Diablo Junction plus South Gate Road to Danville – 33 miles

Thursday and Friday are work holidays so a good opportunity for bike riding. Everyone except JB and me had Christmas activities planned though, so it was just us two this morning. It was cold and windy but not foggy. A couple guys rolled up at the same time as JB and while we were getting set they started ahead of us. We got going just a little bit later and we kept them in sight for four miles. Finally at 2 miles to go I jumped and passed them both quickly, but the INSTANT I came around them a killer headwind came up so I had to really grit my teeth and grind to keep going. Things got a little easier after Chainbuster and I did keep my lead the rest of the way to the Junction but it wasn’t fun. JB made the move too and came in ahead of the other two guys by a little bit.

At the Junction JB decided he’d had enough. I called the Mt. Diablo info line and the recording said the winds at the Summit were 13 to 39 mph! So I decided South Gate would make a better ride and we split up.
It was one of those dicey white-knuckled descents down to Danville, with strong gusts of wind that were trying to blow me into the ditch but I played it safe and made it down in one piece. Then it was a long time trial back to Walnut Creek on Danville Blvd.

Diablo to Muir Picnic Area – 28 miles

My first real ride in three weeks! Nicole talked everyone into an 8:30 start time this morning, but I got there at 8 anyway and rode to the top of the Bump nice and easy just to be riding. It was *really* foggy and the road was wet with condensation. On the way back down I came across Peter and invited him to start over with us, and he did. When we both got to the Gate, Rick and Nicole were just starting out so we timed it perfectly even though JB wasn’t there yet.

Peter was the friskiest and he started to push us a little bit so we rode away from Nicole but the three of us stayed together the rest of the way. The fog broke at Chainbuster and it was suddenly very warm. The thermometer at the Junction said 68°F. JB showed up shortly after that and we all stripped off our winter duds and went on up Summit Road. I completely ran out of energy past Juniper though – not exhausted, just out of gas and I pulled off at Muir Picnic Area. I even felt a little bit shaky. First time I’ve abandoned a ride in a LONG time. Turns out I'm coming down with a booty-kicking head cold... that must have been why I felt so weak.

On the way home I came around the roundabout at Walnut and Oak Grove just as a kid on a motorized scooter came from the other side. I took the lead and then made sure he wasn’t going to catch me, but I still was feeling kind of weak. At every stop light I had to slow down for the signal change and the kid got closer. I had no trouble staying in front but I couldn’t lose him altogether. Finally I had a long red light at Ygnacio and he pulled up next to me and expressed surprise that I could ride faster than his scooter. I think he thought that was a compliment but he was just so clueless it didn’t mean anything.

Diablo Junction plus Southgate Hole in the Fence, 30 miles

Peter, JB, and I met at the Gate. It was cool and very windy this morning, definitely in the top 10 or so of windy North Gate rides. It got more windy around every bend it seemed, and the winds were strong and gusty. Fortunately there was a strong tailwind going up the Bump so that was fun. Near the Lower Ranch I started to fall off the viscous pace Peter was setting so they got ahead of me. Honestly it was sometimes more effort just to stay upright than it was climbing in elevation. Coming around Son of Chainbuster was like running into a wall. Junction time: 51 minutes.

Our plan was to go down South Gate to meet Rick and Nicole for some flat riding and coffee. Descending in those crosswinds was treacherous. I felt like a dog on a leash and mother nature was yanking on my handlebars trying to get me to go some other direction but I managed to stay vertical and on the road... but just barely a couple of times.

We met up with R&N in the country club area and went for coffee at Cherubini’s in Alamo. I think it should be spelled Cerubini and they should have better bike racks, but the latti are good.

The end.

Diablo Junction plus Southgate Hole in the Fence, 29 miles

They were forecasting rain all night, expecting it to end sometime this morning. I was glad to see that it was all over by 7am and the skies were clear but the streets were still wet. I dressed for cold and rode Eddy to the Gate. I passed a woman with a UCSC outfit on just before the Gate and I recognized her from some other rides this year; she was wearing shorts and her legs were cherry red from the cold. JB and Rick met me at the Gate and we started off right away. We rode with UCSC woman for a while and chatted; she said it was her first Diablo ride after her recent knee surgery, and she was hoping to do the Summit. We rode away from her and wished her well.

