Northern California - 8/25 Mt Diablo ride report

Well, about 12 BFer's showed up for the ride. I was so impressed that everyone got there on time, too! It was a very congenial group. All guys, except for Sweetnsourbkr's wife. Three people were brand new roadies, and were attempting the ride :eek::eek: - Jimples, SJroadie and AlainP. Incredible!

There were quite a few NorCal jerseys present too, as you'll see in the pictures. Shout out to BlastRadius again for getting them for us. They look good (or we look good in them). According to Blast, there were about 90 jerseys ordered between the 3 different batches, so we should be seeing them on the road regularly!

After some indoctrination from Bigbossman and Bikeshearer, we left promptly at 8:40 to go up the hill. The weather could not have been better! Not too hot, not too cold, good visibility all the way! At first the group stayed pretty close together and had lots of conversation. Eventually, the group began to separate, as it always does. I and Sweetnsourbkr formed the breakaway for a while, until Sweetnsour turned on his Michael Rasmussen imitation and zipped up the hill. At the infamous final 200 yard of 20% grade, I made the mistake of stopping to let some cars pass. Do you know how hard it is to get started and try to clip in at 20% grade :eek:? I simply couldn't do it, so I had to point downhill and get clipped in. Won't make that mistake again!

Most of us regrouped at the top. The Newbies were all in the front of the peloton. They did so great for first timers and newbies, I can't get over it. (I guess the fact that they're all in their 20s helps :)) We took pictures and shot the breeze. Nice group of folks. That Ccorlew is quite the jokester and trouble-maker, so be warned :). After some time, we started down the hill. The downhill was exhilarating as always, but it just always seems so unfair that it goes so quickly. ZorroV999 led the charge down the hill - he had a really good day today also.

Overall, it was great fun. Great to meet many of the NorCal gang. Lots of people had cameras, so I know the pictures will be forthcoming. Hope to see you all at the Labor Day ride.

Oh - will someone volunteer and take us up Mt. Tam sometime?!

Man I'm so jealous! been checking for a ride report every hour, sounds like some of us missed a great ride. I've been dying to meet some more bf'rs . I figured Ccorlew would be a prize, I really wanted to meet him, he post's alot on the 50s forum so I can relate. Good riding Zorro cutting those Z's down Diablo , How appropriate! Thanks Sesame. What nobody around you to give the Alp de huez restart?? I'd really like to take you guys up Tam soom, It's my turf. See you soon.....picts! pict's!!!! :)

Man I'm so jealous! been checking for a ride report every hour, sounds like some of us missed a great ride. I've been dying to meet some more bf'rs . I figured Ccorlew would be a prize, I really wanted to meet him, he post's alot on the 50s forum so I can relate. Good riding Zorro cutting those Z's down Diablo , How appropriate! Thanks Sesame. What nobody around you to give the Alp de huez restart?? I'd really like to take you guys up Tam soom, It's my turf. See you soon.....picts! pict's!!!! :)

I'd love it if you would lead a Mt Tam ride. I have made 2 attempts up Mt. Tam this year, both unsuccessfully. First time was on a mtb - I did an endo and fractured my neck, got helicoptered out. Second time was the Marin Century - I followed a fast paceline early on, and didn't check to see which century they were on :o, so missed the turn up Mt. Tam. So, dude, you got to get me up there this year!

I'm eager to see the pictures also. I know they're coming....

PS. Didn't understand the Alp de Huez reference. Are you getting esoteric on me :)?

I guess the fact that they're all in their 20s helps :)
Actually, I'm in my LATE 30's. I only wish I were still in my twenties :).

Let's see the pics! Especially the ones of all of our guads!
Here come the guads!!! (Taken at the Juniper Turnout?) Left to right... jimples (Jim), sesamecrunch (Alan), zorrov999 (Zorro), cccorlew (Curtis), Jason (sj_roadie?), gpelpel(George), jinws (Jin)
http://alainp.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p496161028-4.jpg

At the start...
bigbossman (John) and jinws (Jin)
http://alainp.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p184865467-4.jpg

sesamecrunch (Alan) and zorov999 (Zorro)
http://alainp.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p379647531-4.jpg

zorov999, sesamecrunch, gpelpel, bigbossman, jinws, sweetnsourbkr (in the back), cccorlew, jimples
http://alainp.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p159756505-4.jpg

bikingshearer (Rich)
http://alainp.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p1112668-4.jpg

At the top...
Thumbs up from sesamecrunch
http://alainp.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p341976092-4.jpg

Woohoo! Never thought I'd ever get up that hill on a bike.
http://alainp.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p337674143-4.jpg

http://alainp.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p324872932-4.jpg

Since the image upload limit is 10, the rest of the pics I took can be found here (http://alainp.zenfolio.com/p770041478). Feel free to view and download.

