2026 Diablo Day 58 - Wednesday Morning Junction

I am hearing about a lot of sick people in my circle.  Charlie showed up for the ride but said he wasn't in top shape, so we did an easy Junction.

Wildlife Encounter:  big ol' flock of turkeys - they kind of got spooked when we went by and some of them flew to flee.

I went for a One-Mile Interval  to be known from now on as an OMI.  I chose my Mile-3 segment on Strava, which Strava won't let me make public.  It starts just after the little retaining wall, goes through the Kiosk Gate, and ends just before Elephant Rock... see photos.

Begin Mile 3

End Mile 3

I was impressed when I saw this rider in shorts... then I saw the "Ride Flanders" jersey and I thought "of course"... then I saw it was a *female Flahute.  The Flemish word for "outstanding" is "uitstekende".  Uitstekende.

I didn't see a tarantula, but somebody coming from the North said they saw one.

Roadkill Report:  raccoon on Diablo Rd.

2026 Diablo Day 57 - Wednesday Morning Juniper

On my way to The Mountain I passed lots of fun decorated houses with Halloween themes.  

The harsh mid-autumn light was softened by the puffy clouds laden with moisture and waiting to drop rain by early afternoon. (that was my attempt at poetry)

I told Charlie I saw two Great Blue Herons and a hawk eating a mouse on the Iron Horse Trail. He proceeded to tell me about the habitat and feeding of the local avian wildlife; guy sure knows a lot about birds.

Contractors working on the Ranger Hut at Junction - looks like they have plans to move back in after all.  Then a guy in a pickup got out to ask us where "Mount Diablo State Park" is... we told him pretty much the whole Mountain is state park, and then he asked about "the lighthouse", so we gave him directions to the Summit.

We continued up to Juniper and then to Dragonfly Turnout; no dragonflies.  Charlie says they hunker down when it gets cold and only come out in warm weather; guy sure knows a lot about bugs.

2026 Diablo Day 56 - Saturday Morning Junction

Best weather of the year!  Lots of people enjoying The Mountain today - Search and Rescue crew, some kind of trail run event, bike riders, picnickers and hikers.

During my pre-ride checkout, I noticed a bunch of boogers on my gravel tires - I thought it was sealant and started to re-evaluate my opinion on tubeless tires... but then I realized it wasn't sealant boogers, it was tar boogers from the Sycamore re-paving work.

I also took a look at my brake pads trying to figure out a way to tell how worn they are - I'm not sure what I'm looking at, but I can compare this shot with future shots and maybe that will be revealing.

My stock gravel wheels are about 5 minutes slower to Junction than the road wheels for about the same effort... not really too bad of a handicap, fun in a different way.

Trail Run

Still doing roadwork on Diablo Rd on a Saturday.

On the way back down, I stopped at Horseshoe for some gravelly vanity photos. Trek Travel sent me a jersey for my New Zealand adventure so I wore it today. Vote for your favorite in the comments!

Horseshoe Picnic Area

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2026 Diablo Day 55 - Wednesday Morning Junction

I took Roxanne to Alamo Trek after last week's ride for them to put on her gravel wheels and provide the free new-bike-first-year tune up. On the way home they called already and said my brakes were almost gone so I approved their putting in new ones but told them I wanted the old ones for show and tell.

Apparently this is as thin as you want the pads to get.
I don't know if I'll ever learn how to do these myself.

It was cold this morning so I went ahead and put on my cold weather pants and a long sleeved jersey with an undershirt.  I got a little sweaty mid-ride, but I was happy to not be frozen.

I figured my gravel wheels would add about five minutes to my Junction time for the same effort as with my road wheels, and that was just about right.

Wildlife Encounter:  lots of deers and turkeys.

Lots of riders on The Mountain today too - gave me some good photos to share.

This guy ran in front of me, but not too close.

DO NOT ENTER!  (does not apply to DiabloScott)