It was nice riding up well past the Bump but we could see that the higher elevations were enveloped with dark clouds. Near the ranches the wind was quite strong and I let Rick and JB pull ahead. With three miles to go I was at 23 minutes and I figured I would finish in about 46 – turned out to be 48.

At the Junction we found Peter who was coming down from the Summit. Then UCSC woman rode up and declared that her ride was over at that point. JB, Rick, and I went down South Gate to the hole in the fence. Back behind the golf course I suggested to JB that we switch bikes since we both had SPD pedals. He agreed and we did a quick swap. I rode the Rivendell Atlantis for the next 8 miles and here’s my review:

The high handlebar position is really interesting. It was totally comfortable in the hooks and it felt a little odd to be on the hoods, even odder out of the saddle. The ride was remarkably smooth but I think most of that was the Phil Wood hubs. Even the Brooks saddle was comfortable and I am not one of those guys who “needs” a Brooks, it just felt like the kind of saddle that someone who sits on it for long hours would appreciate. You don’t really notice the extra weight of the heavy bike on the flats, but you certainly would on a long climb. I would definitely like to have a bike like this for cycle touring or for Paris-Brest-Paris (HA! Like that’ll ever happen.) I would go for wide handlebars and STI though instead of the barcons and non-aero brake levers that JB uses; there were just way too many cables interfering with hand positions the way he has it set up.

At the south side of Walnut Creek we decided to check out the construction site where a large explosion made the news last week. They still haven’t opened up the street but there was an overpass that we climbed up to investigate. Not really too much to see but it helped bring the whole thing into perspective.

Back on Eddy after the bike exchange again and I realized how quickly I had gotten used to that high bar position – Eddy felt like a track pursuit bike compared to the Atlantis. Maybe I’ll look into one of those stem extenders?

Diablo Junction plus Blackhawk 38 miles

JB, Rick, Peter, and I started from the Gate at 8 o’clock. It was cold but dry and we were all of a similar attitude to today’s ride: off season training.

I don’t think we saw anyone descending on North Gate Road. We did pass one woman who looked like she was a beginning triathlete; she had the bike for it and she was underdressed but was riding well. I hope she gets some tights and a jacket for next time.

We all got to the Junction together and we watched a few folks roll up from the South. The Junction Ranger Station has a display window where they have some exhibits about wildlife on Diablo, appeals not to litter, results from the Diablo Challenge, etc. But today they had a new display that showed an ad from VeloNews (I scanned this photo from my October Pro Cycling). It was a 2-page spread for PowerBar sports drinks and it showed the WebCor team on a mountain road with a quote from Chris Horner that says “There’s a point in the race, when if I need to, I can shift into a gear that’s not found on any bike.” Anyway, the display at the Junction had some posted notes that said “RECOGNIZE THIS TURN? HINT: IGNORE THE EASTERN SIERRA BACKGROUND.” It was Son of Chainbuster! Take a look! For those of you unfamiliar with the nomenclature, Son of Chainbuster is a sharp right hairpin (on the ascent) about a mile and a quarter below Junction. Recognize it now? There was also a picture of the team and the photo crew on Mt. Diablo as proof they were there.

Then Rick and I went down South Gate where we saw quite a few more riders coming up. Then we turned left to Blackhawk and did some good speed work. My legs felt good but didn’t have any snap in them so we rode fast but didn’t do any sprints. It’s all good.

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.

Diablo Summit 32 miles

It wasn’t supposed to be TOO cold this morning, so it wasn’t hard to convince myself to leave the arm warmers and tights in the drawer. I did wear my mesh undershirt but that was my only concession to the weather.

Rick was at the Gate when I got there and JB rolled up a few minutes later. We each discussed the post season lack of motivation so I figured we were in for a relaxed ride. Rick said he wanted to do a Summit ride but had to go home without the usual après ride coffee. JB had to be at a sports pub for a Hawkeye game so he was only doing the Junction.

It was fairly warm at the lower elevations but we soon rode into a thick layer of fog. The fog was unusually dry; there was no dripping from the trees or condensation on the pavement, but it was cold and breezy. Rick and I worked it a little harder past the Bump and JB started to fade. Then finally, near Chainbuster I pushed it to about 90% all the way to Junction and finished in 40m38s, about 30 seconds ahead of Rick.

The fog was still thick at the Junction so JB turned down and Rick and I went up after a short break. We were near Juniper when we finally poked up over the cloud layer. The view was something like you see out of a jet window – looking down over the tops of the clouds.

Uneventful, uncompetitive ride the rest of the way to the Summit. A nice autumn morning, but next week I’m bringing my long finger gloves; the long trip down through the fog required a lot of braking with cold knuckles.

Happy 10th birthday to my wonderful greyhound Oberon! A washout at the race track; a champion as a family pet.

Diablo Summit, 16 miles

No Nicole this evening – she has too much school work.
No JB either – he decided to watch the candidates’ debate.
No Adam – lame excuse about air quality.
Robin started early – needs to do some shopping afterwards.
Jeff got there before I did – parked in the same place.

So I took off, feeling pretty good, figured I’d ride hard until I caught Jeff. The air was thick and warm and dry; there’s a fire burning in Napa county and there was just enough smoke in the air to sting the nose and throat a bit. Diablo is under “red flag alert” for fires but they didn’t close the park.

Wildlife Encounter : A pack of six black-tailed deer neer Little Pine Creek, running in that graceful jumping way that deer do.

Caught Jeff about a half mile below the Bump and then rode at his pace the rest of the way up. He’s already starting to plan for next year’s Tour de Cure so we talked a little bit about that. Came across a guy right at the bottom of the Bump on the side of the road with some kind of mechanical problem but he declined our offer of assistance. Jeff rode a little harder than he probably would have if I hadn’t caught him but I think he enjoyed it anyway.

Past Chainbuster we saw Robin coming down, leading the whole group of Diablo Cyclists who had regrouped at the Junction. We had a great view of the sunset from that last stretch near the Ranger House, then we spend about three minutes at the Junction and turned down hill. By the time we got down it was past dusk and I recall thinking that the whole ride felt like it was the last Wednesday ride of the year.

Diablo Junction 16 miles

Adam, JB, Jeff, and I all grouped up at the church. Jeff's plan was to ride up to the Dumpster Gate and then take the mountain bike trails with Edgardo (who wasn't there yet) so we left him at the Gate.

Nicole had an early start, or else we were late because we saw her car parked in the usual spot. Adam and I decided to do an easy ride, just a little faster than JB. It was warm and calm and we talked and rode easily.

I started doing some big gear/low cadence drills and Adam figured out right away what I was doing and gave me some pointers. He said to keep the cadence below 60 and to keep my heartrate well below anaerobic. He knows about this stuff so I listened to him and tried to just concentrate on an even stroke and smooth power while staying in the saddle. He also said that kind of riding suits my physical build because I have strong legs that probably can produce more power at a lower cadence and I think he's right because I used that style on some recent rides with great times. I didn't have the motivation however, to keep it up all the way to the Junction so I slacked off the last couple miles and he got bored and finished well ahead of me. Junction time: 41m45s. We passed Nicole near the Upper Ranch so she got to the Junction not too long after we did. No time for conversation - we all started down to beat the sunset and went home.

Bonus Post

Just heard from Nicole – Rick did the Diablo Challenge in 63m51s which was 58 seconds faster than last year’s time. Congrats Rick! He hoped to beat last year’s time by two minutes but this was certainly a great ride. He had great weather too. He said some guy got to the top of the wall, fell over without unclipping from his pedals, and puked! What a trooper! That guy gave literally 101% but held off on hurling until after he crested the top. HAZZAH! Except for not unclipping beforehand, he has nothing to be embarrassed about.

Also, my e-mail box filled up with spam last week, so if you sent me an e-mail and I didn’t respond, it means I didn’t get it. I respond to ALL fanmail… Resend please.

