Gate-Junction-Gate

Short and sweet today. Had to be home by 9:30 for a family function. Rick's doing Climb to Kaiser today and JB said he'd probably start late so I knew it would be a solo ride. Absolutely perfect weather today, but it's supposed to be better tomorrow.

Dudley Driveby: 8:20 am at the Top of the Bump.

Saw the Rivendell boys coming down with lots of camping gear; must have been one of Grant's S24O's.

Got to the Junction, did a couple laps around the parking lot to recover, and started down. Saw JB on his way up somewhere around Clavicle Cracker.

Oddball Sighting: Odd only in the sense that you don't see these everyday - a guy and his father in this recumbent tandem at the pull out near the Bottom of the Bump. They were stopped and I took their photo with the son's camera as well. They had bags of stuff that made it look like they'd be having a picnic at the top or something.

Nobody to sprint with on the Dips except myself... so I guess I won.

Rick's Biff

Biff Point

Rick, did I get this right?

Gate-Junction-Gate

First Wednesday night ride in 6 weeks! Nice and warm, medium breeze, I drove to the Church and met JB at the Gate. Jeff got a head start. Saw AmyA go by about 3 minutes ahead of us.

Heat wasn't killer but it was a factor. At the Bump JB pulled ahead, caught AmyA and kept on going. Then she caught him back and the two of them got about two minutes on me by the Junction.

Jeff said his head start was only about 15 minutes so he razzed us for not catching him. Then we all turned down. I took the first half of the descent kind of slow and then picked it up at the Bump. JB was about 30 seconds ahead of me at Moss Landing but I closed to 10 seconds at the Dips and then caught him with 20 meters to go. He saw me coming though and did a bogus salute as if the finish line were 3/4 the way up instead of at the top. Someone should paint a line at the real finish.

Hey Rick... MXS: 45.5 mph

I always get a kick out of seeing my water bottle get squished from the change in air pressure.

Gate-Junction-Juniper-Gate


Dudley Driveby: Just past the loading dock. I should try and get a photo of him.

LOTS of people riding on the mountain this morning. JB, Rick, and I passed whole bunches of them.

Wildlife Encounter: Coyote off to the left of the road up the hill a ways.

Absolutely perfect weather. Perfect temperature, wind conditions, sky condition, all perfect.
JB and Rick dropped me past the Upper Ranch and I realized that no one had passed me yet so that was some kind of small prize I guess. Then at Chainbuster I look down and a guy in a Discovery jersey is closing fast. I didn't think I could stay in front of him but I put my head down and geared up and managed to stay clear until the last half mile. He passed me and I didn't see him again so he must not have stopped at the Junction.

Rick's training for Climb to Kaiser so all he wants to do is climb. I said I could go as far as Juniper but then would have to turn around and head home. I started up thinking Rick and JB were right behind me but it took them a minute to get going so I had a head start.

Wildlife Encounter: Another coyote! He was right in the road above Livermore Lookout but two mountain bike guys were coming down and scared him away before I could get his photo.

Rick caught up to me in the Blue Oak Speedway and JB started to slow down. Then I pulled over at the Junction and took a couple more photos before turning around.




Wildlife Encounter: Two more coyotes! This time I got a couple good shots. Usually the coyotes look almost friendly, but this guy has the face of an assassin.






Also stopped at the Lower Ranch to shoot this photo of the big rock.



As I started down again, Disco guy comes around me! I thought it would be great payback to outsprint him on the Dips. I stayed about 5 -10 bike lengths back and it was not hard at all to match his pace… I could have passed him easily. Then I got close enough to get some draft after Moss Landing. Then I started to wonder… Is he just a bad descender? Does he even know about the Dips sprint? Or is he being sneaky and saving his energy for the challenge?

I smoked him!

So I get home and I've got a message from Rick... he crashed on the way down near Juniper. He said he just over cooked a turn and then when he tried to recover he hit some gravel and off the road he went. His bike went end-over-end down the slope and he got some road rash on his hip and shoulder and cracked his helmet too. JB was behind him but Rick was so far off the road that JB didn't even see him and didn't know anything had happened. A couple other guys stopped to offer assistance and Rick got a ride down in the Ranger truck. He appears to be OK except for the pain.

I'm proud to introduce, my new dog - Abbey.

