Mines Road and More Hills for An Almost Century (2014)

(March 8, 2014)  Mines Road-Del Valle-Patterson Pass from the EZ side, w/ the Diablo Cyclists but most prominently with the two Dave's, 82.8 miles, 6,245' climbing, 14.6 avg

Elevation Chart from hell--what does it all mean.  Green line is elevation, red is heart rate and purple is power.   Goal is to find out what level I need to keep my heart rate in/ under so I don't crap out on long rides like Mt. Shasta last year.

The last day before Daylight Savings time is usually "Opening Day" for the Diablo Cyclist long distance season.  We have a club ride up Mines Road--a constant 30 mile climb.   It is away from our home base and most people drive over and begin 5 miles from the climb.     The crazy bonus mile group starts where we usually start other rides, so we'd ride 30 miles to the ride.  With the return trip its a 120 miler.

"Opening Day" lost its meaning this year.   A couple of us already did 120 mile last week--the Davis Brevet.  More importantly, instead of having a half dozen group for the bonus--there was a general lack of enthusiasm.

I didn't know that this was on the schedule until Mike asked me two days before "where are you starting?"  Starting what? where?   I was distracted this week by the joy of getting a new wheel that led to 3-4 necessary minor adjustments until it worked properly, and new speakers that meant rewiring the house--"opening day" slipped my mine.  After waking up early last weekend for the brevet, I wasn't enthused for another early start.   Hmmm--I do want to do my third 100 miler in 3 weeks, we could add on Patterson Pass.   Shortly after  Cisco Dave emailed "how about Mt. Hamilton?"  Sure, why not. 

Note on wheels.  I didn't want another wheel--I have enough.  I wanted a power meter this year so started working with my usual bike shop in November to get a power meter/ crank system in place for this year.    November morphed into December into January into February and there was little progress at the bike shop/ manufacturers end.   Crank supposedly shipped but never arrived--it finally reached the "forget it" tipping point.  I contacted Wheelbuilder .com with some questions.  They got back to me in less than a day with all the information I needed.   I wanted an MAVIC OPEN PRO rim (an old standard) built with a Powertap hub--Wheelbuilder recommended the HED rim.  I gave this some thought as Ward has a few wheels built with HED rim's and he liked the wheel.  HED rims are slightly wider than regular rims so the tire stays rounder (instead of mushrooming out like the end of a light bulb) and the tire has more contact with the road.    So I went with a  HED rim with  28 (instead of 32) Sapim spokes & brass nipples.  The wheel was delivered in less than a week.    So I'm now wedded to one wheel if I want to measure power--on the other hand the Dura Ace cranks work great and any other chainring setup would probably f'd the shifting a little.

There was a lot of new equipment,  Cisco Dave has a new 32 tooth cassette on a compact.  Usually I might laugh at this but he's faster than me so I'll only giggle.  Meanwhile Christine was giggling that I had lost so much weight that my bike shorts were flopping around my leg (she exaggerates.)

Dr. Dave demonstrates that when you are suffering from jet lag you forget how to dress yourself.  (Minutes earlier he was showing off his new jersey by mooning everyone.)

Mike flashing gang signs as we start in Livermore.  Or he wants the Raiders to go for two--only problem is they first have to score a touchdown.

Christine said this 4 mile an hour crap is ruining her average speed so why don't we just stop and take photos with the dead vineyards in the background.

OK--back to the ride.   The club rode together at a blistering 6mph while we waited for latecomers to get out of the bathroom and back to us.  We were passed by a number of cyclists and everyone looked around to see if we were gonna start chasing, but no one did.  We got yelled at by some jackasses in a pickup truck passing in the opposite direction.   They must have run out of Colt Malt Liquor.   The latecomers caught up to us--we formed a paceline, and then stopped again at the foot of Mines Road while everyone peeled off their vest.   Finally we got going and eventually caught the folks that had motored passed earlier.  Then we the steepest part of Mines Road--which is near the beginning, and the club broke apart.

