Third Time's The Charm

Distance 89.3
Moving Time 6:50:52
Elevation 7,887ft
Avg Speed 13.1mi/h
Max Speed 39.6mi/h
Heart Rate Avg 131bpm Max 171bpm
Calories 3,246
Temperature 70

Wakeup Time: 5:00 a.m. / Meet Time: 6:15 a.m. / Ride-out Time: 7:00 a.m.

Thank you AIDS/LifeCycle volunteer Training Ride Leaders, Mark, Rex, Kas, Dan, Rachel, Kathryn, George H., and George B. - with special thanks to Mary Beth for SAG, Jen for Car Sweep, and Pardeep and Damon for our last Rest Stop.

NO! He wasn't at the summit this time.
So Third Time's a Charm doesn't apply to him, but he's a great lead photo.

Our very cold morning started with trying to warm-up and munching on Mark Smith's wonderful home-baked banana bread.

Francisco Yanez sporting the ever-so-clever Mexicans on a Mission kit.

Fransico Yanez and Marivel Martin - double the Mexicans on a Mission.

After the Safety Speech and a group shot, James and I were on our way to mile 17 in Walnut Creek for our first rest stop at Starbucks. The lines were long, so getting a snack took about 10 minutes. As you can see, now photos were taken. As more riders arrived, James and I were ready to head out to Mt. Diablo's Ranger Station.

Arriving at the Y-junction (Ranger Station) at mile 28.1, we got to partake on delicious rest stop snacks. Thanks so much Mary Beth. I loved the hard boiled eggs and steamed new potatoes with salt. Boy that hit the spot and gave me energy to attack the summit. So James and I were off to the see the summit, the wonderful summit of ... Mt. Diablo. James and I did a lot of talking (with our outside voices and one cycle length apart), which made the climb towards the summit so much easier.

I need to mention that I changed out the ROTR rings, which are oval and supposed to "increase your power by emulating a Rotor System crankset in the power stroke and by minimizing the intensity of the "dead spot" zones" - might be great for the professionals, but not for me, the amateur. I was wondering if regular circular rings would better suit me especially since the last two times up the summit in the last 4 weeks I had to walk the last 100 feet.

Voila, I must have been right. I was able to with a force of energy and might, cycle up the 15.5% grade all the way up to the summit at mile 32.6 - YAY! Third Time's the Charm - DEFINITELY!

James' first time

Beautiful blanket of clouds covering the valley

What a sense of accomplishment!

After patting ourselves on the back, we were ready for some lunch after a quick stop at the Ranger Station for a quick Mary Beth snack at mile 37 and on our way to Lunardi's in San Ramon for lunch at mile 55.2. I usually bring a raisin bread with peanut butter and walnuts sandwich, but I decided to splurge and have fried chicken and mac 'n cheese. My critique - they were filling - I would not recommend either.

Can we go home now? I'm getting kinda tired. What? 35 more miles? Well, let's go! Yup, James and I were off to mile 70.9 in Briones Regional Park for our last Rest Stop. After climbing Reliz Valley (Pig Farm), we descended into Briones Regional Park and were greeted by authentic Cowboys. Cowboy Pardeep and Cowboy Damon of the Happy Bottom Ranch were all to eager to please.

The only Kabuki photo taken at Happy Bottom Ranch.
See how the sun rays shined upon the Geisha?

Can we go home now? Yes, let's knock the last 20 miles out back to Orinda BART. And, yes, at mile 89.3 we were done and done!