Not Today

There are 1,000 fires burning in the Bay Area. The air quality this week has just gotten worse and worse. I made the decision yesterday that I wouldn't ride the Mountain this morning and would go to the health club instead for an indoor workout including a spin class. Diablo Daughter and I rode the tandem there though and went swimming after.

Shot this photo of the Napa fire on our way up to Sonoma last weekend - the beginning of a very smokey week.

View of Diablo from southern Sonoma County

Rick sent me this photo taken from Pleasanton.

2008-WNR-10

I have never cancelled a bike ride because of air quality - I thought today would be the first. Didn't even bring my good bike to work, just rode in on Eddy as usual. Figured if it looked better in the afternoon I could ride part way up in commute clothes and a backpack - and that's what I did... except I kept going to the Junction.

It was windy at the bottom but got calm about half way up. The smoke from Bay Area fires was reducing visibility more than I've ever seen (or not seen) in my 25 years here. I rode slowly, didn't want to have to breathe too hard. Adam and JB passed me early on and I met up with a guy named Lawrence; retired and Bay Area native. We talked about tubulars and centuries and compact cranks.

The air was a little better at the Junction, but the bugs were bad and I turned down, breathing through my nose to keep the taste of smoke off my teeth... also I've heard that nose hair makes a good particulate filter.

Spectator

Today I rode down to Danville and then up Diablo on the Easy Side to watch the Diablo 10km time trial. Left home just before 8 expecting to get in position on North Gate Road by about 10. Ran over some glass on Danville Blvd but didn't flat. Also it was a steady headwind all the way there. Danville was having a street fair so I stopped to say hello to the greyhound adoption booth folks.

I really don't like riding Diablo Road from Danville to the Mountain but it wasn't too bad today. There were a lot of people parked near the School and unloading bikes. Rick's start time was listed as 10:13 and I wound up being early anyway so I took a lot of photos. If you think I may have gotten one of you but it's not here, shoot me an e-mail with details and I'll look through my thumbnails.

Wasn't nearly as hot today as it has been, it was really nice just sitting on my rock and listening to tunes on my Shuffle and taking pictures.

Rick's looking ready to cat up.

Rozel recognized me.

So did Winston, but I missed the shot.

Semi celebrity Scott Martin.

Gordon with his wrist cast

Adam on his way to a PB.

2007 Diablo Challenge champion, Chris Phipps got third overall on the day.

Local hero Bill Innes on his way to 2nd place on the podium.

Ned, just amazing and inspiring - note aero bar clip ons.

This guy must have his own blog!

La Meta

Results are posted HERE. Ned almost broke the course record (23m27s) with a 23m40s. Rick did a PB but not quite as good as he was hoping for, and Adam blew past the finish line to score a sub 30 on the conventional course all the way to Junction (been his goal for years).

Special photos of merit to Klein riders:

A nice Q-Pro

Another nice Q-Pro


A Quantum Race with a quill stem

Can't read the top tube, but must be a Quantum Pro with that fork.


And a Quantum. The guys who were really going for it carried minimal water on their bike... others like this guy opted for two bottles.

2008 WNR 09

If I were the kind of guy to complain, I might say it was a little too warm tonight. I'm really glad I passed on the babaganoush at lunch.

That over haul on my Klein got rid of the annoying click in my bottom bracket, but my shoes were squeaking like sorority mice.

Regular Wednesday Rider Ward

Wildlife Encounter: two coyotes.

Don't you want to just scratch his ears and make him do tricks?

Two frozen bottles to start with, last swig at Junction wasn't too hot.



Wildlife Encounter: a lizard.

Probably should have photographed him from the other side.

Big group of Diablo Cyclists tonight.


Kenny came again, he was proud that he didn't have to stop for a break like last time.


There was a lot of talk about the road work on South Gate - apparently they covered up some trenches with steel plates that could be slippery and have a big lip. Bugs were bad too.


I was hoping for that rush of coolness on the descent as your sweat evaporates all at once... didn't happen.

Summit

Rick's racing tomorrow, so just me and JB today.


Weather forecast was for more heat but this morning started out pretty cool.


Lots of folks training for Death Ride today... no big groups though.


Dudley Driveby: I forget where, but he was wearing a winter coat.


JB decided to do some intervals near the Lower Ranch and that was about the last I saw of him before Junction.

Somebody finally marked off the pavement damage at Wounded Knee. It was really hard to see because of the lighting. I'm not sure if they did this as a warning or as an instruction for some future pavement repair.

We hung around the Junction until the bugs got too bad, then headed up to Juniper and JB said he'd turn around there.

Wildlife Encounter: A cute little bunny.

At Juniper we thought we smelled smoke but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. We said good-bye and I went up. Stopped for a bit at Muir Picnic Area for some spy photos:

Diablo Spy Cam

Then on to the Summit. It was getting pretty hot now but it was a really nice day. Dozens of riders enjoying the Mountain.