R.
Diablo Scott

Diablo Summit 32 miles

This morning was the coldest morning in a long time. I had my vest and arm warmers on and it felt good.

I knew Rick wasn’t coming but I thought Nicole was. When I saw the rock on the post I knew JB had already started up (must have been pretty early). I rode up a way to keep warm and then came back down to see if Nicole had shown up. At 8:15 she hadn’t so I started up solo.

I decided I wanted to do a fairly easy ride, probably to the Summit but I hadn’t committed. A group of about 8 guys had just started and I caught up to one of them pretty quickly. He admired my bike so I liked him right away, but then he started making excuses about how slow he was so I moved on. As I passed each one of them I said something pleasant and I was still going very easy.

Wildlife Encounter: A deer with antlers in the ditch near the double dips, one tarantula, and one coyote way down by the Gate.

I was just enjoying the early morning air and the views and going easy. Then at Chainbuster I saw JB coming down and we said “hi” to each other but he didn’t turn around. Junction time: 42m30s. I waited around for a while, half expecting Nicole to show up but she never did. I chatted with some of the other people who were coming in from both sides – it seemed like all the riders today were less serious folks… maybe all the fast ones are saving it for the Diablo Challenge tomorrow. The group of eight though were talking excitedly with each other about their own little competitions with each other and with a few others they encountered on the way up - that sounded so familiar from my own early days on the Mountain. Then suddenly, Peter showed up and we decided to Summit together and he agreed we would take it easy.

It was a little windier up high but the sun was warmer too. I pulled my arm warmers down around my wrists and fancied myself a spring classics rider again. I told Peter he was going faster than he agreed to, so he slowed down and we truly did do an easy pace the rest of the way. At the Wall I thought I’d even stay seated as long as possible, and surprised myself when I made it the whole way without getting out of the saddle! I keep emphasizing how easy this ride was because my Summit time was 79 minutes. That makes only a 7 minute difference between a great ride (72 minutes last week) and an easy ride; that MUST be a sign of good conditioning.

I’m still hoping to get my unsupported fall century organized.

My goal over the winter is to hang on to most of that fitness while backing off on the intensity.

Diablo Junction, 16 miles

The Wednesday after work rides are getting decidedly less competitive now that the cooler weather and early sunsets are upon us. Robin came with her new Time pedals and some spiffy cycling clothes but still couldn’t get her bike computer to work so she doesn’t know for sure how fast she is. Tiffany and Cindy rode most of the way together but Cindy beat her in the final sprint by about four bike lengths. Nicole rode her own pace and finished last but she wasn’t coughing at the end so that’s good.

JB, Adam, and I rode together at conversational speed. We paused every time we passed anyone we knew and had a little chat before moving on. After Chainbuster, Adam started to ride a little harder and we lost JB but I stayed in Adam’s draft until the Ranger House. Then I gifted Adam the win since he had been towing me for the last mile or so.

Lots more riders coming down than going up. The road can be pretty hard to see when the sun is low on the horizon and right in your eyes so descending is best done carefully.

I’m getting pressured to organize another unsupported fall century… it would probably be tricky to get everyone’s schedule to merge but it would sure be fun to do again.

Diablo Summit 32 miles

Got to the Gate a little early this morning. Peter was there and we discussed hurricanes and blood doping until JB and Rick rode up a little while later. This is Rick’s last Saturday ride before the Diablo Challenge. He’s trying to peak for next Sunday and he took some vacation time to do some extra hard rides but today he was kind of tired. We decided to do a no-stop-‘til-the-top ride again, but not at race pace. JB said “Hey, this is like the old days when no one got dropped until after The Bump”.

Wildlife Encounter: Lots of little snakes warming up on the road, and lots of tarantulas as well.

After The Bump, Peter and I found ourselves riding in front with a gap and I rode at his pace all the way to the Junction. No sprint and our time was 39m38s; not bad for what felt like a pretty easy ride. I stopped my stopwatch function for a few minutes while we circled the parking lot waiting for JB and Rick got there and then we headed up Summit Road.

