Diablo Junction - 23 miles

I left work early and rode my commute bike home, then changed and rode to the Mountain from there. When I went past Countrywood I saw all the Diablo Cyclists getting ready to roll, but I didn't wait for them. I felt pretty good and figured I could put in a hard effort. I got to the Gate a little early and did some stretching. The Diablo Cyclists rode on by but I waited for JB and Adam. Then I saw Adam riding up with his wife Sarah, who's been threatening to come up with us one of these days. So riding with a first-timer sounded more interesting than riding for a fast time and I changed my objective.

Almost perfect weather, just a little windy. I rode a lot of the Mountain in a big gear with slow cadence. Adam and I pointed out all the interesting places along the way. Sarah started to lose her positive attitude after the Bump but we encouraged her and lied about how much easier the rest of the Mountain was and she kept on riding. Adam offered to stop for a while so she could take a rest, but she said it's better not to stop - that was cool. When Adam and I got a little too far ahead, we had a track stand contest while Sarah caught up to us.

JB passed us up a little while later and continued on by himself. Sarah almost gave up near the Upper Ranch, but a little more cheerleading kept her going and she made it to the Junction with a time of about 65 minutes.

A little while after that Jamshid, a friend from the old days, arrived also. Haven't seen him in probably 5 years, so that was nice. He rode with some friends from his current workplace and looked like he enjoyed himself, but would rather be playing soccer.