Gate Junction Tire Poppers Junction Gate

Really cold this morning... weather station said 27°F at the Summit. Not too foggy though and the streets were kind of sloppy wet. I took the foul weather bike.

This froat definitely had his winter coat on.

My Merckx has been making an unusual creaking sound from the crank (a crink). I figured my BB bearings were going out (ISIS... a known weakness). At the Junction Rick did a little troubleshooting and decided it wasn't the bottom bracket so I checked the binder bolts and found four that needed tightening and one that was completely loose. Fixing that silenced things up nicely.
JB wasn't in the mood for freezing to death so we went down SGR with the intention of doing Tire Poppers or maybe just the Kiosk if it was too cold and then coming back up. At first it was really windy and cold but after a couple miles the sun poked through and felt pretty good. At the Tire Poppers though, JB decided to go around so it was just me and Rick going back up.

Wildlife Encounter: A bunch of turkeys near the bottom of South Gate Road.

Gate-Summit-Gate

I was ready today for super wet fog and pretty cold but it really wasn't that bad. Got an early start and hardly saw any other riders until a few at Junction.

The fog got thicker and thicker as I climbed until I finally rose above it near the Upper Ranch and wow it was truly glorious.

On Summit Road a few roadies passed me and near Muir I saw the first rider descending. I also looked down and saw a lot of trail runners on the paths and fire roads. It got a little windy in some sections but it was pretty good riding the rest of the way to the top.

There were a few hikers and runners and cyclists hanging around at the Summit and there were scores of people coming up as I descended back down.

Money in the shoes for good luck all year.

This carnage was on NGR below the Gate.

I never get over how cool it is to climb out of fog like this.

And suddenly visibility is great and the sky is bluetiful.

Looking down Mitchell Canyon (I think).

This guy had a party hat on but I wasn't quite quick enough to get a good shot.

This guy has been added to the Wall of Ignominy

My favorite shot of the day.

Gate Junction Hole

Started off solo again. Full booties this time along with my other cold weather kit. Not quite freezing and no wind so it was actually pretty nice.


JB caught up and passed me just after Chainbuster. Hardly saw anybody else all day. We decided to go down the South side.

Gate Junction Juniper Gate

Thought I was going to be solo today and started off really slow looking for photos. Serious cold, 33°F at the Summit. Full gear except for booties and neck warmer (should have had the booties)..

I added a little vertical enhancement to this photo I took yesterday. White stuff = snow.

Stopped for a sunrise photo and JB rode up along side me. He got back from a trip earlier than expected.

At the Junction we decided to go up. It kept getting colder.

Dudley Driveby: Descending from Summit Road at Junction with a new pair of cycling tights!

At Juniper the road was closed. Didn't look like any snow was up there... they'll probably open it up later in the afternoon.

Gate Junction SGKiosk Gate

I was expecting frost this morning like we've had the last few days, but it was clear and mostly dry and not intolerably cold.

Rick and I met on NGR and we got started a couple minutes early. Not very many riders today, I think we only saw two on the whole way up. Sun got pretty strong around the Bump but it was still cold. Hard to believe we had a post-ride Jamba just a few weeks ago.

There were a few more riders at the Junction, but no big groups. We went down SGR and it was a lot windier and wet over there - we almost felt like a paper airplane in some places. We saw some big groups of tent campers too; that must have been a cold night. We turned around at the kiosk and rode back to Junction.

Just below Junction I got this photo of an old tree that had been partly sawed off and partly broken off, wonder what the story there is.

Rick kept on climbing and I went down NGR.

From Upper Washout on North Gate Road you can see South Gate Road along the ridge up their at the top.

The rest of the way down NGR was slow because of the headwind... no speed records today.

Dudley Driveby: Blue Oak Speedway (according to a text message from Rick)

For today's nature lesson we have:

The California Coffeeberry Bush - you'll see a lot of these - those berries look like coffee beans and aren't poisonous but not very good tasting either. Indians used to use them to make face paint though.



The California Buckeye - the tree in winter has no leaves at all and it drops these giant chestnut-looking things (size of a small apple) on the ground. The wood of the California Buckeye is supposedly one of your better choices if you ever have to start a fire using the rubbing sticks together method.

