Today......was a good day.
We FINALLY got some decent weather on the weekend. It seems like every week the nice riding weather has been on the weekdays - the
stupid job keeps me inside, pressed up against the window looking at the green hills shimmering under the soft blue sky. Sure as hell, a storm always rides in on Friday every damn week and I get stuck inside.
Well, today was different. Saturday was a repeat of the same ol'- rain, wind, cold - but not today. Today was glorious. The wife and girl started out with me about mid-morning, and the plan was for me to do a local loop while they did the bike path, and meet in Walnut Creek 10 or so miles distant. So we split up when we bisected the path, and I continued up towards Diablo planning to circumnavigate the base of the muntain and get in a quick 20 miles or so.
Did I mention that it was a beautiful day? Deer and turkey, hawks and quail everywhere. People out walking and jogging, bicycles and motorcycles all over the place. Man, it was like spring...a chilly spring day, anyway - temps were only in the high 50's or so.
So when I came to the bottom of the south road to Mt. Diablo summit, I couldn't resist. I turned right and started my climb. The nice thing about Diablo is that you can ascend it from both north and south, and the roads meet on a saddle a few miles from the summit. Therefore, you can do a loop ride if you like.
This is what I elected to do, and so ground out the climb to the saddle. I won't bore you with the details of my toil, but the views were fantastic, the weather was perfect, and it was a jolly good time. As I reached the saddle, I glanced at my watch just as the cell phone rang. The wife and daughter were in Walnut Creek waiting on me, and I was a good 10-15 miles distant. So much for polishing off the summit, but for today most of the way was going to have to do. At least most of my remaining mileage was downhill!
Thinking quickly, I told the wife to continue on to a local good bar and grill and grab a table - I'd meet her there. That bought me some more time so that they wouldn't be cooling their heels, and it worked out to be perfect - they arrived minutes before I did.
We had a wonderful late lunch, and finished off the ride home. Total for the wife and daughter was about 20 miles, and I knocked off 40 with a serious climb tossed in.
Today......was a good day.
Some pics:
Looking down the beginning of the climb:
Looking up - more climbing!:
Diablo summit:
Walnut Creek, in the distance - my destination:
Self portrait @ 35mph:
Getting ready to draft traffic:
