So my sister is in town visiting from London for a few days and we’ve been doing all the usual stuff, wine tasting in Sonoma Saturday afternoon (the people at Arrowood are jerks by the way) K-Fog KABOOM Saturday evening, and Mount Diablo for a drive Sunday morning…only I’d been boasting that I’d ridden up it many times (which I have) and my sister demanded that I ride and she and my wife meet me at the top.
Never one to baulk at a challenge I said OK…but I’m in really bad shape right now. I’ve ridden about once a month so far in 2006 and I’m just running once a week. I’m 30lbs heavier than I was this time last year…which is a lot if you weighed 135lbs this time last year. To compound things I had a terrible hangover from my day long wine binge and just to create the perfect storm it happened to be the hottest day of the year hitting the mid 90s.
(FYI - don’t wear bib shorts if you’re sporting a beer belly, makes you look pregnant)
Off I set getting in about a 10 mile warmup before hitting the North Gate and the rollers in the foothills. I had the top unzipped and was sweating like a dog long before the 1000ft marker. The helmet came off pretty soon after and I had sunk both bottles before I got to the ranger station. Luckily it was pretty quiet up there, it being Mother’s day, so not many witnessed my struggles.
I caught up to a young lady which gave me a little confidence that I wasn’t the slowest person on the mountain, but then she tells me she’s on her second ascent. The girls passed me just before the station with the roof down honking and laughing.
On I go and pass the 2000 ft marker and I was hurting but knew the ranger station was close. I get off at the station to fill my bottles and eat something and I sat and sat and sat and sat…only my phone ringing woke me up…it was the girls who were waiting for me at the top. I felt like asking them to come get me, but my sister would never let me live that down.
I get back on and start creaking back up the hill…my bottom bracket was making a terrible noise, sounded like it was made out of wet wood. By about 3000 feet I had to get off again…my excuse this time was to check what was making the noise…that took 5-10 minutes. Again the ringing phone got me moving. I knew the worst was coming, the last 100 yards of this climb are steep, very very steep, and on jello like legs I knew it was going to be a real beeeotch.
I make the last switch back and hit the ramp to the summit and get up out of the saddle. I think I managed to turn the pedals about 5 times before my momentum slowed to the point where I just had to unclip. So I rode about 3500 feet and pushed the damn thing the last 300 only to be greeted by two laughing harpees with a video camera recording my humiliation for future posterity…thats when the gal I’d passed earlier came by me and smiled.
They say Diablo is similar to Alpe D’Huez but 500 feet higher…I believe it.
Nothing like having your kid sister laugh at you to motivate you to get back in shape.
