Gate - Junction - Muir - Gate

After a week and a half of lousy weather, I woke up this morning expecting more of the same... instead I got a beautiful sunrise and mostly blue skies.




Not too cold, not rainy, windier than I'd like, but a good day for a ride. The Mountain has had a lot of snow all week, but last night was pretty warm so most of it was gone... I did see a little bit on North Peak but didn't expect to find much on the ride.



I wasn't sure if Rick's race was still on but he wasn't there. JB was late too so I rode solo to the Junction. The wind was strong and steady - made for a slow ride.



Dudley Driveby: at the Ranger House. He was wearing his hiking shorts.



JB rolled in to Junction just a few minutes after I did. It was quite a bit colder up here so we decided we'd ride up to the snow. Finally found some at Muir picnic area, almost at the Summit.

We threw a couple snowballs at each other and at that point we decided we'd had enough and turned around.

The strong wind made for a sketchy descent so we took our time going down. Then went to Starbucks for a hot one.

Breaking Away - Cinzano 100

Breaking Away - Cinzano 100

After months of research and watching my VHS copy of the movie, I've finally published my Breaking Away Tribute Page - see the sidebar on the right under "Links to My Pages"

Gate - Junction - Tire Poppers - Junction - Gate

Left home and me toes were immediately cold, by the time I got to the Church and connected with Rick I was in real pain but I knew it was going to warm up. Then JB came by (he had DOUBLE booties) and we started up.

Really cold this morning and we didn't see many other riders. About the Ranches the sun finally started warming up. Last week Rick thought his race was today, but it's next week. At the Junction he decided a Bump de Bump would be good training so we went down... it was cold.

Coming back up the Easy Side, we didn't see too many riders either. I gave Rick a long pull to Helicopter Hill and then he tried to bridge up to a guy but didn't make it. At the Junction we saw Mark A and he decided to do SGR and back up also. On the way down NGR, we saw a couple really big groups of riders - almost like they were riding in military parade formation.

Did I mention it was cold today?

Gate - Junction - Blackhawk - Peet's - Sports Basement

Hallo. Ik ben Diablo Scott. Welkom op mijn blog.

Last weekend the Mountain was closed because the bad weather had caused some mud slides and rock slides. Today was sort of foggy but calm and not too cold. Rick's doing the early season road race next weekend. He's also practicing his Italian in prep of a spring vacation to Toscana.




As we rode up NGR we went in and out of layers of fog, interesting but not too good for photos.

At the Bump I fell back a little and then

Wildlife Encounter: two coyotes. They're much cuter now in the winter with their thick fluffy coats. Actually I think I separated the pair because one ran across the road in front of me and the other was on the opposite side of the road. I stopped for photos but they were too camera shy. Also saw a big hawk in a tall tree down by Little Pine Creek.

Powerbar Performance Pitstop at the Junction. Grant P came up in the captain's seat of a Mercian tandem with Brooks saddles and everything - I didn't recognize his stoker but he was a classic Riv kind of guy. Then we went down SGR. It was way wetter and foggier and colder on this side. We had some fun challenging each other in the Blackhawk Road rollers. Rick and I waited for JB to catch up on Camino Tassajara and then he blew right by us - just after that a guy in a Capo jersey came by so Rick and I latched on to him and then we blew right past JB again. Capo guy worked with us for a while and we weren't going super fast, but faster than we would have if it were just us.

Heading north on Danville Blvd.

Back in Walnut Creek we rode up the South Broadway Extension instead of the trail - a lot faster but those drainage grates scare me a little. Then on the trail next to the flood control channel there was a lot of glass and Rick got a flat.

Gave me an excuse to take some photos.




We finished up with a cuppa Peet's and then Rick and I went to the Sports Basement where Alberson's used to be. Their food section is open now and they had great deals on gel and stuff; $16 for on of those big HammerGel bottles, or $11 for a box of 12 HammerGel squirt packs. It's a neat place and the bike section is bigger than a lot of conventional bike stores.

Dank u wel voor het lezen.

New Year, Same Mountain

Summit hot line said it was 49°F but it was way colder than that at my house, I figured it was an inversion and didn't overdo the clothing.

Absolutely perfect weather for a NYD ride - cold and clear and no wind at all. It was really quiet too. I kept expecting to see riders and runners coming up behind me but I only saw the "ride back down" vehicles for the runners and didn't see anyone out of their car until I met these guys at the Upper Washout.

Stan, on the left, is continuing his tradition of running Diablo on NYD ever since 1976! Mark on the right was keeping him company.

A most auspicious odometer reading for the New Year on the Flight Deck occurred near Big Shady Oak.

Saw another guy with hiking gear sort of jogging near the Junction on his way up. Didn't see any other bike riders at all until Blue Oak when a few started coming down from the Summit. It was definitely warmer at the higher elevations and a couple times I got a face full of positively warm wind from somewhere.