This time JB fell off the pace first, then Rick, and then Peter rode away from me too at the steep bit just past Juniper. At first I thought if I let him get a little gap he’d slow down a bit but instead he speeded up and the gap got bigger. I don’t usually track my Summit time to the second, but today’s was 71m50s so I’m pretty sure that’s a PB and good enough that I would have beaten 70 minutes on the Challenge if I were so inclined.

There was some kind of foot race up Mitchell Canyon and the runners had to climb the stairs all the way to the top of the Visitor’s Center and go back down, and there was also some kind of school event at the Summit so there were lots of cars in the parking lot. We decided to get out of there before it got crazy.

Rick bought Jamba Juice for me and Peter to celebrate his PB on Wednesday.

Diablo Junction - 22 miles

I was thinking that after the Hurl Ride last week, the season was pretty much over and Wednesday night rides (the few that remain) would be much less competitive. Two factors changed that though - Rick was taking time off from work so he came tonight (and he's still training for the Diablo Challenge), and Eric wasn't here last week so he was having his own little Hurl Ride. Nicole, Cindy, Adam, and JB were also there. Rick just replaced most of the components in his drivetrain; chainrings, cassette, derailleurs and brifters because he was having shifting problems; looks nice and seems to work much better now.

It was a beautiful night, warm and still. Adam decided he could "help" Rick by riding him into half-wheel hell, but it didn't seem like we were going fast enough for a super great time so I figured Rick just wanted to do a normal ride. But before long it started to heat up and I was working much harder than I wanted to. By the top of the Bump Adam and Rick were about 20 seconds ahead of me and I decided to let them stay away, but I didn't exactly turn it off either.

Seemed to have a pretty good time by the 3mtg point and I figured a 38 minute ride was in the works. We all started to pass people in this period, some I knew and some I hadn't seen before. There was one guy with a loose Hawaiian shirt who looked strong but squirrelly; he fought and fought to keep up with Adam and Rick but finally pooped out. Then I saw Eric coming down - he had started up about 4:30 and I convinced him to turn around and come back up with us. He was rested from having finished his ride quite a while ago so for a while he was pushing me hard! But then with 1mtg I put my head down and rode away from him, then I passed Hawaiian shirt guy and another guy, and crossed the line in 37m47s.

Rick PB'ed with a 36m54s. Eric also PB'ed (from the 4:30 ride) with a 40m05s. JB was somewhere around 42m. Turns out Eric and the Hawaiian shirt guy had ridden together before and sort of knew each other. Hawaiian shirt guy bought his bike during the Tour de France and has been riding up Diablo almost every day since then - he just hasn't gotten around to buying a jersey or bike shorts yet. He'll be a strong rider when he develops a little more suplesse.

Sun is very low on the horizon on the way down.

Wildlife Encounter: Two tarantulas on the prowl.

Diablo Bump de Bump – 37 miles

Today’s players: Rick, Nicole, Peter, JB, and me. We started pretty easy and early on I suggested to Rick that we go easy to the Junction, then go down South Gate Road to the Athenian School so he could get a good split for the Diablo Challenge. He agreed and Peter liked the idea also.

Nicole was off the back once we got past the double dips. The rest of us stayed together at a moderate pace and discussed the cold and the fog and the San Francisco Grand Prix. At the Upper Washout we were about 3 minutes slower than my PB pace from Wednesday; I noted that for the record but no one was really interested. Even though we were still at a conversational pace JB started to lose contact with Peter, Rick, and me.

I didn’t start to push until we got to Chainbuster and even then I didn’t think it was that fast but I rode away from Peter and Rick for a 40m51s Junction time. We all re-grouped at the Junction and Nicole got there too before we left so we told her about our idea and made plans to meet her again at Mia Café. JB turned around too and Rick, Peter, and I went down SGR. We were sweaty from the ride up, but it was still foggy so the ride down to the bottom was COLD!

Down at the school, Rick explained how the start of the Challenge is organized and where the actual start line is. We synchronized our stopwatches and launched our assault. It’s exactly a mile from the start line to the Boundary Gate but I haven’t kept track of my South Gate times very well. That first mile went by in 4m24s.

