Sunny and chilly this morning.
I felt a lot better than last week - got to Junction and didn't feel completely spent.
On the way to the park, I hit some rode debris pretty hard and my Diablo Bike Speaker fell off my handlebars. I went back to get it and it still worked, but the SD card was lost, so I played it on Bluetooth mode. I have more SD cards at home, no big whoop.
 |
| Right here is that thing I ran over - sounded metallic. No tire damage. |
Beautiful weather and I was dressed for cold. Still a few lingering COVID symptoms like coughing, but mostly I felt good, moderately strong, but endurance is down.
Diablo Shoutout to old riding friend Nancy who I saw descending while I was approaching Rock City.
JB said he passed someone while he was climbing the North - there was no evidence to support this claim though.
 |
| Hi Nancy! |
First ride since COVID caught me a couple weeks ago.
Last ride of Daylight Saving Time.
First ride of November.
Not the first ride of the season on my winter bike with tights and jacket - but shorts weather is over.
I started having COVID symptoms on a Thursday, but it didn't seem bad enough and I refused to believe it was COVID until friends told me it probably was, and I tested positive on Friday and spent the next week mostly in bed or sucking down Nyquil. I only had a fever and chills and achiness for a few days, but the fatigue and brain fog lasted two weeks. Then I think I caught a regular cold right after that so I've been coughing and snotty ever since. But it was beautiful weather and I am sick of feeling like a sick slug, so I kitted up and rode.
Slower than usual, and I was tired-er than usual when I got to Junction - still operating on reduced lung capacity. I'm always glad that I rode even when I had a good excuse not to - but today I was extra glad when it was over.
Went on a group dog walk downtown later in the afternoon and had an Alison spotting. And then I voted.
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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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. |
 |
| 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. |
