Diablo Junction - 16 miles
Typical Wednesday after work ride. Adam, Leif, and JB rode from the office, Nicole and I drove. By the time I got parked and unloaded my bike the three guys rolled up and then we all rode together up to Nicole who was just going through the gate. It was hot but not oppressive, and there was the slightest of warm breezes.
As we approached the line I reminded Leif that to be official you have to be slowly rolling over the start line when you start your stop watch. So all five of us were together at the gate - we all hit our buttons at the same time and then Adam, Leif, and I did a sprint start. Leif took the early lead with Adam right behind. I hugged Adam's wheel for two and a half minutes to the top of the second double dip but then too much of a gap opened up and I lost contact. I put my head down and cranked for another couple miles trying to stay ahead of JB (who didn't take part in the sprint start) for as long as possible, but he caught me near the bottom of the Bump.
Rather than honk on the Bump I tried to set a consistent pace and then did some out of the saddle big gear (ha!) pushing to the Upper Washout, which I crossed at 20 minutes flat. I knew I was going to have a good time now so I got a little more serious and went into time trial mode. With 2 miles to go I was at 26m20s and with 1 mile to go I was at 33m50s so I figured I could probably do under 41 minutes and I was happy to see my time was 40m20s at the finish.
Adam and Leif were waiting around at the Junction - Leif inspected my bike and told me my brakes didn't have enough clearance. I told him I like them close and he thought the wheel might rub against the pad unless it was a really stiff wheel. He rides Look pedals too so I told him to try it out. He took it a hundred meters down North Gate Road and then did a little sprint back to the line and pronounced my bike "stiff". Adam and Leif then went down South Gate, the Diablo Cyclists started to show up and tell stories, JB had gone down to ride back up with Nicole. The DCers were all gone by the time JB and Nicole got to the Junction.
The bugs were terrible tonight - I have a weird scabby-rash all over my legs (not sure what it is) and the bugs really seemed attracted to the scabby bits... it was really annoying. The Eagle Scout guy who was collecting money a couple months ago finally got his benches built and installed. They look really nice and they're much more comfortable than the traffic posts we usually sit on. JB thinks he should have used some different joining techniques though.