Comment: They have REALLY got to fix Diablo View Road – it’s in terrible shape.

From the Boundary Gate up, it’s called South Gate Road, it’s owned by the State Park system, and it’s in much better condition. Rick and I were pushing harder than Peter wanted to go so we opened up a pretty big gap. Just before the kiosk, a guy in a Peloton Pale Ale jersey with a red Cannondale passed us pretty handily. After the kiosk, Rick and I chased him down and I rode wheel to wheel with him for a while at a great speed. When we came to a place requiring an out-of-the-saddle push though, my quads melted and Cannondale dude dusted me. I still rode my own race pace and finished in 33m54s. Rick wasn’t far behind me this time and he claimed that 34 minutes is a 38 minute pace up North Gate and that sounds about right going by how it felt… maybe 39. Anyway, 34 minutes plus our 33 minute Summit split last week would give a 67 minute Diablo Challenge time and that would be plenty impressive.

I ain’t paying $50 to do it though. I’d rather get a new pair of bibs or something.

Diablo Junction 23 miles
2004 Hurl Ride No. 2

The long-anticipated second Hurl Ride of the year has arrived. Adam arranged everything but we didn’t have nearly the turn out that we did in April. I’ve been away on a business trip and due to some airline SNAFU’s I didn’t get home until 1:30 this afternoon so I didn’t even go in to work. I ate a big breakfast in Phoenix, a normal lunch at home with my family, I had jet lag and felt rotten from being on a plane, but I was going to give it my best shot.

Adam assigned everyone their handicap and start times so that we’d all finish pretty close to 6:30. Edgardo insisted his goal would be 69 minutes (gotta know Ed to appreciate this one) so he was gone before anyone else showed up. I got to ride from home and I saw Nicole, and Amanda with her new bike – a Trek hybrid and a HUGE upgrade from the borrowed POS she had been using a few months ago; they were both going for 60 minutes so they left the Gate at 5:30. Tiffany has been riding well, and her goal was 45 minutes for a PB. JB’s been getting faster recently and left at 5:52 hoping for a 38 minute ride. Adam had me down for a 35m35s which was 16 seconds faster than my PB of 35m51s set only a few weeks ago – as I said, I didn’t think it was going to happen based on how I felt, but mentally I was prepared to give it everything so I set off at 5:54:25. Adam was going for that uber-elusive 30 minute ride and his own PB.

I started out exactly on time, but didn’t realize that I hadn’t started the stopwatch on my heart rate monitor until after a mile or so – I still had the stopwatch on my bike computer but I wouldn’t be able to freeze the split times for later. I went fast but didn’t sprint and didn’t even get out of the saddle until the top of the Bump where I wanted get my cadence back up as soon as possible. Seemed like it was going very well and I was feeling better but when I saw 17m30s with 3 miles to go I allowed myself to think this could be close. I still hadn’t seen any of the riders in front of me, which is good because it meant everyone else was also riding well and we’d finish at nearly the same time.

I was too focused to crunch numbers but 17.5 plus 18 minutes for the last three puts me in PB territory and I’ve done the last three in less than 18 before. I stayed focused and tried to stay efficient. Near the Upper Ranch I finally passed Nicole and Amanda. I said to them “You guys don’t look like you’re pushing it” and Amanda said “Push this”… that was worth a good chuckle, but then I got back to being focused.

Coming around Big Shady Oak with a mile to go I saw Tiffany on the final stretch – good for her, she should just about make her handicap. But I didn’t see JB and I assumed he’d sand bagged his handicap again and was riding a sub 35 time. With four hundred meters to go, I finally decided it was time to accept a higher level of pain so I completely zoned out and suffered my way to the line.

New PB: 35m46s. Five seconds better than my PB from a couple weeks ago, only eleven seconds slower than the goal Adam had set for me. It was an awesome ride and it’s gonna stand for a while because I am *not* doing that again any time soon.

