Finally got back on the bikes today, a super hard ride on Mt Diablo. We climbed 1400 feet in 2.2 miles - average grade of 13%, with some sections much steeper. It was also our first warm ride of the season with temps around 80 degrees. We've had rain this last week so the water crossings at the bottom of the trail were fun and wet.







The poppies are just amazing, huge swaths of orange on the hillside.



I would guess this shows about the last 1.5 miles of the climb. The photo is taken from the ridge on the other side which we climbed up and then went down. The descent was pretty technical, with lots of changing surfaces, some hard packed, some loose, very ripply with some steps.

A good day, but boy am I tired! I can't believe we've been off the bikes for almost a month. It's not like I haven't been doing anything, but there is no real substitute for hard riding.

Total mileage for the day was 13.28 with 1,950 feet of climbing.

Veronica