2026 Diablo Day 39 - Wednesday Morning Juniper

Beautiful day. yesterday Charlie hinted at doing Juniper but didn't commit until this morning. So we took it a little easy to Junction, took a shorter than usual break, then went up. 

At Juniper you could really see and smell the smoke over the valley. AirNow says the air quality is "moderate"; with a score of 53.  It really wasn't too bad compared to times when we've had closer fires (like 180), but it was enough of a reminder that you don't want to be breathing TOO heavily.

Tarantula Tally: ZERO. Come on fellas.

My people    

Trail progress

I always like to stop here and make sure I have everything ready for the climb.
Batteries, bottle positions, have a HammerGel. Charlie puts up with my delay tactics.

Look at all that DATA!!!

2026 Diablo Day 38 - Saturday Morning Juniper

Chilly this morning - I started late and that was fine.

Wildlife Encounter:  deer near the Tire Poppers

Pretty busy on The Mountain this morning - riders, hikers, drivers.

Figured I'd do a relaxed pace to Junction and continue on to Juniper - worked good.

This guy had a Ron Cooper that his father rescued from THE DUMP years ago and rebuilt. Dad recently had a custom frame built for himself and gave this one to his son.

Me and Kasters swapped some stories.

I am very happy with my decision on this new bike. We play well together and she makes me smile.

I'll get to work on a product review for her.

2026 Diablo Day 37 - Wednesday Morning Junction

Felt good. Went hard. Charlie was faster than me by less than he was last week.

Wildlife Encounter: two deers. 

At Junction there was a guy with one of the first Giro helmets - the one with just foam and a Lycra cover. Haven't seen one of those since the '80s. He said it was the lightest helmet he could get and it helped with some neck problem he had.

Sold my Klein this week. Didn't get as much as I was expecting but it went to a guy who's really excited about it and always wanted one just like mine. That's the end of a long relationship - 25 years of being the best bike I ever had.

Probably start seeing some tarantulas pretty soon.

2026 Diablo Day 36 - Saturday Morning Juniper

That anemia treatment is still yielding results. Today I figured I'd do an easy ride to Junction so I'd have plenty left for Juniper... never sure that's going to work, but it did today. After a few more Junipers, I'll go for a Muir.

I sold my Klein this week; almost 25 years of being my best bike - dozens of centuries, STP, charity rides, and probably a thousand times up Mt. Diablo.  Didn't get as much as he was worth, but he went to a nice guy who was really excited and always wanted a Quantum Pro, so everybody's happy. The nice folks at Trek Alamo boxed it up and it shipped on Bike Flights to Maryland, so I'll probably never see him again. 

Saw a lot of riders coming down - probably started early to beat the heat... but it still wasn't too bad yet.

Hey, check out this progress report on the Danville trail improvements - this will solve a long-standing safety issue with bikes on Diablo Road near the park entrances: https://danvilletowntalks.org/diablotrail

ME!  My new bike Roxanne makes me happy.

The Mountain really starts here.

Oh yeah... gwine be a hot one.

I always call this "Tank Road"... because it goes to the water tank just out of site... but I think it's part of Summit Trail, hence the crosswalk.

2026 Diablo Day 35 - Wednesday Morning Junction

Great weather. Felt great. Great company. 

Charlie finally diagnosed his flat tire problem - there was a "stiff thread" poking out from the inside of the tire carcass - less than 1mm long but that's enough to puncture a tube with a slow leak that was hard to find. Solution: new tire.

Apparently, much of the road work on the south side of Diablo Road is part of the new bike trail that will continue the existing trail on the north side of the road that we always use to get to the country club, and go all the way up to the Athenian School. I'm not sure I'll use it, but maybe.

At Junction, Charlie and I talked about cholesterol and rat trap bait.

No road kill, no wildlife, no oddballs.

SHARKS??? On DIABLO????

2026 Diablo Day 34 - Saturday Morning Juniper

First time I've done more than Junction in a while - my anemia treatment seems to be working... going faster and farther and harder and higher.

Saw an old work colleague at Junction... we talked about dogs and the economy.

The crosswinds coming down were creeping me out. It might be my semi-deep rim profile or it might be me just aging out of reflexes and balance. I'm going to up my safety game and just let people pass me on the way down.

Wildlife Encounter:  turkeys

This is the street they were oiling on Wednesday - looks nice.

Come on California - this is past due for some repairs.

Kinda smoggy over the Diablo Valley.

These folks looked like they didn't need any help.