2026 Diablo Day 14 - Saturday Morning Junction

Pretty warm today. I started late and there was a lot of traffic.

Wildlife Encounter: one turkey and lots of butterflies.

These two guys wear the kit well.

2026 Diablo Day 13 - Wednesday Morning Junction

 Wildlife Encounter:  LOTS of turkeys.

Me and Charlie met at St. Tim's... it would be nice if this turned into a regular event, but he has some international travel plans, so it won't be THAT regular - at least for a while.

I had more stamina than last week, but my power spikes have a pretty short timespan... I can put out some extra Watts when necessary but then I dip back down too soon.

Met a pair of chatty riders at Junction - we talked about the old days, when things used to be NORMAL.

Then another guy started a conversation about unicycles on Diablo... we didn't have much to add.

The MDSP page said that some California Condors are headed toward Mount Diablo and maybe they would take up permanent residence here - that would be pretty cool.

Cathy and Becky - normal names

Charlie and vulture at Vulture Gulch.

Condor photo by Save Mount Diablo

2026 Diablo Day 12 - Wednesday Morning Junction

At the end of Monday's ride when I encountered Charlie, we decided Wednesday would be a good day to do a Junction together.  Charlie's been travelling and not training his hardest so I figured I could keep up with him, but I was clearly the weaker one.  

Wednesday morning rides might be kind of a nice new-normal... we'll see.

Saw quite a few riders, but nobody I knew.

Wildlife Encounter: turkeys

Roadkill report: snake

On the way down, a vulture flew over my head - I didn't see it, but it cast a big shadow across the road that startled me because I thought it was some kind of ground animal crossing in front of me. My years of experience in these situations kept me from a panic skid.

In the afternoon I attended a webinar by Trek Travel about gravel bike vacations... thinking about a bucket-list trip to New Zealand... it was enticing.

EBMUD laying pipe in my neighborhood.

Charlie joked that the oncoming driver thought Charlie might've put this little bridge over the posted weight limit... but they were probably thinking more about the one-lane warning, so they waited for us to go first.

There are always vultures over this section.

2026 Diablo Day 11 - Monday Morning Junction

HEAT WAVE! Burnin in my soul!  I had some lame excuses for not riding over the weekend, so I made up a reason to ride on Monday.  Pretty quiet up there. Just a bunch of old retired folks.

Roadkill Report:  snake... barely worth mentioning.

Saw Charlie out on a ride on the way home and we got caught up and decided to think about doing a ride together soon.

This is the view you see when it's time to shift into the BIG RING.

 

Hey - is that Charlie on Old Orchard?  YEAH!

2026 Diablo Day 10 - Saturday Morning Junction

 Kevin said "Let's ride!"  so we rode - on a Thursday!

It was a little chilly so I went with tights and long sleeves but no jacket.

We met on DIABLO ROAD and then we RODE DIABLO!

Wildlife Encounter:  bunch of turkeys, two deer, some more turkeys, and a snake.

We were about half way up to the Kiosk when I started to get cramps in my calves... so we stopped and I took off my tights and massaged the legs a little and then took off again.  It was warmer but windy up high.  Poppies and lupines at BBQ Terrace.

At Junction we met Diablo Legend Keith... we talked about old man knees and mechanical shifting.

If I'm being photographed... I'm putting on my game face!

Keith