Not Today

There are 1,000 fires burning in the Bay Area. The air quality this week has just gotten worse and worse. I made the decision yesterday that I wouldn't ride the Mountain this morning and would go to the health club instead for an indoor workout including a spin class. Diablo Daughter and I rode the tandem there though and went swimming after.

Shot this photo of the Napa fire on our way up to Sonoma last weekend - the beginning of a very smokey week.

View of Diablo from southern Sonoma County

Rick sent me this photo taken from Pleasanton.

2008-WNR-10

I have never cancelled a bike ride because of air quality - I thought today would be the first. Didn't even bring my good bike to work, just rode in on Eddy as usual. Figured if it looked better in the afternoon I could ride part way up in commute clothes and a backpack - and that's what I did... except I kept going to the Junction.

It was windy at the bottom but got calm about half way up. The smoke from Bay Area fires was reducing visibility more than I've ever seen (or not seen) in my 25 years here. I rode slowly, didn't want to have to breathe too hard. Adam and JB passed me early on and I met up with a guy named Lawrence; retired and Bay Area native. We talked about tubulars and centuries and compact cranks.

The air was a little better at the Junction, but the bugs were bad and I turned down, breathing through my nose to keep the taste of smoke off my teeth... also I've heard that nose hair makes a good particulate filter.

Spectator

Today I rode down to Danville and then up Diablo on the Easy Side to watch the Diablo 10km time trial. Left home just before 8 expecting to get in position on North Gate Road by about 10. Ran over some glass on Danville Blvd but didn't flat. Also it was a steady headwind all the way there. Danville was having a street fair so I stopped to say hello to the greyhound adoption booth folks.

I really don't like riding Diablo Road from Danville to the Mountain but it wasn't too bad today. There were a lot of people parked near the School and unloading bikes. Rick's start time was listed as 10:13 and I wound up being early anyway so I took a lot of photos. If you think I may have gotten one of you but it's not here, shoot me an e-mail with details and I'll look through my thumbnails.

Wasn't nearly as hot today as it has been, it was really nice just sitting on my rock and listening to tunes on my Shuffle and taking pictures.

Rick's looking ready to cat up.

Rozel recognized me.

So did Winston, but I missed the shot.

Semi celebrity Scott Martin.

Gordon with his wrist cast

Adam on his way to a PB.

2007 Diablo Challenge champion, Chris Phipps got third overall on the day.

Local hero Bill Innes on his way to 2nd place on the podium.

Ned, just amazing and inspiring - note aero bar clip ons.

This guy must have his own blog!

La Meta

Results are posted HERE. Ned almost broke the course record (23m27s) with a 23m40s. Rick did a PB but not quite as good as he was hoping for, and Adam blew past the finish line to score a sub 30 on the conventional course all the way to Junction (been his goal for years).

Special photos of merit to Klein riders:

A nice Q-Pro

Another nice Q-Pro


A Quantum Race with a quill stem

Can't read the top tube, but must be a Quantum Pro with that fork.


And a Quantum. The guys who were really going for it carried minimal water on their bike... others like this guy opted for two bottles.

2008 WNR 09

If I were the kind of guy to complain, I might say it was a little too warm tonight. I'm really glad I passed on the babaganoush at lunch.

That over haul on my Klein got rid of the annoying click in my bottom bracket, but my shoes were squeaking like sorority mice.

Regular Wednesday Rider Ward

Wildlife Encounter: two coyotes.

Don't you want to just scratch his ears and make him do tricks?

Two frozen bottles to start with, last swig at Junction wasn't too hot.



Wildlife Encounter: a lizard.

Probably should have photographed him from the other side.

Big group of Diablo Cyclists tonight.


Kenny came again, he was proud that he didn't have to stop for a break like last time.


There was a lot of talk about the road work on South Gate - apparently they covered up some trenches with steel plates that could be slippery and have a big lip. Bugs were bad too.


I was hoping for that rush of coolness on the descent as your sweat evaporates all at once... didn't happen.

Summit

Rick's racing tomorrow, so just me and JB today.


Weather forecast was for more heat but this morning started out pretty cool.


Lots of folks training for Death Ride today... no big groups though.


Dudley Driveby: I forget where, but he was wearing a winter coat.


JB decided to do some intervals near the Lower Ranch and that was about the last I saw of him before Junction.

Somebody finally marked off the pavement damage at Wounded Knee. It was really hard to see because of the lighting. I'm not sure if they did this as a warning or as an instruction for some future pavement repair.

We hung around the Junction until the bugs got too bad, then headed up to Juniper and JB said he'd turn around there.

Wildlife Encounter: A cute little bunny.

At Juniper we thought we smelled smoke but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. We said good-bye and I went up. Stopped for a bit at Muir Picnic Area for some spy photos:

Diablo Spy Cam

Then on to the Summit. It was getting pretty hot now but it was a really nice day. Dozens of riders enjoying the Mountain.

Just got done with a major overhaul on my bike - looking good. White handlebar tape will be grungy soon but I like it.

I've been trying to capture how steep the Wall is... do you think this does it?

Snapped this photo from the PH BART a while back.

After the ride, I took my daughter and a couple friends and another dad on a bike ride to the park on the trails. Ran into a guy with a 28 year old custom Klein. It hardly had any markings on it but I could tell easily from behind. He actually did some work for Klein as a Human Resources consultant and worked the bike into the deal - told them he wanted a bike especially for Mount Diablo! (He got a triple with 7 speed freewheel). They also customized the frame to accomodate his arm length discrepancy. I asked him to check my site and then write up the story of his bike for my Klein page.

Tour de Cure Ride Report and Photos

Sorry, I entered this with a post date of the ride date and you may have missed it.
Thanks to "anonymous" for the head slap. Of course... if you had donated you would have received our extra special ride report in an e-mail.

Click - HERE to be taken to the post.