As agreed, I'll wait for cccorlew to come up with a recap of all the happenings on our ride. I had a great time meeting everybody and accomplishing a personal milestone.

BTW, please let me know if I've misspelled anyone's name(s).

Edit: I forgot to check with everyone if they've got *issues* with me posting their picture(s) on the internet. If anyone does, please let me know and I'll take them down.

bikingshearer (Rich)
http://alainp.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p1112668-4.jpg



PIAMMMP.

Big baller.

Stud muffin.

Man's man.

Awesome Picts! Congrats! Maybe we need a sponser to get the Nor-Cal team to Europe:)

Those are some great pics. Looks like a good time.

Now I'm feeling pretty lame for not making it. Did a flat ride to Bollinger Canyon and back.

I need to join you guys on the next ride...!

I'm sorry I missed it - but my legs are still very sore from my week in Yosemite. I might not have been able to make it! As it was, I struggled on our team ride on Calaveras.

Looking forward to Labor Day (and a Mt. Tam ride would be really nice, too!)

JB

Looks like you guys had a great ride ... I only hope that the Labor day ride will come close to the success of this ride. Looking forward to it.

Great riding with you all, sorry I can't make the labor day ride.. hopefully we can ride again soon. I've got a couple pics, but haven't taken them off the camera yet.

Great ride report!
Looks like a great ride!
Great weather!
And great picture of you all pressing your bikes!

Sorry I missed it all.:(

I got home and found my laptop dead. I had to run to school and pick up my power brick...
Good report, but you left out the cool details.

We all made it in under an hour. I was last at 55 minutes, the fast group hit it in about 49. We would have been faster but for the silly delay.

For some reason, perhaps the weather, Coors was shooting one of those annoying sexist beer ads on the mountain. I mean, really, what do young women without shirts have to do with beer? We felt like we had to stop and make sure the topless gals weren't being economically exploited. It turned out they were there by choice, building funds to put themselves through law school. But they were so grateful that we'd stopped to check they insisted on a brief shoulder massage for each of us.
That'll really mess with your average MPH.
The trip down was quick. We mostly ran about 45-50 mph with bursts to 72.
At the bottom we congratulated ourselves for being the coolest, fastest, bestest and most modest group on the hill.
We had our domestiques load up the bikes onto the Rolls (the one one with the hot tub) and our team manager drove us home.
Indeed a good time was had by all.

Darn it, the beer babe photos didn't come out, but here's a photo I shot that I do like.

http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/diablo-norcal.jpg

I got home and found my laptop dead. I had to run to school and pick up my power brick...
Good report, but you left out the cool details.

We all made it in under an hour. I was last at 55 minutes, the fast group hit it in about 49. We would have been faster but for the silly delay.

For some reason, perhaps the weather, Coors was shooting one of those annoying sexist beer ads on the mountain. I mean, really, what do young women without shirts have to do with beer? We felt like we had to stop and make sure the topless gals weren't being economically exploited. It turned out they were there by choice, building funds to put themselves through law school. But they were so grateful that we'd stopped to check they insisted on a brief shoulder massage for each of us.
That'll really mess with your average MPH.
The trip down was quick. We mostly ran about 45-50 mph with bursts to 72.
At the bottom we congratulated ourselves for being the coolest, fastest, bestest and most modest group on the hill.
We had our domestiques load up the bikes onto the Rolls (the one one with the hot tub) and our team manager drove us home.
Indeed a good time was had by all.

You forgot to mention the news vans, reporters, and the raucous fans awaiting our return at the bottom just before we were whisked away in the team Rolls :rolleyes:.

I think the evening news is even gonna do a feature report on y'all.

That's why I really couldn't go, Wifey heard about the beer chicks and tightened my ankle GPS. Oh well, glad you guys we're there to take the bullet for whipped.
Pete

I'm sorry I missed it - but my legs are still very sore from my week in Yosemite. I might not have been able to make it! As it was, I struggled on our team ride on Calaveras.

Looking forward to Labor Day (and a Mt. Tam ride would be really nice, too!)

JB

JB, were you a part of the TnT group that met up at Sunol Glen School this morning ???

I was there. My husband and a couple of our friends & I met up there to go up Calaveras & points beyond, and the TnT group was gathering about the time we were heading out.

Sorry I couldn't make the bf ride, but we had already planned this one. :o

Yup, I was there. I was easy to spot, because I was holding a Starbucks cup and had a TnT jersey on.:)

There were actually 2 groups - one just finishing up their season (the Honolulu century - I think I picked the wrong one to train for) and our group, getting ready for Tucson in November. The group that kind of had a team info session was us (lots of inexperienced riders, so they put on a climbing and descending clinic). We also headed up to Calaveras, but turned around at the wall. For me, my legs were so tired that I probably shouldn't have been riding, but I started feeling better after the descent and was able to keep up for the rest of the ride.

JB

Thanks guys for getting a great ride, and GREAT JERSEYS together! And thanks for waiting for us at the start. It was pretty awesome to get a big group pic (where is it??) of all of us. :)

It was a major day for my wife as well, whom had never crossed the 1,000 ft mark before, because she went ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP!!! Some of you may have caught sight of us as we were eeking our way up the hill on your merry way down as you were going about 70mph. I promised her I'd get her a new bike if she could ride to the top without assistance. I guess I owe her a new set of wheels in CF goodness ;)

Thanks again for the fun. Hope to see you guys again soon! I will be going to Mt. Tam next weekend. Bye!

Sorry to have missed this one! I had a non-bike related function I had to go to so I did a quickie up the hard side and headed back down about 8:50 so I missed all of you who were probably almost at the Summit by then.

Sorry to have missed this one! I had a non-bike related function I had to go to so I did a quickie up the hard side and headed back down about 8:50 so I missed all of you who were probably almost at the Summit by then.

There was a rumor that Bob Roll was at the top documenting the ambitious summit of Mt. Die-ablo!:p

JB

There was a rumor that Bob Roll was at the top documenting the ambitious summit of Mt. Die-ablo!:p

JB
Who's he? Just kidding.

Sorry I missed this ride. I had a choice to do Diablo with you guys or ride in Marin with two ladies. Easy choice. I'm glad you folks had a good time though and that the weather cooperated.

Well, it was nice meeting everyone - if only for a few minutes. You guys are all out of my league; I just can't climb near as well as I need to to keep up with any of you! Still, it was a perfect day and a perfect excuse to get off my butt and get up the mountain.

Rich and I filtered through to the back pretty quick, and kept each other company for the rest of the day. We managed to jaw-jack with about everyone we came across (or who came across us!), and spent a good 30-40 mins chatting up a couple of ladies at The Junction. That, coupled with my old-n-slow climbing technique and propensity to stop all the time to take pictures, conspired to give me a final base to summit time of almost 2 hours.

At any rate, it was a glorious day to be out on a bike. Here are a few photos:

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/Diablo%2008_25_07/diablo-1.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/Diablo%2008_25_07/diablo-2.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/Diablo%2008_25_07/diablo-9.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/Diablo%2008_25_07/summit.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/Diablo%2008_25_07/neartop-2.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/Diablo%2008_25_07/esses-1.jpg

It was pretty awesome to get a big group pic (where is it??) of all of us. :)

Sorry for the late post.
Here's the group picture. Tomorrow I'll upload the rest (lots more!)

http://inlinethumb45.webshots.com/11564/2511928700068796226S600x600Q85.jpg



Great Ride, Great companion and wonderful weather.
It was great to meet you all!
Looking forward for the next ride (hopefully with my NorCal Jersey :D)

Sorry for the late post.
Here's the group picture. Tomorrow I'll upload the rest (lots more!)

http://inlinethumb45.webshots.com/11564/2511928700068796226S600x600Q85.jpg



Great Ride, Great companion and wonderful weather.
It was great to meet you all!
Looking forward for the next ride (hopefully with my NorCal Jersey :D)

Great looking group. Sorry I missed this ride.
And 72 mph on the descent!?!? Holy smokes.
OTOH, it was nice spending the time with my kids.