We adopted her from Golden State Greyhound Adoptions

Her racing name was "C's Dixie At Last"

Gate-Junction-Tire Poppers-Gate

Today's roster: me and Rick. JB went to the meeting about what to do with the old Concord Weapons Depot.

After a week of stifling heat, this morning was COLD and windy, almost looked like it might even rain! Of course the wind vector was completely opposite to our trajectory.

Dudley Drive-by: at the loading dock.

OK, when I say windy, I mean littlest gear out of the saddle tight grip on the bars head down and demoralized kind of windy. It was a slog!

Lots of people were at the Junction and lots of expensive beautiful bikes. One couple asked me to take their photo in front of the ranger station with their disposable camera, they declined the opportunity to have one posted here as well.

It started to warm up a little and we decided to do the Tire Poppers. It was instantly cold and foggy again - kind of a black fog that felt like the inside of a rain cloud. Big wet spots on the road from trees dripping. I was feeling better by the time we turned around so coming up the Easy Side was more fun.

Wildlife Encounter: a coyote just above the 1,000 foot sign. I stopped to take his photo but he was running away.

We didn't even stop again at the Junctio, we were in a hurry to get a hot cocoa at Starbucks.

We chased down a group of about 8 riders who were not bad descenders and I thought about how much fun it would be to sprint past them all at the Dips. Just after we grouped up we saw Grant P coming up and he warned us about a snake in the road...

Wildlife Encounter: a long rattle snake with a big white rattle on his tail.

There was a tailwind past Moss Landing so we were really flying, then I outsprinted everyone at the Dips. Then we went to Starbucks.

Gate-Junction-Blackhawk-Jamba



Boy nothing like a new pair of cleats to make your ride go smoothly - and quietly if you get the teflon impregnated ones.


Met up with Rick at his car, then waited 30 seconds for JB at the Gate.


Wildlife Encounter: lots of jackrabbits in the field off to the left... squirrels too.


Dudley Driveby: 30 seconds up the road. Can't remember the last time I didn't see him. Actually I didn't even look at him but Rick recognized him and pointed him out. I must have been admiring my new cleats.


Today's excuse for going slow: head full of snot, scratchy throat, sore lungs, and stiff back. Nothing serious, just a rhinovirus and geriatria. I drifted off the back at the Lower Ranch, did one interval to catch up but then Rick attacked and I was yesterday's toast. Saw Jay K near the Upper Ranch. Finished with a couple dozen hackaloogies and snot rockets; the Junction was a slippery slimey mess at 8:48 am.


Rick wanted more climbing to prep for Climb to Kaiser but I wasn't up to it so JB and I went down South slowly and then turned around at the Kiosk to wait for Rick. After we all regrouped we decided on Blackhawk. As soon as we passed The Hole, JB said he regretted not taking the shortcut. Then it was fun and games down Tasajara and Danville Blvd. I took two hard rim hits though, one was a monitoring well divot and the other was a 2x4... I should probably check my wheels but seemed OK.


At Jamba I opted for the Coldbuster with immunity booster... not my favorite flavor but I couldn't taste much anyway. Then I noticed my cleats were loose! When I got home I took out all the screws, put on some blue Loctite, and then torqued down hard with my biggest screwdriver that fit. If they come loose again then I must need new shoes.

Gate - Junction - SG Kiosk - Gate

I THOUGHT I had put my tights away for the season weeks ago. Had to dig them out this morning though... brrr.

Then riding down Bancroft, I sense that my right shoe has too much float... looking down I realize that my foot is floating but the cleat is staying put. I made a mental note to unclip with my left foot and avoid falling over at the next stop light. Sure enough - one screw was missing from the cleat and the other two were loose. Plus, these cleats look really worn out. I managed to get the screws tightened down some with my little multi-tool but it wasn't really sized appropriately for the job.


Got to the Gate just a few minutes late and explained my predicament to JB. He said a guy had just been there that had a tool to tighten his crank so we could catch him and ask if he had a better screwdriver. For now though, they seemed to be holding.

Dudley Drive-by: right at the Gate while I was inspecting my cleat. The guy sure is regular.

Caught the tool guy just below the Bump and he was happy to help - his tool was a little bigger than mine and I got another turn or so on the screws and they held the rest of the way up.

Wildlife Encounter: a coyote below Diablo Ranch.

It was so foggy that the sun looked no brighter than a full moon, but as we came around the Upper Ranch it suddenly cleared up and the wind died down too. Still not warm, but much more comfortable.

