If Hills Aren't Enough ... Add Wind

Today, we did an epic NorCal Bikeforums ride, up Mt. Diablo. Now I would consider this a Gladiator/Cheetah type ride. What made this even more of a gladiator/cheetah ride was the heavy heavy winds near the top. I've heard reports from 42 mph to 65 mph. Dang!

Today is the ride for me to show off my new Slipstream/Chipotle kit. Actually, it's the kit worn during 2008 Tour of Ca.

I posted this ride, but I needed a little help in the route, so AlainP stepped up and volunteered to help. Thanks Alain. He actually mentioned to the group that he will be one of the last up the hill, and that he would lead from the back. Little did he know I'm actually slower. That was truely evident by seeing him reach the top of Mt. Diablo before I did.



We started out from Pleasanton Bart, and he led us via Dougherty, on a nice easy pace going out. It gave us all an opportunity to chat a little bit to each other. That wouldn't last long, as the usual gladiator suspects, Marco/Ruth, and Pete, needed to stretch their legs. Being the gladiator that I am, I had to try to bridge the gap. As soon as I did, we arrive at Starbucks, and stopped for some java and snacks. It's a nice stop before doing the big climb.


Our group got bigger, as more BF'ers met us at Starbucks. This included Curtis (cccorlew), Richard (Beaker), and Diane (Overthere). It was good to finally meeet Beaker and Overthere in person. Previously, I had only known them through various BF postings. Good to match a name to the face and personality.

We headed off from Starbucks, and climbed up Blackhawk Rd. As I climbed, I suddenly felt like I ran over something on my back wheel ... I did ... it was my camera. It fell out of my jersey. Luckily, no real damage, other than the physical nicks it has on the outside. I tested it out, and it still takes pictures. More importantly, it can still hold data, and was able to export files from it. What this also meant was I was at the back. Thanks to Michael for letting me know about the camera, and hanging back with me.

I proceeded to ride in the back, along with Michael, Curtis, Diane, and Daniel. We chatted for a while at the bottom of the hill, but eventually, I had to pick up the hill pace. I went on ahead, but no one else came along with me. Looks like I'm climbing this hill solo, which is fine ... if there is one thing I learned is hill climbing should be a personal thing.

Once we got near the ranger's station, the wind started to pick up. I didn't see anyone at the ranger's station, so I decided to not stop, and continue to go to the top of Mt. Diablo.

The higher I went, the stiffer the wind got. The 42-65 mph winds wouldn't surprise me. My pace was going slower and slower, but not sure if that was due to the winds. My back was starting to give me some pinching pains, so I had to keep grunting to keep my mind off of my back. I think that worked, as it made the time go faster (even though it may not be true). As soon as I saw the last pitch before the top, I reached deep down, and shifted, and got off the saddle, and gun it. Then, all of a sudden, I see this blue streak pass me. It's Michael, who must have really gained ground on me ... I hadn't seen him since about 2 miles at the base of the climb.

The next thing I hear is the yells and chants from the riders who have finished, cheering us on, giving us encouragement as we complete the climb. I had no idea what they were saying, but it was good just to hear the enthusiasm, and it gave me that extra adrenaline rush.

It also helped that there was another bike club, Team Alameda, that was doing the same for their group.

The descent down was even worse. The winds were howling loud and heavy. When we got down to an open area, the wind kicked up so hard, I had to slow down to a pace of about 15 mph ... and this is on a steep downhill descent. Needless to say, I wasn't up for any speed records going downhill ... at least not today. I was the very last person down the hill.

I even saw the wind kick up some old tree debree, where I had to swerve to avoid them. One rider was climbing the other way, and I think she got hit dead on by the tree branch. She seemed to be okay, since she wasn't going very fast anyways (climbing).

We went to Danville for lunch, and had pizza. This is the same pizza joint we went when BigBossMan led the same ride. We liked it so much, we decided to go to the same place again.

After lunch, we proceeded to sprint back to Bart. Wow, that was a rush. We were averaging a 20-25 mph pace. This required major wheel sucking, with Marco and Ruth leading the charge on the tandem.

Fun ride, good group, and very fast group. Too bad Ramon missed this one ... it was a good Gladiators/Cheetahs ride.

More pics ... http://picasaweb.google.com/ronster/MtDiabloPostTDay#