Great pictures, everyone! :beer:

Getting ready for the ride:


http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/13224/2815819510068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb63.webshots.com/11006/2352872640068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb20.webshots.com/12755/2230518280068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/11393/2670078160068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/13057/2025417060068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/11439/2503612860068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/11285/2188057350068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb08.webshots.com/13831/2201403820068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

Action Photos:

http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/12343/2122785330068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb62.webshots.com/12925/2219746770068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb34.webshots.com/10401/2665200910068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/10419/2821278340068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb60.webshots.com/10619/2478954890068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb39.webshots.com/13094/2650662440068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb24.webshots.com/13719/2420751100068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb59.webshots.com/12730/2273151150068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/9515/2414876440068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb57.webshots.com/12152/2066220050068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

Rich and I filtered through to the back pretty quick, and kept each other company for the rest of the day. We managed to jaw-jack with about everyone we came across (or who came across us!), and spent a good 30-40 mins chatting up a couple of ladies at The Junction.

Well that'll hurt your average mph up the hill! :D

It was great to meet you, and thanks for "hosting" us up the mountain. Hope to see you again at other BF rides!

And thanks for the wonderful photos as always.

Photos at the summit:
http://inlinethumb31.webshots.com/12830/2679100360068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb43.webshots.com/12202/2724943730068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/12997/2504529460068796226S600x600Q85.jpg



http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/11779/2128308450068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/13871/2506303810068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/10754/2167531560068796226S600x600Q85.jpg


http://inlinethumb58.webshots.com/11961/2370702340068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb01.webshots.com/10688/2838445320068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb49.webshots.com/13744/2184452740068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

And thanks for the wonderful photos as always.


I think Curtis got the shot of the day with the silhouetted climbers. Nice.

I'm very surprised that BD Motobecane made it up the mountain without falling apart, and I am flat out amazed it didn't spontaneously combust on the descent!!

:D

In case anyone's interested, here's the Garmin trace:

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/Diablo%2008_25_07/untitled.jpg

I'm very surprised that BD Motobecane made it up the mountain without falling apart, and I am flat out amazed it didn't spontaneously combust on the descent!! :D

I was trailing Curtis most of the way down to the parking lot. The things he was able to make that Motbecane do was simply amazing. I mean, I never thought it was possible to drift through every turn on a bike at 40 mph :eek:.

what a great ride. it was nice to finally put a face to someone you. Great meeting you all! And see you guys at the next NorCal ride.

And Thanks again Jason for the lift. Much appreciated!

1 down, 2 to go eh? so when do we do Tam and Hamilton?

Did anyone notice the dragonflys whizzing around at the summit? When I was there on Thursday there was a bunch of them, and they're really big.

Any tarantula sightings? :p

Did anyone notice the dragonflys whizzing around at the summit? When I was there on Thursday there was a bunch of them, and they're really big.

Any tarantula sightings? :p

Yes! We definitely saw them swarming. I even saw a tandem pair :o! Had to avert my delicate eyes...

Didn't notice any tarantulas, though. We were going too fast. Yeah, that's our story and we're sticking with it...

Yup, it was a great day. Don't believe bigbossman when he says he and I were equally slow heading up the Devil Mountain. I was sawed off the back inside of 100 yards of the first upward tilt: no "sifting backwards," no slowly losing contact, just starting slowly and then petering out altogether. BBM graciously waited for me a mile or two up the road. He then talked me out of bailing at the Junction and did it again at the Juniper corner. You da man, John. And it was great meeting the rest of you; it was a great group, even if you are all a bunch of spindly-legged climbing farts. :p I look forward to another ride with all of you when, hopefully, I won't be the lanterne rouge.