Turns out JB was after Tiffany but somehow I didn’t see him. Adam came in at 33 minutes – he said he would have been even slower except he couldn’t allow me to have a faster time than him. Nicole and Amanda came in well over an hour – Nicole says she just doesn’t have the drive to push herself to a faster time and well, that’s OK I guess; not everyone has to think the same about riding.

San Francisco Grand Prix – Race Report
AKA the T-Mobile International

My daughter and I took BART into the City this morning – first one left at 7:50am from Orinda so we got to Embarcadero about 8:30. Scored some great schwag from the Expo and bought a pound of Jittery Joe’s coffee just because I like their whole team concept and they ride Kleins. Also got a poster of Dede Barry, the USA Olympic silver medalist from the T-Mobile team – I was hoping to get an autograph too but I couldn’t find her after the race… I told my daughter the poster was for her (ha!).

Then we got in a position to watch the last couple laps of the women’s race; about 100 meters past the start/finish line, and THERE WAS PHIL LIGGETT!!!! He was in the announcer’s booth with John Eustice and some other local guy with TV cameras and everything. I gave him an excited wave and he returned it with equal enthusiasm; what a pleasant chap.

So daughter and I made a lot of noise every time the girls came by and on the last little finishing circuit Nicole Cooke looked like she was putting it away and sure enough finished well clear of the second place rider. Then as she rolled by where we were, I shouted out to her “THREE-PEAT” (meaning she should come back and win again next year too) and she looked at me and nodded with a huge grin.

We walked around the Expo some more waiting for the men’s race to start and it was still cold and foggy. After the men went out on their first 9-mile lap we started walking up Broadway and found a good place to sit for a while. The course went both ways on this piece of road so we got to see them climbing the gradual grade, and screaming down the other side. I used my daughter’s sidewalk chalk to write a little protest in the middle of the road, it said: “¿NO VUELTA? SHAME ON OLN!” It’s clearly visible from the helicopter shots on the TV coverage – watch for it!

We walked to the top of Broadway between laps, and then turned on to Columbus which was all barricaded off. The crowd was thicker here and it was harder to see and it was still cold so we ducked into an Italian pastry shop for a hot cocoa and watched the next couple laps. Then we walked to the top of Columbus to watch them come around that corner before we started to head back to Embarcadero.

We saw some bike messengers having races to the top of one of the steepest cul de sacs you’ve ever seen. We scored a scuffed-up water bottle chucked from the peloton. I got really good views of lots of famous riders including FredRod, Levi, CesarG and all the JJ’s, Eki, Georgie, and the Posties, even Magnus B – the heaviest guy in the UCI and winner of Paris-Roubaix this year; the Filmore and Taylor hills must have been torture for him.

By early afternoon it was sunny and warm. We planted ourselves again near the middle of the Broadway stretch and Jason McCartney (a USA Olypian from my home town of Iowa City) had more than a two minute lead on a hard charging peloton. He made a move like this in the Olympic trials and held on to take the solo win. So that was pretty exciting but he blew up and got passed on the very last climb of the race. I was on Embarcadero again when soon-to-be winner Charles Dionne came by very close to us and I yelled to him “SWEET! SWEET!” and he had the biggest grin anyone could wear who’s in as much pain as he must have been. He was shaking his head in disbelief and nodding with euphoria at the same time.

To celebrate the end of the race we went to an outdoor diner called the “Automatic” or something like that. I had a $4 beer and my daughter had a $4 milkshake and some $3 French fries. A wonderful day of bike racing in San Francisco.

Diablo Summit 33 miles

JB, Rick, and me; eight at the Gate. First Saturday in a while that Peter wasn’t there.

We rode a conversational pace until the Bump. JB started to have trouble keeping up past there. On the Upper Washout I asked Rick if he wanted to do a “no stop ‘til the top” ride and he agreed with a smile.

Above Chainbuster we could see JB below and we yelled out to him that we weren’t going to stop at Junction so he wouldn’t think we had gone down South Gate Road.

As Rick and I went past the Ranger House I figured I had to pick it up a little bit and I crossed the line in 40 minutes flat. Then I held back enough that Rick could catch back up and we continued up Summit Road.

