2026 Diablo Day 62 - Wednesday Morning Juniper

Having a patriotic Veteran's Day.  I don't remember this when I was a kid, but I think they didn't have school today and there were lots of families on The Mountain doing hikes and picnics.

Perfect weather, but I might get rained out on Saturday.

Wildlife Encounter:  three young deer in the empty lot next to the Hole in the Fence.

We went up to Dragonfly Bend and you could see that there was a pretty thick layer of smog over Livermore and Pleasanton, but it was pretty thin over the San Ramon Valley and you could see San Francisco a little.

After the ride we diverted to downtown Danville to see the activities at the Veteran's Hall.  Maybe one day they'll ask me to play the National Anthem on my saxophone... that would be quite an honor.

In case you were wondering what a patriotic 20-year-old looked like in 1979.

This is Dragonfly Bend - about 1/4 mile above Juniper and my favorite view.

In case you were wondering what my bike looked like
leaning against an Army helicopter in downtown Danville

2026 Diablo Day 61 - Saturday Morning Juniper

Arm warmers and tights were just about right today - warmed up nicely on the climb, and then still got a nice cooling effect on the descent.

Talked to some MTBers at Junction about bike tech and local shops.

New Zealand in 11 days!  Trek Travel sent me some packing tips.

Wildlife Encounter:  possibly the biggest herd of turkeys I've seen on The Mountain.  One lizard too.

More vanity poses:

I had never before noticed that big steel mesh curtain up there -
must be some kind of rockslide measure.

2026 Diablo Day 60 - Wednesday Morning Juniper

I did some saxophone busking at the ballot box yesterday; got rained on a little but it was fun and a few people waved at me.

Today started out pretty cold; on my morning dog walk I decided to go full winter gear, but by the time I rolled out of the garage it had already warmed up a little and the sky was bright and blue and clear. 

I got to St. Tim's a few minutes early and was surprised that I didn't see the VSBC folks getting ready.  I met a guy named Ed and he was with them and he didn't know either so he checked his phone and realized that they had re-scheduled for 9:30... looks like that's a seasonal thing that will stay the same for a while.  I invited Ed to start up with us but he decided to wait for his club. Then Charlie arrived and we got started.  The roads were still a little wet from yesterday, but not slippery.  There was a lot of sandy debris though and I made a mental note to watch out for that on my descent.

In the Country Club we saw a guy mowing the putting green with some kind of sideways mower - we contemplated the engineering decisions that went into that contraption. Charlie described the criteria that the golf association uses for greens; so many feet deep of layers of different kinds of soil, how high the grass is. 

I think it was my idea to do Juniper and Charlie agreed, so I said I would pace myself for a 50-minute Junction time... an effort that would leave me with Juniper legs and not wiped out.  I know what that effort feels like at every point along SGR and I know exactly how hard to push.  Proof:

At Junction we talked about politics and the weather and French bicycles. Then up Summit Road.  At Juniper there was a driver getting a speeding ticket from the ranger.  We kept going up to Dragonfly where Charlie showed me his new favorite energy bar and described the ingredients and nutritional data.  We had a good ol time breaking down calories per gram of each ingredient and discussing the merits of fructose over sucrose.

Wet sandy danger.

Wet sandy danger caution.

2026 Diablo Day 59 - Saturday Morning Juniper

Gorgeous Halloween weather! 

Happy birthday to Punkin Jay!

OK, THIS is old school. 
If you don't have any tights, you can wear pantihose under your shorts on a cold day.

I considered taking this shortcut.

Go HAWKS!

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.