After a pause at the Junction (where it was quite warm), JB went home and I went down SGR to the Kiosk. Immediately I dropped back into the soupy fog and was chilled and wet. I enjoyed the drastic change in weather in such a short span of time, but my fingers didn't.

By the time I went back down the north side, the fog was gone. Fun day.

Look cleats with teflon anti-squeak bits are $21 a pair now!

Gate - Junction - SG Kiosk - Gate

Another solo ride today, so I got started at 9 instead of 8. It was still cool and breezy when I started but it got warmer and calmer as I climbed.

Right out of the Gate there was a guy ahead of me and I thought he'd make a good rabbit but I passed him a little ways later and never saw him again. Didn't see Dudley - he was probably home by now. Things on the Mountain change quite a bit between 8 and 9.

At the Junction there were quite a few people hanging around - looked like several groups of 4 and 5 each. I didn't have all day to ride but a SG Kiosk and back (just like last week) sounded just right. I started descending slowly, looking for a photo to present itself:

This sign at the entry to Buckeye Group Camp marks the 1 Mile To Junction point on the ascent of South Gate Road. The 2 Mile To Junction point is an unmarked power switchback just beyond the Ranger House past Rock City; hard to describe but easy to remember after you've identified it. It's 3.1 Miles To Junction so I don't have a 3MTJ descriptor.

I turned around at the Kiosk and started right back up. One guy recognized what I was doing and said "Mini-laps, right on!" and there were about 5 guys with Olympic Club jerseys on who had been resting at the Kiosk starting continuing up right ahead of me. I gave them a chance but they seemed to be on a pleasure ride so I came around them pretty fast with a friendly greeting. I was pushing hard through here to check my time splits but at about 2MTJ one guy caught me. I rode his wheel for a little while and then we were on that stretch by the Helicopter Landing and he slowed down so I passed him again. The we kind of rode side by side until he dropped me at the last couple hairpins before Junction. New split time from the Kiosk to the Junction was 15m30s - a minute and a half faster than last week - cool!

Wildlife Encounter: A turkey vulture with a yummy mid-morning snack.

Sew-up Failure

The rear tire on my Merckx showed an interesting failure this week. It looks like a big blister that's about ready to burst, and I'm sure if I kept on ridingit, it would have. It appears to be a casing failure under the tread where a bit of tube is forcing the tread out into a bubble.

I had a hard time getting my camera to focus on the bubble instead of on the wall behind but these photos show a pretty good view.

Now this tire had been filled up with Seal & Flate which is a sealant with propellant combination in a can that I put in there to patch up a slow leak (worked pretty well, not perfectly). So since I believe this tire now to be unrepairable I decided to do some investigation on how the sealant works. I'll be cutting up this tire and looking for the spots where the slow leak was patched and take some photos of that, and also the spot where the bubble is to see if I can figure out how that failed. That's all for this blog entry though, watch for updates.

Gate-Junction-SGKiosk-Gate

Solo ride this morning; JB's on vacation back east and Rick was a no show. It was the best weather all week, about 60° but a blustery wind persisted.

Today I used the camera on my new cell phone - a Motorola Razor V3M. Takes pretty good photos but it's a hassle getting them onto the computer; I have to e-mail them to myself at twenty-five cents apiece. Also, Verizon reception is pretty good on the Mountain but not as good as T-Mobile was... T-Mobile reception from my house was virtually nonexistent though so I'm glad I switched.

Just as I started out one guy with red shorts went around me, he looked fast but he didn't get too far ahead so I decided he'd be my rabbit. There was another couple also just starting out but they were riding pretty slowly and I never saw them again. Red shorts guy looked back a couple times and I was about 20 meters back - I thought I could pass him but I didn't want to be the rabbit myself today so I dropped back to about 100 meters. Then I dropped back to about 150 meters, then I lost sight of him altogether.

Wildlife Encounter: more snakes.

Dudley Drive-by: just past Upper Washout.

By the time I got to Clavicle Cracker the wind had died down and the sun was getting stronger. At the Junction there were a few people hanging around but nobody I recognized. Not as many riders as I would have expected given the excellent weather.