I was riding at about 90% but Rick was pretty much at his Diablo Challenge pace so I felt like I was helping him out by pushing him just a little harder than he would have gone by himself. JB must have decided not to summit because we didn’t see him again.

Near Devil’s Elbow we passed a tall guy on a Land Shark talking on his cell phone; I mean he was having an extended conversation, like some salesman in a rental car. So Rick and I passed him up without saying anything but a little while later he hung up and came around us pretty easily but didn’t get too far ahead. When we got to the bottom of the Wall there was one guy about 1/3 of the way up already, then the Land Shark guy, then Rick went up and I gave him a bit of a head start before I went. Then I PASSED ALL THREE OF THEM on my way up! Didn’t plan it that way, in fact I don’t like passing people on the wall, but that was pretty cool to pass three guys who started in front of me on a 17% grade.

Summit time: 73 minutes. Rick said it was his fastest ever time outside of his Diablo Challenge competitions.

Bonus Post!

Didn't get to do the Wednesday after work ride this week because of family responsibilities.

The Blog has a brand new look now, which is mostly good. Blogger.com changed some of their stuff around, and added some features like the "navigation bar" to the top of my page and the old template I was using was getting blown out and hard to read. So after much fiddling about I got it to look like this! There's a new symbol at the end of each post that looks like an envelope with an arrow; that's so you can e-mail the post to someone else… like if you see a product review someone you know might be interested in. The Navigation Bar gives you search capabilities and offers options for other blog sites, or even to get your own blog. The "next blog" button will take you to another blogger site and I have no control over whose you'll get. I had to re-figure out how to put in the "e-mail me" link in the sidebar, and I had to find a new counter because I lost all that stuff when I went to the new template… this blogging business is not for the easily intimidated… you should see some of the HTML code in there! I also was able to set my new counter at ~roughly~ the same number it was at before so I can continue keeping track of all you readers. Since Blog inception I've averaged 13 hits per day! Also I lost my link to "TodoCiclismo.com" which I don't think anybody ever used anyway.

And on another note, Adam came in second place in the Cat 3 Giro di San Francisco on Labor Day. This was the District Championship race so he *almost* made the big time! He got outsmarted at the finish by a 14 year old wunderkind named Collin something who will be a household name one day I'm sure. Adam will be moving up to Cat 2 next year for certain.

Regular ride on Saturday and on Sunday I'm going to the San Francisco Grand Prix (that's the race's true name, even though they keep calling it the T-Mobile International).

Fooey on OLN for not carrying La Vuelta!

Diablo Summit, 33 miles

I was the last one to the Gate this morning – 8:02am. Peter, Rick, and JB were waiting. Eric told us he may show up but we decided not to expect him so we began.

Rick was wearing a skin suit he bought for his Devil Mountain Challenge ride. Last year he got special race wheels (Campagnolo Neutron) to give him an extra edge, this year it’s a skin suit. Kind of interesting, plain blue and black, no pockets, extra long zipper… probably a psychological boost at best but that helps some. His goal for the DMC is 65 minutes, which is a little better than his time last year, bon chance Richard!

We all stayed together at a semi-fast pace until way past the Bump. Peter picked it up there and we lost JB. Around Son of Chainbuster Rick started losing touch but he rejoined a couple times before we got to Chainbuster where I decided to turn on the main engines. My Junction time was 39m13s, well clear of Peter, Rick, and JB in that order with about 2 minute gaps between them.

Lots and lots of riders on the mountain this morning, apparently training for the DMC. Most of them were coming up South Gate which is the race route, but plenty on North Gate as well. JB got a head start up Summit Road while the rest of us dinked around for a few minutes.

The winds got a lot stronger up above 2,000 feet: we compared it to riding in Hurricane Frances which is hitting Florida now. None of us were together past Muir Picnic Area but the gaps weren’t too big and we pretty much finished at the same time. My Summit time: 75 minutes.

Descending was a little sketchy with the strong winds and all the climbing riders. I expected to see some clueless driver in the wrong lane passing a bike rider around every hairpin; it only happened a couple times but I was ready for it. Thirteen years on this mountain and I’m prepared for anything.