Dr. Dave in front of a Mines Road butte.

I'm somewhere on the outbound trip on Mines Road (Cisco)

 The two Dave's, Cisco and Dr.   Cisco Dave offering his opinion on audio talk during a ride.

Usually we have an intense time trial up Mines Road but today was a step or two down--a serious but bsing pace.  Good time to bs.    Dr. Dave just returned from New Zealand so it was great to hear about his trip.  As I'm now in a "audiophile" phase (last time was in college) we also talked about speakers...., which caused Cisco to eventually take off and catch Sany who had a 45 minute time bonus.   Weather was great, the drought apparent as the last two weeks of rain had little impact on the huge runoff puddles that usually cover Mines Road.  I was amazed that there weren't more people on Mines Road, which is usually a favorite cycling route. 

First time in memory that the standing water on Mines Road was NOT like riding through a kiddie pool.

We've gone faster in the past with a much harder effort but it seemed like the 30 climbing miles to the Junction passed in a flash while bsing with the two Dave's.   The Junction is under new management--they have a huge bbq by the picnic area--luckily it wasn't going.  It also wasn't crowded as usual when the parking lot is filled with motorcycles.

(above) BBQ not going so its Liege Waffle time.   (below) Mike looking at the grill for BBQ tofu.

Here I had half a homemade Liege Waffle--topped with Hammergel in lieu of yogurt/ syrup.  This and a 6 scoop solution of Perpetuem would be perfect.  I had a 2 scoop bottle of Scratch as my sports drink--it would supplement it with 3 scoops of Gatoraid after the sweating bullets steep Mt. Hamilton climb--oh crap, I forgot the Gatoraid.  Damn. 

The climb up Mt Hamilton is a steep 5-6 miles, to get there you have to traverse @15 miles of some serious rollers in a really desolate, beautful valley on a well paved road with very little motor vehicle traffic.  Less traffic than to the Junction--and isn't much.   The San Antonio Valley Road is straighter, divided, and you may see a motorcycle or car every 10 minutes)  Dr. Dave would accompany us out the base of the Mt. Hamilton climb with...with...with..........no one.

No one else wanted to ride out through the San Antonio Valley, so Dr. Dave wasn't going to go and come back alone.  Cisco Dave and I started towards Mt. Hamilton when we both agreed that it would be better riding back with the group and adding Patterson Pass from the ez side--though Dave threw in the proviso we'd have to go down and then back up the hard side.  Sounds good, we did a U turn and caught up to the group negotiating the long hill out of the Junction.

(above) Christine climbing out of the Junction (below) Some scary scenes along Mines Road.

Yes, I did say before we were doing a 30 mile climb of Mines Road--but (unfortunately for me) there is a steep downhill about a mile before the final run in to the Junction.   Unfortunate for me as if we are racing to the Junction I usually get caught and passed on the downhill.  Now I had fun on the uphill--after Dr. Dave and I crested we followed the old rule of instead of waiting for everyone we go ride back downhill, do the climb again,  and come up with our last rider.

For the next 15 miles we had a nice paceline going down Mines.   For the last 10 miles we had some riders cramping up so the group split apart, Mike and I trying to help whoever was last.  When I arrived at the bottom the two Dave's had conferenced and had agreed we should add Del Valle.  So it was up the moderately step Del Valle climb with the two Dave's and Jack who had solo'd the 30 bonus miles in the AM and would do so again to get back.

Mines Road is 29 miles one way with 2,690' climbing.  Del Valle is only 3.5 miles one way with 670' climbing.   So much shorter but relatively steeper.   Near the top a large group was playing with radio controlled cars.  At the lake itself, where it sometimes is filled with people on the windiest day, it was relatively empty on this beautiful day.  Here I had another 1/4 of waffle and tossed 1/4 to Cisco--intended for him on top of Mt Hamilton--but now he had to share with Dr. Dave and Jack.


