Diablo to the summit

Today I had planned to go over to Marin and ride up Mt Tam, but I woke up to a thick marine layer, which would mean freezing temps over the Golden Gate bridge and a cold cloudy ride up Tamalpais. No fun. So, change of plans: instead I took BART out to Walnut Creek for a ride up to the summit of Diablo. This was my first ride up to the summit this season, and I felt pretty darn good. Although, I'm riding super slow these days on the Tournado, at least on the initial 6.5 miles up to the junction. Here's the data:

Last year, riding the Dolce:
5/11/08 - Up North Gate to the junction in 72 minutes
5/25/08 - 69 minutes
5/31/08 - 66 minutes
6/7/08 - 63 minutes!
3/8/09 - 72 minutes (ok, a bit slow, but early in the season)
5/23/09 - 83 minutes, a full 20 minutes slower than my best time last year in June

However, my times past the junction up to the summit aren't that bad. They're just a minute or two off my times last year. So I think what's happening is: when I climb I tend to spend a lot of time in my easiest gear, and my easiest gear is a lot slower on the Dahon. So, on the more moderate portion of the Diablo climb, I'm riding slower but probably more relaxed than on the Dolce. On the steeper parts above the junction, I really used to struggle on the Dolce but on the Dahon I can continue riding at a more relaxed pace and use some of the energy I conserved on the first part of the ride. So, all in all, it's not a bad thing. But it means that I may need to account for a slower pace on the Death Ride.

Riding up North Gate it was cold and blustery, but at about 2700 feet I emerged out of the cloud cover and it was sunny and warm the rest of the way up. You can see the marine layer hugging the hills to the west from Juniper campground (3000 feet):



At the summit there were lots of cyclists. One obnoxious guy was loudly telling everyone that he was training for the Death Ride and that it takes a *real commitment* blah blah. Dude, everyone's training for the Death Ride. Yawn. Another guy came over to compliment me on my Tournado. Everyone likes the old school stylings!

Ride Stats
Total miles: 38 miles
Total elevation gain: 3940 feet