2026 Diablo Day 05 - Monday Afternoon Junction

                                          RIP JB

I got the news earlier this week - my Diablo cycling buddy of 35 years died suddenly. I last rode with him on January 10, we had our normal catching up conversation at Junction, his cancer treatment was rough but seemed to be working; and that was the last time I saw him. Then before our next ride he stopped answering my messages, and then another week went by and I was trying to imagine all the reasons that could be while trying not to imagine it was the unthinkable reason. So I did two rides without him, not knowing; and today was the first time I have ridden The Mountain knowing that he would never be there again.

Thirty-five years... hundreds of Diablo rides, thousands of hours together riding wheel-to-wheel, sharing our love of The Mountain and cycling. Our connection ran even deeper than that - we'd both grown up in Iowa, even lived in the same town for a while not knowing each other, but he used to eat at the restaurants I used to work at so chances are pretty good I made him a burrito at least once at some point. We met 15 years later, when through very different paths, we wound up working in adjacent cubicles in the same office, doing essentially the same work for the same company 2,000 miles away from Iowa. We had an instant bond. 

Over those 35 years our lives naturally diverged - and after a while those Saturday Morning Diablo rides were the only times we'd see each other. That was the constant; it took abominable weather or a severe health issue for either of us to miss even one ride. I find some solace in knowing that he cherished this unique relationship as much as I always will.

I intended to ride on Saturday, but I couldn't pull myself together in time - knowing he wouldn't be there. Things are going to be different now so maybe I'll find some new normal, like riding on Mondays. It was a sunny day and warmer than I was expecting.

I had hoped to feel JB's presence there with me while I was grinding up South Gate Road - but instead what I felt was his absence.

Wildlife Encounter:  lots of turkeys

The light hits The Mountain from a different angle in the late morning... the shadows fall a little differently, the wind behaves a little differently.

These guys passed me, and then the last guy just kind of fell over before he got to the turnout lane - I made sure to tell him how dorky that was and that I got it on video.

This guy was in the same group as dorky fall guy - he faked a mechanical problem hoping he'd make my blog - kudos.

Before leaving home, I mixed up my normal water bottle nutrition - a chocolate Perpetuem for the way up, and an orange HEED for the ride home. It was on the way down that I realized I had inadvertently mixed up a bottle of orange Metamucil instead of HEED (I should label my containers)... I swallowed one good slug of warm orange slurry, laughed at my dorkiness, and dumped the rest of it out.




This memorial bench is the last place I talked with JB. There's talk about arranging for a new memorial bench or picnic table for him.

I would be honored if you would watch 

this video memory I made.

2026 Diablo Day 04 - Saturday Morning Junction

Still no word from JB, solo ride to Junction, windy as all get-out. The worst wind was where there was a clear path from the west; so like around Curry Point and the helicopter pad where you can see Walnut Creek and Hwy 24 - I had to stop a couple times to avoid being blown into the ditch.

I had a nice clean chain though, because I did some bike maintenance earlier in the week - and my gear was in prime nick.

Signed up to donate blood next Sunday, so next Saturday I'll have to do some intervals to exploit that high hemoglobin count.

I've been seeing that sign about Diablo Multipurpose Trail improvements - so I finally checked out what they have planned: Danville Diablo Trail .  They even have the bid docs for guys like me:  Bid Docs  $6 million worth of improvements!  Seems like they just waited so long they have no more choice but to deal with the problems.

The work generally includes, but is not limited to, removal of trees, minor regrading, construction of a pedestrian/cycle trail, installation of hot mix asphalt, construction of drainage improvements including concrete vditches, drainage pipes, and inlets, installation of bioretention areas, traffic control, tree replacement planting, wildlife exclusion and cattle fencing, a drinking fountain and signs and other items that are required by the plans, standard specifications, or these Special Provisions.  

• Start Date & Duration: Work is scheduled to begin Monday, March 3, 2025, and is expected to last 1–3 weeks. We anticipate completion by March 7, 2025, with a firm end date no later than March 20, 2025.

 

The Windiest Bit

From here it's about 15 minutes to home...
so I start thinking about lunch.

I don't really use this kind of data for training purposes - but it's obvious that I'm not putting out the kind of numbers I used to.

2026 Diablo Day 03 - Saturday Morning Junction

Haven't heard from JB... not sure what's up with that.

Started off in thick fog - it was nice by 10 am though.

Saw a couple of big clubs riding up - all passing me of course.

I've been seeing headlines about some bureaucrat approving drilling for natural gas on The Mountain... sounds like one of those unbelievable things that you can't allow yourself to ignore.

2026 Diablo Day 02 - Saturday Morning Junction

It was a very cold morning. Frost on the roofs of the houses going by. But on The Mountain it started cold, then got warm, then got windy. Didn't require as much toughness as I packed.

Last week JB had a derailleur/shifter problem on his Della Santa and forgot to fix it so today he rode his Teesdale Hawkeye bike and realized he had a derailleur problem with that bike too - couldn't use the small chainring. So he was a little late to Junction. Then we talked about politics, weather, health, other bike riders.

Wildlife Encounter: turkey vulture munching on squirrel guts... I thought I got a good photo but it came out too dark.

Big club ride went by on Sycamore.

Ice on the roof!

The little trail involved in the big dispute.

The Hawkeye Bike

2026 Diablo Day 01 - NGR

Got rained out on New Year's Day - that makes two years in a row I didn't Summit on Day 1.

JB suggested a make-up ride today from his house up NGR so I drove to his place and we rode from there.  The clouds were approaching fast and we steeled ourselves for an aborted climb. Started out OK, but then it got really windy and we only made it to the Rock Baskets.

HEY!  What happened to the 1000 FT ELEVATION sign?

2025 Diablo Day 48 - Saturday Morning Junction

Christmas is over - time to ride The Mountain. Nice day considering the last few days have been stormy.  It was actually sunny up until about 1800 feet where I rode into the clouds and it got cold, windy, and wet.

At Junction there were a bunch of old guys talking about old bikes in the olden days... it was glorious.

Wildlife Encounter: turkeys near the Ranger Village.

Nice and blue at the bottom.

 

This guy was fast and smooth - it was like being passed by an owl.

There it is - the cloud boundary layer.

That one crossing the road had a real attitude.