I stopped for the first time at Muir for a PowerBar break... wanted fresh legs for the Wall.

At the Summit I watched the next couple dozen bike riders come in, also the jog-hiker guy who appeared to know all the running club folks with the support vehicles. The first group of runners was a threesome and one of the guys had his arm in a broken shoulder harness! They shouted out that they just beat two hours. I think it was part road and part trail.

Absolutely beautiful day this morning. Some day when I'm lying on my death bed and want to remember what feeling really alive was like, I'll remember days like this.

Whoo! So much for that "220 minus your age" formula. I'm going to have to re-calculate my heartrate zones. This is about 4 bpm higher than I typically see on the Summit Wall.

On the way back down there were hundreds of riders and runners coming up. It was amatuer day on the Mountain and that means be really careful of drivers, runners, and riders who don't understand safety protocol.

Wildlife Encounter: A coyote near the Ranger House. He ran across the road in front of me and up the grade to the side. I warned the next few riders on their way up.

Then at the Bump there was this overturned jeep. The ranger there didn't know what had happened, there were no skid marks, no disturbed gravel, no tracks in the mud - just a jeep on its side facing the wrong way. When I stopped to photograph it I spoke with a woman rider (her first time on the Mountain!) and she had seen an ambulance going down with sirens on so that was probably the driver. The running club I think had arranged for some paramedics to be there today so lucky for that person.

Best wishes for a great year.

Scott

Gate - Junction - Juniper - Gate

This one was worth 4 points on the Diablo Scott Belgian Hardman Scale.

Rick called at 7:00 to make sure I was going to be there... he also called last night... this is not the kind of day you want to be miserable without anyone to share it with.

When I got to NGR ,there was Rick putting on his booties over... HIS SANDALS !! He forgot his shoes and decided that wouldn't stop him so he rode the whole day without cleats on his Look pedals, what a hardman (all hardmen are a little bit nuts). Then JB rode up too and off we went.

I stopped for a whizz at the bottom of the Bump.

This isn't it... just a rain puddle.

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We half hoped to find snow somewhere up there but visibility was almost nil. The fog was as thick and wet as I've ever seen it; most places were completely un-photographable so you're only seeing the few clear spots. Rick predicted we'd see no other riders, I was sure we weren't the only ones. Note to self: time for the mudguard.

No sense hanging around at the Junction any longer than necessary, we went up.

Dudley Driveby: 9:20 at Blue Oak on his way down (!) We did see about a half dozen other riders too.

More fog seemed to be forming in the little valleys between slopes and rising into the air. It was hard taking photos with frozen fingers.

I stopped at Juniper despite R&JB's taunting to continue. As soon as I started down, I knew it was a good decision... it was a long, cold, soggy, low visibility descent. Rick later called to say it took them almost an hour to come down.

Brrr is right.

Some Photos

Found these while browsing teh internets. A couple of views you don't see very often.

Fron Concord somewhere.

From an airplane over Suisun Bay... does it always look that brown?

From Tilden Park.

And from Danville? Covered with snow.

Gate - Junction - SG Kiosk - Gate

Colder than last week! I had on a polypropelene undershirt (never could figure out how they make T-shirts and pipes out of the same material), jersey, full jacket, tights over my bibshorts, winter socks and booties, neck gator, ear jock, double layer of gloves, and SportKilt bandana under my helmet. Must have been 10 pounds of clothing, but I was plenty warm after my toes thawed out.

Met Rick and JB at the Gate at eight. It's been rainy this week but this morning was clear and not windy. JB said it was 34°F at the Summit - did you know there's a weather station you can call? The number is 925-838-9225 and you get a recording that gives the current temp and wind conditions.

There were a few guys riding today - but no Dudley... hope he's OK.

At the Junction a guy asked me about my booties, he didn't have any and wanted to know if they worked... YUP. He admitted his feet were pretty cold.

Then we went down to the SG Kiosk for a quick loop and back up. Some guys passed us on the way back up but Rick caught all of them save one.

And then Bagle Street Cafe at Encina Grande Center, it's a great après ride place but understaffed so you sometimes have to wait a long time just for a bagle and a cuppa.

Gate - Junction - Blackhawk - Peet's COLD!

There was a crisp cleanness to the cold air this morning that piqued the senses. I became painfully aware of this as I pulled on my jacket and realized I should have washed it after the last ride...

JB and Rick met me at the Gate and we started up. We were all dressed for the cold - as for me: bibs and tights, jersey and jacket, winter socks and booties, gloves with liners and an ear jock... the only thing I left off was my neck gator and a thermal undershirt (for sub-freezing conditions or icy winds).

Dudley Driveby: Didn't see him !
Wildlife Encounter: Didn't see any of them either !

