I was originally going to do Hop Lite then Diablo. However, I was suffering from am upset stomach so this ride would have been interesting if I proceeded with the original plan.
On my way over, Michael texted me saying he wasn’t going to do HopLite, due to chest cold, and suggested riding Diablo from his in-law’s place. That sounded more attractive considering my upset stomach… So Diablo it is.
It wasn’t like my stomach was empty aa I had a good breakfast, plus I stopped by Starbucks for some additional food. But I still felt a little queasy. It’s kind of strange to describe. It’s a feeling of being bloated, without actually being bloated … not sure if that makes sense.
Anyhow, I didn’t get passed by anyone, which really surprised me, up until we got near the junction. I didn’t know till later, but one of those that passed me up was Ramon. I guess I was so focused to get to the top, I didn’t realize it … neither did he.
I was passed again by a few others near the summit. I do remember one rider, yelling at a car that was trying to pass him on the hairpin … something like “don’t ever pass on a blind curve”. Nothing more developed from that, but that was some excitement.
At the top, Michael is there, and Ramon’s bike is there. Later on, I see Chris come by. Funny how we all met there, and aside from Michael and I, we never coordinated with each other that we would ride Diablo.
Chris was doing Diablo repeats (going South Gate to North Gate, and vice versa). Ramon had the same plan, but I was so weak from my upset stomach, I really didn’t feel like going North gate, so I decided to head straight back.
On the way down, I saw Donald climbing up. I stopped by to say hi, and just as he was about to stop, he lost balance and the bike tipped over. Such a shame, because he had brand new Sram Red components, and he ended up scratching the brake lever. A little touch up paint, and good as new, right?
We got back to the cars, and I was pleasantly invited to a little barbecue at Michael’s in-laws. Thanks Michael, for letting me hang out with you and your family. What’s more important, free food (recovery fuel).
One oddity about today’s ride. Since my Garmin 500 mount broke, I had to send that in. I was using my Garmin 305 in the meantime. It kept turning itself off. That’s weird. I would turn it back on, then start it again. When I went home to download on Strava, it would only capture the last 9 miles … and not the real climb. I was able to download on Ascent, so I decided to export to a gpx file, then import into Strava. That was successful, but it didn’t carry over the heart rate data. Now that is just strange.
Totals: 47.5 miles, 4705 feet climbing.
http://www.strava.com/rides/181328
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