I'm at Del Valle.  The two Dave's teamed up to make this photo a success--they were doing so much directing I had to crack up.

When we rode back I told the gang I still was going to do Patterson Pass from the ez side.  EZ as the wind ALWAYS is blowing from the west so when we do Patterson Pass the headwind and grade pick up the higher you go.  We often reach the top of Patterson Pass exhausted and see lots of happy cyclist who were blown uphill from Livermore.  I had never done it from the Livermore side and wanted to see what it was like coming in with the wind.

Dr. Dave already did too much with jet lag and 4 weeks off the bike.  Cisco Dave said he'd go with me.   Our bs pace continued, interesting as Cisco grew up out of the USA in some unusual places.   The ride out and climb would be 8 miles and another 1,050' climbing--with half the distance getting to Patterson Pass Road.

We start climbing and what is this????---we have a HEADWIND.  For the first time every the wind was coming out of the east.  At the same time Cisco, who was seen earlier doing intervals on Mines Road and Del Valle decided he was pooped so he'd struggle for the first time today.   On the road were lots of women--this is the hardest part of the all women's Cinderella Bike ride so no doubt lots of women on a scouting mission.

Cisco Dave at the top of Patterson Pass.

Funny seeing the dynamite view from the top of Patterson Pass without doing the epic route and climb that usually gets us here.   It seems like the day whizzed by.   On the way back Cisco was interested in how drafting affected the power meter so we'd take turns pulling and me yelling out the wattage when we shifted positions.  Lots of fun--I can only hope all bike rides this year are so ez and so much fun.

A Wet Davis Brevet 200 (2014)

(March 1, 2014) Davis Brevet 200k, w Mike and Matt.  130 miles, 5,268', 15mph, 7:00-5:07

The Davis Brevet series is the best bargain organized rides in California.  For a minimal fee you get rest stops with some basic food,  some surprise sag support, and real friendly volunteers.  In years that people are trying to qualify for "P-B-P" (just know that it's an insanely long ride in France with minimal support over 3-4 days and nights) the brevet series is crowded; this is not a P-B-P year so chatter about hub lights and sleeping in fields for 30 minutes was at a minimum.  As it was a brevet  huge reflective ankle brackets coupled with reflective triangles, and antique looking bike bags that look like mini-suitcases were prevalent.

One of the traditions of the Davis 200k and 300k brevet is that there is always a 30-40% chance of rain.  This year the threat was more serious than in the past as it rained here more in the last 4 days than in 4 months.   During the frequent thunderstorms of the past week riding 130 miles on Saturday was the furthest thing from my mind--when I called Mike on Friday to confirm we were gonna bag it, Mike said something like "it's only a 30% chance and drizzle at the most.  Yeah, we're riding."   Fn Mike, he's a bulldog.

So I hurriedly pulled the backup bike off the trainer--cleaned it, filled two bags with rain gear, change of clothes and food, and pumped up the heavy but sturdy wheels that go with the steel GT.    Speed wasn't important for this ride--most brevet riders aren't that fast, but they have an inordinate ability to ride 60 miles before having to stop.   Oh yeah-print application, find checkbook, freeze a half bottle of Perpetuem and a bottle of post ride recovery protein drink..

Sisters of Mercy "The Flood II" was appropriately named for this ride--played on my Drive up to Davis and swirled around in my head during the ride.


Morning started out "great!"  Woke up to the sound of moderate rain and my rear wheel was flat.  Lesson learned long ago--pump up tyres night before in case something happens--like a sheered valve stem (which, upon autopsy, was the cause of the flat,)  I'm starting to have a collection of rear wheels so a replacement should have been easy, but for a variety of reasons it came down between two "race" wheels--at 4:45 I mistakenly picked the light climbing wheel.  As this Davis brevet is relatively flat the aero wheel would have been a better choice--and with a bike that weighted 10+ lbs over my regular ride loaded with crap saving 200 grams didn't really matter..

