Bright, calm, and mid-60's... just like me!
No wildlife to speak of - although there were a bunch of people hoping to see tarantellas.
After the last couple weekends of high heat, it was really nice today. The Death Ride is over, the Diablo Challenge is over, Euro pro racing is over... only the Diablo hard-cores remain until next spring.
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| I thought this guy was going to hurl, but he was just stretching. |
We're having a heat wave! Predictions were for 104F by 11am. I started out well-hydrated and packed two frozen bottles.
When I was just about to roll out the door, I noticed one of the adjuster knobs on my shoe was missing the fishing line thing that grabs the hook thing. I thought I could a) ride anyway b) switch to my winter bike with the different shoes c) quit. I opted for (a)... my foot stayed in the shoe OK, but I figured just to be safe, I wouldn't release my mega-power sprint today. So I had two reasons to be slow today - the shoe and the heat. While I was riding along I was thinking to myself how I would repair the shoe. I didn't know if this was something the bike shop might do, or if I could just get a repair kit or something from Amazon or Shimano. Then when I got home I took a closer look and realized the line was still in there but all wrapped up underneath the button. I managed to extract it with a pliers, and save myself a service call.
The Diablo Challenge is tomorrow... it's gonna be even hotter. I'll be watching the results for people I know! There were some big groups riding up today, maybe practicing. One group even had their own SAG wagon.
The roof at the Ranger Shack is done, but they haven't moved back the benches or bike racks yet.
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| This didn't look very safe - an eMTB with a tow rope tied to his kid's bike. I withheld my constructive criticism and just waved. |
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| This friendly rider attempted to engage me in conversation, but he was so fast by the time I could respond he was out of earshot. He was smooth too - totally pulled off the white-shoe look. |
Fall is setting in. We've been getting hot days mixed with cold days and windy days are bringing the changes.
Personal note: 45 years ago today was my first day at Boot Camp.
Wildlife Encounter: A peloton of poultry in the residential area, and one deer at Junction
JB said he saw three tarantulas. The roof at the Junction shack is apparently done, but they're still touching up paint and stuff so everything is still fenced off; the rangers are a little less strict about where you stand around though.
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| Oh goodie - more houses for entitled rich people to block the views. |
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| Half the turkey troop decided to run in front of me, and the other half decided to wait. |
JB cancelled again today, so just me. I did a quick one and didn't wait around at Junction.
Summer ends next weekend... I can finally dial down those explosive interval sprints for a while.
Coming down I collected a rider who was staying behind me so I figured I wasn't slowing him down and I kept most of my lane. Then I got stuck behind a slower car, and the rider passed us both around a blind turn...
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| Road repairs and driveway mods at Buckeye |
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| Getting a new roof at the Junction House |
