk to, so I kept going to Juniper without a stop.  Saw about 20 cyclists, almost all of them riding solo.  Saw three cars, all on their way out, and one was a ranger vehicle.

After last week's ride and the sew-up swap-out, I put my clincher wheels on and they performed OK, but the rims are a little worn so the braking was a little grabby.

Wildlife Encounter:  deer... group of one.

Everybody including the hikers waved amicably, and you could see in their faces that we're all dealing with the same COVID worries... well, some maybe more than others.  Nobody in my circle of friends and family has been personally affected... yet.  The thought of how a hospital visit now would be 19 times worse than a regular hospital visit was constantly on my mind, so I took zero risks.

After I got home, I did a marathon innertube patching session.  Six tubes had been collected, two were unpatchable, one failed and I gave up, and three were successes.

The rare "triple decker" patch.  Possibly not as rare as the triple decker patch that actually works.

This guy passed me so fast I had to check the video to see if he had a motor.

Watching for reckless cyclists I presume.

2020 WNR 09

Well the Winter Wednesday Junction riders tried to get something going for 2:30, and we all needed a ride to get our minds off of COVID and our bodies out of lock-down.  But the weather (wind and rain) was dicey so two of us including I cancelled, one was committed, and one did a different ride.

Then 3 o'clock rolled around and I re-evaluated and the weather looked better so I changed my mind and got to The Gate at 3:30 for a solo ride.  Pressed up my tires, and saw this:

Yeah, I thought, "This'll be the last ride on these tires. I sure got good use out of this pair though, and I really like them."

The weather got a lot better, but still a little windy and cold.  Saw lots of riders and all but two of them were riding solo.

At Junction I realized my rear tire had gone soft.  I figured I could pump it up and make it home without changing it.  Also, I noticed The Park had taken away the bike rack and the bench in front of the entrance door to the Ranger Station.  Probably some kind of social distancing precaution.

Started feeling a little squirmy toward the bottom of The Mountain. Had to stop just outside The Gate to pump up again.

Then I had to stop again at the Fire Station... even though I was only a few miles from home, I decided to put on my spare.  Then I put on my clincher wheels when I got home because I don't want to put my new sew-ups on with only a few weeks left (hopefully) on the winter bike.

Passed me like a bullet train - rainbow trim on his sleeves... must be Metcalf!

Bench and bike rack... GONE!

2020 SMR 10

Today the County sent out a "shelter in place" document that was even more strict than the last one. I called JB to make sure the ride should go on, but it did.

I think I only saw one car.  Fewer than normal number of riders, but not by much.

I don't know if it was the creepiness of the day or what, but I decided to quit at Junction.  

2020 WNR 08

Corona Virus Cycling Chronicles:

Went in to work Monday and the boss said "no working from the office".

Tuesday the local government said "no going outside your house"... "except for essential stuff like buying medicine, and getting outdoor exercise".  So I went for an urban bike ride around Walnut Creek just to get a perspective on the reality of the lock-down.  Traffic was about 5% of what it would normally be - so I took the whole lane on major streets that I'd never ride on... and I rolled right through red lights at minor intersections because there were no cars to wait for.  The stores mostly had the same sign posted saying they were closed for lock-down. The restaurants were either closed or signed "open for take-out".  It was eerie.  Lots of people out walking around though, taking advantage of the exemption for outdoor exercise.

Red Light?  Means nothing during an apocalypse.

Wednesday comes and the Wednesday Night Riders start sending out text messages to gauge interest in a ride and there was some.  I missed last Wed for a medical appointment, and I missed Saturday for bad weather, so I was mentally primed, but physically not at my best.

The Park was open, but not the camp grounds or visitor centers.  There was a good number of riders, mostly solo, enjoying their rides. JB was fighting off some kind of sickness and didn't make it to Junction.  The rest of us made jokes about keeping our distance from each other, but we didn't really find any humor in the current situation.

Then I got rained on a little on the way home.

JB Called it QUITS before The Bump

This guy was SMOOOOOTH