2015 SMR 29

STILL fighting my cold.

Really humid this morning,and the sky was dark... it couldn't rain though, could it?

It rained, but it wasn't really like rain, it was like water droplets just floating in the air waiting to stick to me when I hit them.

Also stuck to my camera lens.

Lots of riders though - not deterred by a little wetness.

Lot of flat tires too.

No ride for me on Wednesday - I got tickets to the theater!

Birthday present from Diablo Wife.

2015 WNR 19

Colleague MIKE from our Sacramento office joined us tonight.  

I launched an early attack, knowing it wouldn't last, but I wanted Mike to feel free to do his own ride rather than be social.  Attack lasted about a half-mile and then I pooped out and never recovered.

Everybody passed me before the Bump.

My cold is still about 20% destructful - lots of coughing and snot.

Sunset is really making visibility hard in some places.

Tarantula Tally:  TWO

2015 SMR 28

Still battling a heck of a head cold... didn't make it past Junction, but I RODE!

Tarantula Tally:  ONE.

HEY!!  Who are these guys with matching white Mount Diablo jerseys that I've never seen before?

There were 10-15 of them.

The jerseys are the same as the official green ones, except WHITE... 

Well, I guess that's a thing now.  Whaddaya know?

LINK

This guy was fast in the corners but his top end was weak.

2015 WNR 18

I've been battling a head and chest cold for the last week and didn't have any stamina today - went for an interval going into Bump but it didn't last long and then I was gasping and hacking for the next half mile.

Diablo Shoutout to Punkin Jay who sends along these photos he took of your humble fietsblogger doing his thing.

Wildlife Encounter:  HUGE herd of turkeys at Chainbuster.

2015 WNR 17

Not too hot, lots of riders.  I hint that Hari might benefit from a new bike, but he's having fun and making do.

 

Wildlife Encounter:  Turkeys at Chainbuster

Kevin put on his spiffy new blue tires.

Tarantula Tally:  one crawler near the washout.

 

I really need to find a big event to do before the end of the season.

 

No ride Saturday - I'm going to VeganCon in Santa Rosa

Pinole Bakery Ride with TEAM ClubSport

At least four of the riders today were Triple Crown royalty... that was about 10% of the group.

Lots of fun... click to verify.

Pinole Bakery from Diablo Scott on Vimeo.

Hey - sign the petition for no passing zones on blind corners!

PETITION

2015 WNR 16

Evan forgot his bike today... brought all his clothes and gear and forgot his bike.  I offered him my loaner and first he said "sure, great", then he backed out.  Said "If I forgot my bike, I must be sleep deprived... I should go home and go to bed early."

Charlie said his wheels felt funny.

Tarantula Tally:  ONE - near the Boundary Gate

Shawn's been riding a lot and I think he PB'ed today.  I take some credit for coaching him.

Yeah... I'm dropping you slackers.

Me and Kevin planned to do an interval on Segment 5... he had way more than I did.

Way too much BS'ing at Junction.

Kevin went hard from the Bump and then flatted at the Ranger House.  Needed a tire boot and Charlie taught him the dollar bill trick... except with a $20.

I followed Kevin down in case his tire gave him a problem.

New Century - you should totally sign up!!!!  Supports veteran programs.  Alternate to Foxy's on the same day... harder and prettier - includes Patterson Pass and Mines Rd.   http://cycling4veterans.com/

2015 SMR 27

Missed Wednesday Night's Ride, because HOT.  That's the first time this year that I didn't ride because of the weather.

Last week I was spotted on my way home by Blog Reader "Big D" who will now be enjoying his celebrity status from my posting his photo.

Big D

This guy has been a Saturday Morning Regular for a couple months now, so I decided to introduce myself.  His name is Bharat and he rides a flat-bar Trek... look for him and say "hi".  Welcome to the Diablorati, buddy.

Bharat

A little windy on NGR, but calm and warm on Summit Road.

There were a whole bunch of these "M-360" riders on The Mountain this morning - apparently some kind of church club / charity ride combo.
http://www.horizonweb.org/m360/

M-360

Rider Jim from my health club team happened upon us on Summit Road, just in time to catch this deer dart across the road.  Close call.

Jim, JB, and Deer

And THEN, just before the Lower Parking Lot, a RATTLE SNAKE squirmed in front of me.  I shouted out to JB because he crashed once when he ran over a snake, but he didn't hear and almost ran over it anyway.

Rattler

100% click-worthy...

Deer and Snake from Diablo Scott on Vimeo.

2015 SMR 26

Little windy at the lower elevations.  PG&E had some helicopter operation going on with road blocks and everything.

No sign of any fires though.

Zoom in for helicopter shot.

Wildlife Encounter:  deer at the vineyards.

At the Junction I met Alan - with the Mount Diablo Cyclists advocacy group - they're the folks who got the "don't pass around blind turns" signs up.  He says there's an auto-bike collision on the Mountain every two weeks.  Now he's trying to get no passing zones and double yellow lines at the appropriate spots and he had a petition that I signed.  Pretty much everyone else there signed it too.  Alan seemed to have a very good understanding of how to actually get this done so I am optimistic and may get personally involved as well.

They don't appear to have a web page but there is a Facebook page where people post videos of close calls and stupid drivers, etc.

FacebookLink  Tell them Diablo Scott sent you.

Alan

 Wind died out above Junction and it was very nice riding.

This is the "one mile to go" stump....
just below Devil's Elbow

DUDES!!!!  This is one way UP!!!

Gotta get home to watch the Alpe d'Huez Stage

2015 WNR 15

Went hard for a less mediocre time.

Wildlife Encounter:  Jackrabbit

Wind... that's my excuse.

I figure about 9 more Wednesday Night Rides left in 2015 - barring injury.

2015 SMR 25

On Diablo it was 70 degrees, on top of that a nice breeze.  Made the riding quite splendid and too quickly ended; I'll take more days just like this one please.

At the Summit I watched a rider do THREE repeats of the Wall - she started up just before me and got to the Upper Lot before I did and then while I was up there I saw her come up a second time and some guy shouted out to her "Once is not enough???" and she responded "Nope, and I'm doing one more"  She looked more like an outdoor fitness junkie than a classic cyclist, but wow.  Then she said riding up three times made her appreciate how easy it is to only do it once.

What's wrong with this photo?
Rider's face hidden to spare him the
 embarassment of being shamed on my blog.

And just for fun, from Wednesday's ride... because this was amazing...

Passed By Metcalf from Diablo Scott on Vimeo.