2018 SMR 07

Got to The Gate a little early and I whistled the Star Spangled Banner as the park ranger raised the flag.  Ranger was impressed with my performing skills.

First Poppies of the Season: Below the Lower Ranch, didn't get a photo.  That was the only patch I saw.  There were a bunch of them, still closed up though.

At Junction, there was a group in the picnic area beating drums and chanting Native American-sounding songs.  Couldn't tell if it was realistic, but they were taking themselves seriously.

The Three Days of de Jury Duty

Well, if you gotta serve... might as well ride your bike there.  

After checking out the suggested routes on Google Maps, I opted for Pleasant Hill Road and Alhambra Ave.  Most of the way there's a good bike lane, and the cars are used to seeing bikes on the road.

Downtown Martinez is as trippy as ever.

There are ZERO bike racks at the courthouse.

But there are BikeLink lockers at the AMTRAK station.  

Courthouse security won't let you take in any tools, and I'm guessing they wouldn't like CO2 carts.  Much safer leaving all that stuff with your bike in one of these lockers than locked to a parking meter or something.  They even took away the little camera in my backpack... how stupid is that when everyone's got a camera on their phone?

The train station is 4 blocks from the courthouse... nice walk to cool down.  Then I changed clothes in the bathroom of the jury room... and began waiting... every day.

And the view on the way home was diabolical.

2018 SMR 06

Way warmer than it had any reason to be today... almost could've gone shorts and no jacket.

Lots and lots of people enjoying The Mountain this morning.  Normal amount of riders, but way more hikers and picnickers.

JB was gone two weeks ago, and I was gone last week, so this was our first ride together since January.  I don't know why I thought I'd be the stronger one today, but I wasn't.  Felt fine, but on The Wall, I got a fatal cramp.  The Wall is 120 full crank revolutions in my lowest gear... I count each half revolution as a "step" and at step  #80 I felt the cramp coming on, at step #82 I was thinking I might be able to ride through it, and there was no step #84; I finished with the walk of shame... in pain.

This guy wasn't smooth, but he was fast.

Right here's where the cramp took control.

2018 SMR 05

Perhaps the windiest Junction ride I have ever completed today.  I was planning on a solo Summit, but by the bottom of The Bump it was windy enough to make me think I wouldn't even make it.to Junction.  Only the toughest of the tough were out there this morning.

Diablo Regular Ted and his buddy came up behind me while I was stopped at Son of Chainbuster and started to give me the razz for letting the wind win... then they both had to stop too.  We derided the riders who didn't ride today, while questioning our own sanity.

Guys coming up from South Gate said it was equally as windy down there.  Some of them saw a helicopter MedEvac out a guy who crashed his ultralight aircraft craft somewhere near Curry Point.

UPDATE: the ultralight pilot wasn't badly injured, the helicopter was to get the plane out.

MT DIABLO – A pilot walked away from an emergency crash landing on the south side of Mt. Diablo Friday. 

State Park officials say the ultralight aircraft made an emergency crash landing in 30 to 40 mile-per-hour winds near Curry Point, a location just northeast of Rock City. 

Although the pilot sustained minor injuries in the crash, they did not seek medical attention. No paramedics were dispatched to the location. 

Authorities say a helicopter was used to airlift the aircraft to an awaiting flatbed truck at Curry Point. The helicopter battled high wind conditions throughout the recovery effort. 

Officials said the incident did not appear to result in any environmental impacts.

Roadkill Report:  possum on Walnut Ave.

Hey - a video!  This is what it looks like almost getting blown off the road.