We did see a few folks coming down and a few more at the Junction so we weren't the only cycle-locos out there, but all the dumb animals had the sense to shelter in place.

JB turned around at the Junction; Rick and I went down the South Side. I remember thinking it was warm enough that I wouldn't need all the warmies for the descent but I put them on anyway because I'm usually wrong.


It was pretty slow going down through Blackhawk but it started to warm up a little. Then we made our way to Peet's in Danville and I had a peppermint mocha (a 9+ on the DiabloScott coffee rating scale). Also met a guy with a classic old Klein Performance who had recently put on a carbon fork and a triple crank to go with his 8-speed rear end and friction shifters on the downtube... sorry this photo didn't turn out too well.

Also happened to see Adam and his wife on their way to Pegasus for some X-mas shopping (not for me).

Then it was a semi-fast trip up Danville Blvd... no cement trucks to draft this time.

Cycling in TV Commercials

This is a slick Euro TV commercial with a cyclist advertising a Belgian window and door company. Only 30 sec.

Solo to Juniper

Just me today, riding the Eddy Merckx.

About half way to the Gate, I was wishing I had chosen warmer socks. After a week of fog and rain, today was clear and dry but very cold. I knew Rick wasn't coming, JB called while I was en route and said he wouldn't be coming either. I decided today would be a good day to take a bunch of photos; especially of places where I don't normally stop. I kept my eye open for an unusual cast of a shadow or an interesting pattern in the trees; let me know how I did.

I took some extra time with these shots today, so please enjoy. There bigger than usual too if you click on them.

I stopped at the steepest part of the Bump for a photo and a guy with a Pegasus jersey climbed past me... he didn't see my camera, probably thought I was a newb that couldn't make it without a breather.

Most of the Bump was still in the shade.

At the Lower Ranch I saw two guys who looked like they were in a bit over their heads... both looked knackered and under-prepared but in good spirits.

Didn't see anybody else going up or down until Chainbuster where Dudley was stopped, on his way down trying to get some warmth back in his legs I think. I said "hello" but then a little ways up I pulled out my camera for a photo. I don't think I've ever really made fun of Dudley (other than assigning him an unusual nickname) and I truly do admire his determination and consistency. He doesn't seem to fit the mold of other cyclists that ride the Mountain on a regular basis though; he usually wears street clothes with a back pack and bike shorts. Today he would have benefitted from some tights.

Here we have the only known photo of "Dudley".

You can see the Ranger House in this shot, right about in the middle at the top.

At the Junction I met a guy with a 7-Eleven jersey who admired my 7-Eleven replica bike. There were also some MTB guys there who rode up NGR and were going to do some trails on the way down to Danville. Then the two guys I saw at Diablo Ranch came in as well; one of them had a cool Scottish accent and the other guy kept complaining that he was going to die. They jokingly asked if there was any coffee up here and I said it was at the Summit but they didn't bite.

So off I went, not knowing how far I'd go before turning around. It did get colder and windier up there though so that would be my excuse.

At Juniper I decided I'd had enough and started down. I stopped at Junction again to put on some lip goop and then some other guys were there who also verbally admired my bike... I said "I paid $800 for this frame 14 years ago - that's real quality."

I think my chain is worn out though, it kept getting hung up on the chainrings when I'd back peddle a half stroke around corners.
Back down near sea level and the sun was high and the air was warm.

Notch up one more excellent day on Mount Diablo.

Ever Wondered What It Would Be Like to Paraglide Over the Mountain?

I have.

Anyway, I hurt my back last weekend so no riding. Might not be the regular ride this Saturday either. Enjoy the video.

Juniper on Eddy - Flat on the Bump

Got to the Gate a little early and went up a ways before meeting Rick and JB and starting over. It was really beautiful weather for November - knee warmers and arm warmers were perfect.

Wildlife Encounter: A doe near the Bump and a Coyote near Son of Chainbuster.

LOOOOOOONG shadows of November mornings.

My front tire started to go soft on the Bump and I had started to fall behind. I caught back up near the Upper Washout and announced my predicament so Rick and JB stopped to wait for me to change it. Turned out to be a little tear near the valve so I wound up tossing it at the Junction. Saw some butthead toss a lit cigarette out of his window after passing us - I can't even imagine being that clueless.

Dudley Driveby: 8:50 near the Ranches. Rick noticed the guy never smiles.

Ground squirrels make holes like this all over the lower parts of the Mountain.

Rick had a party to go to but wanted to go to Juniper so that's what we did. On the way up we got passed by a really long school bus from Stockton. It was empty and probably was going to give a ride back down to all the hikers we saw coming up later.

I told Rick he should do another Dips sprint and he agreed so at the "Let 'Er Rip" corner I motored away pretty fast but then these other two guys came around us so we just drafted them and didn't sprint.