Gate-Junction-Tire Poppers-Gate

Woke up to wet thick fog; low visibility and dripping trees. I grabbed Eddy and pumped him up.

Came upon JB and Rick on NGR; JB was fixing a flat. He has a new technique of putting a stem nut on the inside of his rim and another on the outside so that the tube/valve joing will ostensibly experience no wiggling forces from the pump. I remain skeptical as always about such things.

Rick said he was sure the fog would break because Pleasanton was clear and the fog was local to Walnut Creek. He was right, when we came up around Penny Lane everything suddenly changed - clear, bright, and really warm. I took off my gloves and unzipped my jacket.



It was also crazy windy in some sections - I was out of the saddle just trying to keep forward motion.

We only saw a couple riders on North Gate but there were a bunch of people at the Junction. This guy pulled the classic "slow motion topple stuck in toeclips" maneuver, and took down the guy next to him as well. I decided to immortalize his embarassment with a blog photo.



Then down to the Tire Poppers. SGR was a completely different world than NGR. It was clear and bright and warm and not windy, and there were dozens of riders. I did a quick turnaround and got a head start on JB and Rick and managed to stay ahead until about the Kiosk.

Ride back down NGR was a slow because the wind was still quite strong. Still fun but you have to know what to expect.

Gate-Junction-Tire Poppers-Gate

Cold - coldest ride of the season so far.

Late start, Rick's car wasn't there, rock on the post, JB ahead.

On the shifting soap opera, after last week's almost perfect performance this week was diappointing. Pulled over near Moss Landing and fiddled and futzed and it didn't do too much good. The second-biggest 24t is the worst but it can happen in any gear. 27t is the safest but that's supposed to be my give-up gear!

Wildlife Encounter: big flock of Turkeys at the Cold Shoulder.

So JB was at the Junction. We shot a little breeze and then he went to a Hawkeye football party. I decided to do the Tire Poppers and back up.

Sometimes cold air is the clearest.

.

So cruising back down NGR I'm really enjoying myself and thinking I'll do a little Dips sprint even without Rick's lead out and I honk out a good one when this dude dinks his little bell at me to pull over and he came around me so fast I barely had time to get my camera out when I recognized him.

Dudley

Gate-Junction-Summit

Wasn't sure about the weather this morning; went with tights over shorts and short sleeves over a T-shirt. JB and Rick were at the Gate and we took off.

We chased the two riders in front of us most of the way up.


There was a wind storm last night and lots of branches were down.

Including this big one near the Bottom of the Bump.

At the Junction Rick asked what was next. What I was hoping for was anything but the Summit but if I said that out loud it'd be the Summit for sure so I didn't say anything and it was Summit anyway. I took off my tights and rolled them up and stuck them in my jersey pocket. It was really getting warm.

We took it pretty easy on Summit Road.

Dudley Driveby: in the Blue Oak Speedway. First sighting in several rides.

I took a preparation lap around the Lower Parking Lot before I started up the Wall; I usually need that extra bit of courage from my suitcase.

Rick and I found these cool helmet decorations.

And here's a shot of JB just to be inclusive.

It was surprisingly clear at the Summit. We could see snow on the Sierras, the GG Bridge, and even the Farallon Islands.

It doesn't look that great in the photos of course.

In case you need some help finding them.

And here's a shot with a little digital enhancement.



Warm enough for a cold smoothie.



X-mas decorations out already in the Countrywood parking lot.

On Thursday the Save Mount Diablo staff threw a thank you party for us Diablo Challenge volunteers. Great bunch of folks.

Gate-Wall-Hole

Coldest day of the season so far. No one at the Gate so I left solo. Didn't see anyone else climbing but about three guys coming down, none of whom were Dudley.

Near Chainbuster I saw JB down below.

Wildlife Encounter: Coyote near the Ranger House - a big fluffy one.

At Junction, Moss and his FIL appeared too.

JB and I decided to do SGR and then I decided I didn't have the motivation to do Blackhawk so we went through the Hole.

It was a bad season for fires but Diablo was mostly spared.

Check the My Videos link on the sidebar for my newest production.