2016 WNR 16

I was prepared for killer hot, but it was only about 90°F.

Rangers with Radar spotted on South Gate Road... you've been warned.

2016 SMR 20

Today was the Mount Diablo Hill Climb Time Trial so The Mountain was full of racers.  They were starting one rider every 30 seconds, so I calculated I'd be passed by about 11,000 riders before Junction.

Usually I sort my photos by time... not today.  Complain in the comments section.

Nancy fails to acknowledge my shoutout again.

Juan messaged me yesterday and wanted to ride with us again... OF COURSE!

Yeah, this barrier doesn't apply to us.

Next time you will shave before you get a blog photo.

JB thought he'd do everybody a favor and kick a pine cone off the road...
almost taking me out.

Wildlife Encounter:  young deer, wherever this was.  Got off the road just in time.

2016 WNR 15

Nice and warm, mild wind.

Special guest rider:  ALEX - intern at our office.  Experienced rider and recently rode from Seattle to Los Angeles, self suported.

Shawn, Elmar, and I establish the early break.

Shawn started to fade at the Bump.

Elmar pushed hard until the Washout.

Then Elmar cracked... I could see it in his face.  Leaving me a little less than 3 miles to go on a solo search for the suffer.

Wildlife Encounter:  big buck... he kinda just stared at me from the other lane - creepy.

Fast Juction segments require lots of time in the RED.

New guy Alex was the last one up.  He's experienced but not fast, and he has a touring bike with racks and everything.  I cautioned him about some of the deceptive switchbacks and then we went down... me, Alex, and Elmar.  We stayed together and I was in the middle and checked on Alex behind me several times - he wasn't having any problems keeping up and we weren't pushing the speed.  At Moss Landing though, I let it go and developed some speed.

I got back to the parking spot on Doncaster first, and then about 30 seconds later Elmar got there, and then we waited and waited and Alex didn't show up.  We asked some other riders coming down if they had seen a stranded or crashed rider and none of them had.  We thought maybe Alex missed the turn onto Doncaster and he'd be turning around and coming back... but he still wasn't there.  Alex had given Elmar his car keys  (no pocket) so we couldn't just leave, and we were afraid maybe he had crashed so we drove my truck about two miles up North Gate looking for him... nothing.

Now we were really worried - we had no idea what had happened to him.  We thought of all the possibilities:

1.  He missed the turn and is totally lost.
2.  He forgot he had driven to the start and is now riding his bike home to Berkeley.
3.  He missed the turn and he came back while we were looking for him in the Park and assumed we had left with his keys and now he had to ride home to Berkeley.
4.  He crashed in such an amazing manner that completely obscured his unconscious body and touring bike from view.
5.  He was abducted by aliens.
6.  He met a friend and they decided to go get a beer.

Finally we used his car keys to open his car and we found his cell phone and wallet but no numbers that we could call for someone who might be able to get in touch with him.  We gave up. We left a note on his car asking him to call us if he got it.  Elmar came over to my house and we called the State Park and told them that Alex was missing; they said they'd have a look.

We checked Alex's Facebook page looking for contacts - sent him and his girlfriend an instant message but didn't hear back.

With no other options Elmar went home and we all hoped it was something stupid and not something tragic.

UPDATE:  Alex showed up at work Thursday morning and said he got lost, but he only had to ride a few miles to get to the house he was staying at - then he got a ride to go get his car later that evening.  He had no idea that people were worried about him and he ignored the note we left.  Just wait until he has kids.

2016 SMR 19

Absolutely beautiful day on The Mountain

This guy's jersey looked like a football jersey.

This guy did the perfect pass - he rode by with a glance, not breathing hard, and then shifted up.

Hey - a calaveras jersey!

There were literally 100's of riders enjoying Diablo today.  Triple Crown riders, racing team riders, and people who could barely make it up.  

Calaveras guy again on The Wall... I had to pass him quickly because another rider was trying to pass me.

Nancy did a triple Diablo today... holy smokes!

Q:  What do you call somebody who has to walk their bike up The Bump?

A:  Diablo bike riders!  Welcome.

2016 WNR 14

A little too windy for a PB attempt.

Shawn is in great shape after his SF-LA bike tour.

Elmar was late but going for it.  This is his pain face as he passed me.

Nice of this guy to wave me by - thanks!

Evan ran over some kind of tire-killing shrapnel a couple blocks away from the parking spot and finished on foot.

2016 SMR 18

Nice and cool this morning.

Bunch of people coming down early made me wonder if there was an event I didn't know about.

Today's Colorful Socks prize goes to this rider: 

What is that... Tutti-Frutti?

Diablo Shoutout to Jackie - who said she might show up for a Wednesday Night Ride one of these days.

We got passed by a LOT of people today. 

Wildlife Encounter:  Two deer ran across the narrow Summit Wall in front of me while I was climbing.  First an adult, and then a young one.  They ran from the right side up into that space between the up and down one-lane roads.  I was careful in case there were more hiding in the bush waiting to take me out.

 People are always posing for photos at the Summit.  What do they do with all those pix?

Coming down, I suddenly got a very strange and severe knee pain.  It was right on my kneecap and I could move it but I couldn't put any pressure on the pedal.  I tried standing and it was even worse.  I imagined this being the beginning of the end of my cycling days, but then it went away... not completely but enough for me to ignore it.

I almost challenged this guy to a track standing competition.  He wasn't bad but he needed to see what it's supposed to look like. Then the light turned green.

Checked my tires when I got home.  After every ride it's getting a little closer to needing to put new ones on... good for at least another ride.