Diablo Junction plus South Gate Road down to the kiosk and then back down NGR.

Cooo-ooold today, full winter gear including booties, polypro undershirt, my PI Barrier jacket, and full finger gloves with liners and an ear jock.

Sorry no updates, haven't been able to ride recently due to bad weather. Actually yes I COULD have ridden but I don't much like riding in the rain - I do it sometimes but I prefer to just wait for sunshine. Rain is cold and wet and blurs my vision by making my glasses all sloppy (and I DO need to wear my glasses all the time.

So please keep checking in, one of these days I'll have an adventure to write about. And keep that fan mail coming!

Scott

Diablo Junction

It's been raining all night and the streets are sloppy but the sky looks promising so I decide to ride up on my "foul weather bike", a steel Eddy Merckx that was my main ride for 10 years but now I mostly use to commute to work.

Anyway it's been 7 months since I rode Eddy up the mountain, he's now got commuter tires and old SPD pedals. It was cold today but not freezing, and very windy. Just Rick and me and we rode at a super slow pace because of the wind. A guy in a Euskatel jersey and a Pinarello passed us easily around the lower ranch. We passed a few other folks, some had pulled off the road because it was so windy.

Junction time was 52 minutes (!) and it was still a good workout. The Euskatel guy was there and shortly after his buddy got there too. Their names were Dave and Ken and they were from the Peninsula. Good guys to talk to and they examined everyone's bikes and made interesting observations.

Rick and I turned around, we both had things to do but we stopped at Mia Cafe for a coffee and then we checked out the Encina Bicycle Center.

Diablo Junction

Day after Halloween, smashed pumpkins line the street. First day in full winter gear... bibs and tights, jersey and jacket, long finger gloves. Everything except booties, glove liners, and an ear jock.

As I rolled up North Gate Road I saw Rick and Peter in the church parking lot. They were ready and we headed for the Gate. JB met up with us before we got there and we all crossed the line at the same time.

I was feeling sluggish for some reason and fell off the back around the bump. Still managed to pass everyone else on the mountain, but finished about 3 minutes behind the others at 46 minutes flat.

My chain is now skipping in several of the gears and it really is pissing me off. My Park Chainchecker tool says the chain is 0.75% stretched which still should be OK (it says to change at 1.0% stretch or less). At the Junction I was playing around with it and saw that it was climbing up on the cogs with almost no pressure on the chain so maybe the cassette is OK and it's just the chain. Worth a try, I'll put a new one on today. No more Dura Ace chains though, I'll get a SRAM something.

Product Review: Pearl Izumi Barrier Jacket.




I bought this at a clearance sale last spring and haven't had a chance to wear it until today. It's very well made, and has zippered pockets in all the right places, and perfectly warm with a combo of wind protection and insulation. Highly recommended. (mine's black with blue trim, unlike the photo above)