Cleaned out the trunk yesterday so bike shoved in there, and need to run windshields half way up to Davis.  Matt and Mike are already at the start when I pulled in with 20 minutes to go--not a lot of time to register, and set up bike with rack bag, handlebar bag and lights.....I was just about putting toe warmers on the shoes and grabbing cycling gloves when everyone cued up for the start. 

Skies were dark grey all around but it wasn't raining--for about the first 3 minutes as we skirted around the edge of Davis.  Two groups took off down the road--a few years ago our group would have been with them but no more, we settled in with a large 3rd group.  Many people had fenders on their bikes--oh crap--I took a front fender but left it in the car.  One guy who looked out of place in this retro group was wearing a pointy time trial helmet.

Leaving Davis in the 3rd brevet group on the road.  Most riders have thick yellow reflective ankle bracelets.  Mike is up ahead of me to the left in same clear rain jacket I have.  Guy on right has on a time trial helmet -- he must be the Ludo Dierckxsens of brevets. 

As soon as we got out of Davis and into the flat ag land between Davis and Winters it started to rain.  Just a little drizzle at first and then the rain picked up.  Never heavy but light to moderate.

There was no wind and temperatures in the 50's so rain was more annoying than a hindrance.  What worked well--cap under helmet so glasses didn't get constantly blotted by water, long sleeve undershirt which kept me warm, and Shower Pass rain jacket.  Fun thing is that Shower Pass seems to be the official rain jacket of brevet riders but only Mike and I had the lightest clear Shower Pass jacket that is easy to stuff .  Wool buff was perfect.

What didn't work well were rain socks--as I wasn't wearing rain pants water wicked on my calf guards and my foot was eventually sloshing around in the socks.  I had waterproof  gloves--but they were in the rack bag and it was never that bad/ cold that I needed to dog  them out.  If the rain was heavier or had continued rain pants would have been nice--I think my leg seized up after the ride from being wet with the wet knickers earlier in the day.


Mike near the front taking a pull on very wet roads.

In any event we had a group of about 20.   Some farm fields were flooded with a spillover onto the roadway which let to a rapid fire succession of warning.    A few times I started to get cold so I'd go to the front and as soon as my heart rate went up my core temperature was OK.  Rain tapered off after an hour but with a rain jacket-vest-jersey-undershirt, it was hard digging camera out of pocket, no, check that, it was hard returning the camera to my jersey pocket hidden in some layer.

Nice stretch on tree lined (as opposed to farm lined) Putah Creek Road were the rain let up and I had the grand vision of taking off my rain jacket.   We got to Lake Solano--mile 30--and Mike, Matt and I pulled into the campgrounds as most people would stop across the street in the day use park.  Actually most people just kept going but we figured we catch many of them by the turnaround if we didn't stop again.

At Lake Solano campground--I'm checking for rain along with the men in blue, for some reason Mike is happy we are getting rained on.

 

Up to now only 600' of climbing, the next 35 miles to the Pope Valley turnaround would have 4x as much climbing as we go over the Cardiac climb and the rollers to Pope Valley.  Here the "unevenness" of our group showed.  A few years ago I could stay ahead of Matt on DMD--not any longer.  He did the Devil Mountain Challenge in less than a hour last year.  Mike was never a climber and now coming back from illness he has more form to regain.  So on the Cardiac climb stretch Matt zoomed up ahead, I paced up somewhere in the middle and Mike was far back.  The usual traffic towing boats was nicely absent and most SUV's and trucks gave us lots of room--all except a dick in a KIA.   The fire marshall of Monticello (joke--Monticello is the town submerged when Lake Berryessa was created) was outside his funky front yard cheering us on.  Luckily it hadn't rained on the downhill for awhile--when it leveled out I waited for Mike and Matt waited for us both.

The fire marshall of Monticello cheers us on

 

As luck would have it, it started to sprinkle at the same time Matt got a rear wheel flat--right in front of the lost junkyard of Monticello.  Any chance of us getting back to the main pack was now over.

