2016 SMR 28

Pre-ride tire pressure check and noticed this:

Yeah, that looks terminal.  Better take the back-up bike today.

Why do these cuts always happen to the expensive tires?  

Oh yeah, because I DON'T RIDE CHEAP TIRES!

That one was still pretty new though.  I think I remember running over some hunk of metal on Wednesday night... that's probably what did it.

The Back-Up Bike
Still dirty from the Dumbarton ride.

While we were at Junction some guys were coming down, lead by a kid on a MTB and the kid went down NGR and then the guys behind him screamed that he missed the turn and they had to chase him down and come back up... we all got a chuckle out of that.

These guys passed us near The Pines... but then couldn't stay ahead.
 Diablo Disgrace badges for each of them.

Air quality and visibility is pretty bad because of the fires to the east and south.

I can confirm that the water fountain
is working in the Lower Lot.

 Hey, that's a US Pro Champion jersey...

 is this guy famous?

Cal Jersey automatic blog photo.

There are lots of new safety signs up now.

Roadkill Report:  an possum at North Gate outside The Park

2016 WNR 23

Good night to go easy.  Very warm, and very dry - you could almost feel the moisture getting sucked out of your body... like in the desert.

Wildlife Encounter:  four deer at Coyote Flats

2016 SMR 27

Saw a couple of Perseid meteors last night.... that means today is a bike ride.

At Junction we got all spontaneous and decided to do South Gate and come back up instead of doing The Summit.

2016 WNR 22

Lots of smack talk among the more competitive riders in the office today.  Looked to be a fast one for several guys.

They're doing some road work on North Gate Road residential area before the Gate - there was a lot of loose gravel and it was hard to ride on and really hard to ride fast on.  Hopefully they get that finished soon.  Inside the Park, the same old pavement as always.

Yup - everyone was putting in a strong effort.  There was no socializing.

On the way down - first tarantula of the season sighted!

Tarantula Tally:  ONE

Dumbarton Endurathon

This morning I dropped off Diablo Daughter and her boyfriend at the Yoobi-Con in Newark.  They had a big day planned so I figured I'd bring my bike and do some riding while I was there.  Looking at Google Maps for some good routes I realized I've never ridden across the Dumbarton Bridge before so that'd be my plan.

The access roads didn't look to be in the best shape and there were lots of ride reports on-line describing debris and potholes... so I took the sew-ups off of the Merckx and put on my more robust tires... turned out to be an excellent choice.

I parked at the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge and there I met another bike rider who offered to come along.  He had a steel Rivendell bike and an Italian jersey and he appreciated my bike and my Flemish socks.  Amado was on an epic ride from San Jose and had a long trip back home so after the first bridge crossing we parted ways.

Then I rode across the bridge 5 more times, and also along the pier and then I discovered the Shoreline Trail - wow that was some fun riding on top of a 10-foot wide levy with waves crashing on the side.  It was hard-packed dirt so not too dusty but still needed some technical riding skills.

Then Diablo Daughter called to say she was ready to be picked up, and the ride ended with 50 miles in the books.


Dumbarton Endurathon from Diablo Scott on Vimeo.

2016 SMR 26

Dang cold this morning - a jacket in August?  BUH!

Saw this guy a couple more times today -
he got another flat later on and had to abandon. 

Congratulations to Jill and Bob.

These posts for the new signage are really tall.
Colonel Al said he hopes they don't put giant signs on them. 

Warmed up nicely above Junction, but the jacket still felt nice.

There's construction going on at the Upper Summit Lot - no bike parking and no water and no bathrooms, but you can still go there and walk into the visitor center.

2016 WNR 21

Had the reverse-angle seatstay cam on tonight.

This guy crashed because he was going down too fast, using the wrong lane around this bend, had to make a correction and couldn't hold it.  We stopped to see if he was OK and call him a dumbass.

Diablo Shoutout to Punkin' Jay - who had a story of a ninja squirrel assassin on the Death Ride.  And another shoutout to Doug - who swears he has more than just the one jersey I always see him in.

Bagpiper Guy returns to The Mountain

2016 SMR 25

Gonna be hot up there. 

Ahhhh... some shade. 

Anyone in a Cal jersey gets an automatic blog photo.

Special guest rider:  Elmar.

JB and I both admired the color-coordination of
this rider's helmet, socks, and jersey.

Wednesday night, Blog Reader Lance Oldstrong asked me how Penny Lane got its name.

That got me to thinking about how long those pennies have been gone.  This photo is from year 2007. That got me to thinking - I've got a pocketful of pennies and a big tube of liquid nails - so maybe when they're done with the roadwork I'll do a little modification.  I don't remember if they were all heads-up or what.

2016 WNR 20

Yup... another hot one.

Diablo Shoutout to Blog Reader Lance Oldstrong who showed off his new double century bike and new double century physical conditioning.  He was doing intervals in preparation for the Best of the Bay Double Century which includes Diablo... so that makes it awesome.

Would've been nice to have some wet washcloths up here.

Wildlife Encounter:  BOBCAT !!!

Here's what The Mountain looks like from DVC

Sunday I was cleaning out behind my bike stuff storage cabinet and found my old jersey wallet!

It had fallen behind the cabinet against the wall.

I don't even remember losing it.  Wonder what's inside.