Diablo Junction plus South Gate Road 32 miles

The forecast today was for rain increasing throughout the day so I figured I’d at least get sprinkled on. Had my foul weather gear ready and was looking forward to riding my steel Eddy Merckx: the Belgian Beast (I gotta think of a better nickname for that bike – it’s really a sweet ride).

The droplets started dropping the INSTANT I rolled out of the garage. Heavy drizzle describes the rest of the ride to the Gate where I met JB. The ride up to Junction was a lot drier and completely noncompetitive. We discussed politics, work, and the weather.

Wildlife Encounter: A group of three coyotes near the Lower Ranch. One was rolling on his back like a puppy in the gravel next to the road until he heard us coming – then all three disappeared into the weeds.

There were a respectable number of other dedicated riders this morning. We saw two coming down on our ascent, and three coming up South Gate at the Junction. Also quite a few hikers, joggers, and other outdoorsy types.

So we decided to go down to the hole in the fence. Took things slowly because these first few rains of the season make the roads really slippery, but it was a lot of fun and the rain was still very light. When we got to Danville though the rain got thicker and the roads were soaked. JB was on his touring bike with the fenders so he wasn’t throwing up too much of a rooster tail and he didn’t want to ride in my wake so we were side by side whenever it was safe, and I was a few bike lengths behind him the rest of the time.

We skipped Danville Blvd and worked our way through some country club neighborhoods to the south side of Walnut Creek where we got on the Iron Horse Trail.

I was good and soaked by the time I got home and it felt like a good kickoff to the winter riding season.