 

  

At a scenic view Matt gets a flat while Mike helps increase the elevation recorded for the ride.

 

After the tire was changed most of the rain for the day ended, the sun decided to come out, and we did my favorite portion of the ride--the rollers through Pope Valley.  On the flat beginning we pacelined well but then rollers started and Mike lost ground.

Matt on Lower Chiles Valley Road--rustic, and gets fast at the end.  Which of course means slow climbing coming back.

 

The sky got dark again just when we reached the turn around control at mile 65-and the sky pissed down a little more for good measure.  Most brevets are "you're on your own" and a good general store is 200' up the road, but the Davis Bike club provide some basics and friendly volunteers.  On the Davis Double the dozen rest stops compete for "best rest stop"--I told the folks in Pope Valley they were the best rest stop, or course they were the only one.

 

Funny moment when I dug out a homemade Protein Liege Waffle (topped with hammargel) and a few people came over and wondered where I got it.  In retrospect I should have also had a banana and a soda at the general store.  Later was a little thirsty and  definitely potassium deficient by the end of the ride.

 

Brevet riders don't stay at control stops long--Mike "pulled a Jack" and took off telling us we'd catch up to him.  Matt and I were in no rush.  Anticipating warmer and dryer weather I  proceeded to exchange my wet "waterproof socks" for dry sock liners and change from heavier stuff into a thin t-shirt, regular head band--very good move.

Mike looking for a vegan tofu sandwich--with none existing he is ready to "pull a Jack" and take off.  Matt leisurely eating in the background (top) while I enjoy my whole wheat protein Liege Waffle (with Pearl Sugar!!) (below)

 

Matt and I were on a mission to catch back up to Mike, but Matt was the only person actually accomplishing anything.  Now on the rollers back Matt constantly pulled away from me and then had to wait for me to catch up.  On one steep section (Dr. Dave's bent favorite with short but sharp rollers) Matt rode away and I stopped to take some photos.

Olive Tree landscape on Lower Chiles Valley Road (top) --pygmy pony by the dental floss bush (below)

 

I basically solo'd the return from Pope Valley.  At one point I stopped to take photos of a group of pygmy ponies and saw some cyclists coming up.  I waited for them to pass close by while framing the photo--but they never did.  When I looked away from the camera they were still down the road--also stopped to take pony photos. 

 

Up Cardiac I caught some other riders but never saw Mike.   I figured there was a good chance I would never see Mike and Matt again as after Cardiac it is the fast farm roads back to Davis.    But Mike and Matt were nicely waiting for me at the reservoir county line before the descent--Matt had caught up to Mike moments before. 

Mike and I mugging for photos as life (or brevet riders) pass us by.

 

 

Mike and Matt coming off of Hwy 128

 

Another stop at Lake Sonoma for water.  This time we stopped at the day use area and ran into a few other brevet riders.  The great tree lined Putah Creek road back to Winters and then the sunny flat ag land roads to Davis.  Oh--did I mention the wind.

Mike thinks he deserves the James Brown treatment for reaching Lake Solano again at mile 101.

 

There was hardly any wind all day but once we hit the agriculture area around Davis the winds were a constant 12 mph with gusts of 20.  Mike said this is what did him in.  Matt and I took turns pulling while Mike worked on his comedy routine--though when the crosswind picked up again for the never ending 10 mile stretch going North on Sievers-Tremont Mike was very quiet while I was singing out the 'endless fuckin road' song. 

Matt and Mike back in the agricultural land around Davis.

The flooded agriculture land...what water shortage??

 

 

Matt in front of bike sculpture.

 

10

Mike out of gas or he would have sped up to ride with this female time trialist who was getting battered in the wind.

Here comes the sun--6 hours too late.

