Saturday, February 21, 2004

Diablo Junction – 23 miles

Light drizzle all the way up today. Rick and Peter met me at the Gate and we started off riding tempo right away. Rick was on his single speed which is geared 39x16 so he had to ride fast just to stay on top of his gear. It was interesting watching him grunt up the Bump in such a big gear but he did it well and he stayed ahead of me!

The higher we got the thicker the rain got but it never got heavy enough to make it hard to see through my glasses – that’s when it stops being fun for me. Up around the Junction it was also quite foggy but oddly not cold at all and I enjoyed riding in this kind of weather more than I would have imagined. I brought my big water bottle with Cytomax but hardly drank any on the way up.

After about 5 minutes of chit chat JB rode across the line – for some reason none of us had thought to wait for him at the Gate and we were surprised to see him. I noticed that he had forgotten his water bottle again; he said “Let’s go before I get cold” and he continued on up Summit Road and Peter chased after him. Rick and I turned around and went for a coffee. I get a little nervous descending on wet roads but Rick was diving into every turn. Later we talked about Marco Pantani’s death and then checked out the bikes at Encina Bicycle Center before we went home.

No ride next week - having a birthday party for my daughter. Maybe try to do something on Sunday.

Click HERE to sponsor me in the Tour de Cure for the American Diabetes Association

Saturday, February 14, 2004

Diablo Juniper - 23 miles

Rick, JB, and me today. While I was waiting at the Gate an older guy rode by on a steel Bottechia - he looked like one of those guys who has great stories of riding in the good old days, but he just rode right by without saying anything. I figured we'd see him before the Junction because we started just a few minutes later but he stayed ahead of us the whole way and I saw him coming back down just before I crossed the line so he didn't wait around at the Junction either.

Couldn't find the chest strap for my HRM this morning so I don't even know what my time was, but we're definitely riding faster as Spring gets closer. Still pretty cold and still on my winter bike but the drive to push the pace is slowly returning.

Valentine's Day today so I returned home to see my girls.

Click here to sponsor me in the Tour de Cure for the American Diabetes Association
http://tinyurl.com/25lea

Monday, February 09, 2004




Here’s me (red jersey, black helmet) in the 1988 Sonoma State Criterium. I raced collegiate Cat C unattached since I was going to Santa Rosa Junior College at the time. A blog reader wrote me to say he still rides his red Ciöcc Mod San Cristobal that I had back then. Used to see a lot of Ciöcc frames when I was doing crits but they’re kind of rare now. When I bought this bike I had three criteria: it had to be Italian, red, and Campy equipped (Triomphe). I think the whole bike was $680 in 1985 and that was when the price included pedals! It had Columbus Aelle non-butted tubing, non-aero brake cables, non-indexed downtube shifters, non-clipless pedals, non-radial laced sew-up wheels (28 and 32 spoke), and non-cassette freewheel straightblock (13 18 six speed). My shorts also had a real chamois – those were the days! The guy next to me is wearing a Stanford jersey, I remember he was a real squirrel. I rode that bike for nine years before it finally developed a head tube crack. I still have the original Cinelli bars now on my Basso fixie.

Saturday, February 07, 2004

Diablo Junction plus South Gate Kiosk 32 miles

Another cold cold day with wet roads from last night’s rain.

JB and I got to the Gate at 8 not knowing if anyone else was coming so we started off on our own. When we got to the top of the Bump I called Rick on my cell phone and found out that he and Nicole were already started up and were at Moss Landing. We turned around to meet up with them and all started riding together.

Nicole started to fall back but thought she was keeping pretty good time until Peter rode up on her. She knew that the speed would increase dramatically once Peter caught the rest of us and she was right. I took some time at the front keeping the pace high but I knew it was a lost cause because the guys behind me were chatting and not panting. Then I had the brilliant idea of doing catch up intervals; i.e. letting them get about 20 seconds ahead of me and then chasing them down several times. Intervals completed: 0.75.

There was a guy chasing me the last couple miles and it was all I could do to keep my distance but I did it and that was rewarding. He turned out to be a Diablo Cyclist guy with a Team Saeco Cannondale replica bike – DA and all so it was extra rewarding.

Peter, Rick, and I decided to ride down to the South Gate kiosk and back up to the Junction and that was a good adder. On the way back up I threw down the gauntlet by attacking at the easy section and opened up an early gap. Peter caught me within a couple minutes and he had Rick in tow but it was still fun.

Rick, Nicole, and I went for coffee at Mia Café and there was some dude from Colorado who talked our ears off about his meager cycling accomplishments and one crash where his helmet saved his life.

A few weeks ago, JB picked up his new Rivendell Atlantis frame and I took this photo – he’s pretty proud of it but still hasn’t built it up. That's Adam holding the sign, and Mark Abele handing off the frame; JB's in the middle.



I’m riding the Tour de Cure charity ride for the American Diabetes Association. Please visit my sponsorship page and donate $5 – I’d really appreciate it. Thanks. Scott


http://tinyurl.com/25lea