Just got done with a major overhaul on my bike - looking good. White handlebar tape will be grungy soon but I like it.

I've been trying to capture how steep the Wall is... do you think this does it?

Snapped this photo from the PH BART a while back.

After the ride, I took my daughter and a couple friends and another dad on a bike ride to the park on the trails. Ran into a guy with a 28 year old custom Klein. It hardly had any markings on it but I could tell easily from behind. He actually did some work for Klein as a Human Resources consultant and worked the bike into the deal - told them he wanted a bike especially for Mount Diablo! (He got a triple with 7 speed freewheel). They also customized the frame to accomodate his arm length discrepancy. I asked him to check my site and then write up the story of his bike for my Klein page.

Tour de Cure Ride Report and Photos

Sorry, I entered this with a post date of the ride date and you may have missed it.
Thanks to "anonymous" for the head slap. Of course... if you had donated you would have received our extra special ride report in an e-mail.

Click - HERE to be taken to the post.

Mission Aborted: Nipple Fatigue

Way cooler and foggier than the last day of May has any right to be... very pleasant but unusual.

We expected to see a lot of cyclists training for the Death Ride... hardly any.

Wildlife Encounter: Black-Tailed Jackrabbit ((Lepus californicus). Ran away from the road as we approached.

Coyote Cuisine

JB tried to put the hurt to me after Chainbuster and it worked, except he put the hurt to himself even more. There was a substantial headwind up there so I vowed to hang on and go late and that worked perfectly.

Man it was foggy at the Junction.

I wanted to go up at least to Juniper and find some sun, and JB reluctantly agreed. As I was getting ready for more climbing I heard and felt the strangest buzzing... almost like a cell phone on vibrate but much stronger. JB heard it too. Then I realized it was my brake rubbing my rear wheel - somehow I had broken a spoke and was getting that vibration just straddling my top tube. We cancelled the ascent. He gave me a rubber band to tie the spoke up to an adjacent spoke. Riding down was fine, I just didn't rail any corners.

Here's what I found when I got home - just the head of the nipple had broken off, inside the rim. Took it to Encina Bicycle Center in the afternoon and Dave said it was an easy fix and he'd done bunches of them. I've never seen one break like that before - only spokes at the elbow or at the nipple, not the nipple itself.

A good opportunity to do some bike cleaning while I'm at it too.

Gooogle Maps Diablo

This is the coolest. You can take a virtual ride up Diablo through Google Maps! Can't link directly but:

Go to Gooogle Maps HERE, then paste this address:
1284 N Gate Rd Walnut Creek, CA 94598

Then click on the little photo that says STREET VIEW. You can turn 360° and look up and down and head up the Mountain with simple mouse clicks.

Google has a fleet of cars with cameras that drive around and take photos of everything. When they drove through the Junction, of course there were a bunch of riders hanging out... I'd love to know who these people are!

You can probably look up your house too... my lawn was full of leaves when they came by my neighborhood!



Lots of interesting information on these cars - some have recorded crimes being comitted, sometimes people have flashed the cameras!

2008 WNR 08

Wednesday afternoon found me stuck in San Francisco traffic. I always enjoy seeing my favorite landmark on the way home.



Tonight, we brought up a Diablo virgin - Adam's cousin Kenny. He's been riding and he's young and fit but he's never done anything like Diablo. He and Adam rode from the office and met me at the Gate. JB has tickets to the A's game so he DNSed.

At first the three of us rode together. Kenny wasn't as comfortable drafting so he kept a distance but didn't have trouble keeping up. Then at the Bump he hammered up but I held back, not sure if he knew what he was doing or not. Then we all re-grouped at the Cold Shoulder. Then Adam went off solo and I rode with Kenny and pointed out the usual locations. He said he hoped never to have a spot named after one of his misfortunes.

Then at Big Shady Oak I told him, "one mile to go from here" and he decided to pull over and rest... I guess he just pooped out. Adam came down to get him and ride him in.

I warned Kenny about dragging his brakes and about Wounded Knee and we descended at a novice speed. He had really had a fun ride down. Too early to tell if he'll be a regular.

Quickie JuncRun

Unbelievable, except it probably happens every year. It was cold enough this morning to need tights and other warmies; I had to dig into my pile of bike clothes that I'd put away until November.

JB and I left the Gate at 8 after I put on some extra lip goop to protect from the elements. It had rained a little overnight but was pretty dry this morning. We decided the fire near Santa Cruz was supplying the atmosphere with surplus particulate that was acting as nucleation for participate condenstation.

We figured Dudley would be back in his tights too, but we didn't see him.

At the top of the Bump I had a little gap on JB and enjoyed having him in a spot of bother so I kept on going. He's always in good form for WNRs but Saturday mornings sometimes find him without the edge.

A guy on an aero Pinarello came around me but he left no wake for me to jump into.