 

Funny--I had no top end speed at the end of the brevet but didn't feel bad--until I got off the bike.  My knee hurt, my quads seized up and the usual wave of Davis Double nausea came over me.  I bailed on joining Mike and Matt for a post ride meal--and dawdled in the right land back while occasionally punching out a knot in my leg.  I kept playing with the radio-CD-MP3, was real anise until a cut by Fela Kuti came on that had repetitive organ and trumpet lines at the beginning.  I listened to that cut over and over all they way home.

 

 

One can only hope that Paris Roubaix--the greatest wet weather race that has been dry too long (since 2002)--has the same weather we had today. 

 

1st Century of 2014--Calaveras and North Gate Mt Diablo

(February 22, 2014)  Walnut Creek to Calaveras & North gate Mt Diablo Junction Bonus, 106 miles, 5,381', 15mph, w/ CA Mike, Queen of the Mountain Christine, Arizona (soon to be Cowboy) Bill, Jeanne & Matt until he got lost

Great weather in mid 70's promised for the weekend.   Originally I thought of doing an organized metric in the valley run by great doubles and rest stop workers Doug and Joni--the Pedaling Path for Independence ride.  But traveled to Los Angeles last weekend and next weekend the first Davis brevet--so pooped and wanted to stay local.  Also wanted to do more than 60 miles to get ready for 120 mile brevet.

Diablo Cyclist ride wasn't much better--50 miles of East Bay Hills.  OK ride, nothing to get excited about and was too short--for training and especially for what promised to be a beautiful day. 

Elevation

Early in the week Mike was in for changing the route and making it longer.  Christine has been on bicycle sabbatical for a couple of months so was game for changing the route but not adding many miles.  I said I'd do Calaveras--the second best ride on our schedule.  The middle section--from Sunol to the end of Calaveras, is a lightly traveled rustic road that becomes tree lined and gently climbs on the way out.  Mike and Christine would commit to Sunol.

Small group at the start of the Club ride when we proposed the alternate course.  Christine was real excited to see me--so she could show me her NEW stem bag discovery.   A few years back Christine got us all to attach small camera bags on our stems--which is great for getting drugs or an actual camera out of our pockets.  Now she had a new one--but I surprised her by showing off my new top tube bag for the same purpose.  Its tapered so I don't whack it with my knee when climbing and it generally stays out of the way.

Jeanne--who much rather be in a sprint any day than take a long ride (she still has Davis Double flashbacks) said she come along though a little apprehensive about the 80 mile distance as was Christine.  Climber Matt would ride out with us but then solo to points beyond--which usually meant the demonic Sierra Road.  OK--if everyone else turned around at Sunol I'd have some company at the end of Calaveras.  If I was going to solo I'd keep going to Ed Levin Park to get water and then have to reclimb back to Calaveras.

There was some morning chill but Christine shamed me into taking off the knee warmers--and as I probably wouldn't miss them in a 1/2 hour it was good she did.   Mike didn't have knee warmers--his reason was that he wanted to get his legs darker than his white shoes.

Sometimes our paceline looks good....

...and sometimes it goes to shit

Uneventful trip out to Sunol--except for a Cinderella training group learning how to stop on their bikes and totally block the bike lane.   Cowboy Bill took a few flyers off the front but we were riding to keep Christine and Jeanne comfortable.....so they;d continue to Calaveras, so the pace was steady but moderate.   From Zappa to Pink Floyd to the Kinks to the Killers it seems we spend a lot of time bs'ing about music.

First time in a long while we got to the Sunol hill and no one tried to shoot off--we just stayed in a nice pack as we had done for the whole run in from San Ramon/ Dublin (suburban ugly) to the 9 mile run in to Sunol which doesn't have lots of traffic or traffic controls.    I opened up my springtime nutrition campaign by having my first frozen fruit bar of the year--perfect riding food for warm weather.

