Otro Día Hermoso en La Montaña Diabólica.

Roadkill Observation: An opossum.




Clear beautiful day, no wind at the bottom. Very quiet too, hardly any riders or cars. Still cool enough that arm and knee warmers were a good idea.

• So, straight to Junction, saw Peter who had already done the Summit; JB and I went to the Hole.

• Wildlife Encounter: Jack rabbit and turkeys.
  
• They made some good progress on the Treat Overpass this week:

Earlier this week I flatted a sew-up on my Merckx that I ride to work in the summer. I realized I'd already patched this one once so I decided to just glue on a new one.

Cuz my re-stitching skill is sub-optimal.

My re-gluing skill though is exemplary - took me about 10 minutes to get this tire off even with a steel tire lever.

Anyway, I really like the inexpensive tubulars from Yellow Jersey. Far better than the economy tubies from Vittoria or Continental, and they have that perfect retro look that I want on my GL-330's.

The newer ones have a removable valve core so you can use Slime or equal.

The older ones didn't.

Finally - the Mount Diablo Hill Climb is in two weeks. This is the 10km time trial put on by the Wells Fargo team, it's a sanctioned race but non racers can easily buy a one-day license. Sign up HERE, and you'll get your official start time and everything. I'll be the guy taking photos half way up so you might even get your photo ON MY BLOG!!!

Two Junctions

JB's been sick, which is a pretty good handicap because I stayed with him until the Junction.

Saw Peter coming down, he must have started really early.

Beautiful day, a little cold... should have been a lot more riders up there.

Brought a screwdriver to check my new cleats but my install was pretty solid, just a quarter turn on a couple of the screws to tighten 'em up.

JB went home and I went down SGR for another ascent. Even colder on the Easy Side.

Rest of the ride went well, but JB called me later and said he got hassled by a ranger on NGR. Apparently there is a new guy in town and his objective is to intimidate cyclists rather than to enforce safety. We'd also heard about a woman who was getting a speeding ticket but when she started to cry, Ranger Hasslebad let her go with a warning. Apparently he's also driving in front of descending cyclists to force them to ride the speed he wants them to. He drives a State Parks vehicle, but not a pickup. If you've had a Ranger Hasslebad experience - put it in the comments or send me an e-mail and I'll document this clown's crackpottery. It'd be great to have a photo, but until he either gets re-assigned or smartens up, ride like you're expecting to see him around every corner. And as always, keep it safe and courteous.

ATOC Stage 3 @ Bonny Doon

Today, Rick and I went to watch the Tour of California come over Bonny Doon. I predicted this would be a strategic spot in the race so we would get to see some good action.

We parked at Rick's FIL's house in Boulder Creek and went up the back side of the hills to get to the race route. We took Jamison Creek Road which is one of the toughest things I've ever climbed. I had to stop about 5 times to catch my breath and slow down my heart. Here's an elevation chart comparing it to North Gate Road.




Then, Rick broke his pedal! The pedal body came off the spindle and wouldn't stay on so he was able to sort of keep it together with his foot but he essentially rode up Jamison one legged... truly impressive!


Product Review: Look Keo Pedals... see for yourself.

We got to the KOM site pretty early and staked out a good spot.

We saw the guy inflating this gorilla and were a little concerned that he would hit the power lines but he was a real pro.

And it was too good of a photo op to bypass.

Twice.

The ATOC site is full of pleadings not to paint the road.

This guy said it was just chalk... does chalk come in a spray can?

They also had a souvenier store at the summit... didn't seem to be doing much business.

This kid and his family though were really raking it in. Their house was right on the route. Bagel - $1, Water - $1.50; my contribution to the entreprenurial spirit.

Better get some more photos before it gets crowded.

And then some fast exciting racing happened!

OOhh, captured a superstar.

The ubiquitous Elk Man.

He was quite the celebrity.

Screen shot of Versus coverage - that's me and Rick holding the California Republic flag on the left.

My closeup and moment in history.

Solar Recumbulators and Broken Cleats

Couldn't convince these horses to look up for a photo.





Saw this trailer with two solar powered vehicles on it at the Gate. Looks like combination human and motor power to the front two wheels, steering from the rear. Guy said he was from "sendei?" motors and these were prototypes and they were going to be shooting video today.

Got another close-up at Livermore Overlook where they had parked.

Not too practical, but a tinkerer's dream.

Wildlife Encounter: black eared jackrabbit near Arroyo

So I was a little early and had a head start, JB and Peter rolled in to the Junction after I'd been there a while.

Then I went on up Summit Road, and got a little ways past Juniper and stopped to take some photos from this cool angle:

Then I tried to go up farther but somehow managed to break my cleat. Made for a long, uncomfortable, cautious descent, and sketchy ride home.

I'd been looking for a good reason to put on the new ones I bought a few months ago anyway... looks like I waited one ride too long.

2010 WNR 02

Came across Reese Witherspoon stopped on the shoulder just past the double dips and she accepted my offer of assistance. She had a double flat and only one CO2 cart so I donated one of mine and a spare tube for the cause.

Lots of Taleo riders, Club Sport riders, and unattached riders all started up in big bunches. Most of them were in much more of a hurry than we were.

Wildlife Encounter: one deer way off the road eating grass.

A guy with triathlon handlebars passed me up the Bump in his full aero position and I was pretty impressed, but he turned around before the Washout and came back down.
Great weather, too many bugs.

G-J-TP-J-G

I gave Levi Leipheimer a HammerGel as he went by, and he yelled "HEY, Diablo Scott!...
JB and Peter were just leaving as I got to the Gate about 8:03. JB's been sick so I thought I could keep up with him... not quite.

Mark H had started up early... he's getting fast enough he doesn't need to do that anymore. We didn't see him until Junction.

We all split up at Junction, I went down the South Side to the Tire Poppers and turned around to re-Junction.

Stopped for a Spy Cam session on the way down. Caught these riders in the act of enjoying the Mountain.

DIABLO SPY CAM:

On the way down North Gate Road there were at least 50 riders coming up... I don't think I've ever seen more riders on the Mountain other than the Diablo Challenge. We rule!