2016 SMR 02

Still kind of wet, but not raining.

Everything is SO GREEN!

I was riding very conservatively because of the wet pavement.

2016 SMR 01

I am still here for you, loyal blog readers!


A Rainy January Commute from Diablo Scott on Vimeo.

After the New Year's Day ride on a Friday, I didn't ride on Saturday like usual.  Then came the rains and I missed the next two Saturdays also (9th and 16th)... but I did get a Junction ride on Sunday the 10th.  So anyway, this IS the first official Saturday Morning Ride of 2016.

JB e-mailed me yesterday and said "rain or shine", so I was semi-committed as well.  On my morning dog walk I eyed the skies... not raining at the moment but there were some scary black clouds.  I made the call: "there will be riding".

Lots of green and wet on The Mountain.  Just a little drizzly up to Junction, we only saw two other riders, both coming down.  OH, and some crazy MTBers on a distant trail yelling "whoop" and "yee-hah".

Roadkill Report:  an possum just before The Gate

There are two new benches at Junction - in honor of Pete Zucker and his wife Monica, whose stories have been told here before... nice tribute to nice people who brought honor to Diablo.  I don't know what happened to the Eagle Scout benches.

We weren't the only riders on The Mountain today - check out these smiling faces!

Good thing we turned around at Junction - as soon as I got home, the rain got really heavy.

Sunday Morning Junction

Too wet to ride on Saturday - actually it was just borderline but I wasn't in a borderline kind of mood.

Today wasn't bad though - not cold at all, and wet roads but no rain,.

Roadkill Report:  skunk at Moss Landing.

Yellow jackets were very popular on The Mountain this morning.

 Cleared up nicely a little higher above sea level.

This guy tried to photo-bomb my blog - so I cropped out his face!

New Year's Summit 2016

Yup.  It's cold.

Here's my cold weather protective gear - from top left:

1.  Glove liners - because layers.

2.  Helmet - same as always

3.  Booties - my bootie line is 30°F so I nixxed these at the last minute since it was 31°F.

4.  Ear warmer band

5.  Head warmer beanie

6.  Sock liners

7.  Winter in Flanders socks

8.  Neck warmer - also nixxed.

9.  Bibs

10. Tights

11. Italian Alps jersey

12. Thermal undershirt

I didn't see any other riders until Junction - so I thought I might be the first rider to Summit in Year 2016.  Until Junction when 4 riders passed me.

Then I didn't see any riders on Summit Road until Smooth Joey passed me while I was stopped at Toyon to futz with my camera battery.

Diablo Shoutout:  Smooth Joey at Toyon.

So I'm pretty sure I was Cyclist No. 6 to Summit Diablo in Year 2016.

By the time I started down, Summit Upper Lot was packed with people, Summit Road saw a constant stream of riders coming up, and Junction was having a cyclist party.  Colonel Al said something like 600 riders had Junctioned by noon.

Diablo Shoutouts:  Blog Reader Big D, who recognized me at Junction, and Blog Reader Encina Mike a little farther down my descent.

Yes - that's real snow!

Product Review:  Selle San Marco Rolls Rino

Holy cow (LOL) best saddle ever.  Diablo Wife wanted me to get the Brooks Cambium because it's not leather but it's way too expensive and I'm not sure that Brooks is a good match for my saddle-human-interface so I put this one on my Amazon Wish List and Diablo Parents came through.  I did verify that it's not actually rhinoceros hide... it's Asian Water Buffalo, and sorry Mr. Buffalo but you look STUNNINGLY beautiful on my winter bike.

I was trying to figure out how long I'd had that old saddle - the oldest on-line photo I could find was from 2005 so it's at least 10 years old.  I bought this bike in 1993 and possibly bought the saddle at the same time - I'm pretty sure I didn't have it on the previous bike. There we go - at least 10 years old, max 22 years old. The more I think about it, the more I think it's 22 years.

This photo is from 2005:
Ultegra 8-speed STI, new Gossamer compact crank, Rolls Titanio saddle.

Now the old saddle was looking pretty sad, and it creaked and sagged so I definitely needed a new one.

And Diablo Brother gave me a professional set of Park Allen Wrenches for Christmas so on December 26th I went out to Diablo Garage and did some surgery.  That's when I discovered the reason for the old saddle's sagging and creaking... as soon as I took the saddle out of the clamp, one of the rails just fell off.

And finally - the best dog in the world shares his birthday with the New Year.  Happiest of birthdays to my sweet Isaac.  I offered him an assortment of goodies, but he opted instead for extra bush-smelling time on our evening walk.