2009 WNR 03

The weather report said showers this afternoon so I brought my foul weather bike to work this morning; still haven't cleaned him up and his chain is in serious need of some new lube and it didn't rain anyway.

Rode up with Ed who's also turning 50 next month and has some epic adventures planned but hasn't been road riding much recently so we stopped a couple times for breathers.

Think I saw a red tail hawk at Upper Washout.

Saw JB coming down at Big Shady Oak, he turned around and rode with us a while before turning back down.

Got a flat near the Ranger House just before Junction - I went 100 miles in the rain on Saturday with no problems and then I puncture on a dry day on the Mountain.

Nice day, not too cool, a few too many bugs.

2009 Wine Country Century

I always like this century - it's the one that most feels like home turf and this edition was to be my first century of my sixth decade so I was eager for a good result. Rick agreed to join me and we both signed up months ago which is good because it sold out very far in advance.

Watched the weather report all week and it became painfully obvious that we were in for some rain. Predictions were for periodic showers so I put my rain wheels on my foul weather bike and packed up all my get wet gear.

Pre-century parking lot ritual.

Rick came to my house and we drove my truck to Santa Rosa and looked at the sky and steeled ourselves for a long sloppy bike ride. Leaving the parking lot was the last time we would even consider not having our rain jackets on. By mile two it started raining and alternated between light drizzle and heavy showers the rest of the day.

Didn't get any action photos because I kept my camera and phone double bagged in my pocket to keep them dry. By the first rest stop I was soaked including my socks but we were having fun and it wasn't really cold so there was no reason to bail out.

This rider was wearing the jersey from my health club's team. I have one too but I opted for long sleeves instead.

By the second there were a lot of bailers though and the number of riders on the road clearly decreased. Rick and I also missed a turn somewhere and we wound up on an alternate road that cut about 4 miles off the official route. All the rain was making it pretty hard to see the painted arrows on the road. There were volunteers and CHP directing people back to the start assuming most of us would quit - HA! We snubbed those Nancy riders and headed north to the lunch stop at mile 70.

Non-Nancys

Ewww, my hand is all funky!

I've been trying a new endurance drink called Perpetuem hoping it would get me to the final of these rides with a more even output and it seemed to work pretty well - I didn't eat nearly as much at the rest stops so I never had that sluggish feeling you get when you're trying to ride and digest at the same time. Never felt low on energy either, although I didn't have much snap left in my legs by mile 90 when we got to Chalk Hill. Also I've been getting more cramps lately so I brought some e-Caps and didn't have any problem today. So that'll be my standard prep for centuries from now on.

Ride stats: 96 miles, 6h19m ride time, 7h30m total time.

Flemish Face

The Belgian Beast performed flawlessly in the slop - shifting got a little sluggish toward the end though; the cable guide probably clogged up.

Dive Dive!

Went for a tandem ride to celebrate my 50th birthday.

A tandem parachute.

Diablo Scott Skydives from Diablo Scott on Vimeo.

If the video player above doesn't work, check out the video HERE

Quickie Junc Run

Started out early hoping to fine tune my shifting. Despite earlier indications to the contrary the situation's not been resolved and I've been getting some skipping and ghost shifts. Seems like I'll get it perfect in the workstand and then after about 10 minutes it starts to bugger up.

Met Peter at the Gate and soon JB showed up... he must have had a rough night though.

Had so many drive train problems I determined to go to the bike store after the ride so I turned around at Junction. Before I left though I got these shots of a really cool butterfly at the Ranger Station.

Love those armadillo ears.

"Whoa - is that a Nike SWOOSH?

Coolest insect EVAH.

So the Klein's in the shop and I asked for their top guy so hopefully they get it figured out soon. Just in case though, I put some new bar tape on my beater Merckx for next weekend.

2009 WNR 02

Nobody from work except me tonight, got started a little late too. First day of the end of the heat wave.

Wildlife Encounter: black-eared jack rabbit near the loading dock

Roadkill observation: big lizard at Penny Lane

Wildlife Encounter: RATTLESNAKE! Between Penny Lane and the Bump. This was worth stopping for a photo. I think he understood I wasn't going to hurt him but he did a little posturing anyway.

Wildlife Encounter: a tiny little lizard by Chainbuster

Lots of creatures out enjoying the beautiful April day on the Mountain.