Gathering in the morning, the last time I would see most of these fine folks.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u46/bikingshearer/MtDiabloRide082507/DiabloRideAug25.2007001.jpg


Bigbossman at the summit. He is feeling pretty good.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u46/bikingshearer/MtDiabloRide082507/DiabloRideAug25.2007007.jpg


Bikingshearer at the summit. I'm not feeling so good. But I made it (except for the last 250 yards, which was more than hard enough to walk up - trying to ride up would have killed me). Next time, I'll make it up easier and faster. (It would be hard to go up much slower. :rolleyes:)

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u46/bikingshearer/MtDiabloRide082507/DiabloRideAug25.2007008.jpg

I think Curtis got the shot of the day with the silhouetted climbers. Nice.

I'm very surprised that BD Motobecane made it up the mountain without falling apart, and I am flat out amazed it didn't spontaneously combust on the descent!!

:D


Someone alert AlanBikeHouston over in the Road forum. Of course, if you do he'll call you a shill too.


In case anyone's interested, here's the Garmin trace:


Jeeezzz. No wonder if felt like uphill the whole way. It's because it is!
And look at the curve at the top. Is it really 20%? It's sure tough after the rest of the ride.

But I'm thinking that chart will make a dandy tattoo across my back. Way cool.

Did anyone notice the dragonflys whizzing around at the summit? When I was there on Thursday there was a bunch of them, and they're really big.

Any tarantula sightings? :p

I did see the dragonflies, but I still managed to convince a woman she was suffering from oxygen debt and having an acid flashback by insisting I couldn't see them and asking her if the colors were really bright, and if they were the kind that carry pinwheels.

Ok, here's the last photo:

http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/10098/2498832850068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

There are some other photos of this ride here (http://good-times.webshots.com/album/560431720zcZiCN).

Enjoy :)

And look at the curve at the top. Is it really 20%? It's sure tough after the rest of the ride.

At the end, yes it is 20-21% The initial part of the last bit of climb starts inoccently enough at around 12%, and increases somewhere in the middle to 15-16-18%. The finish is 19-21%, solid.

Sometimes I think I should nver have bought the Garmin. Sometimes, you just don't want to know.... :)

Oh you all look like you had such grueling fun!! *puff puff* Darn. Too bad I missed it!

Do you think someone can please repost the group photo and tell us who is who? I can spot a couple of you but I think it would be cool to place a face with a user name.

That looked like it was a lot of fun. And you all finished within an hour?! You guys are studs. Good thing I wasn't there. I'm not worthy. I would have been the slowest of the bunch. I went for a 40 mile ride around Brentwoods outer limits that morning. And got chased by dogs.

Do you think someone can please repost the group photo and tell us who is who? I can spot a couple of you but I think it would be cool to place a face with a user name.


http://inlinethumb08.webshots.com/13831/2201403820068796226S600x600Q85.jpg

Per Siu's request:

from the left with names in parentheses:
bigbossman (John), alainp (Alain), sesamecrunch (Alan), bikingshearer (Rich), jimples (Jim), sweetandsourbkr's wife (Lisa), sweeandsourbkr (David), sj_roadie (Jason), cccorlew (Curtis), jinws (Jin), zorrov999 (Zorro), gpelpel (George)

My name's David. Wife's Lisa. Nice to meet you! :)

My name's David. Wife's Lisa. Nice to meet you! :)

Thank you! I'll edit the list. Does your wife have a BF name? Oh, and which bike will you be getting her for her accomplishment ;)?

Per Siu's request:

from the left with names in parentheses:
bigbossman (John), alainp (Alain), sesamecrunch (Alan), bikingshearer (Rich), jimples (Jim), sweetandsourbkr's wife (Lisa), sweeandsourbkr (David), sj_roadie (Jason), cccorlew (Curtis), jinws (Jin), zorrov999 (Zorro), gpelpel (George)

Thank you! It sure is nice to see you guys (and Lisa!) :)

You guys are looking sharp in your NorCal jerseys! :beer:

Does your wife have a BF name? Oh, and which bike will you be getting her for her accomplishment ;)?

Damn, news travel fast. :rolleyes:

She's not on BF, but I'll ask her to sign up. :)

I'm thinking of going with a Look 565 Elle (I'm crazy about Looks). She's not real fond of drop bars, so it may turn out to be a hybrid of sorts. We'll see. ;)

Hehe, my guads are HUGE in that picture :D