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.

Decisions, decisions.

Gate-Junction-Blackhawk-Danville Blvd



This morning while I was walking my dog, I surmised that it was going to be cold all morning. There was rain in the forecast but not predicted until afternoon. So with almost full winter gear I rolled my bike out and noticed that the front tire was flat. I didn't see anything sticking out so I tried to just pump it up but it wouldn't hold. Then I grabbed a tube from my rack of patched and tested ones and installed it... cool, still on time. Then I got about a mile from home and realized it was flat again. I was hoping something wasn't seriously wrong and through in one of my unused spares from the seat bag... cool, it seemed to hold. Then I called Rick to tell him I'd be a little late.



I passed two women on North Gate Road before I met up with JB and Rick at the Gate, they looked like good riders but not fast - I like to make sure I don't pass people who are later going to pass me back. Good riding but it started to hot up and I was too warm; I'm pretty good about clothing calls but today I botched it. Lost contact with Rick and JB at the Bump. We passed a rider in a blue jersey a little later but I didn't seem to be able to get too far ahead of him until I hammered a few blind spots to squash his morale.


Dudley Driveby: 8:38 near Clavicle Cracker



Just when I started to relax about blue jersey rider not repassing me, I see blue rider get passed by a new guy; white jersey rider. So I was determined at least to give this dog a good chase and by the time I got to Chainbuster I knew I had made it.


At the Junction, white jersey rider introduces himself as "Doug - a faithful blog reader!"

Doug

Doug also said that another friend of his sent him a link to my site! Rick kidded me about being famous.

Doug went up, JB went home, me and Rick went to Blackhawk. I measured off the distance from the Junction to the Challenge starting line to verify my profile chart - PROFILE (it's correct). Rick wanted me to take a photo of the new "all weather sports field" at the Athenian School - this is why the Challenge riders had to park so far away this year.

I guess they fill it in with some stuff and then cover it with artificial turf and put in a drainage system... looks like a lot of money just to play soccer.

Blackhawk and Tassajara were tons of fun as usual but we started to get a few rain sprinkles. Then on Danville Blvd we drafted a cement truck for a mile or so at high speed - that was really fun!

Pinehurst-Skyline-Grizzly Peak-Wildcat-Bears-Pig Farm

This was Rick's idea for a ride with some variety. I happened upon blog reader Chris on the Canal Trail; he was headed for Sunol and hoping to pick up some company along the way. Rick, JB, and I met in Walnut Creek and headed through town to the Lafayette Trail. Rick reported the temp as 48°F but it would be getting pretty warm by the end of the ride. JB's more sensitive to the cold so he had on tights, arm warmers, and a vest; Rick and I just had shorts and armwarmers.


Roadkill Observation: A huge stinky coon carcass on Olympic Blvd.

The Lafayette-Moraga Trail is definitely one of the nicer ones around in terms of scenery.

And it's always longer than I remember.

At the end of the Trail, we worked our way west and into the hills. I wonder how many people live here their whole lives and never see Canyon. By the time we hit the bottom of Pinehurst we'd been riding for an hour so we were warmed up, but it was still cold. The Pinehurst climb is surely one of the Bay Area's finest, but it's not very long. There's a section in there that's one lane because of a mudslide, hadn't seen that before.

Roadkill Observation: a deer, picked clean to the bones but they left the hooves.

When we got to Skyline we munched our snacks and then headed North. Then Grizzly Peak and all those rolling hills - that's really some great riding and great scenery.

And you get views like this!

And then down the steep South Park Drive in Tilden; it was closed to traffic for the newt migration but I'm pretty sure they don't mind bikes - this is one of the few places I've hit 50mph, but not today. At the bottom Rick said he had to "get rid of his hot chocolate"... I wasn't sure if that meant number one or number two but there's a nice restroom there. Tilden's a nice place to ride but there's more traffic so you usually can't really rip it. And the descent down Wildcat is always a blast. We saw big groups of riders coming up too and there was also a club time trial going on.

And then - the Bears... all of them. That first one from San Pablo Ave just goes on forever, then lets up for a bit and climbs some more. I started to get a little crampy on this bit so I held back some; it was also nice and warm by now. JB stopped at the Briones entrance to strip off some clothes and Rick stayed with him; I kept going thinking they'd be right behind me but I was solo over the last couple miles all the way to Alhambra Valley Road when Rick caught me. Then we pulled over to wait for JB in a driveway... at the bottom of... THE PIG.

