2026 Diablo Day 51 - Wednesday Morning Summit

First Diablo of Autumn. There's some heavy equipment interference on the road to The Hole, but bikes and pedestrians can get through just fine.

Charlie wanted to Summit, so we developed our plan; moderate pace to Junction, a little break at Juniper, pep talk at the Lower Lot, grind up the wall.  Worked out perfectly. A couple time we evaluated our progress, got a little too analytical with numbers, so I just told myself "shut up and pedal".

We discussed a new pedal system by Shimano that requires new shoes with new cleats to fit into new pedals that have a 3mm lower profile and would require lowering your saddle to compensate. We decided it was a transparent attempt by Shimano to sell more stuff; but we were privately intrigued just the same.

Roadkill Report:  didn't see it, but there was a dead skunk somewhere on Camino Tassajara.

Tarantula Tally: one dead one near Rock City. Photo-unworthy.

Wildlife Encounter: deer near the lower switchbacks. She eyed us suspiciously but quickly determined that we were not a threat.

Warmed up in the late morning - really perfect weather with more wind than I would've liked. Lots of Valley Spokesmen today. 

Ready?
Ready. Let's do this.

Charlie stopped to take a call with his home improvement contractors.

Pain face enabled.

Shameless vanity shot.

Two months until my New Zealand adventure trip!

2026 Diablo Day 50 - Saturday Morning Junction

The dog walk was cold this morning so I had trouble motivating myself and got a late start. There were more riders and a lot more traffic though, so I'm going to find the motivation to start on time even when it's cold... maybe I need some new tights or something.

There was a group of vintage cars going up - probably related to the Concourse d'Elegance in Danville tomorrow. That might be a fun thing to go to; I'm not into cars but I'm into public festivals.

A guy passed me near the helicopter pad and as he went by, my bluetooth speaker went silent, and then came back on when he got some distance. I passed him back a while later and he said he pulled over because his computer rear-radar told him I was a car... then we wondered if his radar had communications blocking technology. We chuckled nervously about that.

Met a guy named Mike at Junction. He said it was his first ride up Diablo, he's from LA on temporary work assignment and signed up for The Mount Diablo Challenge.  I gave him some tips and we took a selfie.

I stopped at Vulture Gulch for a photo - you really can't see most of it from the road. There's a creek or something down there and I thought maybe animals seek water when they're dying; Google says "sometimes - depends on why they're dying".  

Radar Guy

These old sport cars can pass a bike without crossing the lane markers.

Me and Mike from LA

Hey - it's future Pogacar again!

Vulture Gulch

2026 Diablo Day 49 - Wednesday Morning Muir

Chilly this morning, I was not sorry I brought the windbreaker and wore a thermal under my jersey.

Charlie said that last week he did some intervals and saw the highest heart rate he's seen since he got his HRM... he also says he has to limit these excursions into the red zone because HEART, but a trophy is a trophy. My max on Saturday's hard effort was 150bpm - but I held it for quite a while... today my max was 150bpm but only for a couple short segments.

I asked Charlie what the plan was for today and he said Muir, so I said OK, but 50-minutes to Junction then, and then we both had to slow down a little bit in the last 100m to hit the target number.

They were doing some weird construction inside the country club... heavy equipment I didn't recognize, and piping or conduit that didn't make sense. On the way home, we got stuck behind a meat delivery truck that had a hard time making it up the driveway to the place where rich people have events.

Tarantula Tally: 1 crawler... looked like a big one; even the ranger truck stopped to take a photo.

At Muir we saw a guy on a Segway unicycle going up at a good clip and taking video on his phone - looked like he had a helmet cam too.  People be crazy, yo.

Pickup rangers and a photogenic spider

When you see the 4 poles, you're at Muir

The e-unicycle guy

The construction roadblock

The Meat Delivery Truck roadblock

2026 Diablo Day 48 - Saturday Morning Junction

Much cooler than Wednesday. I felt good and opted for a fast Junction.

Wildlife Encounter:  big flock o' turkeys and a deer with cute little horns near the tire poppers.

Roadkill Report:  a deer foot about a half mile below the kiosk... suspiciously close to where Charlie and I smelled something rotten on Wednesday.  I looked for it on the way down so I could get a good photo, but didn't find it.

Fastest Junction time of the year.

I appreciate a good show-off. This guy passed me easily and then
sat up to zip his jersey while still accelerating. 

This looked to be a father-son training ride. Son was impressively skilled and strong, needs a little more saddle time for that pro suplesse, but he could be the next Pogacar.

The deer foot.

Chewed to the bone.

2026 Diablo Day 47 - Wednesday Morning Juniper

Today's the hottest day of a little heat wave we're having, and everybody knew it. Charlie suggested an early start to escape the worst of it, and I agreed.  

I offered a fast Junction or a slow Juniper and he opted for the latter. I suggested a 50 minute Junction pace and that worked out perfectly.

By the time we got to the 1,000 elevation sign, we could feel the cloak of oppression over us... the air was thick and warm and still. Somewhere in the distance, a carcass was putrefying.

Wildlife Encounter:  two deers at Bridal Nook. Didn't get a photo.

Saw a bunch of squished tarantulas, but I only Tally the crawlers after the first one.

Early start for us, late start for schools... I passed a lot of cars.

When I take a photo with Charlie, I try to make myself look taller.

Charlie has no such objective.

2026 Diablo Day 46 - Saturday Morning Juniper

First live tarantula spotting for the year - a few switchbacks before Junction.  I stopped for a close-up.

Didn't see anybody I knew today, but near Tank Road a guy descending yelled "Hey Scott!" and I yelled "Hey!" like I knew who he was.

There were a lot of signs about a trail run, especially near the road crossings; but I didn't see anybody running.  Lots more hikers than usual... maybe it's the tarantulas.

The Junction Ranger Station is all boarded up like they don't even use it anymore. The display window is empty, the door is papered over, nobody is ever there. 

I gave this guy the thumb-extension salutation. He replied with a chin nod.

HEY SCOTT!