2025 Diablo Day 28 - Saturday Morning Junction

Nice weather, felt good.

JB broke his thumb a couple weeks ago and has surgery scheduled for next week. He thinks he can ignore the doctor's advice to not ride for a few months.

It's Climbin' Cathy P.

2025 Diablo Day 27 - Saturday Morning Junction

HOT!

Can you believe it is ALMOST the 4th?

Many riders training for Markleeville.

Turkey parade - I stopped traffic behind me and the cars enjoyed the entertainment as well.

 

2025 Diablo Day 26 - Saturday Morning Junction

 Felt good - forgot to blog until a week later!

Hi Rick!

2025 Diablo Day 25 - Saturday Morning Junction

Perfect weather today - just right for arm warmers on the way up.

 

This guy was smoooooth

These two put up a valiant effort, but I managed to pass them before Junction.

2025 Diablo Day 24 - Saturday Morning Junction

After DNFing last week from the heat, I was ready for today.

JB and I decided to go a little earlier just in case we got another heat wave.

Weather was a little chilly at the bottom, then sunny and a little warmer at altitude.

I had a spinal tap for my research program on Wednesday and I was still a little sore.

OK, no more excuses.  RIDE!

Wildlife Encounter:  half a dozen turkeys.  Two of them had their necks wrapped around each other and I couldn't tell if they were fighting or mating. Interesting parallel with my date night movie later in the evening: Fatal Attraction. Unfortunately the Diablo Bike Cam missed the shot.

2025 Diablo Day 23 - Mission Unaccomplished

 First heat wave of the year and I was un-ready. I thought I was doing everything right, but a couple miles in the sun and the steep and I started to feel queasy and dizzy and I didn't feel safe to continue so I turned down.  Hopefully I will acclimate and won't have to abandon every time the temperature goes up.

Roadkill Report:  a California King snake - I had to turn him over for a good photo and he didn't flinch so he was most sincerely dead. 

2025 Diablo Day 22 - Saturday Morning Junction

Memorial Day weekend, and I couldn't find my patriotic socks.

I packed an extra Hammer Gel thinking I might attempt Juniper today but my knee was complaining too much. I'm starting to think I've got nothing but more pain to look forward to - the best I can hope for is a slow decline.

 

This RAT was one of the biggest I've ever seen. He looked like he was about ready to die; must've been internal injuries because I didn't see any external damage.  He could crawl but not scurry and didn't even try to hide.

I was able to hang with these two riders for while despite their punishing pace.

Thanks to this guy - I passed somebody!

2025 Diablo Day 21 - Saturday Morning Junction

Today I put away the winter bike and prepped my Klein for the season.

It started out kind of windy, but then got nice. There was a big group of riders from San Jose I crossed paths with several times - about half of them had electric bikes. I talked to one rider who said she usually rides Hamilton so Diablo wasn't intimidating even though it was a little steeper.

2025 Diablo Day 20 - Saturday Morning Junction

2025 Diablo Day 19 - Saturday Morning Junction

2025 Diablo Day 13 - Saturday Morning Junction

 

Nice day - getting close to shorts weather... time to get my summer bike prepped.

JB's still training for Grizzly Peak - lots of extra climbing and lots of extra miles... I was no help at all.

Lots of poppies still out - but I stopped to pick some lupines for my kitchen vase (soda bottle).

My camera mount came loose and so I got this great photo of my crotch.

Two guys with white shoes passed me easily.

Two guys with black shoes passed me easily. There seems to be a pattern here.

Lupines just begging to be picked and arranged.

2025 Diablo Day 12 - Saturday Morning Junction

 Not quite warm enough for shorts, but pretty damn nice.

I was feeling like a slug... I think all these years of work from home have caught up to me.

Some kind of trail running event going on; looked to be well-supported but it didn't look like anyone was doing serious competitive efforts.

Oh-oh, something's going on.

Medical helicopter - could be serious.

Oh, it was down there.

Now THIS is what April on The Mountain is supposed to look like!