Jeanne and Christine discussing strategy to podium the upcoming Cinderella All Girls Event

Lots of groups that had started closer to Calaveras were already coming back.  The beginning of the 15 miles is flat and we stayed in a nice paceline.  We passed a couple and shouted out friendly greetings--and then heard a voice "what, you don't recognize me??"  It was Diablo Cyclists Ex-President Trina (as the DC's don't have any officers I don't know how she became president.)   Hadn't been on a ride with her in a few years, we caught up on some news and she promised to ride with the Club.

Organized rides need to serve frozen fruit bars

We hit the hills--mostly a gentle climb on a narrow tree lined road, with a few grade kicks around sharp hairpins.  Cowboy Bill and Matt took off, Christine and I formed the 2nd group and Mike rode in support of Jeanne behind.   Coming from the other direction was a familiar sight--Cisco Dave and the Flying FU Boys.

The group pacelining towards the rustic part of Calaveras.  Wonder what Mike said to Matt to have him take off.

Christine and I stopped a few times for photos.  Fun about going at a moderate pace this time, is that the 2nd time you do a course on Strava you can KILL all of the same segments.  and get kudos galore.  When we got to the end of the road and an infamous driveway with the big tree that all cyclists pile into and block, Bill and I continued on for the half mile down and up "THE WALL"--the only real steep climb of the day.  We saw a few cyclists on it who didn't look happy.

Christine and I mugging for the camera with the reservoir in the background.   Note the new top tube bag--perfect for carrying a phone and drugs.

Its a fast return to Sunol on the slightly downhill, curvy course--I definitely have more fun on the uphill out portion.  On the return trip I'd get sawed off on a sudden downhill and have to make up ground on a roller.  Outside of Sunol we passed a small store and the FU Boys were there resting--Dave called out if I was going to stop for a fruit bar and I yelled back that I already had one.  But they had been 1 1/2 hours ahead of us--why were they here??  Oh crap, they must have done the sinister Welch Creek Road climb that is off to the side.  Its something I had never done.  Dave told me the next day that they indeed did it and it was the worse climb he has been on.

Christine and Mike on the return trip of the Calevares.

We got back to Sunol seemingly in no time, and there we ran into Kitty--past Triple Crown Stage Race champ and 1st woman to attempt RAAM.  Kitty usually has a lot more endurance than speed, but today she was pushing the pace.  She may have not liked all the talk of Christine and Jeanne being the upcoming Cinderella Champs.

If you ride 1000kms you can have real ice cream.

Cowboy Bill ready to hop the train

Was going to go up Diablo from the easy side--Southgate--if Mike rode home but he had parked his car close to our start, so I rode back with the group.   This meant that at mile@85, if I wanted to go up Diablo it would have to be from the hard Northgate side.    Well, with the moderate pace I still felt good--hell, no one really sprinted at the end of Danville Blvd into Walnut Creek--and that NEVER happens. 

Figured I had two hours before it got dark, and grabbed a wind breaker from the car, reflilling water, a chomping down a nut bar, it was off to Mt Diablo.  It was still beautiful and sunny out and lots of cyclists now coming down off of Mt. Diablo.  BEST thing I did was pull off t-shirt before I started climbing.

Some orange California poppies were out and the climb was enjoyable.  Till about the steep 1000' mark.  Then everything started to tighten up, my legs had nothing left, and it seemed like a good idea to go back down.  But though I'd be happier for the next hour I'd be po'd at myself for the next week, so the second half of the climb to the Junction was not the best.  It's the time that you are thirsty but the sports drink tastes like shit.

The Mt Diablo Junction late in the day.

Junction was deserted and the setting sun was throwing long shadows.   Being brain dead I hit the wrong button on my new Garmin which indicates ride over instead of lap reset (which I did every time pulling into a rest stop.)   So later Garmin congratulated me for my longest Garmin ride ever of 96 miles instead of the 106 done.   Yep, if Garmin doesn't record it--it doesn't count.

Next day's usually ez 40 mile fixed gear ride with Mrs. Pumpkin was torture.   Yes dead--let's go back and forth in the reservoir watershed to get some nice FLAT spinning miles instead of doing hill repeats up to the dam.