I decided to go down the south side and come back up. As soon as I got around that first bend to the right I rode into a thick, cold, wall of fog. Trees were dripping onto the road, the wind was still gusting, and visibility was very low. It was one of those days where the north and south sides of the Mountain were in completely different continents. I decided not to go all the way down and turned around at the Kiosk.

Oddball Sighting: A recumbent tandem trike, two wheels in front, one in back, very low to the ground with a safety flag.

View of Danville through the fog.

I timed myself from the Kiosk back to the Junction - it's 3.12 miles and it took me 17m 00s, much nicer going back up than descending in that soup. I need to mark off the 1, 2, and 3 MTJ points on SGR for better split times. Maybe next week.

When I got back to Junction I decided to go up a ways and find a sunny picnic area to rest at - didn't take long, I checked out the first one and it was perfect. I laid down on the table and enjoyed the warmth and peace.

Gate-Junction-Gate

Tonight, Brad made his return to the Mountain after the fateful crash at Wounded Knee a few weeks ago. We rode together from work and he said he would be taking it slowly (even though he had his go-fast bike) and that was OK with me. It was cold when I rode in this morning on Eddy so I had tights and a long sleeve jersey on but now it was getting pretty warm. Adam had forgotten something so he caught up to us at the Traffic Circle, and I don't know where JB was but he wasn't riding.

At the Gate Adam put on some speed and Brad stayed with him and I figured he'd drop back but he never did. I rode the rest of the ride solo. Sure enough, I got pretty warm in my tights but there was a strong wind so it wasn't like riding on a hot day. Somewhere around the Upper Washout I got passed by a rider from the Left Coast cycling team.

Wildlife Encounter: two small snakes sunning themselves.

At the Junction, Brad apologized and said he felt too good to ride slow... that's a good thing when you're recovering from a crash. I met another guy there who wanted to inspect my bike - he was a vintage bike collector and he told me of some really old bikes he had. He said my Merckx would hold its value really well and would even start increasing, but I enjoy riding it too much to sell it or try to keep it in collectable condition. He was an interesting guy who's been riding the Mountain since he was a kid in the '70s.

Here's a photo I found of the south side of the Mountain, taken from a Cessna airplane.

On the way down I suddenly got sprayed in the face like I had gone through a puddle, but there were no puddles. I stopped to inspect, suspecting it was Slime from my front tire and I had a puncture. That was the case but it must have worked really fast because I didn't lose much pressure. Happened a couple more times the rest of the way down but my tire stayed nice and full all the way home. Must be a piece of glass in there that keeps disloding.

Gate-Junction-Juniper-Summit-Junction-Gate

Looked like a real storm outside when I woke up this morning - no rain but lots of wind and it was cold. I went with long sleeves but not leg warmers, it's May for chrissakes.

I got to the Gate just a minute before JB, he had tights on. We knew Rick wasn't coming so we went up. Right away I realized JB didn't feel too well so we didn't do any throwing down.

We saw a guy coming down that we see nearly every week now - he's a middle aged guy with a moustache and rides a hybrid with a very vertical posture. You'd never guess he's very experienced from his riding style, and maybe he's not, but he's descending NGR just about every Saturday morning during our ride up. Sometimes I wonder if he gets a ride up from someone with a car and just does the descent... he must start awfully early. I think he needs a nickname for easy reference in my blog posts... how about "Dudley"?

Dudley Flyby: in the switchbacks above Moss Landing.

It never really got warm, but the wind died down a bit above the Ranches. JB seemed to get slower and slower as we got closer to Junction - then he ran down to the out house... I didn't press him for details but he wasn't interested in going any higher.



So I went up to Junction and then decided to keep on going. Didn't hang around long at the Summit though.

Had to stop at Junction on the way down just to warm up my hands.

Gate-Junction-Gate

Drove to the Gate, got a head start on JB and Adam. Felt a little "off" tonight, kind of spacey like when you take a cold pill. Couldn't find a rhythm and just didn't feel strong but I chugged along at a decent pace anyway.

Nice weather - a little warm, a little breezy, I drank most of my Cytomax before I got to the Bump. Got passed by a guy in Saeco shorts who had a cool tattoo on his calf.

Wildlife Encounter: baby rattler above the Cold Shoulder, about 9" long.

Adam caught me on the finishing stretch and I rode hard to beat JB by about 30 seconds (after start time handicap).

Looks like they got some new flags at the Junction - the old ones were pretty tattered. Bad bugs, no body else to talk to, we headed down after a couple minutes. On the descent JB was ahead of me at the Ranger House and two turkey vultures were circling: one of them swooped down to the road and was headed right toward JB - bit of a heart stopper!

Tour de Cure, Napa Valley

This was my fourth Tour de Cure, and Claudia’s second. Edgardo came up to my house at 7:30 and we all went up in my pick-up. We saw dozens of vehicles with bikes on the highway headed for Napa so the excitement started building early. Weather report said “hot” so we lathered on the SPF 50 in the parking lot.

Check-in was a breeze thanks to all the great volunteers. Claudia was an unregistered rider but they gave her a T-shirt and meal ticket anyway. First we got a lecture about obeying traffic rules and the guy said it was illegal to ride across the railroad tracks and a CHP officer there would give us a $300 fine if we didn’t get off and walk across… ridiculous misinformation like that annoys me but I decided not to argue with him. They started us off in waves of a couple dozen riders at a time but the first few miles were pretty much an unbroken line of bikes so we didn’t bother trying to pass too many of them.

There was a strong headwind as we headed north up the Saint Helena Highway and it was a little discouraging but I explained to Claudia that when we turned around on the other side we would be going really fast. Our two-headed bike is the greatest, but it doesn’t maneuver as well as a single so I generally avoided passing people when there were other bikes or traffic near us. Claudia got frustrated with the sometimes slow pace though and shouted instructions to increase our speed.

Edgardo was still with us when we turned east at Rutherford. It was a cross wind in there but partially sheltered because of all the trees. At one winding section we had a bit of a tail wind and a down hill at the same time and we got up some good speed; Edgardo said Claudia’s little cheeks were flapping from the wind drag.

We saw quite a few other folks with our corporate team jerseys including one remarkable guy from our Sacramento office who has Friedreich’s Ataxia and recently rode his tricycle recumbent across the country. Kyle's Story There was also a tandem couple with jerseys that said “Guide Dogs for the Blind” and I later realized the woman stoker was herself seeing impared. And something I’ve very rarely ever seen – a hand cycle being ridden by a guy who apparently did not have the use of his legs. There were frequent SAG vehicles that drove the course looking for people to help, and a couple of them were the official Jelly Belly cars.

At mile 13 we had our rest stop with drinks and snacks; the nut cups and oranges went really well together and they had lots of other good things too. There were hundreds of riders crammed into a pretty small area though so there weren’t many places to sit. People had parked their bikes by leaning them against grape vines or fences or trees but the wind was blowing them over. Claudia and I hung around for a long time but Edgardo took off on his own.

Now going south on the Silverado Trail we had some excellent tail wind and we hit our top speed of 33 mph. We passed dozens of riders and had lots of fun during this stretch but since we were going so fast, it didn’t last too long before we had to turn west onto Oak Knoll Avenue. It was nice and quiet back there and that’s where the Photo Crazy guy took this photo of us.



Then it was back north on the frontage road; the headwind was even stronger now though. Claudia admitted to being a little tired on this stretch but we could see the Veteran’s Home buildings on the hill from three miles away so we could gauge our effort accordingly and we finished with a feeling of accomplishment and relief.

Distance: 26.3 miles
Avg Speed: 13.1 mph
Max Speed: 33.0 mph

The Tour de Cure is a remarkable event. The amount of effort that goes into putting this ride on is astounding. My thanks go to all those who volunteered or helped organize it and to all of my sponsors for honoring me with your donations.

Gate-Junction-Hole in the Fence

JB and I almost had the whole Mountain to ourselves today. There are a half-dozen centuries in the Bay Area this weekend so most of the roadies were out doing one of those I guess. Rick’s doing Grizzly Peak tomorrow.

JB described to me his training plan was to do three intervals on every ride. When we got to the Bump he took off and went hard for about one minute and then slowed down to recover. I caught up with him a while later and then at the Upper Ranch he did it again, and again I caught up during his recovery. At Chainbuster he went for Number 3 but this time I stayed on his wheel. He tried to stretch out his interval phase long enough to shake me but wound up just destroying himself and handing me an easy win with about a 50 meter sprint.

Whenever I don't get a photo during my ride, I look for one in one of the photo sharing websites like Picasa. This is a watercolor by Robin Purcell called "Crimson Diablo". If you buy it or another one in her gallery, tell her I sent you.

We agreed to do the Hole and then we went through the golf course and those back streets of Walnut Creek that I can never remember the names of – I never take the lead back there because I’d miss a turn for sure.

There was some kind of “Walk for the Library” event happening on the Canal Trail, I don’t know what that was all about but those people weren’t used to sharing the trail with bike riders.

Gate-Junction-Tire Poppers-Junction-Juniper-Gate

Met Rick at the Church, and then JB came down from a pre-ride warm-up. Rick's training for Grizzly Peak next week (9,000+ feet and 110 miles) so he was on a mission to elevate. It's also the day of the Devil Mountain Double so we saw the signs and the last couple dozen DMD'ers descending - good day for it, beautiful weather, seemed to be a lot of cars though.

Wildlife Encounter: A loose dog at the upper entrance to the Upper Ranch. My first thought was "wolf" but it was probably a husky. He posed no problem.

At the Junction the bugs were pretty bad so we headed straight down South Gate. There were some people unloading their bikes from a car there that were surprised when we turned around; one of them said "Hey, didn't you guys just finish?". JB was happy with himself because he remembered to shift down in advance. Two guys passed us right after we started - one was a really fast guy but the other looked like he was catchable.

Never did see the catchable guy again, but the fast guy flatted before Rock City so it was kind of a victory when we passed him. I went for a little time trial and no one came with me. I didn't expect to stay alone for long but Rick must have been saving himself for the Summit so he gifted me the win.

And then we all went up Summit Road. I didn't have time to go all the way but figured I could do Juniper. We all started up pretty slow and then I attacked the gruppetto at Anti-Gravity Corner and scored another stage win. Rick kept going, JB and I turned around.

On the way down we inspected Wounded Knee and sure enough, it's the exact place where that hard-to-see pavement dip is; I'm sure that caused Brad's crash Wednesday. When you examine it from below you can see the contour much better and I think there's a good line to take on either side.

Oddball Observation: I saw a guy laying on the ground, face down next to his bike. I thought he had crashed but then I realized he was doing some kind of yoga push-ups.

After the ride, I took the wife and daughter up the Mountain in the minivan. I don't remember the last time I drove up but it was a long time ago. I paid my $6 day use fee for autos happily.

Wildlife Encounter: A coyote! I'd been telling my daughter that we would see one if we were lucky so this was a wonderful sighting.

We had a picnic at that shady place next to the trail about a half mile past Junction and then went on a little hike. I had the good camera.

"Our house is over there."

Then we drove the rest of the way up to "the castle".

It was a good day for a birthday.

Gate-Junction-Gate

I decided to drive to work today, bike in the truck. Adam left a little early with Brad, and Edgardo drove also but was running a little late. Brad and Adam met me at my parking spot on Doncaster and then we all (sans Ed) started off together. A guy in a blue jersey and knickers took off in front of us just as we started. Adam rode a little ways to be social, then he turned around to restart his stopwatch at the Gate. When he came back he was motoring and had a guy in Hammergel shorts on his wheel. A little while later the Hammergel shorts guy lost Adam's wheel but then blue jersey guy got on Hammergel shorts guy's wheel for long enough to open a pretty big gap between him and me and Brad. I figured blue jersey guy lit his whole book of matches with that one and we'd catch him before the Bump.

Wildlife Encounter: A female turkey in the middle of the road. Might have been the same one as last week.

I stayed with Brad the rest of the way up - it was a good pace but I could have gone faster. At the Ranches Brad said it looked like we weren't going to catch blue jersey guy but I pointed out another guy with an optic yellow jacket that blue jersey guy had just passed so we'd at least catch HIM. And we did right before Big Shady Oak. Then we came around Chainbuster and saw that BJG was fading so we closed to within about 10 meters of him and hung there waiting for him to crack. Then when I was sure I could pass him and maintain a good effort for long enough to stay in front I went for it. I wasn't expecting to drop Brad too but I found myself alone with a half mile to go. Suddenly I heard someone coming from behind and I figured I blew it but it was Brad. We stayed together for a while longer and then I jumped again for a decisive victory.

There were lots of people at the Junction but the DCers were gone and Adam had left already too. So we went back down, and then it happened: Brad named a new feature on the Mountain this evening "Wounded Knee".

I'm working on Google Map images for all the location names, but in the meantime you can check out MyMapsOnGoogle


Not sure what happened, I'll do some recon on Saturday, but he was making the left turn and skidded and then he just high-sided it. He scraped up his knees pretty bad and torqued his leg joints but wasn't in serious condition. Good thing I was behind him and saw it happen otherwise I would have just gone home. I offered to get my truck and give him a ride hom and he accepted. Another guy that had been at the Junction offered to stay with him for a while. By the time I got started up in the truck though, he had already come most of the way down so he was about as good as he could have hoped for. I gave him a ride back to the office and I'm sure he'll be still in pain tomorrow.

Gate-Junction-Blackhawk-Crow Canyon-Iron Horse-Danville Blvd


It really wasn't too cold when I left the house and I figured it would warm up from there so I was in my summer uniform. JB and Rick both showed up with full winter gear on.

It didn't get warmer and I was cold, but not painfully so. My legs turned a little red and my toes got a little numb but I had a fun ride. I lost contact with Rick and JB with about a mile to go and finished at the Junction about 1m30s behind.

Then we did Blackhawk and I got to put in some good efforts. Then we did Crow Canyon instead of Tassajara and that was enjoyable too. Then we stopped at Peet's in Danville, which has got to be the biggest bike poser coffee shop in the Bay Area. There were at least two dozen bikes parked in the racks and leaned against the building. A Serotta Legend Ti looked to be the biggest dollar frame there. We also met a guy there that we'd seen at the Junction: he'd gone up South and down North and wound up in Danville at the same time as us.

The way back to Walnut Creek on Danville Blvd was much more comfortable; with the higher temperatures and a half liter of au lait in my system I was tearing it up.

Gate-Junction-Juniper-Junction-Gate

Checked the weather forecast yesterday at work and it said "chance of thunderstorms". I discussed with JB the ramifications of such a development and he said "well, if you don't come I'll be riding solo." A few years ago I had a (semi-deserved) reputation for being a fair-weather rider and I've been trying to change that recently and I've since ridden in just about every environmental condition the Mountain has offered. Still... thunderstorms?

The proper way to fold and carry a spare tuubaler.

This morning arrived with dark skies but hardly anything that would keep a true Flahute off his fiets. I put Eddy's sew-ups on about a month ago and have been enjoying the zippy commute and now I looked forward to a sweet Vlaanderisch ride up NGR even though it meant I'd have to do some cleaning up afterwords.

Got to the Gate at 8:04 and put a rock up on the post. JB was right behind me but I didn't know it. I passed up a group of three women and another group of two guys right after the Gate. I rode slowly for a few minutes and then JB caught up around the Dumpster Gate.

Wildlife Encounter: A whole BUNCH of wild turkeys down by Little Pine Creek.

We rode along as the drizzle got heavier, each admiring our respective dedication and resolve and then suddenly around a bend there was another turkey in the middle of the road - she ran off right away but it was a fun little encounter.

We saw some more folks coming down and one guy on a hybrid was even wearing shorts. We figured though that at least the group of three women would turn around... after all, resolve like ours just isn't that common.

After Chainbuster JB did a little Cancellara and I figured I'd gift him the win today because I was feeling magnanimus. A little later, the group of two guys showed up from NGR and there were a couple other riders hanging around and we all verbally slapped each others' backs while discussing even more severe conditions in which we've ridden. I used a LensCrafters packaged towellette on my Tag-Hauers and then offered it to the other guys - they seemed to appreciate it.

'S wet.

JB abandonnee' but I said I wanted to go up some more. First though I munched my vanilla crisp PowerBar and BS'ed about racing in the old days with a guy who noticed my sew-ups.

I wasn't sure how far I'd go, but when I got to Juniper the rain was heavy and the fog was thick. I stopped just long enough to zip up my jacket and snap a couple photos.

This is what you would see from Juniper ... if you could see it ... but you can't.

Stopped at Junction on the way down, there was no one there, but I wrung out the water from my gloves. The group of three women were just down the road a piece - suffering with panache. It was really coming down now. I determined that it took about 3 wheel revolutions for my brakes to grab so I just took that into accound and didn't have any problems. I was hoping I wouldn't have to change a flat in the rain though because wet rims and Masticce Gutta just don't go together that well.

By the time I got to the bottom, my legs had that sublime feeling of cold wet tired numbness that fair weather riders will never know.

Took this photo of the Mountain from Heather Farm Park on Easter afternoon.