Bump di Bump

Great weather this morning. On Wednesday my cleats squeaked a lot so I vowed to lube them with my silicon spray before this morning's ride and I felt really proud of myself for remembering so I grabbed the can and started to squirt when I noticed it didn't smell right.

The good news is, Goof Off apparently is safe for plastic cleats; at least mine haven't melted or anything yet.

JB called to say he'd be late but then I met Peter at the Gate and we rode together. There were a lot of Devil Mountain Double guys still coming down.

It got really windy up above the Bump. There were a lot of people at the Junction too - a bunch of small groups that just all decided to ride today.

Then JB came and we went down to the Tire Poppers and came back up.

Wildlife Encounter: A lizard sunning him/herself on SGR.

No more parking here - they put big rocks in here where there was room for about three cars... they look nicer than a sign.

2009 WNR 01

Pretty nice tonight. A little cool. Amanda keeps trying to get the once a year riders up but it doesn't work. JB was late and I didn't see him until the way down.

I followed a rabbit until he turned around just past Upper Washout. Forgot my HRM so couldn't do my interval idea again.

Gate -Junction - Blackhawk

Valve tore out of my front tube while I was prepping this morning so I had to do a quick change before I left.

Me, Rick, JB, and Peter at the Gate.

Saw Chris Horner guy coming down before we even started - he turned around somewhere and went back up because he passed us on NGR.

Really nice weather, no wind, just a little too cold for shorts but good for knee and arm wamers.

After the Bump, Rick announced he was going to do intervals the rest of the way up. I tried doing intervals based on heart rate instead of time... I'd go hard until my pulse hit 170, then I'd recover until it got to 155... this probably had no actually training benefit but I got it done nine times before the Junction.

Poppies and other wild flowers are all over the Mountain. Creeks are full of water too.

At the Junction JB turned back. Rick and I were doing Blackhawk and Peter wanted to go down to the Kiosk and then back. Chris Horner guy came down from the Summit and went down the South Side while we were waiting.

Then Rick and I practiced our two-man paceline technique and a couple hill sprints on the way back to WC.

This weekend I had the rhinovirus from HELL and could barely get off the couch let alone go for a ride. Speaking of cold, here's a couple videos I found while recovering the hard drive from my old computer...



If it weren't for Flanders today, the weekend would have been a total bust.

Governor Schwartzenegger Rides Diablo

Went for an early ride before work this morning and happened upon Arnold - in the flesh.

He dropped his security team at the Dips and we didn't see them again! Dude was throwin' down.

Apparently he was talking smack with Fabian Cancellara at the Tour of California - you know, some Austria vs Swiss rival monarchy kind of stuff... and Fabian called him a poser who couldn't make it up a Category 1 climb without bottled oxygen. So he's been training for a couple months on the exersize bike at the Capital Gym and today was his assault on The Mountain.

So we got to the bottom of the Bump and I decide to show the Terminator what a clean pair of heals looks like. I hammered up to the Upper Washout and max out my heart rate and when I look back - HE'S RIGHT ON MY WHEEL!!!

The Gov had a super high-tech, interesting bike that looked custom for his super powers, I asked him a few questions about it to get him talking so I could get a few breaths and recover.

Whoa... your derailleur doesn't have any cable... how does it shift - electronics, radio frequency remote control?

The derailleur changes gears automatically. As the wheel turns and begins to speed up, the two weights on the derailleur spin faster moving the chain to a higher gear. As you slow down or brake, the wheel slows down and the derailleur weights slow down moving the chain to a lower gear.

What about the front, OMG is that a 73t chainring?

The AutoMax High/Low Function is like a high/low option on a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV). It gives you 7 high and 7 low gears. There are two gear sprockets on the front crank where the pedals are and a high/low shifter on the left hand grip of the handlebar.

So you can really spin out a 183-inch high gear on a 12% grade?

The general perception is that 21 gears are better than 10 or 15 - and now you can even find bikes with 24 or 28 speeds! The fact is that many of these gears are duplicates. A typical 21 speed bike has 7 gears in the back and 3 in the front to give you 21 in all. The problem is that when you change gears in the front you will usually be in the wrong gear in the back - it's why people are usually riding in the wrong gear. It's confusing. With AutoShift and AutoMax, you'll have 7 high and 7 low gears. A simple twist of the left hand will allow you to select High or Low and AutoShift does the rest! You'll always be in the right gear!