At the Junction we saw some guys coming down from Summit Road and they were all pretty soggy. They said just a few corners up it was really wet. There were quite a few folks though who were training for the Death Ride and they were serious about vertical training miles in whatever kind of weather was available.

New racoon-proof trash can at the Junction ranger station! (Cell phone photo)

We decided soggy wasn't for us so we went down. When I got home, my new camera was waiting for me so I took my dog for a walk and shot this photo from my neighborhood (too bad I don't actually have this view!)

The rainclouds had pretty much disipated by then.

Gate - Junction - Gate

Rick and JB gave me the standard 5 minute grace period before starting without me - I rolled up about 6 minutes late and caught them just after the dips.



Third or fourth day of the heat wave - hardly cooled down at all overnight.



I was a little surprised to see Rick - he's leaving for ITALY this evening for a family vacation, but he decided he had time for a quick JuncRun.



Coming up the Bump, a guy on a sweet Moots challenged from the outside and Rick went with him. Later Rick claimed he gave the Moots guy a free ride and the dude was knackered at the Junction.



Dudley Driveby: Looks like it was warm enough for him to leave the jacket at home.



Wildlife Encounter: Black tail deer below the Lower Ranch... you'll notice I didn't post any photos.



Wildlife Encounter: Coyote near the Ranger House. Hmmm, no photos?

While I was stopped to watch the coyote, a guy came by and I started riding and talking with him. Mike from Marin was training for an Ironman Triathlon later this year with his wife who was just ahead of us.



At the Junction I talked with Dave, who used to ride with the Diablo Cyclists on Wednesday nights. Haven't' seen him for a while. He was promoting a new kind of oxygenated water sports drink and thought I might do a product review on it. His enthusiasm for the stuff was infectious and I lost the card he gave me with the info, but a page of Google RESULTS convinced me that any effect was placebic.



Rick wanted the Dip Sprint today so I gave him a good leadout and he handled it nicely. Afterwards he said he didn't think my run-up was fast enough, but when he barely got around me for the jump he changed his mind. Then we did a hydrant sprint too and I went early to see if he would know how to respond and he got me by a bike length. He'll cat up real soon.



OK, why no coyote and deer photos? It appears my camera finally crapped out. Tried to upload them to my computer and I got a message about an unformatted card. The photos were viewable on the camera but my computer couldn't see them. They weren't that good anyway, so here's a photo from Mother's Day on the Mountain last week (when it was actually cold!)





Going to use those Amazon coupons on a new camera... probably by next Saturday.

2008 WNR 07

Since it's Bike to Work Week, I decided not to do my usual Wednesday pick-up with bike in the rack routine. This meant I had to carry all my bike junk in my work backpack and change at the office.

It was supposed to be almost 100°F tonight but it didn't get that hot. It's definitely hot and dry though and it feels like a desert. I brought two bottles of ice Cytomax but didn't get the freezing time quite right... the Polar bottle was still pretty cool by the end though.

Started up at 5:32 after about a 20 minute ride to the Gate. Figured JB and Adam would be right behind me. The Diablo Cyclists are leaving later now, so most of them passed me around the Lower Ranch. The heat wasn't that bad but my eyes get really dry in weather like this... I think I'm going to have to start carrying drops with me.

Adam and JB showed up at the Gate. There were a dozen or so riders hanging out, and then we all went down.

After the Mountain I had to go back to the office to get my backpack. Then back home on my regular commute route where I snapped this photo.

Gate - Junction - SG Kiosk - Gate

Beautiful weather this morning. Met JB at the Gate. Rick's doing a race in Pleasanton... he's almost ready to upgrade.

Usually I do better rides on Saturday mornings and JB does better rides on Wednesday afternoons. Today we took it pretty easy.

He asked me "Do you ever wonder how long you'll keep doing this?" And I said, "I had a vision recently that I was an old man, got to the Gate, started riding up, realized I just couldn't do it anymore, and then cried and turned around, never to ride the Mountain again." I suspect it'll be like that, barring injury or relocation. I'd be willing to put on a triple crank or even --gasp-- get a recumbent if it would mean a few more years though. And if I'm in any control of my faculties at all... I could see myself riding up on an electric Vespa twice a week to take photos.

Dudley Driveby: Actually he was stopped, admiring the view near the Bump. He had on a newish pair of black cycling tights!

After Chainbuster, JB decided to put the screws to me. I hung on for a while, then I lost contact, then with about 200m to go I went for a Hail Mary sprint and passed him for the win.

We both went down SGR but I turned around at the Kiosk.

There were dozens of these little orange plastic fences, I couldn't figure out what they were for.

The South Side is definitely a little more scenic than the North.

This guy was doing his own little MTB criterium - up this trail, back around on the road, repeat.

This cracked me up - one of the residents of Ranger Town was cleaning out his garage and this old exercycle was parked in front... get a bike!

Thank you Mount Diablo