Pig Farm Hill is one of those East Bay institutions; I've never met a rider who didn't know it. It's really a fun little climb but it always seems to come when your legs are about finished. We joked that there are three segments: ouch, OUCH, and OUCH!

No more pigs, the current owner seems to be an antique truck buff... and doesn't like trespassers.

Then a quick jaunt through the outskirts of Martinez and Pleasant Hill (more rollers) and we were back.

Yet Another Road Kill Observation: an opossum pancake.

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Caught up with Blog Reader Chris on the way to the Gate, we discussed the Diablo Challenge while we rode. Then Rick and I waited at the Gate but left without JB. Rick's computer said it was 50°F when we started, that's good for two Belgian Hardman Points.

Wildlife Encounter: Jack Rabbit near the farm and a tarantula near the Lower Ranch.

We passed up a few people but the Mountain was pretty quiet compared to last month. Then with 3 miles to go we saw JB about a half mile below but he never caught up.

At the Junction JB rolled in and said he had to go right back down so Rick and I decided to do the Tire Poppers.

Dudley Driveby: Coming down from Summit Road at 9:15.

SGR was a little more populated but still not too many riders. When we turned around at the Tire Poppers though there were about six riders in pairs but we all split up pretty fast.






One couple passed us though and Rick took off with them and I stopped to take this snapshot:




Wildlife Encounter: Another tarantula.

Rick said he dusted his companions at the helicopter pad. On the way down I told him we should switch and he should sprint after my leadout... it was all I could do to maintain 32 mph to the dips and then he hammered up both of them but was pretty rubbery afterwards... that was fun and then we went to Starbucks.

Gate-Junction-Hole

I felt like I was coming down with something today. Not sick yet, but I kind of felt hot inside. It was wet and cold when I left the house on my winter bike with tights, winter gloves, and a winter jacket.

Met JB and Rick at the Gate, unzipped my jacket and took off my gloves, I was already too warm. Didn't sleep well last night either so I quickly fell off the back of the gruppeto. Then I suffered the rest of the way to Junction by myself.

The road repair they did a couple weeks ago was apparent but it didn't really make much sense; it wasn't really that bad before, but they cut out some sections and completely replaced them and other places they put on some crack sealer but it didn't look like enough, and other places that looked like they really needed repair got nothing (check out the bend over the creek at about mile 4). Near the end, Rick turned around to collect me and said my whole head was red.

Dudley Driveby - a little past 9 o'clock at Junction, coming down from Summit Road. We joked that soon he'd have a superbike, probably a Rivendell because we imagined him to be a retro-grouch wannabe.




After a break we decided to do the hole. I didn't even feel good going down but at least I wasn't too cold. Then we had coffee at Peet's.

On the way home I felt a growing, urgent need for a restroom. Stories of Greg Lemond and Bob Roll in similar situations with unfortunate and embarassing outcomes played in my mind so I stopped at that little park between the Iron Horse Trail and Oak Road - the facility there was much better than I expected... two rooms, both handicapped accessible so there was plenty of space to bring in my bike, plenty of TP and seat covers. I give it a 7 out of 10 on the Diablo Scott public toilet rating scale.

Diablo Challenge Volunteering



I arrived at the start line at 6:45 am, and checked in with the coordinators Anne-Marie, Julie, and Chuck. The hard core riders were already there warming up on their trainers. Rick showed up about 7:30 and I wished him good legs, I also saw TBV and a few other celebrities... but Flandis was a DNS.

My task as a volunteer was to haul people's stuff up to the Summit. I think the organizers figured each rider would maybe have a jacket and sweatpants but a lot of them had full backpacks that weighed 20 pounds. Confounding this issue was the glitch that this year the riders had to park several miles away since the Athenian school was re-surfacing its athletic fields, so people couldn't put last minute stuff in their cars.


Julie and Chuck figured everybody's bags would fit into 5 bike boxes and all of it in my truck. They both have had experience with this and I hadn't, but 5 boxes for 1200 registered riders seemed a little short. All 5 boxes would have fit in my truck if they hadn't been stuffed to overflowing. My assistants Briana and Linda were very nice and helpful but they couldn't help me lift the heavier ones. When my truck was full there was nothing else I could do, and it was 8 minutes before the start so I told Chuck I just had to get going and he'd have to figure something out.