Ever thought about turning it into a fixie?

Many people think it's faster because you aren't wasting time shifting. Since AutoShift is always in the correct gear, your pedaling cadence is maximized. In addition, when you stop or slow down, AutoShift automatically comes back to first gear. With a 21 speed, you'll have to manually shift down and you may not be in the proper gear when you start again or speed up.

Looks like you can really carve the single track with that suspension fork and everything, huh?.

Well, it's not a mountain bike meant for aggressive off-road biking, it performs very well on trails. It comes equipped with 2-inch wide all-terrain tires that have a center ridge for low friction road travel and side tread for off-road trails.

You don't wear a helmet, whyzz dat?

Well with AutoShift, since you are not constantly focusing on finding the proper gear, you'll be able to concentrate on the road and enjoy the experience. With hands-free shifting, you can keep both hands on the handlebar at all times and use the brakes faster. Also, this unique upright frame design keeps you looking straight ahead and not down at the ground. I don't need a stinking helmet.

So about then we were coming past the Ranger House and he sees me shaking loose my legs for the sprint ... but he pulled ahead a little bit... gave me "the look", and said "Hasta la vista, BABY!" and that was the last I saw of him. Nobody's going to believe this.

Quickie Junc Run

Lots of people on bikes today. A few too many cars too.
Wildlife Encounter: a bunch of turkeys near Little Pine Creek

Gate - Junction - Hole in the Fence

Home computer is dead so my next few posts will be sparse.

Health club got some new spin bikes - LeMond Rev Masters. Spin instructor killed me last night so today I was still hurting.

Peter showed up though so that was neat.

Wildlife Encounter: Black eared jackrabbit.

Nice Weather ... for January!

But it's March and only one week until spring.





Also first Saturday of DST.

JB and I did the Junction. Got passed by the Chris Horner looking guy in shorts again. Hung around at Junction for a while then started up Summit Road.

Wildlife Encounter: Coyote at Livermore Overlook... he ran away before we got too close.

JB turned around just after the coyote encounter and I went on up to Juniper. There were more riders on Summit Road than NGR - must have all gotten an early start. There were a lot of high clouds and it got a lot colder up there and a little windier.

Spring is busting out all over, but the wind beat these poppies up pretty bad.

Gate - Junction - Kiosk - Junction - Gate

Last Saturday ride of Daylight Wasting Time.

Pretty decent weather today for a change. Met JB at the Gate at 8. Didn't see many riders going up except one guy who looked like Chris Horner blew by us like he had his own personal tailwind.

Didn't have much motivation to do a punishing training ride today, maybe next week (will probably still be dark at the start.

JB smoked me to the Jnxn then we went down SGR to the Kiosk... his original plan was to conitinue on down and mine was to turn around but he got spooked by the fog on the Danville side so he came back up with me. I did a long interval and almost made it all the way back to the Junction alone but he caught me with a half mile to go.

There's a new weather recording gizmo at the Ranger Station.

Wednesday night rides will be starting again soon also!.

Gate - Junction - Hole

Met JB at the Gate. Got really lucky with nice weather between two heavy precip periods. Not very many riders up the North Side today. Saw a lot more coming up the Easy Side though while we were going down.

Spotted local celebrity Alison on Danville Boulevard; I always give her a shout out... she's been all over the world with them pink panniers, and she isn't packing styrofoam, and she always returns the greeting. From now on I'm just going to call this an "Alison Spotting".

Photo by Pete

2009 Amgen Tour of California Stage 3

Me and Rick rode our MTBs to the KOM at the top of Altamont Pass. 18 miles each way. It rained on us the whole time we were riding but was relatively nice while we were there and when the race came through.

Fans getting ready.

Chalk graffiti on the road.

Windmills just over the top.

We were there.

Official ToC spectator fan kit: Bear Republic flag (collapsable pole), cowbell, whistle, rain gear.

This guy wins the prize for biggest lens.

Santa Rosa

2009 Tour of California - Stage 1 Finish from Diablo Scott on Vimeo.

Paco Mancebo is DA MANN!



That's me with the flag, and dear daughter in pink.

Tour of California
If you don't see the embedded video...
For my super fun video of the Stage 1 finish, click HERE.