July 9, 2003 - Diablo Junction, 16 miles

So I haven't ridden in a week and a half other than just tooling around. JB's still on vacation (or so I thought, keep reading), Adam had a company softball game, and Nicole and I get a little bit of a late start and it's HOT so I figure I'll just ride at her pace and make conversation. Well I could only ride at 4 mph for so long and when we got to the bottom of the bump she pulled over to rest in the shade for a while and told me to keep going so I did. I picked it up to 8 or 9 mph which was appropriate for the heat level.

Just after Chainbuster I saw JB coming down from the Junction. He had come home from vacation and ridden with the Diablo Cyclists and since Nicole and I got a late start he hadn't seen us. We talked for a bit but then he continued on down. My Junction time was pathetic of course so I won't report it. The DCers were all still at the Junction when I got there including Mark and Grant on a tandem - there was much talk about how that ride went - apparently Mark really did a power-stoker job for a fast ride, and about the upcoming Death Ride. Then they all split up, some down South Gate and some down North Gate, leaving me alone for a while. A few other folks came up in groups of one or two and we just sat around getting eaten up by bugs. I talked to one guy named James who had UC Davis shorts on but I didn't tell him I knew Adam.

Finally Nicole arrived and she did tell James that we work with Adam so we all gossiped about how he'd rather play softball than ride a bike. On the way back down Nicole led the way and James was behind me. When we got past Moss Landing I pretended to slow down and James came around me but then I hopped into his wake and then out sprinted him up the double dips.

Wildlife Encounter - we saw a RAT run across the street in front of all those expensive North Gate homes.