I drove up to the Summit pretty fast. The sun was warming things up and it was perfect weather for the race. The folks at the aid stations along the way looked really bored and it made me think that my job was the best because I could see both ends of the event. At the Lower Lot I unloaded some of the stuff and then walked over to see the first riders start up the Wall. Briana and Linda told me that Chuck had announced "the ride will not start until we get some riders to help load the bags into the (Briana's) SUV" and that pretty much did the trick... almost everybody's junk made it to the Summit.


At the bottom of the Wall PizzaMan Chris Phipps came past looking like he was barely into Zone 4, and he was followed by 13 seconds of empty road before the second place guy came by - and it was another 90 seconds before #3. Chris really stamped his authority on this one; 45m48s to the Summit, sheesh.


After that I unloaded the rest of the truck and helped people find their stuff - not easy at first since there was so much of it. Rick rolled in and said he did a PB but he needs to find another minute and a half somehow if he want the sub-hour shirt (he does)... I suggested the Zipp 202 sew-up wheels in the Pegasus booth. He said he was about one minute off his goal at the Junction and then he really punished himself to keep speed through Blue Oak Speedway.


Afterwards, I was in a caravan following the last group of riders down and we came upon a rider who had two flats and ran out of tubes so I gave him a ride down, he was a nice guy who'd been riding road bikes for 30 years so we had a nice chin wag the rest of the trip.
A fine event and I got to see it from the inside... I'll probably do it again next year too.

Gate-Junction-Hole-Home

Cold this morning; tights and arm warmers. JB, Rick, me.

Rick and I took off together and got a big gap on JB at the Bump, but then he caught up and then he and Rick rode away from me.

Dudley Driveby: 8:48 at the Ranger House.

Rick's plan was to ride easy to Juniper and then go full gas from there to the Summit for a Challenge time split. JB and I went down and around.

The fence uphill from the Hole has been totally replaced with a tall concrete wall. The downhill side is still wood but is falling apart. I'm sure there is a segment of the community down there that doesn't like the access and doesn't like the bikes going through but it's a pretty popular path and the alternate (Diablo Road) is just too narrow and busy; I hope they don't close it off.

Alameda Diablo is a private road through an exclusive country club neighborhood, and they have these speed humps to keep the traffic speed down - they're kind of fun on a bike.

Gate-Junction-Gate IN THE RAIN

No Place for Nancys

Couldn't believe it was raining this morning. Had to hunt a bit for the rain slicker and leg warmers. The Belgian Beast was ready to go though; I put the winter wheels on a couple weeks ago.

Yesterday, Rick said he was going to do a quick one to Juniper and then go to a wedding in Santa Cruz... this was before we knew about the rain though. No Rick. No JB. Just me.

I chased a group of three for a while but didn't catch them until the Junction. It rained pretty steady up until the Upper Ranch.

Dudley Driveby: 8:48 near Son of Chainbuster; I knew he was part Flemish!

Wildlife Encounter: Two deer near the Upper Ranch, one of them stopped and posed for a photo. Both bucks with nice antlers... I didn't think males hung around together.

There were a few guys waiting at the Junction, we all pretended this was fun, then I went down for a grande regular. Another buck ran across the road in front of me near Moss Landing.

They're doing some road maintenance on North Gate week after next... these dates are Monday through Friday and the road will be closed to all traffic (yes, this means YOU) on Wednesday and Thursday.

Ronde 1.999

Commentary in vlaamse!

Gate-Junction-Summit-Gate




Today old friend Karl came down from Seattle and borrowed my loaner bike for a ride up the Mountain. He got to my house at 7:15, we got the saddle adjusted and then rode to the Gate where we met JB. Karl's been doing some racing and soon took off on his own.



Dudley Driveby: 8:42 at Chainbuster.



JB and I rode together to the Junction and Karl had been there for quite a while when we arrived.



Wildlife Encounter: One tarantula



JB had baseball tickets so Karl and I went to the Summit together. A couple fast guys passed us though and then Karl took off with them. It was much colder and windier on Summit Road, if I'd had my winter gloves I would have worn them.




Not nearly as many riders as last week. Saw blog reader Chris and his friend John at the Junction on the way down and we discussed the possibility of Floyd Landis doing the Challenge... Floyd - bring your arm warmers.

Gate-Junction-Tire Poppers-Juntion-Gate

Just started rolling this morning and had to stop short when I passed Mark and Amy's house; a huge chunk of the giant oak tree in their front yard had fallen down. It was an amazing bit of luck that it didn't hit their house, car, or power lines. The fallen limb spanned from the trunk all the way across the street.

After the ride, Mark told me the tree guy said this thing was 300-400 years old. It's gonna have to come down now for sure.
OK, met up with JB and Rick at the Gate. It was pleasantly cool and the riding was great. Rick did a Challenge warm-up and I didn't see him again and JB dumped me too, but it was still nice.
Roadkill Observation: A squishy frog. I don't think I've ever seen a live frog on the Mountain, maybe they're born already squished in the middle of the road.
Dudley Driveby: 0824 hrs at the Lower Ranch.
At the Junction Rick wanted to Summit, JB wanted to do the Hole, so we decided on the Tire Poppers. As soon as we started down, we ran into a thick cloud of cold fog. It bothered JB more than me so I got to the turnaround earlier and gave myself a head start. One rider started chasing me but I managed to stay away. Rick caught me and I gave him a lead out but then went lactic.

Then I had a good sprint up the Dips.
I volunteered to be a ... volunteer, for the Diablo Challenge. Don't know what I'll be doing yet but I'm looking forward to it. Look for me!

Gate-Junction-Gate

Me, JB, Jeff. Fires in the area made the air thick with smoke. It wasn't enough to affect breathing but it made my eyes sting a little bit. We took it slowly. It was warm and there wasn't any wind. We hoped it would get better at the higher elevations - it didn't, but it didn't get any worse either.

Wildlife Encounter: three tarantulas (well four if you count the squished one).

Not many other riders up there tonight and the bugs were really bad so we went down quick. Got this cool shot at the Dips Ranch.

My water bottle roster: Three big ones, a Polar that I really like, a Team Pegasus that was a gift from Adam, and the Levi/Gerolsteiner/Specialized one that was schwag from the last San Francisco Grand Prix.

And six little ones. The Coke bottle is le bidon officiel de Tour de France and it leaks a little. Two Chain Reaction bottles that I got when my Klein was being built up - they're good but I wish they had screw lids. Jelly belly is from the Prologue of Tour of California, as were the Gatorade and Amgen bottles. The Amgen bottle is really a cheap POS, it'll be the next one rotated out of the line-up.

A couple charts I created comparing Mount Diablo to Palomar Mountain near San Diego.

Most folks park their cars in Pauma Valley - the climb is 12.5 miles from there.

But apparently the practice is to start your stopwatch at the turn off to South Grade Road, so I made this chart too. Looking at this image, I can see why.

I like making these charts - send me the elevation profile of your favorite climbs and I'll make more. See my photo page HERE.

Gate-Junction-Summit-Jamba

How do you know when your gloves need to be washed? This topic has been debated since gloves were invented. They pretty much always stink so that's not a good indicator. Today I decided that salt stains between all the fingers means they've got one more ride in them. These babies are going in the washer this afternoon.



Roadkill Observation: A cat (sad, but fortunately not gory) and a frog (slightly gory).

Blog Reader TBV asked if he could ride with us today, I agreed after making sure he wouldn't be half-wheeling me into oxygen debt. He runs the outstanding Trust But Verify website chronicling every detail of the Floyd Landis doping case and appeal. And he showed up in full Floyd kit:

He's also the guy who suggested to Floyd that he ride the Diablo Challenge next month... no confirmation but if he does come TBV thinks he'll cut seven minutes off the record.

Wildlife Encounter: three turkeys near the Dumpster Gate

JB and Rick went on ahead and I rode with TBV until the Junction. It was nice and shady and the bugs hadn't come out yet. Then Rick and I went to the Summit, JB went down, and TBV said he hadn't decided which way to go.

More heat on Summit Road, it wasn't smoggy though and the views of the East Bay were really clear. As always in September, there were a lot of riders obviously training for the Challenge. There was also a surprisingly large number of attractive female riders and they're always a welcome addition.

Coming back down, we saw TBV coming up near the summit - good on him. Then we stopped at Biff Point and Rick described his crash from a couple months ago. It really is easy to take that corner too fast - he didn't start braking until he was almost in the gravel, then he tried to hold it together but the front tire dug in and he endo'ed and the bike flipped. He still has a little hematoma on his hip but is otherwise fine - he got a new helmet and shorts out of the deal so that makes it a little easier too.

That Jamba went down extra good today.

Gate-Junction-Gate

Donated blood yesterday, that always makes me feel proud of myself. I almost fainted in the chair; got all sweaty and dizzy - sometimes that happens, the blood takers said I should start off with my head lower by reclining the chair more. But how will donating a pint yesterday affect my ride performance today?

101°F WHEW!

OK, low blood volume and high heat means today was just to survive, I figured if I could get to the Junction in under 60 minutes without chundering or passing out it would be a success.

Roadkill Observation: a small rattlesnake and a lizard - the snake was all dried up but the lizard was still kind of juicy and the bugs were eating on him.

JB left me behind and I just plugged at my slow pace. I felt OK but my heartrate was a lot higher than it should have been for what I was doing - MHR = 180 and I was NOT pushing it. Usually when it gets that high I can feel my heart pounding in my chest and ear drums but today I wouln't have guessed it was that high were it not for my monitor. I thought I was well hydrated but not well enough I guess.

Two guys passed me, the first guy said "Hey my brother has that same bike" the second guy said "Isn't this insane?" (referring to the heat).

Even the ride back down was hot - didn't get that refreshing evaporative cooling rush.

Coyote Attacks Rider on Summit Road

Got this warning from blog reader Jay, about a Grizzly Peak club member and I copied a bit below. Scary and weird.

One of our members (we'll call him Bill) asked me to write this message for him. In short, a coyote chased and bit him Tuesday evening as he rode down the Summit before the Junction on Mt. Diablo. This was after he had seen a coyote the week before and it chased him, which he reported to the rangers. The attitude the first time, as he said, sounded like, "Huh, that's strange." It's unclear if they did anything in response the first time.

On his way up Tuesday evening, he noticed the coyote farther up Summit Road. At the top, he saw one other cyclist, who said he had seen it also.

Frankly, I can't remember exactly, but, I thought Bill said the coyote chased him a bit on the way up. So the two decided to go down together and watch out for each other. Below where Bill saw the coyote on the way up, he started to relax a bit and then noticed a flash of fur at his side before the coyote got his leg.

The rangers Bill then contacted got Fish and Game approval to take the coyote down, but, unfortunately, the ranger decided to aim at the hindquarters with a .223 caliber rifle. (I don't know these things, but, I understand that is a relatively low-level caliber.) As a result, he only wounded the coyote and it got away. It likely is dead by now. But Bill's getting rabies shots.

So be on the lookout at odd times on the Mount. Likely, this very isolated event is just another in a string of bad luck for my unfortunate friend. But it's possible the coyote is still out there, or, there is something else going on.

Gate-Junction-Gate




Had a dog function today, so it had to be a quick one.



Rick's doing a race tomorrow so it was just me and JB again.


Dudley Driveby: 8:28 at the bottom of the Bump.


Passed six guys, got passed by four, so that's not a horrible day. Saw Waterford guy again - that's three weeks in a row, I should ask his name... anyway, managed to stay ahead of him all the way to the Junction this time.




Wildlife Encounter: A coyote at Chainbuster. It's always a special ride when I see a coyote but this time it was extra interesting because he was on that trail just off the switchback and there was a post with - not one but two "NO DOGS ALLOWED" signs on it. I chuckled imagining him thinking "THIS SIGN DOESN'T APPLY TO ME".

There were dozens of riders coming up but I didn't recognize any of them. Training for the Challenge is in full swing.

Phil Cam!

Phil Liggett on a charity ride, one of the cameras looks to be on his handlebars. The audio is Phil overdubbing with a speech he gave afterwards.

Gate-Junction-Gate



It could have been a little hotter, but not much. Me, JB, and Cindy. They gapped me at the Bump and had about two minutes on me by the Junction. The heat can really sap your strength. Bugs were terrible up there and we came down.



Hardly saw anyone else up there. Didn't see any tarantulas. It was dead, but better than not riding. Even descending was hard - totally zenless.