2018 SMR 30

To hell with the self-imposed 10-photo blog maximum.

Warm today, forgot my sunscreen.  Ranger advised to keep hydrated.

JB finally got his triple and lower gears installed.  Still has a few kinks to work out.

Hey!  It's Robert!

Are these cones going to be permanent?  I don't get it

Zoom in for a close look at that granny ring.

Beautiful, clear, blue sky to the north.

Smokey, brown-gray sky to the east.

2018 SMR 29

Air quality wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good.  The smoke from the fires up north have finally reached the Diablo Valley.  A little coughing, a little throat irritation, and an unusual taste on my teeth.  We turned around at Junction.

Wildlife Encounter:  not a freaking thing... although we smelled some skunk.  And I saw some turkeys in my neighborhood this morning.

There was a big group of folks at Junction that were all together - some kind of work group friends.  I envied their friendly work camaraderie since I just quit my job!

Kiosk ranger had a Pinarello.

MDIA had a sales tent set up at Junction.  Ths XS and XL jerseys were cheap, the normal sizes were normal priced.  Books and maps also for sale - cash only.

I told Justin he should use this for his LinkedIn Profile pic... agreed?

2018 SMR 28

The good weather really brought out folks enjoying The Mountain this morning.

JB still doesn't have his triple crank.

Wildlife Encounter:  1 deer on The Approach,  and a SKUNK!  don't actually see too many skunks on Diablo... he was about a half mile up from Junction eating some road kill or something... ran off and gave us the warning posture when we went by real wide.

Klein Autoblog

2018 SMR 27

The Death Ride is today, but there were still plenty of riders doing The Mountain.

Very warm, not hot.  Some new safety cones to protect the riders at Junction... not sure how much good they'll do.

JB discussed rebuilding his Campy shifters and hassles associated with ordering old parts on the internet.  He doesn't yet have his triple.

From up high, we could see that San Francisco was socked in with some kind of dark fog or something.

Toyon Picnic Area closed for repairs.

A beautiful summer morning ride.

2018 SMR 26

No wind today, pretty warm though.  Lots of riders on The Mountain, but not a lot of serious-looking Death Ride trainers.

Wildlife Encounter:  turkeys, a couple lizards, and one little bunny.

JB has finally bit the bullet and ordered a kit to convert his bike to a triple.  Currently his lowest gear is a 42x26 and it's painful watching him grind up the steeper bits.  His new lowest gear will be a 30x26 (he's not getting a new cassette).  He asked me what my lowest gear was in "gear inches" and I didn't know for sure... but something less than a 27-inch which would be 1-to-1.  I have a 34x27... I tried to round off the division in my head, and then I had a mathematical epiphany... if your rear cog is a 27 with normal wheels, your gear in gear inches is the same as your front ring... so I have a 34" gear! 

Then a woman cyclist passed us on The Bump, and I thought I recognized her from a Strava friend's photos so I caught up and it wasn't who I thought it was but she was a friend of a friend so we had a short chat before I let her drop me.  Then I slowed down to let JB catch back on.

And then my neighbor Mark passed us up and I was feeling good so I hopped on his wheel for almost a mile before I gave up at Chainbuster.

At Junction there were a lot of people and I ran into Strava friend Jim who also noticed that the folks were a little less intense this week and maybe the Death Ride people were taking it easy... someone overheard us, and said that indeed *HE* was doing the DR next week.  We wished him well.

Turned around at Junction because WORK.

2018 SMR 25

Before I start, I want to tell you about this photo site that I found by a Diablo hiker/photographer and it's just photos and they are amazing in quality and composition, and they're all about Diablo.  Please go check him out - here's a couple examples:

ExploreDiablo.com

OK, now for today's ride.  Well, first (or second?) about last night... there was a pretty big fire on Lime Ridge and a lot of home owners up there had to evacuate and it was pretty scary, so I was ready for any emergency situation that might arise.  Everything was fine though, and people are a little jumpy but everyone's being careful.  NEWSFLASH - another fire closes Ygnacio Valley Road about noon today, hooboy!

As me and JB got started, we discussed the severe winds from last week (that cut our ride short at Juniper) and he said the wind was bad at The Summit today too.  It was really nice on NGR though and we had an enjoyable trip to Junction.

Then I check the Mount Diablo App and sure enough - Summit has 35 mph winds with gusts to 45 mph.  I said (just like last week), "I reserve the right to re-evaluate at Juniper" but he said "How about a Bump de Bump?"  That sounded like a fine idea - I don't even remember the last time I rode up SGR.  EDIT - October 2016!

One of these guys said "Nice Klein" as I passed... then I slowed down to let him have a good look.

A bunch of MTBers were not being very careful entering the roadway from Rock City.

That reminds me, garbage day is on The Fourth of July. 

Nancy!  Probably her last training ride before the Death Ride... nah, probably not.

This guy had an electric-assist hand cycle... way cool.

You know, South Gate Road is so easy, it barely qualifies as a bike ride.  Check out how I can even stay with this semi-pro racer guy: