Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2800064
Isn't winter time suppose to be when people taper off their training? It surely didn't feel like that on today's lunch ride. And based on what I'm reading on e-mails, it seems people are just working harder and harder in preparation for January's race. Awesome.
9 of us made it out today, but the pace (as well as mechanicals) caused some separation fairly early on. Vin also wore Sandy today to fulfill his obligation, and that probably stymied his random little attacks that he likes to do on occasion.
I led the group out to Culver/Bonita Canyon and had started the climb up Culver when Shannon passed where I mistakenly believed it was to relieve me. It turned out he was going for it on this section, so I tried in vain to get in his draft. I wasn't too far off, and while I didn't have anyone in my draft, Gary and Hiroshi weren't far off either. I'm not sure if David or anyone else was there also.
I did manage to get with Shannon on Campus and took the lead after rounding the corner to Turtle Rock. I had a pretty decent pace going, but then all of a sudden, Hiroshi passes with some serious momentum. No one was behind him when he did, so I had to jump up off the seat and chase him down just to get on his rear wheel for a bit. As he slowed, I came around and made my way up to Sunnyhill alone. I think Shannon may have had his chain come off during this section. When I got to Sunnyhill though, I looked back and saw Gary and Hiroshi +1 just a little bit behind me. By the time I got to the bike trail, they were with me again.
I led us up Shady initially, then S-G (despite his morning spin) took the lead for a bit and I gladly took the opportunity to catch my breath. I saw Hiroshi lingering behind and you can just tell he was trying to setup another "attack." I did take the lead again before the last bridge, and then broke off from the others on the last part of the climb.
On the downhill, I was still alone, but looking back at the bottom, you can see that some of the other guys are still not too far off. Then, I see Shannon coming at a pretty mean clip, so I prepared myself to be able to jump on and hopefully stay on. When he did go by, I was just able to get on, but I was nowhere near ready to try to help him as we made our way toward the bridge. He was moving, and when I did try to pass once, he never let up so I had to just get back in his draft and hang on. It was only after the bridge that he let me start trading pulls with him again.
Shannon and I made our way to Ridgeline and got stopped at the light for a little bit. When I noticed we could cross, I looked on the bike path and saw Gary and Hiroshi still in hot pursuit. It was like a recurring nightmare.
Shannon and I took turns going up Ridgeline and worked together to get to Turtle Rock. He had gapped me a little just before hitting that street, but I just caught up to him as he slowed for the stop sign on the way back to Sunnyhill.
I traded a pull or two with him, but once we got back on Shady headed up the hill toward Bonita Canyon, there was just no way I could help since he decided to again turn the screws here and make it hurt. I thought about throwing in the towel, but just did what I could to hang on. After we crested, I took the lead and led us down toward Bonita Canyon. No race...just teamwork.
We got the light at Bonita Canyon, fortunately, and we headed toward Turtle Ridge together. On Summit, Shannon did a little recovering, so I took advantage and got a little separated from him as we made our way up the hill. I figured he'd catch me at some point anyway. I did make it to the top ahead but I was never really sure where he was at behind me. I saw Hiroshi, Gary and also Vin making their way up the hill as I was descending, so I just kept going.
When I got down to Bonita Canyon again, I had just gotten the green but looked back and saw Shannon coming at a very high pace. I knew once again that I had to prepare for it, so once he passed, I was sprinting just to get onto his wheel. He was moving! He never really slowed down much all the way until past the 73 underpass, but I did manage to get in front to take the pull to the light before McArthur. He finished the rest of Bonita Canyon and I had actually started to fall off. Fortunately for me, the light on McArthur had turned green to red before either of us could have crossed it.
When we did cross, I was offering to lead him up the condo, but he didn't think he had enough for it. I pretty much felt the same way. After stopping at the light at the top, he descended ahead of me to go first. Since there was a car at the corner turning right, however, we both had to check up and hardly had enough momentum after squeezing between it and the sidewalk. That didn't stop Shannon from hammering after anyways. I tried to find a good pace that will hopefully not let him drop me too much, but that didn't happen. He gapped me pretty good.
I was lucky on Bison that the lights had slowed him down enough to get up to him again and we both ended up getting caught at the light on McArthur. We saw Peter turn right onto Bison from McArthur ahead of us, so the focus (for me anyway) was to see if we can catch him. Of course, we hit two more lights on there but once I got on the 73 bridge, I started to hammer and see if I could 1) catch Peter and 2) keep the average up. I did run into Peter, but just as he was getting ready to cross Health Science Rd from California. Good enough.
I was spent when I got to the gym where I had to lie down for a bit just to let my HR come back down to a respectable level. Peter, being the nice guy he was, offered me water and even a Gatorade, but the reality was I probably could only have benefited from a respirator at that point.
Good training ride today, gents! Thanks for coming out.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Team BRCM - TTT SC Trainer 3x Santiago Cyn OAB (or 6 passes)
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2748478
Shannon, Vince, Todd and I wanted to get out and get some TTT training in and opted to do what Todd originally called a triple canyon loop. In my mind, that's more like Como street x3, but apparently, I didn't pay enough attention to his route last week where it actually meant doing 6 passes through the canyon - 3 out and 3 back. If I had known, I'm not sure I'd have taken Eddie's QR TT bike for it's maiden voyage with these guys. As I figured after riding it on Thursday, hills will not be ideal for this thing and there was plenty of climbing.
With the plan being to minimize or even not have any stops for this ride, I had filled the aero bottle up in the front of the bike and had 2 bottles in the cages for this ride. This didn't bode well, especially I'm slow to warm up and we were already climbing right out of the gate. We didn't really set any agendas either except just to train hard, so I went with the flow and we were all off.
LTJ took the lead out of the Rock N Road parking lot going up Marguerite toward El Toro, and he immediately created a gap ahead of us. We got all together again by the down hill just before the right turn to El Toro for the grinder. For the most part, I kept up with the guys until midway up the hill past Cooks. The guys were seemingly on a mission to kill it on the first pass, and I just couldn't handle their pace. Eventually, I backed off and again not knowing the agenda, just climbed it as best as I could. When I got to the top of the 2nd crest and saw no one there, I realized at this point I was on my own.
In a way, being dropped was probably the best thing for me. I still had a lot of getting used to on the bike and it was wicked windy out there where riding on 60 mm profile wheels was just outright scary. Despite the heavy crosswinds and the bike bucking under me like crazy, I didn't turn around and just go home. LOL. I did get a good feel for being on the aero bars despite, and found a good but careful rhythm through the canyons.
I knew the 3 guys were working together ahead of me, so I was wondering where they would be when I'd see them again given the OAB route. I was actually surprised when I saw them just after the 261 freeway where they weren't too far ahead of me. I didn't turn around and join them though since I wanted to get the full route in, so I made my way down toward Jamboree and u-turned just before the island that led to the intersection.
On my way back, I still kept a fairly good pace and was starting to climb a little better. It is definitely not the same climbing on this TT bike considering my knees were just touching the pads for the aero position and there wasn't really a lot of other hand positions for the climb. I did more seated climbing as a result. As often as possible though, I'd get back in the aero position and the winds were just as wicked going through this way.
I again began to wonder when I'd see the guys making their way out again where I was thinking they'd be headed down at some point before the climb up the hill headed towards Cooks. However, it was on my way down the hill that I saw Todd and Shannon first and then Vince shortly after. I then started to think if they were tiring, I may actually be able to make more ground on them through our 3rd pass once I got up over the hill again. After a U-turn at Cooks, I started climbing and despite the pads, managed to climb off the seat for all of the hill. At the top of the first crest, I see the 3 guys waiting for me. I told them not to stop and wait for me as I rolled by, and they got going pretty quickly and found their way onto my rear wheel as we were descending for the 3rd pass. Cool...I finally get to work rotations.
It wasn't long before we were taking turns as we made our way through the canyons. Based on Shannon's stats, this pass was faster than their original pass when measured from the top of Santiago Canyon to the bottom of Dump Hill. I did some good long pulls on the aeros since the TT bike was just made for that, but it was really nerve racking since the bike was still all over the place due to the winds. One thing it wasn't made for, however, was getting back onto the paceline since I typically like to stand on the bike to do so where on this bike, it just wasn't as easy to latch on.
As we started going up Dump Hill, Todd and I were leading the group up and this time I was able to keep up. I led the pull just over the crest and Todd and I made our way down to Jamboree for a U-turn. As we did, we weren't sure where the others were but saw that Shannon had u-turned ahead of us where Todd and I made our way toward him. We also saw Vince u-turn just before the 261, so we made our way up Dump Hill and managed to regroup at the top without stopping.
This canyon pass was pretty tough and I did what I could to help, but this always seems to be where Shannon just grinds it out and makes it hurt. Vince didn't feel too great to begin with and had been off the bike for a week, so he was the first casualty. I probably was more overzealous than I should have been, and also met the same fate at one point leaving Shannon and Todd to go ahead.
I didn't stop and kept a moderate pace on my own, and saw an awaiting Todd and Shannon at the top of the hill before Cooks where I again rolled by and said let's keep going. Todd jumped on and made his way down the hill just behind me. As we made our U-turn at Cooks, Shannon indicated he needed to get some water inside. Since Todd and I still had some, we kept on going and up the hill we went. We saw Vince making his way down as we went up where Vince waved to let us know he was done.
Todd and I exchanged position as we made our way up the hill, but once over the 2nd crest, it was time to work on the aero bars again. Since I was able to hold a good pace for most of the canyons on them, Todd came for the ride but took a couple pulls, one of which he thought I asked for help whereas I hadn't. I did have one gust of wind have me get super wobbly at one point while Todd was behind me, and he and I both thought I was going down. We still had a pretty good pace going up Dump and down toward Jamboree. At the bottom when we made a u-turn, we needed some major nourishment. We never stopped but began pedaling up the hill while eating. I managed to down a gel and a waffle, and have a drink out of my 2nd bottle, but I realized it just was not safe to try and replace bottle in cage and asked Todd to go ahead in case I fell. HA HA. I got back with Todd after doing so, and we were on our way over the 261. As we started the climb after, we see Shannon u-turn ahead of us and slowing to let us get up to him just as we made our way to the top of Dump. Once we were together, Shannon led us down with Todd and me behind him.
Now we were all tired at this point on this last past, but Shannon was still willing to lead us down for a while. Todd must have forgotten to share the memo with me, but I guess this is where we just shouldn't try to help Shannon pull anymore. HA HA. I took a couple stabs up front, but after my 2nd pull when Shannon passed me not too long after, I knew I was done exclaiming my Savior's name for help. Unfortunately, it didn't work and the two were off and gone. One other rider had passed me as well (looking fresh as spring) and made his way up to the Todd and Shannon to mix it up, but I guess Shannon ended that in typical BAM fashion.
I was able to ride up on my own and the hill before Cook's was just not easy on this last pass where I finally succumb to just spinning it out...not too easy with Eddie's standard crank and 11-23 cassette. Once I got over the top though, weeeeeee!
Now I had been over 20 mph average over all the passes before, but after this last one, it had dropped a couple ticks to a 19.8. Good enough for 5500+ feet of climbing and nearly 80 miles. Although this was a trainer for the SC TTT, we still have some things we need to work out as a team to improve our efficiency. However, as Shannon put it after, we also needed the intense training as well, so it was also more of an "anything goes" kind of ride. It was definitely intense, so we'll have to do it again 1 or 2 times before the race at a minimum. I have concluded, however, that while the TT bike is awesome on the flats and downhills, this will not be the ideal bike for me to ride with these animals. Maybe I can get better between now and then on it, but I think I'll opt for one of my road bikes that weigh less by almost 4 lbs. Now it's just a matter of figuring out compact or standard crank.
Thanks for the training, gents! Can't wait to do it again.
Shannon, Vince, Todd and I wanted to get out and get some TTT training in and opted to do what Todd originally called a triple canyon loop. In my mind, that's more like Como street x3, but apparently, I didn't pay enough attention to his route last week where it actually meant doing 6 passes through the canyon - 3 out and 3 back. If I had known, I'm not sure I'd have taken Eddie's QR TT bike for it's maiden voyage with these guys. As I figured after riding it on Thursday, hills will not be ideal for this thing and there was plenty of climbing.
With the plan being to minimize or even not have any stops for this ride, I had filled the aero bottle up in the front of the bike and had 2 bottles in the cages for this ride. This didn't bode well, especially I'm slow to warm up and we were already climbing right out of the gate. We didn't really set any agendas either except just to train hard, so I went with the flow and we were all off.
LTJ took the lead out of the Rock N Road parking lot going up Marguerite toward El Toro, and he immediately created a gap ahead of us. We got all together again by the down hill just before the right turn to El Toro for the grinder. For the most part, I kept up with the guys until midway up the hill past Cooks. The guys were seemingly on a mission to kill it on the first pass, and I just couldn't handle their pace. Eventually, I backed off and again not knowing the agenda, just climbed it as best as I could. When I got to the top of the 2nd crest and saw no one there, I realized at this point I was on my own.
In a way, being dropped was probably the best thing for me. I still had a lot of getting used to on the bike and it was wicked windy out there where riding on 60 mm profile wheels was just outright scary. Despite the heavy crosswinds and the bike bucking under me like crazy, I didn't turn around and just go home. LOL. I did get a good feel for being on the aero bars despite, and found a good but careful rhythm through the canyons.
I knew the 3 guys were working together ahead of me, so I was wondering where they would be when I'd see them again given the OAB route. I was actually surprised when I saw them just after the 261 freeway where they weren't too far ahead of me. I didn't turn around and join them though since I wanted to get the full route in, so I made my way down toward Jamboree and u-turned just before the island that led to the intersection.
On my way back, I still kept a fairly good pace and was starting to climb a little better. It is definitely not the same climbing on this TT bike considering my knees were just touching the pads for the aero position and there wasn't really a lot of other hand positions for the climb. I did more seated climbing as a result. As often as possible though, I'd get back in the aero position and the winds were just as wicked going through this way.
I again began to wonder when I'd see the guys making their way out again where I was thinking they'd be headed down at some point before the climb up the hill headed towards Cooks. However, it was on my way down the hill that I saw Todd and Shannon first and then Vince shortly after. I then started to think if they were tiring, I may actually be able to make more ground on them through our 3rd pass once I got up over the hill again. After a U-turn at Cooks, I started climbing and despite the pads, managed to climb off the seat for all of the hill. At the top of the first crest, I see the 3 guys waiting for me. I told them not to stop and wait for me as I rolled by, and they got going pretty quickly and found their way onto my rear wheel as we were descending for the 3rd pass. Cool...I finally get to work rotations.
It wasn't long before we were taking turns as we made our way through the canyons. Based on Shannon's stats, this pass was faster than their original pass when measured from the top of Santiago Canyon to the bottom of Dump Hill. I did some good long pulls on the aeros since the TT bike was just made for that, but it was really nerve racking since the bike was still all over the place due to the winds. One thing it wasn't made for, however, was getting back onto the paceline since I typically like to stand on the bike to do so where on this bike, it just wasn't as easy to latch on.
As we started going up Dump Hill, Todd and I were leading the group up and this time I was able to keep up. I led the pull just over the crest and Todd and I made our way down to Jamboree for a U-turn. As we did, we weren't sure where the others were but saw that Shannon had u-turned ahead of us where Todd and I made our way toward him. We also saw Vince u-turn just before the 261, so we made our way up Dump Hill and managed to regroup at the top without stopping.
This canyon pass was pretty tough and I did what I could to help, but this always seems to be where Shannon just grinds it out and makes it hurt. Vince didn't feel too great to begin with and had been off the bike for a week, so he was the first casualty. I probably was more overzealous than I should have been, and also met the same fate at one point leaving Shannon and Todd to go ahead.
I didn't stop and kept a moderate pace on my own, and saw an awaiting Todd and Shannon at the top of the hill before Cooks where I again rolled by and said let's keep going. Todd jumped on and made his way down the hill just behind me. As we made our U-turn at Cooks, Shannon indicated he needed to get some water inside. Since Todd and I still had some, we kept on going and up the hill we went. We saw Vince making his way down as we went up where Vince waved to let us know he was done.
Todd and I exchanged position as we made our way up the hill, but once over the 2nd crest, it was time to work on the aero bars again. Since I was able to hold a good pace for most of the canyons on them, Todd came for the ride but took a couple pulls, one of which he thought I asked for help whereas I hadn't. I did have one gust of wind have me get super wobbly at one point while Todd was behind me, and he and I both thought I was going down. We still had a pretty good pace going up Dump and down toward Jamboree. At the bottom when we made a u-turn, we needed some major nourishment. We never stopped but began pedaling up the hill while eating. I managed to down a gel and a waffle, and have a drink out of my 2nd bottle, but I realized it just was not safe to try and replace bottle in cage and asked Todd to go ahead in case I fell. HA HA. I got back with Todd after doing so, and we were on our way over the 261. As we started the climb after, we see Shannon u-turn ahead of us and slowing to let us get up to him just as we made our way to the top of Dump. Once we were together, Shannon led us down with Todd and me behind him.
Now we were all tired at this point on this last past, but Shannon was still willing to lead us down for a while. Todd must have forgotten to share the memo with me, but I guess this is where we just shouldn't try to help Shannon pull anymore. HA HA. I took a couple stabs up front, but after my 2nd pull when Shannon passed me not too long after, I knew I was done exclaiming my Savior's name for help. Unfortunately, it didn't work and the two were off and gone. One other rider had passed me as well (looking fresh as spring) and made his way up to the Todd and Shannon to mix it up, but I guess Shannon ended that in typical BAM fashion.
I was able to ride up on my own and the hill before Cook's was just not easy on this last pass where I finally succumb to just spinning it out...not too easy with Eddie's standard crank and 11-23 cassette. Once I got over the top though, weeeeeee!
Now I had been over 20 mph average over all the passes before, but after this last one, it had dropped a couple ticks to a 19.8. Good enough for 5500+ feet of climbing and nearly 80 miles. Although this was a trainer for the SC TTT, we still have some things we need to work out as a team to improve our efficiency. However, as Shannon put it after, we also needed the intense training as well, so it was also more of an "anything goes" kind of ride. It was definitely intense, so we'll have to do it again 1 or 2 times before the race at a minimum. I have concluded, however, that while the TT bike is awesome on the flats and downhills, this will not be the ideal bike for me to ride with these animals. Maybe I can get better between now and then on it, but I think I'll opt for one of my road bikes that weigh less by almost 4 lbs. Now it's just a matter of figuring out compact or standard crank.
Thanks for the training, gents! Can't wait to do it again.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
BRCM Team - SC Trainer and Team Selection
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2673389
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/134085217
The premise behind today's ride was to try and emulate the Stagecoach with a long local route with minimal stops so that 1) we can get some good training in and 2) it would help determine who would best make up the participants of a 2nd team. Adrian, Verm, S-G, and Vin came out for today's ride, while Shannon came along to keep us honest and help with the assessments.
I was hoping that the ride would be fairly controlled throughout to help us manage power so that we can succeed without stopping too much. As we headed down California and made our way to Back Bay, we were doing pretty good to stay together, but Shannon decided he wanted to work on his aero position and started to open it up creating a pretty good gap. Gary was the next guy in line who yelled out "Gap!" but Shannon was on a mission. I decided to break rank and took off after him to get on his rear wheel dragging everyone else behind me. I wasn't about to try and keep Shannon's pace by rotating in, so I just stayed on his rear wheel until he got out of Back Bay as did everyone else. I think Vin popped off the back for a little bit, but he managed to catch up as we entered the 2nd bike trail to lead to Bayside.
On PCH, everyone was rotating up to the front and helping to keep the pace up but not too high. Once we got on SART, these rotations continued...some were stronger than others, but nonetheless, everyone did what they could. At one point, Vin ended up being behind Shannon (a rather zealous place for him to be), but when I offered to take the spot, he indicated he was fine. What we noted, however, was that after passing Shannon to take his turn, his pull lasted for probably no more than 5-10 seconds and the pace would then drop. I guess he gets an A for effort.
We made it all the way to the Honda Center without any stops, across, and then to Taft still not taking any breaks at this point. We did encounter some lights here and there, but for the most part, it was just go, go, go. When we made our way to E. Santiago, Shannon decided to again keep us honest and brought up the pace on his pull. Verm, Adrian and I were still game, and managed to stay with him along with offering some relief after with more rotations.
When we got to the Jamboree/Santiago intersection, Verm cut across and relieved himself while the rest of us waited for the light to turn green. Once it did, we were on again. Verm jumped ahead at first but fell back to the group. Then, Shannon decided to up the pace, but as we crossed the 261, we did so differently where we didn't really get to ride behind him. Instead, Adrian and I worked to reel him in and eventually be up with him again after the downhill. Verm also ended up catching us as well, so the four of us were rotating between us as best as we could. As we got closer and closer to Silverado, Adrian had a little back spasm and had to pull over to the right but almost causing Verm to run into the dirt. I passed and asked them to talk, and then Verm and Shannon came with me to go to Silverado.
Once we got to the base, Verm went into Verm mode and took off seemingly wanting to attack the hill. I set a good pace and followed him, but Shannon stayed back where we always wondered when it will be that he'll be passing us.I eventually reeled Verm in, and we did a couple rotations to a very managed pace. Verm decided he wanted to go faster, so he took off at one point. I didn't really want to interrupt my tempo at the time, but i did bring it up some just to be close enough where I could keep an eye on Verm. Plus, I knew I'd catch him on the downhill.
Steve reached the top first, and I called out to him to keep going...so he started descending. I looped around at the top and started to give chase, but Verm had a pretty good jump on me. I couldn't see him for the longest time, but I did see Adrian, Shannon, Gary and Vin making their way up still. It took about 70% of the hill where I finally got closed in on Verm, but he was definitely charging all the way. Since Verm was on breakaway mode, I decided to ride off his back and just see how he was doing. I at least wanted to see what kind of pace he'd hold going up Dump Hill. Verm did really well as he made his way there, so I thought I'd roll up to him at the top of Dump and ride down together to the gas station at the corner of Jamboree.
Adrian rolled up shortly after, and I picked up some Cokes and water for the guys, and refilled my one bottle along with chowing down a waffle and a honey gel. Once Gary and Shannon rolled in, I could feel my legs tightening up so we handled them the water and Cokes and Adrian, Verm and I were off.
We made our way toward E Santiago Canyon to get to Cannon, and at one point, Adrian passes me followed by Verm and had gapped me a bit but i didn't react right away figuring I'd catch them at a light or something. Sure enough, it was a light before Cannon. We started riding together up Cannon and made our way onto Taft and the rotations were just random here as we made our way through the streets. Once we got back on SART, however, the plan was that we would run about a 80% pace while rotating and this went very well with everyone passing smoothly all the way down to PCH. We had a couple riffraff join our paceline and take a couple pulls, but that was about it.
We didn't stop once we got on PCH, but we did see a crap load of lamborghinis driving south together. It was a cool sight...for a minute. We then rode on and started to get some gels in us while riding. Then, we managed a strong pace going out to NPC where we ended up crossing from the light.
On NPC, Verm jumped ahead and created a little gap in the beginning, so i decided to use the same position I tried on Friday. I was worried it wouldn't work, but fortunately I held the off-the-seat position all the way to the light at the top. After getting slowed down at the 2nd Pelican Light and getting held at a Red at Vista Ridge, I turned around after it turned green to see Adrian making his way toward me. What better way to get a run down NPC. He and I took turns and managed to get the light on the bottom (Bonita Canyon) and we jumped to the left. We were both willing at this point to blow up our legs, but they held up and we kept a good pace going up and around McArthur.
I even set Adrian up for a final sprint and just said let's go where he passed me pretty easily at this point. I was hoping by chasing him would give me a 21 average. Although Stravo only shows 20.9, My Garmin said 21. mph as the average pace. We probably need to do it again...and with more!
Thanks, Gents
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/134085217
The premise behind today's ride was to try and emulate the Stagecoach with a long local route with minimal stops so that 1) we can get some good training in and 2) it would help determine who would best make up the participants of a 2nd team. Adrian, Verm, S-G, and Vin came out for today's ride, while Shannon came along to keep us honest and help with the assessments.
I was hoping that the ride would be fairly controlled throughout to help us manage power so that we can succeed without stopping too much. As we headed down California and made our way to Back Bay, we were doing pretty good to stay together, but Shannon decided he wanted to work on his aero position and started to open it up creating a pretty good gap. Gary was the next guy in line who yelled out "Gap!" but Shannon was on a mission. I decided to break rank and took off after him to get on his rear wheel dragging everyone else behind me. I wasn't about to try and keep Shannon's pace by rotating in, so I just stayed on his rear wheel until he got out of Back Bay as did everyone else. I think Vin popped off the back for a little bit, but he managed to catch up as we entered the 2nd bike trail to lead to Bayside.
On PCH, everyone was rotating up to the front and helping to keep the pace up but not too high. Once we got on SART, these rotations continued...some were stronger than others, but nonetheless, everyone did what they could. At one point, Vin ended up being behind Shannon (a rather zealous place for him to be), but when I offered to take the spot, he indicated he was fine. What we noted, however, was that after passing Shannon to take his turn, his pull lasted for probably no more than 5-10 seconds and the pace would then drop. I guess he gets an A for effort.
We made it all the way to the Honda Center without any stops, across, and then to Taft still not taking any breaks at this point. We did encounter some lights here and there, but for the most part, it was just go, go, go. When we made our way to E. Santiago, Shannon decided to again keep us honest and brought up the pace on his pull. Verm, Adrian and I were still game, and managed to stay with him along with offering some relief after with more rotations.
When we got to the Jamboree/Santiago intersection, Verm cut across and relieved himself while the rest of us waited for the light to turn green. Once it did, we were on again. Verm jumped ahead at first but fell back to the group. Then, Shannon decided to up the pace, but as we crossed the 261, we did so differently where we didn't really get to ride behind him. Instead, Adrian and I worked to reel him in and eventually be up with him again after the downhill. Verm also ended up catching us as well, so the four of us were rotating between us as best as we could. As we got closer and closer to Silverado, Adrian had a little back spasm and had to pull over to the right but almost causing Verm to run into the dirt. I passed and asked them to talk, and then Verm and Shannon came with me to go to Silverado.
Once we got to the base, Verm went into Verm mode and took off seemingly wanting to attack the hill. I set a good pace and followed him, but Shannon stayed back where we always wondered when it will be that he'll be passing us.I eventually reeled Verm in, and we did a couple rotations to a very managed pace. Verm decided he wanted to go faster, so he took off at one point. I didn't really want to interrupt my tempo at the time, but i did bring it up some just to be close enough where I could keep an eye on Verm. Plus, I knew I'd catch him on the downhill.
Steve reached the top first, and I called out to him to keep going...so he started descending. I looped around at the top and started to give chase, but Verm had a pretty good jump on me. I couldn't see him for the longest time, but I did see Adrian, Shannon, Gary and Vin making their way up still. It took about 70% of the hill where I finally got closed in on Verm, but he was definitely charging all the way. Since Verm was on breakaway mode, I decided to ride off his back and just see how he was doing. I at least wanted to see what kind of pace he'd hold going up Dump Hill. Verm did really well as he made his way there, so I thought I'd roll up to him at the top of Dump and ride down together to the gas station at the corner of Jamboree.
Adrian rolled up shortly after, and I picked up some Cokes and water for the guys, and refilled my one bottle along with chowing down a waffle and a honey gel. Once Gary and Shannon rolled in, I could feel my legs tightening up so we handled them the water and Cokes and Adrian, Verm and I were off.
We made our way toward E Santiago Canyon to get to Cannon, and at one point, Adrian passes me followed by Verm and had gapped me a bit but i didn't react right away figuring I'd catch them at a light or something. Sure enough, it was a light before Cannon. We started riding together up Cannon and made our way onto Taft and the rotations were just random here as we made our way through the streets. Once we got back on SART, however, the plan was that we would run about a 80% pace while rotating and this went very well with everyone passing smoothly all the way down to PCH. We had a couple riffraff join our paceline and take a couple pulls, but that was about it.
We didn't stop once we got on PCH, but we did see a crap load of lamborghinis driving south together. It was a cool sight...for a minute. We then rode on and started to get some gels in us while riding. Then, we managed a strong pace going out to NPC where we ended up crossing from the light.
On NPC, Verm jumped ahead and created a little gap in the beginning, so i decided to use the same position I tried on Friday. I was worried it wouldn't work, but fortunately I held the off-the-seat position all the way to the light at the top. After getting slowed down at the 2nd Pelican Light and getting held at a Red at Vista Ridge, I turned around after it turned green to see Adrian making his way toward me. What better way to get a run down NPC. He and I took turns and managed to get the light on the bottom (Bonita Canyon) and we jumped to the left. We were both willing at this point to blow up our legs, but they held up and we kept a good pace going up and around McArthur.
I even set Adrian up for a final sprint and just said let's go where he passed me pretty easily at this point. I was hoping by chasing him would give me a 21 average. Although Stravo only shows 20.9, My Garmin said 21. mph as the average pace. We probably need to do it again...and with more!
Thanks, Gents
Friday, December 9, 2011
BRCM Morning Trainer - Irvine CDM Newport Loop
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2633597
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133524987
4 BAM members came out to play this morning in the bitter cold. PV set the time to depart at 7 a.m., but upon arrival, he was still getting ready. HA HA. Shannon had donned the cold weather gear from head to toe, and when we first started made me wish I had more than a jersey with baselayer, arm warmers and leggings. Se la vie.
The pace in the beginning was a good warm-up pace, but I didn't want to take the front for a bit for a couple reasons: 1) I was sooo cold, and 2) I forgot my water bottles at home and had to use the one in my office with water only. I was somewhat in preservation mode. I finally took the front and started rotating in right before the Bonita Canyon intersection and up as we made our way toward Shady.
It was nice how everyone was working together harmoniously taking turns up front when they could, and this was pretty much throughout the entire ride. I appreciated getting pulled initially, so I did take the front when I could as well. Shannon took the lead as we made our way up the bike trail to the top and powered it up pretty good causing some separation, but we were all together again as we rode down toward the bridge that went across the 405.
We made our way up toward E. Irvine and did the Orchard Hill loop (that was my first time up it). PV mentioned a hill on it, but I wasn't sure where...until he attacked it. He passed me, but I think I passed him before the top. Nonetheless, his Strava time was better than mine and we all know it's all about Strava.
The two of us got ahead of the others, but we were together once back on Portola. Once there, we hear a honk and it was Carla (Eddie's wife) driving by probably after dropping kids off at school. I wonder if she was thinking "hey, why isn't Eddie riding today?"
The pace down the Peter's canyon bike trail was pretty fast, and a little scary considering there were some wet patches here and there. We got through incident free and had some good rotations going down toward Harvard.
The pace continued to be high on Harvard and also on the bike trail after where at one point, we happen to see a guy with panniers on his bike. Lo and behold, it was the mystical Noah...mystical because he's hardly ever seen. He jumped in our draft on his commuter, but not before I could go by and goose him.
We ran a good pace all the way down through Back Bay onto PCH. On PCH, we went through CDM instead of Ocean where it was a little hairy, especially with some senior citizen getting ready to open her door in front of us...until Shannon scolded her to watch out. HA HA. After CDM, I got up to the front and found a pretty good cadence and was able to stroke out a good pace all the way to NPC. The average speed showing on my Garmin here was 21.4, I believe.
At the light, Shannon mentioned regrouping at San Joaquin, but PV was wanting to do a Strava section from PCH to Bonita Canyon. I ride with Shannon more so.... When the light turned green, I still felt good after PCH so I got into a nice rhythm all the way to the top while off the seat and on the drops. The only thing that really tired much in doing so was my arms from holding my fat ass up. HA HA. I hit the 2nd Ridgeline light and subsequently the Vista Ridge light. PV caught and passed me here as the light turned green, and I thought he said we should just go to the light (meaning San Joaquin) so I chased him down and passed him to this intersection as well. Of course, he kept going based on his original plans while I waited for Shannon and Gary. I looked at my Garmin here as well, and NPC had dropped the average down to 20.3.
Once we regrouped, we took turns rotating as we made our way down toward Bonita Canyon to an awaiting PV. Since we hit the green light at the bottom, I decided I'd take the opportunity to try to bring up our average to 21 again, so I just took off on my own little break away. After hitting a second light once on McArthur, the guys caught me here and PV took the lead after. I took advantage of the break, but just before the 73, I opened it up and just let it all out there where my Garmin did show a 20.9 average at the end. Close! Move average, per Garmin Connect, was at 21 though. Damn Strava brought it down back to 20.7. Bah.
Considering how it was cold and took a while to warm up, we actually probably averaged more along the lines of 22 mph if you strip the first few miles off. Needless to say, it was damn good training ride. Super strong efforts from all those who came out today. Looking good, team BRCM! PV, great effort considering it was Shannon's Trek bike he was on out there.
Thanks for letting me come out and ride with you guys!
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133524987
4 BAM members came out to play this morning in the bitter cold. PV set the time to depart at 7 a.m., but upon arrival, he was still getting ready. HA HA. Shannon had donned the cold weather gear from head to toe, and when we first started made me wish I had more than a jersey with baselayer, arm warmers and leggings. Se la vie.
The pace in the beginning was a good warm-up pace, but I didn't want to take the front for a bit for a couple reasons: 1) I was sooo cold, and 2) I forgot my water bottles at home and had to use the one in my office with water only. I was somewhat in preservation mode. I finally took the front and started rotating in right before the Bonita Canyon intersection and up as we made our way toward Shady.
It was nice how everyone was working together harmoniously taking turns up front when they could, and this was pretty much throughout the entire ride. I appreciated getting pulled initially, so I did take the front when I could as well. Shannon took the lead as we made our way up the bike trail to the top and powered it up pretty good causing some separation, but we were all together again as we rode down toward the bridge that went across the 405.
We made our way up toward E. Irvine and did the Orchard Hill loop (that was my first time up it). PV mentioned a hill on it, but I wasn't sure where...until he attacked it. He passed me, but I think I passed him before the top. Nonetheless, his Strava time was better than mine and we all know it's all about Strava.
The two of us got ahead of the others, but we were together once back on Portola. Once there, we hear a honk and it was Carla (Eddie's wife) driving by probably after dropping kids off at school. I wonder if she was thinking "hey, why isn't Eddie riding today?"
The pace down the Peter's canyon bike trail was pretty fast, and a little scary considering there were some wet patches here and there. We got through incident free and had some good rotations going down toward Harvard.
The pace continued to be high on Harvard and also on the bike trail after where at one point, we happen to see a guy with panniers on his bike. Lo and behold, it was the mystical Noah...mystical because he's hardly ever seen. He jumped in our draft on his commuter, but not before I could go by and goose him.
We ran a good pace all the way down through Back Bay onto PCH. On PCH, we went through CDM instead of Ocean where it was a little hairy, especially with some senior citizen getting ready to open her door in front of us...until Shannon scolded her to watch out. HA HA. After CDM, I got up to the front and found a pretty good cadence and was able to stroke out a good pace all the way to NPC. The average speed showing on my Garmin here was 21.4, I believe.
At the light, Shannon mentioned regrouping at San Joaquin, but PV was wanting to do a Strava section from PCH to Bonita Canyon. I ride with Shannon more so.... When the light turned green, I still felt good after PCH so I got into a nice rhythm all the way to the top while off the seat and on the drops. The only thing that really tired much in doing so was my arms from holding my fat ass up. HA HA. I hit the 2nd Ridgeline light and subsequently the Vista Ridge light. PV caught and passed me here as the light turned green, and I thought he said we should just go to the light (meaning San Joaquin) so I chased him down and passed him to this intersection as well. Of course, he kept going based on his original plans while I waited for Shannon and Gary. I looked at my Garmin here as well, and NPC had dropped the average down to 20.3.
Once we regrouped, we took turns rotating as we made our way down toward Bonita Canyon to an awaiting PV. Since we hit the green light at the bottom, I decided I'd take the opportunity to try to bring up our average to 21 again, so I just took off on my own little break away. After hitting a second light once on McArthur, the guys caught me here and PV took the lead after. I took advantage of the break, but just before the 73, I opened it up and just let it all out there where my Garmin did show a 20.9 average at the end. Close! Move average, per Garmin Connect, was at 21 though. Damn Strava brought it down back to 20.7. Bah.
Considering how it was cold and took a while to warm up, we actually probably averaged more along the lines of 22 mph if you strip the first few miles off. Needless to say, it was damn good training ride. Super strong efforts from all those who came out today. Looking good, team BRCM! PV, great effort considering it was Shannon's Trek bike he was on out there.
Thanks for letting me come out and ride with you guys!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Turtle Rock Shady Ridgeline Summit Bonita Cyn Condo
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2599072
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133087133
First, thanks to David for honoring the coveted Sandy today. The list of recipients is diminishing.
Shannon came to the corner with his aero bars installed, so I just knew it was going to be one of those days. And with Todd inquiring about them, I can see these rides getting more and more painful in the next couple weeks.
Shannon led us out originally, and Jeremy pretty much held his wheel all the way to Anteater. SMH. Guys, if you won't take a turn up front, no worries, but I think we covered before how it's probably better not to sit behind the guy up front. Now you know.
Vince and I came around on Anteater, and decided to help our brother out. On my pull after the stop sign, Vin didn't take the front but launched an all out attack. Being that Hiroshi consider me Vin's "rival," it was my duty to return the favor. Can you spell "BAM?" He chuckled after I passed him because he never saw me coming. Now he knows.
Since Vin obviously had a lot of extra energy, he led us up on Culver toward campus while I held his wheel to let him get it out of his system. HA HA. I did finally come around at one point as did Vince, Todd and Shannon (and maybe Adrian).
After we got on Campus and onto Turtle Rock, the pace picked up and the rotations where then limited to the five of us. I think most everyone was able to stay on all the way up to Sunnyhill, but as the pace picked up on Shady, there was definitely some attrition. I'm not sure how I got the KOM on there (Todd hasn't uploaded at the time of this writing) but Vince and Todd finished ahead of me with a gap. I was in the back in the beginning though, so.... In any case, the pace was high going up obviously. Nice to see Adrian get a good time too, but did anyone see him up front at any time on this hill? LOL.
I made the lost ground up on Vince and Todd on the downhill, so we were all together as we made our way on and off the bike trails. A few had caught up as well as we made our way toward the 405. On the series of turn before going parallel to the freeway, I was making my way toward the front (in part due to momentum) and had gotten just beside Vince with Todd up front. When Todd called out there was a lady in a stroller on the opposite side, I didn't have too much room to maneuver so I locked up my rear wheel a couple times trying to stop going sideways at some point hoping Todd wouldn't turn towards me. Fortunately, I managed to stay upright, but I'll definitely say it was my bad since it was just not an ideal time to be passing when I did. If that warrants a Sandy, I'm cool with it. I could also be rabbit for the next ride instead. Believe me...it's equivalent.
As we made our way toward the bridge, no one was eager to do any sprinting and people just rotated to keep the pace up with Shannon doing so up to the bridge. As we got by University, Shannon had taken off for a bit and none of us were too eager to give chase or try to hang on. Fortunately, we caught him at the light to cross and go up Ridgeline.
Shannon being the trooper still led us up Ridgeline. As we came onto the first pitch, I took over and got us over the 2nd one as well. Todd and Vince made their way past after where I didn't have anything left to jump on, but I did catch Shannon's wheel as he did where we ended up catching up to them right after turning onto Turtle Rock. I also noticed Jeremy was right behind us, so he came along as well.
On Shady, 4 of us rotated as we went up and over and the hill. I wasn't about to sprint on this section either, but when Shannon decided to break off, I tried to catch him and he just wasn't having any of that business and got to the bike trail first. I really need to get a TACX trainer.
As we made our way onto Bonita Canyon, Jeremy was still with us but apologized for not taking any pulls. Not a problem, young man...it's impressive enough he didn't fall victim to the attrition. The 5 of us stayed together as we made our way to Summit. Vince led us up originally followed by Todd, and I tried to pass Todd but could only hold on until it flattened out a little. He and Vince both broke off at this point, and Shannon passed me immediately after. Jeremy may have been a little more hesitant, but he too passed me as well. I was hoping to sprint the final section past him, but he stood up as well and got to the top just behind Shannon. I wouldn't catch up to these guys until the left turn onto Bonita Canyon. Of course, it turned green when I arrived there so I had to take the initial pull. Damn. HA HA
On Bonita Canyon, we were contemplating whether we hit the Condo or stay on McArthur, which was what was mapped originally. Todd finally decided we would do the Condo, so you can kind of see everyone not pushing super hard after. We just caught the light to cross McArthur where Todd was up front, but I thought I 'd go ahead and lead us toward the condo for a change and took the front.
After we got to the top of Ford, Vince takes off shortly followed by Todd and Shannon just gets ahead of me. The group had splintered at this point, so no one was really in anyone's draft going toward the condo. Vince rounded the corner first shortly followed by Todd both taking a tighter line while Shannon and I both opted to take a wider line to come in tight on Jamboree. I think Jeremy had a tighter line as well just off the back behind me.
Shannon rounded the corner ahead of me, but I got up to him pretty quickly given the pace I had. He jumped on behind me, and we were in KOM mode making our way past Todd and Vince at a pretty good clip. As we neared the crest, Shannon came around me and started hammering. I tried to jump on, but it was just too much. If the light was green, he definitely would have taken top honors given he reached 32 mph on here, but because it was red, had to just move in with me. Cool...a roommate.
On Bison, Vince came flying by the both of us but we were all caught at the light to cross McArthur...thankfully. I was still trying to recover from Jamboree. Once the light turned green, both Vince and Todd took off for the final sprint to California (I think Vince got their first) and all I could do was just watch from off the back. I did manage to get my Garmin from 20.8 to 20.9 average, which I thought was cool, but of course, Strava knocked it back down to 20.8. Hence, the GC link. HA HA
I got cooked on today's ride. Thanks, guys! I predict SC is going to be "ridiculous."
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133087133
First, thanks to David for honoring the coveted Sandy today. The list of recipients is diminishing.
Shannon came to the corner with his aero bars installed, so I just knew it was going to be one of those days. And with Todd inquiring about them, I can see these rides getting more and more painful in the next couple weeks.
Shannon led us out originally, and Jeremy pretty much held his wheel all the way to Anteater. SMH. Guys, if you won't take a turn up front, no worries, but I think we covered before how it's probably better not to sit behind the guy up front. Now you know.
Vince and I came around on Anteater, and decided to help our brother out. On my pull after the stop sign, Vin didn't take the front but launched an all out attack. Being that Hiroshi consider me Vin's "rival," it was my duty to return the favor. Can you spell "BAM?" He chuckled after I passed him because he never saw me coming. Now he knows.
Since Vin obviously had a lot of extra energy, he led us up on Culver toward campus while I held his wheel to let him get it out of his system. HA HA. I did finally come around at one point as did Vince, Todd and Shannon (and maybe Adrian).
After we got on Campus and onto Turtle Rock, the pace picked up and the rotations where then limited to the five of us. I think most everyone was able to stay on all the way up to Sunnyhill, but as the pace picked up on Shady, there was definitely some attrition. I'm not sure how I got the KOM on there (Todd hasn't uploaded at the time of this writing) but Vince and Todd finished ahead of me with a gap. I was in the back in the beginning though, so.... In any case, the pace was high going up obviously. Nice to see Adrian get a good time too, but did anyone see him up front at any time on this hill? LOL.
I made the lost ground up on Vince and Todd on the downhill, so we were all together as we made our way on and off the bike trails. A few had caught up as well as we made our way toward the 405. On the series of turn before going parallel to the freeway, I was making my way toward the front (in part due to momentum) and had gotten just beside Vince with Todd up front. When Todd called out there was a lady in a stroller on the opposite side, I didn't have too much room to maneuver so I locked up my rear wheel a couple times trying to stop going sideways at some point hoping Todd wouldn't turn towards me. Fortunately, I managed to stay upright, but I'll definitely say it was my bad since it was just not an ideal time to be passing when I did. If that warrants a Sandy, I'm cool with it. I could also be rabbit for the next ride instead. Believe me...it's equivalent.
As we made our way toward the bridge, no one was eager to do any sprinting and people just rotated to keep the pace up with Shannon doing so up to the bridge. As we got by University, Shannon had taken off for a bit and none of us were too eager to give chase or try to hang on. Fortunately, we caught him at the light to cross and go up Ridgeline.
Shannon being the trooper still led us up Ridgeline. As we came onto the first pitch, I took over and got us over the 2nd one as well. Todd and Vince made their way past after where I didn't have anything left to jump on, but I did catch Shannon's wheel as he did where we ended up catching up to them right after turning onto Turtle Rock. I also noticed Jeremy was right behind us, so he came along as well.
On Shady, 4 of us rotated as we went up and over and the hill. I wasn't about to sprint on this section either, but when Shannon decided to break off, I tried to catch him and he just wasn't having any of that business and got to the bike trail first. I really need to get a TACX trainer.
As we made our way onto Bonita Canyon, Jeremy was still with us but apologized for not taking any pulls. Not a problem, young man...it's impressive enough he didn't fall victim to the attrition. The 5 of us stayed together as we made our way to Summit. Vince led us up originally followed by Todd, and I tried to pass Todd but could only hold on until it flattened out a little. He and Vince both broke off at this point, and Shannon passed me immediately after. Jeremy may have been a little more hesitant, but he too passed me as well. I was hoping to sprint the final section past him, but he stood up as well and got to the top just behind Shannon. I wouldn't catch up to these guys until the left turn onto Bonita Canyon. Of course, it turned green when I arrived there so I had to take the initial pull. Damn. HA HA
On Bonita Canyon, we were contemplating whether we hit the Condo or stay on McArthur, which was what was mapped originally. Todd finally decided we would do the Condo, so you can kind of see everyone not pushing super hard after. We just caught the light to cross McArthur where Todd was up front, but I thought I 'd go ahead and lead us toward the condo for a change and took the front.
After we got to the top of Ford, Vince takes off shortly followed by Todd and Shannon just gets ahead of me. The group had splintered at this point, so no one was really in anyone's draft going toward the condo. Vince rounded the corner first shortly followed by Todd both taking a tighter line while Shannon and I both opted to take a wider line to come in tight on Jamboree. I think Jeremy had a tighter line as well just off the back behind me.
Shannon rounded the corner ahead of me, but I got up to him pretty quickly given the pace I had. He jumped on behind me, and we were in KOM mode making our way past Todd and Vince at a pretty good clip. As we neared the crest, Shannon came around me and started hammering. I tried to jump on, but it was just too much. If the light was green, he definitely would have taken top honors given he reached 32 mph on here, but because it was red, had to just move in with me. Cool...a roommate.
On Bison, Vince came flying by the both of us but we were all caught at the light to cross McArthur...thankfully. I was still trying to recover from Jamboree. Once the light turned green, both Vince and Todd took off for the final sprint to California (I think Vince got their first) and all I could do was just watch from off the back. I did manage to get my Garmin from 20.8 to 20.9 average, which I thought was cool, but of course, Strava knocked it back down to 20.8. Hence, the GC link. HA HA
I got cooked on today's ride. Thanks, guys! I predict SC is going to be "ridiculous."
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Team BRCM - SC Training Starting in BRRRvine
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2576531
Attendees: Vince, Gary, Jaffe and Verm (intercepted us on Santiago)
This is what the temperature read when I was leaving this morning:
It even dropped down to 32 at one point on my way out, but it did manage to get up to a cozy 39 degrees by the time I got to BJ's. Gary was already in the parking lot when I got there, but neither of us seemed willing to get out of our cars right away but kept getting ready in the comfort of our vehicles. Vince showed up after and amazingly, Jaffe rode up from his house to join the fun as well. All of us seemed prepared for the cold weather, and I was going to wear a windbreaker since it was so cold. However, after seeing S-G man-up and not wear one and further see Vince not wearing any leg warmers, the vest came off.
I didn't realize how much the cold weather would affect all of us, but when we got going on Irvine Blvd, we could barely hold 18 mph. The cold air in the lungs just hurt. Power-wise, it felt like we should have been going well over 20 mph though. It took 5 miles just to be able to get up in the 20s. In a way, it was good Shannon didn't make it out as I'm sure this would have annoyed him immensely. HA HA
When we got to Bake, we were a little more warmed up so we picked up the pace some here. S-G was pushing up the hill and got ahead for awhile, but Vince and I were able to make our way past him. Vince and I were trading places as we made our way up, and I thought we had a pretty good gap on Gary and Jaffe by the time we got to Portola. When I asked Vince if we should wait for the others, he pointed behind us to show they weren't too far behind. Nice.
When we went up Glenn Ranch, S-G and I went through the intersection ahead of Vince and Jaffe, and S-G took advantage and made his way up to Saddleback ahead of the three of us. We weren't far behind though and we all turned left onto it pretty much with him.
On Saddleback, I got by S-G at the bottom and found a good rhythm to go up the hill. Midway up, Vince passed me, so I tried to stay with him but couldn't hold his wheel. I didn't fall too far behind, but I was able to close the gap some near the top. Thankfully so as I was able to make sure he made the right turn on Ridgeline.
After regrouping at Cooks, we were off again up the hill. S-G led us up for a bit until he made his way to another cyclist who had gone up just ahead of us. I then made my way up past them. Vince got up front near the first crest and I think brought the pace up gapping the others behind us. Once we got over the 2nd crest, Vince and I started working together down the hill.
After making our way through the canyon just before the lake entrance, we see Verm make a U-turn ahead of us to join the fun. This was just after Vince told me I needed to drink more since he still saw a lot of fluids in my bottles. I took a sip but I probably should have drank more had I known Verm was out for blood today.
Verm got in the rotation with Vince and I and led us up Dump Hill with Vince and I behind him. About 3/4 of the way up, Verm decides to accelerate and I had nothing. Vince went with and ended up passing him eventually, and I wouldn't see these guys until the light on Jamboree (in part because i was also caught on one of the lights over the toll road).
We regrouped across the street, and took off up Chapman. I led us originally and Vince got up front near the top and got us going down the hill. I made my way past him and began leading us up on Cannon. After one of the stop signs, I tried to accelerate and actually gapped Vince and Verm for a bit. Then, I popped midway up and Vince passed me first followed by Verm, who graciously warned me when he was passing me. :)
They got across E. Santiago ahead of me, and after the light, I started to make my way up. I could see Vince and Verm riding abreast ahead of me and not too far. I was just going to find a nice pace and hopefully meet them somewhere on the other side. However, sometime past midway up, I saw Vince holding Verm's bike while he took a bio break. I was struggling, so as I made my way past Vince I told him that I was and just kept going. Verm had already been making his way to his bike at that point, and they got on my wheel shortly after. I was waiting for them to pass, but I only heard Verm say "good job" at the top.
We got to the bike trail and used it to regroup with the others. At this point, the leg warmers had to come off. Once I peeled them off, the others were ready to go again. Verm led us out originally, and then we all started rotating. Even Jaffe took a couple pulls here but eventually decided it was best just to try and hang on. Vince, Verm, S-G and I kept working and there were some definitely strong pulls all the way down. S-G was there and rotating in up until the last bridge, but once we crossed, Vince opened it up and this just dropped it down to Verm, Vince and I. We were hauling ass and both Vince and Verm moved up on Strava to the #2 spots for this stretch...still behind mine from last year...but barely.
We regrouped on PCH but up to this point, we neither stopped for any water fill-ups or legal bio breaks (vs. in public...LOL). Once we got going, we were all still willing to work and kept rotating. Once we got past the Bayside, we started to go up Jamboree and Verm once again was in charge mode and started charging up the hill ahead of us. I decided to give him a little run on this hill given he's dropped me all morning long, so I reeled him and and accelerated past him where he couldn't jump on. It's my one BAM moment of the day. Jaffe must have broke off and went home his own way here since only 4 of us continued as we went across the Jamboree intersection.
Once we got to NPC, Verm started to lead us up and had a really strong pace still. I tried to hang on, but was just off the back. At one point, another guy passes me on the hill and says nice bike. He was on a BMC Team Machine, so I "let him" pass me. Yeah, that's it. He made his way up to Verm, and it looked like they rode to the top together.
We regrouped at San Joaquin and were thinking about going down it (I thought this was what Vince wanted to do, but he just didn't notice the route was actually to McArthur). Once we figured things out, we headed down NPC, Bonita Canyon and East Bluff. We thought there was a water fountain at the top of Back Bay only to find that there wasn't. We did find one on the bike trail to the right before California.
After the guys refilled their water bottles (S-G filling both despite 8 miles to go...he must have been hurting), we were off. I had 19.7 mph average on my Garmin when we were at the stop, so I told the guys it would be nice if we can get it up to 20 by the time we got back. We were all pretty spent, but we pushed on. S-G took some turns, but ended up succumbing to the pain and dropping off. Verm, Vince and I kept pushing. Verm still had a lot of energy left and brought the pace up on Harvard where it was difficult to relieve him after...but I did.
We were all still working once back on the bike trail and I just kept thinking we're almost back...we're almost back. When we finally got past the freeway, I was glad Bryan wasn't too far ahead. Verm ended up going his way (to the right) as Vince and I went ahead to make the left back toward BJ's. Vince was saying as we were making our way onto the road that his legs were done and quivering, but I convinced him we should still push on and as expected he was game and came with where we still reached almost 25-30 mph to finish off.
We were all worked, including S-G, who came in shortly after and no one was able to stick around after for some post ride decompression. Since Lisa went down to San Diego, I went in solo for a couple Piranhas and some eats...still good even alone.
Thanks for coming out even on the coldest of days, guys. It was good to see everyone working hard despite, so chalk up another good trainer for the books. Cheers!
Attendees: Vince, Gary, Jaffe and Verm (intercepted us on Santiago)
This is what the temperature read when I was leaving this morning:
It even dropped down to 32 at one point on my way out, but it did manage to get up to a cozy 39 degrees by the time I got to BJ's. Gary was already in the parking lot when I got there, but neither of us seemed willing to get out of our cars right away but kept getting ready in the comfort of our vehicles. Vince showed up after and amazingly, Jaffe rode up from his house to join the fun as well. All of us seemed prepared for the cold weather, and I was going to wear a windbreaker since it was so cold. However, after seeing S-G man-up and not wear one and further see Vince not wearing any leg warmers, the vest came off.
I didn't realize how much the cold weather would affect all of us, but when we got going on Irvine Blvd, we could barely hold 18 mph. The cold air in the lungs just hurt. Power-wise, it felt like we should have been going well over 20 mph though. It took 5 miles just to be able to get up in the 20s. In a way, it was good Shannon didn't make it out as I'm sure this would have annoyed him immensely. HA HA
When we got to Bake, we were a little more warmed up so we picked up the pace some here. S-G was pushing up the hill and got ahead for awhile, but Vince and I were able to make our way past him. Vince and I were trading places as we made our way up, and I thought we had a pretty good gap on Gary and Jaffe by the time we got to Portola. When I asked Vince if we should wait for the others, he pointed behind us to show they weren't too far behind. Nice.
When we went up Glenn Ranch, S-G and I went through the intersection ahead of Vince and Jaffe, and S-G took advantage and made his way up to Saddleback ahead of the three of us. We weren't far behind though and we all turned left onto it pretty much with him.
On Saddleback, I got by S-G at the bottom and found a good rhythm to go up the hill. Midway up, Vince passed me, so I tried to stay with him but couldn't hold his wheel. I didn't fall too far behind, but I was able to close the gap some near the top. Thankfully so as I was able to make sure he made the right turn on Ridgeline.
After regrouping at Cooks, we were off again up the hill. S-G led us up for a bit until he made his way to another cyclist who had gone up just ahead of us. I then made my way up past them. Vince got up front near the first crest and I think brought the pace up gapping the others behind us. Once we got over the 2nd crest, Vince and I started working together down the hill.
After making our way through the canyon just before the lake entrance, we see Verm make a U-turn ahead of us to join the fun. This was just after Vince told me I needed to drink more since he still saw a lot of fluids in my bottles. I took a sip but I probably should have drank more had I known Verm was out for blood today.
Verm got in the rotation with Vince and I and led us up Dump Hill with Vince and I behind him. About 3/4 of the way up, Verm decides to accelerate and I had nothing. Vince went with and ended up passing him eventually, and I wouldn't see these guys until the light on Jamboree (in part because i was also caught on one of the lights over the toll road).
We regrouped across the street, and took off up Chapman. I led us originally and Vince got up front near the top and got us going down the hill. I made my way past him and began leading us up on Cannon. After one of the stop signs, I tried to accelerate and actually gapped Vince and Verm for a bit. Then, I popped midway up and Vince passed me first followed by Verm, who graciously warned me when he was passing me. :)
They got across E. Santiago ahead of me, and after the light, I started to make my way up. I could see Vince and Verm riding abreast ahead of me and not too far. I was just going to find a nice pace and hopefully meet them somewhere on the other side. However, sometime past midway up, I saw Vince holding Verm's bike while he took a bio break. I was struggling, so as I made my way past Vince I told him that I was and just kept going. Verm had already been making his way to his bike at that point, and they got on my wheel shortly after. I was waiting for them to pass, but I only heard Verm say "good job" at the top.
We got to the bike trail and used it to regroup with the others. At this point, the leg warmers had to come off. Once I peeled them off, the others were ready to go again. Verm led us out originally, and then we all started rotating. Even Jaffe took a couple pulls here but eventually decided it was best just to try and hang on. Vince, Verm, S-G and I kept working and there were some definitely strong pulls all the way down. S-G was there and rotating in up until the last bridge, but once we crossed, Vince opened it up and this just dropped it down to Verm, Vince and I. We were hauling ass and both Vince and Verm moved up on Strava to the #2 spots for this stretch...still behind mine from last year...but barely.
We regrouped on PCH but up to this point, we neither stopped for any water fill-ups or legal bio breaks (vs. in public...LOL). Once we got going, we were all still willing to work and kept rotating. Once we got past the Bayside, we started to go up Jamboree and Verm once again was in charge mode and started charging up the hill ahead of us. I decided to give him a little run on this hill given he's dropped me all morning long, so I reeled him and and accelerated past him where he couldn't jump on. It's my one BAM moment of the day. Jaffe must have broke off and went home his own way here since only 4 of us continued as we went across the Jamboree intersection.
Once we got to NPC, Verm started to lead us up and had a really strong pace still. I tried to hang on, but was just off the back. At one point, another guy passes me on the hill and says nice bike. He was on a BMC Team Machine, so I "let him" pass me. Yeah, that's it. He made his way up to Verm, and it looked like they rode to the top together.
We regrouped at San Joaquin and were thinking about going down it (I thought this was what Vince wanted to do, but he just didn't notice the route was actually to McArthur). Once we figured things out, we headed down NPC, Bonita Canyon and East Bluff. We thought there was a water fountain at the top of Back Bay only to find that there wasn't. We did find one on the bike trail to the right before California.
After the guys refilled their water bottles (S-G filling both despite 8 miles to go...he must have been hurting), we were off. I had 19.7 mph average on my Garmin when we were at the stop, so I told the guys it would be nice if we can get it up to 20 by the time we got back. We were all pretty spent, but we pushed on. S-G took some turns, but ended up succumbing to the pain and dropping off. Verm, Vince and I kept pushing. Verm still had a lot of energy left and brought the pace up on Harvard where it was difficult to relieve him after...but I did.
We were all still working once back on the bike trail and I just kept thinking we're almost back...we're almost back. When we finally got past the freeway, I was glad Bryan wasn't too far ahead. Verm ended up going his way (to the right) as Vince and I went ahead to make the left back toward BJ's. Vince was saying as we were making our way onto the road that his legs were done and quivering, but I convinced him we should still push on and as expected he was game and came with where we still reached almost 25-30 mph to finish off.
We were all worked, including S-G, who came in shortly after and no one was able to stick around after for some post ride decompression. Since Lisa went down to San Diego, I went in solo for a couple Piranhas and some eats...still good even alone.
Thanks for coming out even on the coldest of days, guys. It was good to see everyone working hard despite, so chalk up another good trainer for the books. Cheers!
Friday, December 2, 2011
BRCM Morning Trainer - Shady 133 PCH NPC McArthur Jamboree Loop
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2537458 (Got my 500 back...yippee!)
I thought it would just be Todd and me, but it was nice to see Vince and Galen come out also and join us for a morning pain fest. We got going just a little after 6:30 and the temperature was sub 50 still. The sun was starting to peek out though, so it warmed up to a toasty 55 degrees by the end of the ride. Todd and Galen opted not to have leg warmers and shorty gloves only. Studs.
Our initial pace going out was pretty chill but that lasted until we got to E. Peltason...ha ha. Galen, Todd and I kept the pace up, but Vince must have been recovering from what I heard was some brutal cross training in the last few days and stayed in the back.
Going across Bonita Canyon toward Shady, I led us out originally but Galen passed and created a little gap where Todd said he'd close it so I jumped behind him. Todd must have reconsidered doing so since Galen kept ahead of us for some time at a pretty mean pace, but I finally jumped up to help Todd reel him back in. No fun.
When we went up the Shady bike trail, we took turns rotating and Todd led us to the top followed by Galen and me. Vince was still trying to get the blood circulating, so we waited at the top and regrouped.
We all stayed together and rotated as we made our way to the 133, but before we got to the top, I felt I was bouncing on my stem in the rear where I knew I had gotten a flat. After trying an inner tube with a stem too short for my 25mm rear wheels (thanks to my wife...HA HA...inside joke) and failing to inflate it, I had to drop in the other spare tube which had a 60mm stem. I felt rushed trying to get the 2nd tube in that I think I got a good 80 PSI of CO2 in there only...good enough. Thankfully, the guys waited for me.
As we headed down the other side of the 133, everyone was taking turns so we averaged over 31 mph per hour for a few miles. We still kept the pace up on PCH, although admittedly, I think I got a little winded earlier and I probably could have used a drink but was too afraid to do so given the pace. I did take some turns here and there, but when I found out we were going up NPC (instead of Back Bay), I was a little nervous.
Vince conceded that he wasn't going to try and hang up NPC, so the three of us made our way up at a pretty decent clip. Galen led the way, but Todd eventually got beside him and they started riding up together. Before midway, I dropped off their pace and went into slight survival mode. Then, a guy passes me on a cyclocross bike. Wow. I jumped on his rear wheel for a while and he did pull me closer to Todd and Galen, but I didn't have enough to hold on for the rest of the hill. He passed Galen also, but when he got to Todd, Todd wouldn't have any of it (BAM) and broke away. Todd was pretty happy with this feat...until we pointed out how the guy was on a cyclocross bike. Then, not as much.
Fortunately, I caught both Galen and Todd at the light at Ridge Park, and I led us down the other side of NPC. It was pretty hairy with the morning commuters, one of which wouldn't respect Todd's space, but we still managed to make it down safely. Vince would catch us at the light on McArthur, so he was safe as well.
We exchanged some pulls on Bonita Canyon, but Todd led us up on Ford as we made our way to "Rich's Condo." Vince didn't opt to come with us here, but I knew Todd and Galen were going to give it a good run. I dropped off the back a little as we neared Jamboree just to swing out wide on Ford to come in tight on Jamboree. We all had to check up a little though based on some water on the road as well as the cars that were about to come through on the green behind us.
After rounding the corner, Galen took off and got a sizable gap ahead of Todd and I. I jumped into a gear I thought I could hold for a while, and made my way past LTJ and gave chase to Galen. I wasn't sure I was going to catch him, but he lost a little steam near the end of the rise where I was able to get by. I did have to drop down to gears I didn't think would let me beat my record up here, but I kept going nonetheless. 23 mph average was good enough for today.
The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful but still with a solid pace. In the end, the average pace for the whole route was 21.7 mph. Not too shabby. We know Todd and Vince are legit, but seeing Galen continue to make gains, I'd have to agree with Verm's assessment from last Wednesday...this dude is definitely legit too.
Thanks for coming out, gents! Spin class at lunch? I'm sick and need serious psychological attention.
I thought it would just be Todd and me, but it was nice to see Vince and Galen come out also and join us for a morning pain fest. We got going just a little after 6:30 and the temperature was sub 50 still. The sun was starting to peek out though, so it warmed up to a toasty 55 degrees by the end of the ride. Todd and Galen opted not to have leg warmers and shorty gloves only. Studs.
Our initial pace going out was pretty chill but that lasted until we got to E. Peltason...ha ha. Galen, Todd and I kept the pace up, but Vince must have been recovering from what I heard was some brutal cross training in the last few days and stayed in the back.
Going across Bonita Canyon toward Shady, I led us out originally but Galen passed and created a little gap where Todd said he'd close it so I jumped behind him. Todd must have reconsidered doing so since Galen kept ahead of us for some time at a pretty mean pace, but I finally jumped up to help Todd reel him back in. No fun.
When we went up the Shady bike trail, we took turns rotating and Todd led us to the top followed by Galen and me. Vince was still trying to get the blood circulating, so we waited at the top and regrouped.
We all stayed together and rotated as we made our way to the 133, but before we got to the top, I felt I was bouncing on my stem in the rear where I knew I had gotten a flat. After trying an inner tube with a stem too short for my 25mm rear wheels (thanks to my wife...HA HA...inside joke) and failing to inflate it, I had to drop in the other spare tube which had a 60mm stem. I felt rushed trying to get the 2nd tube in that I think I got a good 80 PSI of CO2 in there only...good enough. Thankfully, the guys waited for me.
As we headed down the other side of the 133, everyone was taking turns so we averaged over 31 mph per hour for a few miles. We still kept the pace up on PCH, although admittedly, I think I got a little winded earlier and I probably could have used a drink but was too afraid to do so given the pace. I did take some turns here and there, but when I found out we were going up NPC (instead of Back Bay), I was a little nervous.
Vince conceded that he wasn't going to try and hang up NPC, so the three of us made our way up at a pretty decent clip. Galen led the way, but Todd eventually got beside him and they started riding up together. Before midway, I dropped off their pace and went into slight survival mode. Then, a guy passes me on a cyclocross bike. Wow. I jumped on his rear wheel for a while and he did pull me closer to Todd and Galen, but I didn't have enough to hold on for the rest of the hill. He passed Galen also, but when he got to Todd, Todd wouldn't have any of it (BAM) and broke away. Todd was pretty happy with this feat...until we pointed out how the guy was on a cyclocross bike. Then, not as much.
Fortunately, I caught both Galen and Todd at the light at Ridge Park, and I led us down the other side of NPC. It was pretty hairy with the morning commuters, one of which wouldn't respect Todd's space, but we still managed to make it down safely. Vince would catch us at the light on McArthur, so he was safe as well.
We exchanged some pulls on Bonita Canyon, but Todd led us up on Ford as we made our way to "Rich's Condo." Vince didn't opt to come with us here, but I knew Todd and Galen were going to give it a good run. I dropped off the back a little as we neared Jamboree just to swing out wide on Ford to come in tight on Jamboree. We all had to check up a little though based on some water on the road as well as the cars that were about to come through on the green behind us.
After rounding the corner, Galen took off and got a sizable gap ahead of Todd and I. I jumped into a gear I thought I could hold for a while, and made my way past LTJ and gave chase to Galen. I wasn't sure I was going to catch him, but he lost a little steam near the end of the rise where I was able to get by. I did have to drop down to gears I didn't think would let me beat my record up here, but I kept going nonetheless. 23 mph average was good enough for today.
The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful but still with a solid pace. In the end, the average pace for the whole route was 21.7 mph. Not too shabby. We know Todd and Vince are legit, but seeing Galen continue to make gains, I'd have to agree with Verm's assessment from last Wednesday...this dude is definitely legit too.
Thanks for coming out, gents! Spin class at lunch? I'm sick and need serious psychological attention.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Anteater San Miguel Spyglass San Joaq NPC Pelican PCH BB Jamboree
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2506477
Attendees: Shannon, Galen, Adrian, Hiroshi, Seon, Vin, Jeremy, Peter, Robert, Mitchell and David
Good sized group came out today to do some work after the holiday weekend. I took us out initially on to Anteater, but Jaffinator helped out and rotated some pulls as we made our way to Bonita Canyon. Once there, we rode the Galen express as we made our way toward San Miguel with Adrian taking a final pull just before the left turn.
On San Miguel, Galen led us up originally, but I opted to bring up the pace a little and took the front leading up to the light to turn left. When the light turned green, Team Focus jumped ahead and created a nice little gap from the others including myself. When it flattened out a little before the last rise, I was going to sprint up but wanted some extra gears to do so where I decided to use the small ring up front.. This, however, led to my chain dropping despite having a chain catcher where I had to pull off interrupting Adrian and Shannon's pace to get it fixed. I had to get off the bike to do so since the chain catcher wouldn't let me just pull the chain back up onto the ring. Of course, by the time I did, everyone else was gone...except for Peter who was just making his way up to me.
I finished the hill and got caught at the light on San Joaquin where I could see others more than half way up the hill. By the time I was able to go, there was no point in blowing up trying to catch everyone so I opted for a steadier pace in anticipation that I'd be riding alone for the rest of the ride.
While I'd catch glimpses of 1 or 2 of our guys ahead of me, that soon faded after getting stuck at the light at NPC and Ridge Park. I probably should have taken the shortcut here had I known the light would take so long.
Once the light turned green, I picked up the pace a little and jammed through Pelican hoping to see someone...anyone...but nope. I kept the pace up as best as I could on PCH, and decided to skip Ocean to see if I can possibly see others coming out of Avocado. Instead, I ran into Hiroshi on McArthur at the light.
Hiroshi got the jump at the light, but I was eager to see if we can still run into the others where I took the front and brought the pace up to a respectable 25-26ish toward the last stretch before Jamboree. With no one in sight still, we pushed on after the Jamboree light into Back Bay. Hiroshi took a pull early on after the gate and then one more pull some time after San Joaquin, but left me solo after that to finish the rest of Back Bay and Jamboree.
At the top while waiting to cross Jamboree to Bison, I saw Hiroshi and some others making their way to the left turn lane. Thankfully, my light turned green first and I started rolling down Bison only to be caught by light. Of course, once the light turned green, it was perfectly timed for the others to roll by where we all got together at the subsequent light. This was where there was dialog exchange with Jeremy seemingly happy to have beaten me up Spyglass despite my chain dropping. You go, boy! HA HA
Once the light turned green, Galen led us out and I figured I'd give the final sprint a go. Thank goodness Galen couldn't respond by that time, but Vin seemed eager to try to get by. Not this time, young guy.
Bummed I missed riding with the group, especially through BB where I hear Galen and Shannon were killing it. It was still a good training day for me nonetheless. Now where are those damn compression pants?!?
Thanks, gents!
Attendees: Shannon, Galen, Adrian, Hiroshi, Seon, Vin, Jeremy, Peter, Robert, Mitchell and David
Good sized group came out today to do some work after the holiday weekend. I took us out initially on to Anteater, but Jaffinator helped out and rotated some pulls as we made our way to Bonita Canyon. Once there, we rode the Galen express as we made our way toward San Miguel with Adrian taking a final pull just before the left turn.
On San Miguel, Galen led us up originally, but I opted to bring up the pace a little and took the front leading up to the light to turn left. When the light turned green, Team Focus jumped ahead and created a nice little gap from the others including myself. When it flattened out a little before the last rise, I was going to sprint up but wanted some extra gears to do so where I decided to use the small ring up front.. This, however, led to my chain dropping despite having a chain catcher where I had to pull off interrupting Adrian and Shannon's pace to get it fixed. I had to get off the bike to do so since the chain catcher wouldn't let me just pull the chain back up onto the ring. Of course, by the time I did, everyone else was gone...except for Peter who was just making his way up to me.
I finished the hill and got caught at the light on San Joaquin where I could see others more than half way up the hill. By the time I was able to go, there was no point in blowing up trying to catch everyone so I opted for a steadier pace in anticipation that I'd be riding alone for the rest of the ride.
While I'd catch glimpses of 1 or 2 of our guys ahead of me, that soon faded after getting stuck at the light at NPC and Ridge Park. I probably should have taken the shortcut here had I known the light would take so long.
Once the light turned green, I picked up the pace a little and jammed through Pelican hoping to see someone...anyone...but nope. I kept the pace up as best as I could on PCH, and decided to skip Ocean to see if I can possibly see others coming out of Avocado. Instead, I ran into Hiroshi on McArthur at the light.
Hiroshi got the jump at the light, but I was eager to see if we can still run into the others where I took the front and brought the pace up to a respectable 25-26ish toward the last stretch before Jamboree. With no one in sight still, we pushed on after the Jamboree light into Back Bay. Hiroshi took a pull early on after the gate and then one more pull some time after San Joaquin, but left me solo after that to finish the rest of Back Bay and Jamboree.
At the top while waiting to cross Jamboree to Bison, I saw Hiroshi and some others making their way to the left turn lane. Thankfully, my light turned green first and I started rolling down Bison only to be caught by light. Of course, once the light turned green, it was perfectly timed for the others to roll by where we all got together at the subsequent light. This was where there was dialog exchange with Jeremy seemingly happy to have beaten me up Spyglass despite my chain dropping. You go, boy! HA HA
Once the light turned green, Galen led us out and I figured I'd give the final sprint a go. Thank goodness Galen couldn't respond by that time, but Vin seemed eager to try to get by. Not this time, young guy.
Bummed I missed riding with the group, especially through BB where I hear Galen and Shannon were killing it. It was still a good training day for me nonetheless. Now where are those damn compression pants?!?
Thanks, gents!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Team BRCM - Irvine, 133, Aliso Creek, Highland, Pac Island, PCH to LB and Back via BB
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2482213
I met up Gary, Shannon and Vin at our usual BJ's meetup spot in Irvine, and we'd pick Verm up on Irvine Blvd just after Jeffrey. It was a little nippy in the morning, but most of us ventured out with a base layer and arm warmers only. It was a little hard (for me anyway) to warm up while breathing in the cold air, so our initial pace was actually good to warm up in. Vin and Gary did take off at one point early on before we got to Verm, but Shannon and patiently worked our way back up to them.
After we picked Verm up, there were some actual rotations going on as we made our way to Alton, Barranca and subsequently Laguna Canyon. At one point on the 133, Shannon must have gotten a little excited and decided to open it up a little going up creating a gap. We were able to close the gap eventually as we headed down the other side to El Toro.
El Toro was rather uneventful so we did end up staying together as we headed to Aliso Creek. I thought I'd lead up Aliso Creek at a pretty good pace and found a nice rhythm to get us up there. After standing for a while, I thought I'd see how the old seated spin would feel. As we neared the top, Gary launches a stealth attack and passes just before the crest. Nice!
We made our way down the other side toward Alicia, and Shannon and I got the front and took turns making our way down. When we got on Alicia, S-G decided he wanted to pick the pace up again and broke away before we got to Highland. I gave chase and held a pace that led me past S-G, and in doing so, I looked back to see if he'd jump on but he didn't appear to do so. I decided to keep a good pace up, and started pedaling to the rhythm of some songs on my Ipod when near the top, S-G sneaks by me again where I yelled out "sneaky!" I took off and got by him this time, but he may have been laughing at how I called him on his stealthiness.
After the stop sign to go across Niguel, I decided that was just about enough of that business and tore down the other side of Highland and up Pac Island to get to the top. Sorry, S-G...you've had your fun, buddy. You may be asking yourself where was Shannon in all of this. Well, he decided he wasn't going to manage his pace today a bit more and be strong at the end, which was exactly what he did. Verm hadn't had a lot of sleep, so he was having trouble early on, but he did find his mojo after we got off the hills and out on PCH. Vin was also doing well not dropping off too much and still willing to take pulls subsequently.
On the other side of Pac Island, Gary led first but Shannon passed us both at a pretty good clip where he reached 55.1 mph. I gave chase, but only managed 54.3...can't do too much more on a compact crank.
We regrouped on PCH, and as we made our way to Laguna Beach, I decided to work off some turkey and led the guys through downtown. When we got to the rise just after the 133, I thought Gary was going to try to launch another attack again, so I opened it up a bit to keep him honest. Verm and Gary started taking turns with me subsequently, but Shannon had been off the back still trying to manage his output so he can dole out some pain on the stretches. Vin had a pretty strong pull (breakaway-ish though) after El Morrow, so I let him expend some of his youthful energy a little.
We picked up a rider on the way, and then a couple more after NPC, and Shannon had caught back up to us at this point as well. One guy took a pull on his tri-bike as we got into CDM, and after McArthur, seemed to want to open it up some. I'm not sure if he thought he was breaking away, but we reeled him in and subsequently passed him to let him know we're game if he's wanting to mix it up. He turned on Jamboree.
As we went through Newport, an older rider was sitting on Shannon's wheel as he was at the front where I wasn't sure if Shannon knew who was behind him. I rolled up from the back to this guy and asked him if he was interested in actually rotating up for if he wasn't, I was going to kindly ask him to fall back. He responded he was willing to rotate, but after one rotation to the front and being relieved, that was the last we saw of him.
Another rider on a Felt bike (the others thought it looked like PV's, but it was an F series with a Team Garmin paint scheme, not a Z series like Paul's) jumped up and decided he was interested in taking the front from the back rather than rotating up. After we rotated with him for a while, he ended up disappearing after a while too. Let's just say it was a day full of Houdinis.
One one of Shannon's favorite stretches, he decided to open it up. With Verm and I helping, this pretty much ensured no one was going to sit in our draft at this point. Even with a headwind, we were still averaging over 25 mph. It was nuts!
The three of us made our way through Seal Beach and eventually to Long Beach 2nd Street where we got to the Mobile station at the corner. FYI - you'll need quarters if you want to use the restroom here. Gary and Vin ended up rolling in after a bit, but they did stop at a prior gas station thinking we were there. This was our first real break, which was pretty good considering it was almost 60 miles out. My Garmin had us at a 20.3 average at this point.
On the way back, it didn't take too long before people jumped in and started to mix it up with us. One guy on a red bike started to ride with us, and when he didn't take a turn up front after sitting in the #2 spot, one of us passed to relieve our team member (I forgot who did what), but I guess this guy wanted to show us he was game and tried to break off. Of course, not on our watch. HA HA. He did rotate in a few more times, but eventually dropped before we got back to Huntington Beach.
A couple Surf City Cyclery guys also jumped in and rotated in, albeit not consistently, while Shannon, Verm and I pushed the pace. I tried to have Vin save some energy and not try to rotate in too long, but he still dropped as did Gary once the pace got pretty high. One of the SCC guys decided not to continue on past HB, but the other came with. We were still keeping a pretty fast pace as we were in front of beach stretch, where at one of the lights, the 2nd SCC guy says to us, I'm just going to sit in your guys draft since I'm tired after riding blah blah blah. We were about 60 miles into our ride at this point already, and he says this to us like we were all fresh. Then, after sitting in our draft, he decides to cut through a red light and try to break away from us. I even saw him standing up and pedaling. Once the light turned green, the chase was on and we reeled him in fairly quickly to have him once again just sit comfortably in our draft. Oh man, I was hoping he'd try to attack at least once...but he never did. The SOB never even said thank you once we turned off to the gas station across from Bayside to wait for the others.
After regrouping at the gas station and taking a final break, we decided to cut through BB and make our way back to BJ's via the bike trail. The plan was to keep a moderate pace, which I think we did for the most part. Okay, so it wasn't the 20-21 I said, but everyone was still pulling when they could. Verm and I kept the pace up on the bike trail, and we did go by a guy on a Trek who decided to join our paceline. No biggie. While we maintained a pace around 23ish, Mr. Trek decided he wanted to pick up the pace some and passes at a 25 mph or so pace and creating an immediate gap subsequently. Defending the honor of the jersey, I took off after him and eventually latched on to show him he wasn't as fast as he thought he was. Then, Shannon comes out of nowhere and launches a serious attack, so I pull out from behind Mr. Trek and joined Shannon on our breakaway. Yup...snapped him off too. Shannon called it a Shake N Bake.
Verm and Vin caught us on the light to Harvard, and we rode together from there. Shannon still had some unspent energy, so we still kept pushing on Harvard and then subsequently on the bike trail. Verm got a flat, but urged us to continue so we did. At Shannon's pace, we pulled away from Vin and just kept rotating all the way back to Bryan and eventually to BJ's. In the end, we managed to bring our average up to 21 mph, thanks in part due to some tail wind, but mostly due to just working our asses off.
Vin rolled in a little after us, and S-G, who helped Verm with his flat, came in safe and sound as well. It had gone from being quite cold in the morning, to a balmy 80 degrees at this point. Crazy.
One thing I wanted to point out was how I jumped into some new X2U recovery compression pants I just picked up yesterday right after the ride. Guys, you may want to look into this as my legs actually didn't feel too bad today after doing so. Should be good for the spin bike tomorrow. :)
Vin, you're doing better young guy. I know the only reason you fell off today was since you borrowed my arm warmers where they must have been flapping around all over the place like a sail. It's good to have you join us though, although the next time you bring buttered bread for your nutrition vs. taro buns for our post ride, we won't wait for you. Just kidding.
Thanks again for another good trainer, gents!
I met up Gary, Shannon and Vin at our usual BJ's meetup spot in Irvine, and we'd pick Verm up on Irvine Blvd just after Jeffrey. It was a little nippy in the morning, but most of us ventured out with a base layer and arm warmers only. It was a little hard (for me anyway) to warm up while breathing in the cold air, so our initial pace was actually good to warm up in. Vin and Gary did take off at one point early on before we got to Verm, but Shannon and patiently worked our way back up to them.
After we picked Verm up, there were some actual rotations going on as we made our way to Alton, Barranca and subsequently Laguna Canyon. At one point on the 133, Shannon must have gotten a little excited and decided to open it up a little going up creating a gap. We were able to close the gap eventually as we headed down the other side to El Toro.
El Toro was rather uneventful so we did end up staying together as we headed to Aliso Creek. I thought I'd lead up Aliso Creek at a pretty good pace and found a nice rhythm to get us up there. After standing for a while, I thought I'd see how the old seated spin would feel. As we neared the top, Gary launches a stealth attack and passes just before the crest. Nice!
We made our way down the other side toward Alicia, and Shannon and I got the front and took turns making our way down. When we got on Alicia, S-G decided he wanted to pick the pace up again and broke away before we got to Highland. I gave chase and held a pace that led me past S-G, and in doing so, I looked back to see if he'd jump on but he didn't appear to do so. I decided to keep a good pace up, and started pedaling to the rhythm of some songs on my Ipod when near the top, S-G sneaks by me again where I yelled out "sneaky!" I took off and got by him this time, but he may have been laughing at how I called him on his stealthiness.
After the stop sign to go across Niguel, I decided that was just about enough of that business and tore down the other side of Highland and up Pac Island to get to the top. Sorry, S-G...you've had your fun, buddy. You may be asking yourself where was Shannon in all of this. Well, he decided he wasn't going to manage his pace today a bit more and be strong at the end, which was exactly what he did. Verm hadn't had a lot of sleep, so he was having trouble early on, but he did find his mojo after we got off the hills and out on PCH. Vin was also doing well not dropping off too much and still willing to take pulls subsequently.
On the other side of Pac Island, Gary led first but Shannon passed us both at a pretty good clip where he reached 55.1 mph. I gave chase, but only managed 54.3...can't do too much more on a compact crank.
We regrouped on PCH, and as we made our way to Laguna Beach, I decided to work off some turkey and led the guys through downtown. When we got to the rise just after the 133, I thought Gary was going to try to launch another attack again, so I opened it up a bit to keep him honest. Verm and Gary started taking turns with me subsequently, but Shannon had been off the back still trying to manage his output so he can dole out some pain on the stretches. Vin had a pretty strong pull (breakaway-ish though) after El Morrow, so I let him expend some of his youthful energy a little.
We picked up a rider on the way, and then a couple more after NPC, and Shannon had caught back up to us at this point as well. One guy took a pull on his tri-bike as we got into CDM, and after McArthur, seemed to want to open it up some. I'm not sure if he thought he was breaking away, but we reeled him in and subsequently passed him to let him know we're game if he's wanting to mix it up. He turned on Jamboree.
As we went through Newport, an older rider was sitting on Shannon's wheel as he was at the front where I wasn't sure if Shannon knew who was behind him. I rolled up from the back to this guy and asked him if he was interested in actually rotating up for if he wasn't, I was going to kindly ask him to fall back. He responded he was willing to rotate, but after one rotation to the front and being relieved, that was the last we saw of him.
Another rider on a Felt bike (the others thought it looked like PV's, but it was an F series with a Team Garmin paint scheme, not a Z series like Paul's) jumped up and decided he was interested in taking the front from the back rather than rotating up. After we rotated with him for a while, he ended up disappearing after a while too. Let's just say it was a day full of Houdinis.
One one of Shannon's favorite stretches, he decided to open it up. With Verm and I helping, this pretty much ensured no one was going to sit in our draft at this point. Even with a headwind, we were still averaging over 25 mph. It was nuts!
The three of us made our way through Seal Beach and eventually to Long Beach 2nd Street where we got to the Mobile station at the corner. FYI - you'll need quarters if you want to use the restroom here. Gary and Vin ended up rolling in after a bit, but they did stop at a prior gas station thinking we were there. This was our first real break, which was pretty good considering it was almost 60 miles out. My Garmin had us at a 20.3 average at this point.
On the way back, it didn't take too long before people jumped in and started to mix it up with us. One guy on a red bike started to ride with us, and when he didn't take a turn up front after sitting in the #2 spot, one of us passed to relieve our team member (I forgot who did what), but I guess this guy wanted to show us he was game and tried to break off. Of course, not on our watch. HA HA. He did rotate in a few more times, but eventually dropped before we got back to Huntington Beach.
A couple Surf City Cyclery guys also jumped in and rotated in, albeit not consistently, while Shannon, Verm and I pushed the pace. I tried to have Vin save some energy and not try to rotate in too long, but he still dropped as did Gary once the pace got pretty high. One of the SCC guys decided not to continue on past HB, but the other came with. We were still keeping a pretty fast pace as we were in front of beach stretch, where at one of the lights, the 2nd SCC guy says to us, I'm just going to sit in your guys draft since I'm tired after riding blah blah blah. We were about 60 miles into our ride at this point already, and he says this to us like we were all fresh. Then, after sitting in our draft, he decides to cut through a red light and try to break away from us. I even saw him standing up and pedaling. Once the light turned green, the chase was on and we reeled him in fairly quickly to have him once again just sit comfortably in our draft. Oh man, I was hoping he'd try to attack at least once...but he never did. The SOB never even said thank you once we turned off to the gas station across from Bayside to wait for the others.
After regrouping at the gas station and taking a final break, we decided to cut through BB and make our way back to BJ's via the bike trail. The plan was to keep a moderate pace, which I think we did for the most part. Okay, so it wasn't the 20-21 I said, but everyone was still pulling when they could. Verm and I kept the pace up on the bike trail, and we did go by a guy on a Trek who decided to join our paceline. No biggie. While we maintained a pace around 23ish, Mr. Trek decided he wanted to pick up the pace some and passes at a 25 mph or so pace and creating an immediate gap subsequently. Defending the honor of the jersey, I took off after him and eventually latched on to show him he wasn't as fast as he thought he was. Then, Shannon comes out of nowhere and launches a serious attack, so I pull out from behind Mr. Trek and joined Shannon on our breakaway. Yup...snapped him off too. Shannon called it a Shake N Bake.
Verm and Vin caught us on the light to Harvard, and we rode together from there. Shannon still had some unspent energy, so we still kept pushing on Harvard and then subsequently on the bike trail. Verm got a flat, but urged us to continue so we did. At Shannon's pace, we pulled away from Vin and just kept rotating all the way back to Bryan and eventually to BJ's. In the end, we managed to bring our average up to 21 mph, thanks in part due to some tail wind, but mostly due to just working our asses off.
Vin rolled in a little after us, and S-G, who helped Verm with his flat, came in safe and sound as well. It had gone from being quite cold in the morning, to a balmy 80 degrees at this point. Crazy.
One thing I wanted to point out was how I jumped into some new X2U recovery compression pants I just picked up yesterday right after the ride. Guys, you may want to look into this as my legs actually didn't feel too bad today after doing so. Should be good for the spin bike tomorrow. :)
Vin, you're doing better young guy. I know the only reason you fell off today was since you borrowed my arm warmers where they must have been flapping around all over the place like a sail. It's good to have you join us though, although the next time you bring buttered bread for your nutrition vs. taro buns for our post ride, we won't wait for you. Just kidding.
Thanks again for another good trainer, gents!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Team BRCM - PV's Pre-turkey Morning Madness Ride
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2427567
Admittedly, I didn't want to do this morning's ride when I first heard about it. Too cold and I already had ride plans for the following days. However, after finding out all who were attending, it just felt wrong to pass it up. PV set this up and got Galen, Shannon, Gary, Vince, Todd, Adrian, Verm and Mitchell to come out and play. Can you already tell what kind of ride it was going to be?
Temperature-wise, it wasn't really as cold as I thought it was going to be. While most of us wore arm and leg warmers, a base layer and jersey worked out for me where I didn't even shiver once. Given the pace was pretty aggressive early on, it didn't take much to warm up at all.
We had a really good pace going through Anteater and subsequently up the first Shady rise. It may have gotten a little strung out though on the latter. Shannon decided to do a little extra credit by taking the long way around the gate, but there were about 5 of us who jumped on the sidewalk together to head up the Shady bike trail. Todd, Galen and PV were taking turns before I got up front to help out. After crossing the last wooden bridge, Galen started to open it up and broke away for a bit. He had a pretty good lead, but I was able to slowly reel him in before we got to the very top. In doing so, alarms were going off in my head though reminding me we still had a lot of miles to go.
Galen and I regrouped at the bottom and continued on to Quail Hill. We didn't see anyone behind us, so we spun all the way to Laguna Canyon where we decided we would wait for everyone. After sitting for a couple minutes, we decided someone must have had a mechanical so we started to head back. When we saw the group making their way towards us (after addressing Adrian's flat tire), we busted a U-turn and got together with the group again.
Instead of making our way straight to Barranca, we turned early on Alton only to realize after that it's safer to cross the freeway on Barranca. We made a left on Irvine Center Drive and got back on Barranca where we did start to do some rotations to keep the pace up. This continued on through Alton and Irvine Blvd.
When we got to Bake, I led us out at a semi-aggressive pace and the group seemed to start splintering early. Shannon decided to display his hill climbing dominance and snapped me off, but working with Galen, we were able to get back up to him before making the right on Portola. Once we got on Portola, both PV and Todd ended up being behind us as well with Vince catching up to us by the left turn to Glenn Ranch. Sweet!
On Glenn Ranch, Shannon started us off but Galen decided to push the pace and broke away. I decided to stroke it out rather than try to match his initial pace, and this helped to allow me just to get past him where he jumped on my rear wheel. Then out of nowhere, PV passed us both where Galen cheered him on. I had some legs still, so I gave chase and got to the fire hydrant at the top ahead of him. PV did jump up front on the downhill where I followed and we both worked together to get to Cooks where we wanted to regroup and do the canyons together with everyone else. Of course, when Todd arrived just behind us, he was like "WTF? BAM doesn't wait." HA HA.
When we took off up the canyons, I led us up initially but PV in typical fashion passed stroking the bigger gear and breaking off from the rest of us. We do get by him eventually with Shannon and Todd helping, and 5 of us got split off from the others to make a run down the canyon.
After corralling PV and his passing, we actually had a pretty good paceline going as we headed down and through the canyons. It was Como Street-esque. Fast pace, short pulls, and constant rotations. Sa-weet! Unfortunately, just before the lake entrance, Galen got a flat where we stopped to let him repair it. The other guys rolled up shortly after and also waited.
Once we got going again, it was nice to be in a bigger paceline where everyone took a turn (whether they wanted to or not...ha ha). I think I was up front at the base of dump and worried that I was a little cooked prior to heading up. I believe PV took the front again, but Todd got past me and him and got a little gap on me. I was creeping up a little bit when Vince got by and the three of us started giving it all we got for the rest of the hill. I think Vince got to the top first, but Todd and I were right behind. Shannon was likely behind me as he was the first one to pass and work back into the rotation. Vince, in his infinite madness, decided to all out sprint on the last rise before Jamboree, so that was "fun."
On Jamboree, the paceline was pretty much organized chaos at this point and the pulls were more random than anything else. This still kept the pace up obviously, but made for more interval type training than anything else.
After a brake check for LTJ on Portola, we were headed down the bike trail with the rotations a bit more organized but nothing like the canyons. There were people and dogs walking around, so we did what we could to keep manage the madness.
The pace stayed high on Harvard, and once we arrived on the bike trail after Barranca, there was no way I was going to be in the back with this group. What's funny was I jumped all the way up to the front from the back just to hit the bridge first. Of course, in typical BAM fashion, I took off just after exiting the bridge. HA HA. I was caught shortly after, but I pity the fool(s) who were in the back.
The rest of the bike trail was with just everyone working as best as they could to keep the pace up and stay together. Galen took off just as soon as we got parallel to University (sadistic SOB) so I chased him down and took the next pull, which I knew would be the last one before California. vince and Verm ended up coming around for a final charge to the light.
When we started heading up California, I was saying how we were all honored to ride up with the current KOM owner (Verm). Verm took off after the 2nd light, and I jumped on his rear wheel for a bit and held his pace. Since I felt recovered, I thought I'd make it interesting and pick up the pace some more. I didn't realize no one would come with. By the top of California, Garmin showed a 21.2 average. It dropped to 21.1 when I finally stopped the timer.
Now PV was somewhat mocking those of us who rode (and rode hard) yesterday somehow believing that would factor into today's ride. If it did, I'd hate to think what we would have done had we taken yesterday off. These guys are ANIMALS (I love animals). I'm ready for a beer. Who's with me?
Thank for setting this up, PV, and to all those who came out today!
Admittedly, I didn't want to do this morning's ride when I first heard about it. Too cold and I already had ride plans for the following days. However, after finding out all who were attending, it just felt wrong to pass it up. PV set this up and got Galen, Shannon, Gary, Vince, Todd, Adrian, Verm and Mitchell to come out and play. Can you already tell what kind of ride it was going to be?
Temperature-wise, it wasn't really as cold as I thought it was going to be. While most of us wore arm and leg warmers, a base layer and jersey worked out for me where I didn't even shiver once. Given the pace was pretty aggressive early on, it didn't take much to warm up at all.
We had a really good pace going through Anteater and subsequently up the first Shady rise. It may have gotten a little strung out though on the latter. Shannon decided to do a little extra credit by taking the long way around the gate, but there were about 5 of us who jumped on the sidewalk together to head up the Shady bike trail. Todd, Galen and PV were taking turns before I got up front to help out. After crossing the last wooden bridge, Galen started to open it up and broke away for a bit. He had a pretty good lead, but I was able to slowly reel him in before we got to the very top. In doing so, alarms were going off in my head though reminding me we still had a lot of miles to go.
Galen and I regrouped at the bottom and continued on to Quail Hill. We didn't see anyone behind us, so we spun all the way to Laguna Canyon where we decided we would wait for everyone. After sitting for a couple minutes, we decided someone must have had a mechanical so we started to head back. When we saw the group making their way towards us (after addressing Adrian's flat tire), we busted a U-turn and got together with the group again.
Instead of making our way straight to Barranca, we turned early on Alton only to realize after that it's safer to cross the freeway on Barranca. We made a left on Irvine Center Drive and got back on Barranca where we did start to do some rotations to keep the pace up. This continued on through Alton and Irvine Blvd.
When we got to Bake, I led us out at a semi-aggressive pace and the group seemed to start splintering early. Shannon decided to display his hill climbing dominance and snapped me off, but working with Galen, we were able to get back up to him before making the right on Portola. Once we got on Portola, both PV and Todd ended up being behind us as well with Vince catching up to us by the left turn to Glenn Ranch. Sweet!
On Glenn Ranch, Shannon started us off but Galen decided to push the pace and broke away. I decided to stroke it out rather than try to match his initial pace, and this helped to allow me just to get past him where he jumped on my rear wheel. Then out of nowhere, PV passed us both where Galen cheered him on. I had some legs still, so I gave chase and got to the fire hydrant at the top ahead of him. PV did jump up front on the downhill where I followed and we both worked together to get to Cooks where we wanted to regroup and do the canyons together with everyone else. Of course, when Todd arrived just behind us, he was like "WTF? BAM doesn't wait." HA HA.
When we took off up the canyons, I led us up initially but PV in typical fashion passed stroking the bigger gear and breaking off from the rest of us. We do get by him eventually with Shannon and Todd helping, and 5 of us got split off from the others to make a run down the canyon.
After corralling PV and his passing, we actually had a pretty good paceline going as we headed down and through the canyons. It was Como Street-esque. Fast pace, short pulls, and constant rotations. Sa-weet! Unfortunately, just before the lake entrance, Galen got a flat where we stopped to let him repair it. The other guys rolled up shortly after and also waited.
Once we got going again, it was nice to be in a bigger paceline where everyone took a turn (whether they wanted to or not...ha ha). I think I was up front at the base of dump and worried that I was a little cooked prior to heading up. I believe PV took the front again, but Todd got past me and him and got a little gap on me. I was creeping up a little bit when Vince got by and the three of us started giving it all we got for the rest of the hill. I think Vince got to the top first, but Todd and I were right behind. Shannon was likely behind me as he was the first one to pass and work back into the rotation. Vince, in his infinite madness, decided to all out sprint on the last rise before Jamboree, so that was "fun."
On Jamboree, the paceline was pretty much organized chaos at this point and the pulls were more random than anything else. This still kept the pace up obviously, but made for more interval type training than anything else.
After a brake check for LTJ on Portola, we were headed down the bike trail with the rotations a bit more organized but nothing like the canyons. There were people and dogs walking around, so we did what we could to keep manage the madness.
The pace stayed high on Harvard, and once we arrived on the bike trail after Barranca, there was no way I was going to be in the back with this group. What's funny was I jumped all the way up to the front from the back just to hit the bridge first. Of course, in typical BAM fashion, I took off just after exiting the bridge. HA HA. I was caught shortly after, but I pity the fool(s) who were in the back.
The rest of the bike trail was with just everyone working as best as they could to keep the pace up and stay together. Galen took off just as soon as we got parallel to University (sadistic SOB) so I chased him down and took the next pull, which I knew would be the last one before California. vince and Verm ended up coming around for a final charge to the light.
When we started heading up California, I was saying how we were all honored to ride up with the current KOM owner (Verm). Verm took off after the 2nd light, and I jumped on his rear wheel for a bit and held his pace. Since I felt recovered, I thought I'd make it interesting and pick up the pace some more. I didn't realize no one would come with. By the top of California, Garmin showed a 21.2 average. It dropped to 21.1 when I finally stopped the timer.
Now PV was somewhat mocking those of us who rode (and rode hard) yesterday somehow believing that would factor into today's ride. If it did, I'd hate to think what we would have done had we taken yesterday off. These guys are ANIMALS (I love animals). I'm ready for a beer. Who's with me?
Thank for setting this up, PV, and to all those who came out today!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
BRCM Lunch - NPC San Joaq Horseshoe Spyglass San Miguel McArthur PCH BB Jamboree
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2419066
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, 14 guys made it out for today's ride probably trying to build up that deficit before this upcoming holiday weekend. S-Gary was back from England, so it was nice to have him back. It was definitely a loaded ride today in terms of who came out, so I knew it was going to be a good workout.
S-Gary led us out originally in typical S-Gary fashion. I took over on E. Peltason though, and others started rotating in working the group into a frenzy as we made our way up through Anteater. As we got on Bonita Canyon, there was some confusion as to whether Summit was part of the route, but once Vince indicated it wasn't, we all made our way to NPC.
After the light, Vince and Gary led the group up initially. I relieved Vince eventually and kept the pace pretty reasonable as we made our way toward the 73. Lo and behold, when I was relieved I didn't think it would be Adrian doing so but there he was...for as long as it lasted anyway. :) Shannon took over and several of us just jumped on and tried to stay with him and Todd as they made their way up to the top. Galen and I were just a little off their wheel at the top but got back with them as we headed toward the horseshoe.
Shannon started us up the horseshoe, but I came around to bring the pace up. Galen and Todd were also game to help, but we all finished probably in the same order as we started once we got back to San Joaquin.
On San Joaquin, we were going at a good pace and Galen jumped to the front as we started to descent. Since Spyglass was the first light after descending, a few of us checked up to make the turn but Galen missed the memo and kept going straight despite our attempts to call out to him to make the right.
I led Todd and Shannon up on Spyglass and when LTJ tried to pass before the top, I wasn't ready yet to give up the front position. He passed after we started to descend and just made the yellow light to turn left on San Miguel. I checked up and made sure I didn't go through in case Shannon was behind me, so we caught the red. When the light turned green, Vince came by and started darting up the hill on San Miguel. Slowly, we were able to pull him back in and we all ran into Todd at the intersection just before San Joaquin.
When we got on San Joaquin to turn left on McArthur, we totally missed the light (again) and tried to cross going straight from the crosswalk. Sure enough, after getting out of the left turn lane to do so, a car shows up to turn left and gets the light to turn green for the other guys led by Adrian who were behind us. Fortunately, we caught them at the first light on McArthur.
We were doing a pretty good pace on it and PCH subsequently with guys alternating rotations. I did try to make my way to the front but never managed to do so. It was only after we were descending after Jamboree that I came around from the back to close a gap that Adrian, Mitchel, Todd, Vince and Shannon created. I don't think anyone was able to latch on though.
After closing the gap on PCH, I also had to close one after a serious according effect once the guys jumped on the bike trail by the trailer parks. The same thing happened once we got on BB drive since Vince and Shannon got a head start by jumping the curb while the rest of us checked up to get on the road after the bike trail. As a result, I couldn't participate much in the rotation early on in BB.
On the first section of BB, Shannon appeared to have had some minor mechanical as he rolled off the group despite his breakaway with Vince. Vince kept going, so I waited for Todd and Adrian to reel him back in. When Vince latched on to David (not sure how he got there ahead of us though), I decided to just close the gap to Vince there and jumped to the front.
We then all started to rotate subsequently, and even Mitchell relieved me on one of my pulls (wha?). I think Adrian asked him to do so. As we neared the end, Adrian took a final pull and I decided to go ahead and lead us up to the top of Back Bay. I tried to defend from the front and see if I can get to the top first, but Vince just got by me.
I got to cross the street first to make my way to Jamboree, but decided not to try and break away and instead just wait for the others to see if I can work with someone up the hill. I had a pretty good pace going up when I started, but Todd got by me and was able to hold a higher pace that I just couldn't keep. I thought I may be able to spin up and catch him at one point, but that didn't happen and he got to the left turn lane to Bison ahead of me pretty much uncontested.
A few of us regrouped at that light and made our way to Bison together. I knew Adrian was going to set that last section up for a sprint, so I decided to try something different and take off early without dragging him behind me. I managed to create a gap, but Adrian was holding a bigger gear and got by me again over here. I again hoped he would pop as I jumped on his rear wheel, but he held it for the 3rd time in a row. Good job. I'll have to try something different again next time.
21+ average, some good movement on Strava for several people, and totally gassed at the end of the ride. Yup, it was a good day on the saddle today. Thanks for the workout, gents!
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, 14 guys made it out for today's ride probably trying to build up that deficit before this upcoming holiday weekend. S-Gary was back from England, so it was nice to have him back. It was definitely a loaded ride today in terms of who came out, so I knew it was going to be a good workout.
S-Gary led us out originally in typical S-Gary fashion. I took over on E. Peltason though, and others started rotating in working the group into a frenzy as we made our way up through Anteater. As we got on Bonita Canyon, there was some confusion as to whether Summit was part of the route, but once Vince indicated it wasn't, we all made our way to NPC.
After the light, Vince and Gary led the group up initially. I relieved Vince eventually and kept the pace pretty reasonable as we made our way toward the 73. Lo and behold, when I was relieved I didn't think it would be Adrian doing so but there he was...for as long as it lasted anyway. :) Shannon took over and several of us just jumped on and tried to stay with him and Todd as they made their way up to the top. Galen and I were just a little off their wheel at the top but got back with them as we headed toward the horseshoe.
Shannon started us up the horseshoe, but I came around to bring the pace up. Galen and Todd were also game to help, but we all finished probably in the same order as we started once we got back to San Joaquin.
On San Joaquin, we were going at a good pace and Galen jumped to the front as we started to descent. Since Spyglass was the first light after descending, a few of us checked up to make the turn but Galen missed the memo and kept going straight despite our attempts to call out to him to make the right.
I led Todd and Shannon up on Spyglass and when LTJ tried to pass before the top, I wasn't ready yet to give up the front position. He passed after we started to descend and just made the yellow light to turn left on San Miguel. I checked up and made sure I didn't go through in case Shannon was behind me, so we caught the red. When the light turned green, Vince came by and started darting up the hill on San Miguel. Slowly, we were able to pull him back in and we all ran into Todd at the intersection just before San Joaquin.
When we got on San Joaquin to turn left on McArthur, we totally missed the light (again) and tried to cross going straight from the crosswalk. Sure enough, after getting out of the left turn lane to do so, a car shows up to turn left and gets the light to turn green for the other guys led by Adrian who were behind us. Fortunately, we caught them at the first light on McArthur.
We were doing a pretty good pace on it and PCH subsequently with guys alternating rotations. I did try to make my way to the front but never managed to do so. It was only after we were descending after Jamboree that I came around from the back to close a gap that Adrian, Mitchel, Todd, Vince and Shannon created. I don't think anyone was able to latch on though.
After closing the gap on PCH, I also had to close one after a serious according effect once the guys jumped on the bike trail by the trailer parks. The same thing happened once we got on BB drive since Vince and Shannon got a head start by jumping the curb while the rest of us checked up to get on the road after the bike trail. As a result, I couldn't participate much in the rotation early on in BB.
On the first section of BB, Shannon appeared to have had some minor mechanical as he rolled off the group despite his breakaway with Vince. Vince kept going, so I waited for Todd and Adrian to reel him back in. When Vince latched on to David (not sure how he got there ahead of us though), I decided to just close the gap to Vince there and jumped to the front.
We then all started to rotate subsequently, and even Mitchell relieved me on one of my pulls (wha?). I think Adrian asked him to do so. As we neared the end, Adrian took a final pull and I decided to go ahead and lead us up to the top of Back Bay. I tried to defend from the front and see if I can get to the top first, but Vince just got by me.
I got to cross the street first to make my way to Jamboree, but decided not to try and break away and instead just wait for the others to see if I can work with someone up the hill. I had a pretty good pace going up when I started, but Todd got by me and was able to hold a higher pace that I just couldn't keep. I thought I may be able to spin up and catch him at one point, but that didn't happen and he got to the left turn lane to Bison ahead of me pretty much uncontested.
A few of us regrouped at that light and made our way to Bison together. I knew Adrian was going to set that last section up for a sprint, so I decided to try something different and take off early without dragging him behind me. I managed to create a gap, but Adrian was holding a bigger gear and got by me again over here. I again hoped he would pop as I jumped on his rear wheel, but he held it for the 3rd time in a row. Good job. I'll have to try something different again next time.
21+ average, some good movement on Strava for several people, and totally gassed at the end of the ride. Yup, it was a good day on the saddle today. Thanks for the workout, gents!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
80 Mile Trainer with Todd and Craig
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2381025
It was a long week of pedaling for me, but I needed to get out and Todd heading to San Diego was a perfect opportunity to ride with someone albeit only until Carlsbad. Craig, Mike Z.'s neighbor, had pinged me earlier this week and wanted to come out for one of our group rides since he's been riding solo mostly and in his words, wanted to "get his ass kicked on some of our group rides." Who can refuse such a request?
We met up and were ready to roll out at 8 a.m. as planned, and the weather wasn't as cold as I expected where a base layer and arm warmers were adequate for today's adventure. The temp probably hovered around the 50's the whole time, even from the start, so my fear of cramping was fairly non-existent. Given that, I was ready to work.
After a mile warm up, Todd and I were doing the initial rotations to let Craig get accustom to our pace, which was in the low 20's as we headed toward coast. Once Craig got comfortable, he started working in some of the rotations as well and helped keep the pace up as we headed toward San Clemente.
Once we got to the hill heading up into downtown, I thought I'd test out the climbing legs and see how they felt. Todd came with and we started racing for the top in typical BAM fashion. When we got to the top, Todd asked "you do realize we're doing 100 today?" or something to that effect. HA HA. Since my legs felt good after the climb, I was just going to keep pushing and see how long I could push them for.
As we rode through the rest of San Clemente, San Onofre, and to the base, we never really slowed up much. It wasn't race pace (or Strava pace) by any means, but it was a solid one nonetheless. My recovery came much quicker than I expected, so I kept throwing myself up front as much as I could and didn't mind doing so. Todd and I both agree, however, that drafting Craig was like drafting Gary where there was hardly any wind behind him.
As we rode through the base, we never really stopped pushing, and after the last climb before the downhill, I decided to just keep the pace high enough and just keep the front for as long as I could. Todd had mentioned I was pushing some pretty good watts through that section, but despite this, I never really felt too winded or tired.
We made our way to Oceanside and didn't stop for a break until we got to the liquor store next to the Mexican restaurant in Carlsbad. Craig bought some water (thanks), and after refilling our bottles and a bio relief, we were back on the road. I took the front again at this point to see if my muscles were still warm and they were. When Todd took a turn up front, I knew he still had a long ride to go, so I just asked him to sit in the back and save it for his solo ride past Ponto Rd (our turnaround point)...so he did.
After we hit Ponto and split off from Todd, Craig and I were off again and unlike on the way out where there was some strong head and crosswind sections, we had the wind behind us through a lot of sections so I used it to keep the pace up but not expend too much energy doing so.
Craig took the front at Carlsbad and another time in Oceanside but I was eager to make sure to keep the pace up and get him the workout he sought earlier in the week. I also kept pushing as we went into the base and I thought I'd test out his climb at the hill called the Stuart Mesa Kicker on Strava. I was going to hold a solid pace and see if he'd drop, but he hung on better than I expected. I did hear him take some deep breaths at the top, but he was still game to stay with me so I pushed on.
I brought the pace back up to 23-25 mph for the next few miles and Craig even took a couple turns after to let me know he was game. We stayed together throughout the base, so I tested him out on the climb after the gate and he still took a pull after we got under the 5 freeway. When we finished the final climb and headed toward the State beach parking lot, he did start to feel a twinge so we chilled for a little while he got some fluids in after we got past the gate. I told him the p-lot was the fun section, so after he put his bottle away, I started to push again.
I was in mock TT mode at that point, so my objective was just to hold a nice steady pace all the way through the p-lot and through old Pacific Highway. Too bad we didn't run into anyone to mix it up with though. Craig stayed with me, and then took the front after we got into the gate into Trestles. I downed a honey gel then, and decided to push up the little sprinter hill right before Cristianitos. At this point, Craig didn't have enough to keep up. However, after slowing to let him regroup, he still hung on as we rode through Avenida del Presidente but fell off a bit through one of last hills before we got back on El Camino Real.
We regrouped at the light, and Craig was a trooper and still took the front when we made the left. He and Gary must be related. :) I took the lead shortly after and lead him down the Doheny Sprint section at a 23.6 mph pace and he still hung on. Once we got to Camino Capistrano, we got a little separated at the light crossing the entrance to the 5 North. Once regrouped, I brought the pace up again but waited until we got San Juan Creek to really open it up and let everything go. He asked for an ass kicking, so although no other BAM members were available, I did what I could. In the end, we finished with a 20.6 mph average where I hope Craig got the workout he was looking for. I know I did.
Thanks for coming out, Todd and Craig.
It was a long week of pedaling for me, but I needed to get out and Todd heading to San Diego was a perfect opportunity to ride with someone albeit only until Carlsbad. Craig, Mike Z.'s neighbor, had pinged me earlier this week and wanted to come out for one of our group rides since he's been riding solo mostly and in his words, wanted to "get his ass kicked on some of our group rides." Who can refuse such a request?
We met up and were ready to roll out at 8 a.m. as planned, and the weather wasn't as cold as I expected where a base layer and arm warmers were adequate for today's adventure. The temp probably hovered around the 50's the whole time, even from the start, so my fear of cramping was fairly non-existent. Given that, I was ready to work.
After a mile warm up, Todd and I were doing the initial rotations to let Craig get accustom to our pace, which was in the low 20's as we headed toward coast. Once Craig got comfortable, he started working in some of the rotations as well and helped keep the pace up as we headed toward San Clemente.
Once we got to the hill heading up into downtown, I thought I'd test out the climbing legs and see how they felt. Todd came with and we started racing for the top in typical BAM fashion. When we got to the top, Todd asked "you do realize we're doing 100 today?" or something to that effect. HA HA. Since my legs felt good after the climb, I was just going to keep pushing and see how long I could push them for.
As we rode through the rest of San Clemente, San Onofre, and to the base, we never really slowed up much. It wasn't race pace (or Strava pace) by any means, but it was a solid one nonetheless. My recovery came much quicker than I expected, so I kept throwing myself up front as much as I could and didn't mind doing so. Todd and I both agree, however, that drafting Craig was like drafting Gary where there was hardly any wind behind him.
As we rode through the base, we never really stopped pushing, and after the last climb before the downhill, I decided to just keep the pace high enough and just keep the front for as long as I could. Todd had mentioned I was pushing some pretty good watts through that section, but despite this, I never really felt too winded or tired.
We made our way to Oceanside and didn't stop for a break until we got to the liquor store next to the Mexican restaurant in Carlsbad. Craig bought some water (thanks), and after refilling our bottles and a bio relief, we were back on the road. I took the front again at this point to see if my muscles were still warm and they were. When Todd took a turn up front, I knew he still had a long ride to go, so I just asked him to sit in the back and save it for his solo ride past Ponto Rd (our turnaround point)...so he did.
After we hit Ponto and split off from Todd, Craig and I were off again and unlike on the way out where there was some strong head and crosswind sections, we had the wind behind us through a lot of sections so I used it to keep the pace up but not expend too much energy doing so.
Craig took the front at Carlsbad and another time in Oceanside but I was eager to make sure to keep the pace up and get him the workout he sought earlier in the week. I also kept pushing as we went into the base and I thought I'd test out his climb at the hill called the Stuart Mesa Kicker on Strava. I was going to hold a solid pace and see if he'd drop, but he hung on better than I expected. I did hear him take some deep breaths at the top, but he was still game to stay with me so I pushed on.
I brought the pace back up to 23-25 mph for the next few miles and Craig even took a couple turns after to let me know he was game. We stayed together throughout the base, so I tested him out on the climb after the gate and he still took a pull after we got under the 5 freeway. When we finished the final climb and headed toward the State beach parking lot, he did start to feel a twinge so we chilled for a little while he got some fluids in after we got past the gate. I told him the p-lot was the fun section, so after he put his bottle away, I started to push again.
I was in mock TT mode at that point, so my objective was just to hold a nice steady pace all the way through the p-lot and through old Pacific Highway. Too bad we didn't run into anyone to mix it up with though. Craig stayed with me, and then took the front after we got into the gate into Trestles. I downed a honey gel then, and decided to push up the little sprinter hill right before Cristianitos. At this point, Craig didn't have enough to keep up. However, after slowing to let him regroup, he still hung on as we rode through Avenida del Presidente but fell off a bit through one of last hills before we got back on El Camino Real.
We regrouped at the light, and Craig was a trooper and still took the front when we made the left. He and Gary must be related. :) I took the lead shortly after and lead him down the Doheny Sprint section at a 23.6 mph pace and he still hung on. Once we got to Camino Capistrano, we got a little separated at the light crossing the entrance to the 5 North. Once regrouped, I brought the pace up again but waited until we got San Juan Creek to really open it up and let everything go. He asked for an ass kicking, so although no other BAM members were available, I did what I could. In the end, we finished with a 20.6 mph average where I hope Craig got the workout he was looking for. I know I did.
Thanks for coming out, Todd and Craig.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Starcrest Shady Summit Duplex Route
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2363726
A good training ride doesn't have to be in a big group...at least that's what I found out today. We all gathered at the corner where Seon brought out the new Sandy for its maiden voyage with team BRCM. Vince was a little late and almost got left behind, but Jeremy saw him where I decided to wait and work with him to catch up to the group. On E. Peltason, he caught up and passed and then I rotated up front just before Anteater and helped bring us up to where most of the others had stopped on the other California Ave. intersection.
Shannon had gotten ahead but we all regrouped at the light to turn left on Culver. When we made the left turn, I felt like my quads had tighten up a little, so I fell off the back just a little as we headed up and over the hill headed toward Campus. I was able to make my way up close to the front by the time we got to Campus, but just fell in line behind others as we rode towards Turtle Rock.
On Turtle Rock, Vince lead the group out, but I was interested in a slightly higher pace where I got by. Jaffinator rolls up to the right of me some time after and pulled away for a little bit even as I held my pace. I was able to reel him back in, but he jumped on my rear wheel after and stayed with me for a good portion of Starcrest. I thought I was holding a pretty good pace, but when I turned around, I saw someone behind me but I couldn't make out who it was. Then I heard his unmistakable voice say, "good pace, Rich" and sure enough, it was Shannon. He went by me pretty easily after that, but I was going to keep him in my sights and see if I can spin up for the latter part of the hill. Then, Vince passed me too stroking the crank at a higher gear than me, so I started getting ready to spin up. Then I felt it...that unnatural slowing. Of course, as I looked at my front and rear brakes to check for rub, neither were showing it but I ended up opening up my rear brakes here and it never seemed to come back after.
Vince and Shannon decided not to break at the top and kept going, so I was in chase mode all the way down Ridgeline and on the bike trail to University. I think I would have caught them at Strawberry Farms, but they took off at that point never to be seen by my again. Nice.
I decided to do my own thing at this point and just keep an elevated pace to try and keep the rest of the guys behind me honest. I had kept them off all the way up and down Shady. Since I took the long way on the bike trail that crosses the street in front of the guard station (I think I was the only one), I looked back and never saw anyone behind me. After climbing the last section of Shady on the bike trail and then exiting the sidewalk onto the street, I look to my right and see the chase group making their way up. I decided to go ahead and keep them off and not let them catch me for the sprint down to the bike trail opening, but I ended up getting caught at the light on Bonita Canyon.
When the rest of the guys arrived, Vin and Jaffe were going on about how they caught the rabbit. I was way too tired to say anything at that point. Then, Adrian rolls up beside me and started saying how I did good keeping them off for a while but then said I got reeled in. At this point, I decided to point out their little shortcut they took and asked them not to break their arms trying to pat their own backs too much. HA HA.
When the light turned green, I was a motivated to try and drop them again. Going up Turtle Ridge, I thought I had a pretty decent pace when out of nowhere, Jeremy blows by me. I picked up my pace a little more but was glad we all hit the light to turn left on Summit.
After making the left, Jeremy and Adrian (I think) took off ahead of me, but Jeremy definitely had some momentum. I wasn't sure I was going to catch him, but just before where it flattened out a little, I was able to make my way past him. I thought he may attack at the end, so I stood up and sprinted for the last section just to make sure he didn't. When I made the u-turn, I could see that he and the others were actually not too far behind. So I bolted.
I was broken away going down Summit and continued to keep the pace up on Turtle Ridge heading toward Bonita Canyon, even waving off a bus to let me get it front of it for the left turn...she obliged. As a result, I was able to make the green and just kept the pace up all the way to McArthur. Unfortunately, the light had just turned red upon my arrival, so Jeremy and the others caught me here.
Adrian and Mitchell were together and were still rolling as the light turned green, but they ended up both jumping behind me as we made our way up the hill. Nice. However, Adrian did get in front on the way down headed toward Jamboree and admitted he had nothing so he'd offer me a lead out. Who could refuse?
As we made the right turn to Jamboree, however, I had a different line than Mitchell (who was behind me) so I asked him politely not to take me out as we made the right turn. Adrian had a different line than me also, and didn't get his ideal drive to start the Duplex run. He was still able to get moving though. I was never able to get in his draft, but instead chased him down and only managed to catch him 3/4 of the way up the steeper section. I was thinking I may have a shot at Strava, so I went for it. As I was nearing the light on Bison, however, I saw a police car on the opposite side at the front of the intersection and thought best to run the red on the right turn just to get a Strava KOM. I did ended up having my rear wheel get squirly trying to stop, but managed to do so just in time. 24 mph average only as a result.
On Bison, we all regrouped at the light on McArthur. We were trying to setup a final sprint, and Mitchell launched the first attack just before the last light over the 73. I was able to get past, but Adrian stroked it out and got by me for the finish. I could only hope that he'd putter out at his pace, but he held me off again for the 2nd time this week. Good job!
While almost more than half of the ride was solo for me, I won't complain about the 20 mph average. Thanks to the guys up front and behind for pushing me today.
P.S. Seon had fallen off with the new Sandy but did have a good butt whippin' experience with her. Awesome.
A good training ride doesn't have to be in a big group...at least that's what I found out today. We all gathered at the corner where Seon brought out the new Sandy for its maiden voyage with team BRCM. Vince was a little late and almost got left behind, but Jeremy saw him where I decided to wait and work with him to catch up to the group. On E. Peltason, he caught up and passed and then I rotated up front just before Anteater and helped bring us up to where most of the others had stopped on the other California Ave. intersection.
Shannon had gotten ahead but we all regrouped at the light to turn left on Culver. When we made the left turn, I felt like my quads had tighten up a little, so I fell off the back just a little as we headed up and over the hill headed toward Campus. I was able to make my way up close to the front by the time we got to Campus, but just fell in line behind others as we rode towards Turtle Rock.
On Turtle Rock, Vince lead the group out, but I was interested in a slightly higher pace where I got by. Jaffinator rolls up to the right of me some time after and pulled away for a little bit even as I held my pace. I was able to reel him back in, but he jumped on my rear wheel after and stayed with me for a good portion of Starcrest. I thought I was holding a pretty good pace, but when I turned around, I saw someone behind me but I couldn't make out who it was. Then I heard his unmistakable voice say, "good pace, Rich" and sure enough, it was Shannon. He went by me pretty easily after that, but I was going to keep him in my sights and see if I can spin up for the latter part of the hill. Then, Vince passed me too stroking the crank at a higher gear than me, so I started getting ready to spin up. Then I felt it...that unnatural slowing. Of course, as I looked at my front and rear brakes to check for rub, neither were showing it but I ended up opening up my rear brakes here and it never seemed to come back after.
Vince and Shannon decided not to break at the top and kept going, so I was in chase mode all the way down Ridgeline and on the bike trail to University. I think I would have caught them at Strawberry Farms, but they took off at that point never to be seen by my again. Nice.
I decided to do my own thing at this point and just keep an elevated pace to try and keep the rest of the guys behind me honest. I had kept them off all the way up and down Shady. Since I took the long way on the bike trail that crosses the street in front of the guard station (I think I was the only one), I looked back and never saw anyone behind me. After climbing the last section of Shady on the bike trail and then exiting the sidewalk onto the street, I look to my right and see the chase group making their way up. I decided to go ahead and keep them off and not let them catch me for the sprint down to the bike trail opening, but I ended up getting caught at the light on Bonita Canyon.
When the rest of the guys arrived, Vin and Jaffe were going on about how they caught the rabbit. I was way too tired to say anything at that point. Then, Adrian rolls up beside me and started saying how I did good keeping them off for a while but then said I got reeled in. At this point, I decided to point out their little shortcut they took and asked them not to break their arms trying to pat their own backs too much. HA HA.
When the light turned green, I was a motivated to try and drop them again. Going up Turtle Ridge, I thought I had a pretty decent pace when out of nowhere, Jeremy blows by me. I picked up my pace a little more but was glad we all hit the light to turn left on Summit.
After making the left, Jeremy and Adrian (I think) took off ahead of me, but Jeremy definitely had some momentum. I wasn't sure I was going to catch him, but just before where it flattened out a little, I was able to make my way past him. I thought he may attack at the end, so I stood up and sprinted for the last section just to make sure he didn't. When I made the u-turn, I could see that he and the others were actually not too far behind. So I bolted.
I was broken away going down Summit and continued to keep the pace up on Turtle Ridge heading toward Bonita Canyon, even waving off a bus to let me get it front of it for the left turn...she obliged. As a result, I was able to make the green and just kept the pace up all the way to McArthur. Unfortunately, the light had just turned red upon my arrival, so Jeremy and the others caught me here.
Adrian and Mitchell were together and were still rolling as the light turned green, but they ended up both jumping behind me as we made our way up the hill. Nice. However, Adrian did get in front on the way down headed toward Jamboree and admitted he had nothing so he'd offer me a lead out. Who could refuse?
As we made the right turn to Jamboree, however, I had a different line than Mitchell (who was behind me) so I asked him politely not to take me out as we made the right turn. Adrian had a different line than me also, and didn't get his ideal drive to start the Duplex run. He was still able to get moving though. I was never able to get in his draft, but instead chased him down and only managed to catch him 3/4 of the way up the steeper section. I was thinking I may have a shot at Strava, so I went for it. As I was nearing the light on Bison, however, I saw a police car on the opposite side at the front of the intersection and thought best to run the red on the right turn just to get a Strava KOM. I did ended up having my rear wheel get squirly trying to stop, but managed to do so just in time. 24 mph average only as a result.
On Bison, we all regrouped at the light on McArthur. We were trying to setup a final sprint, and Mitchell launched the first attack just before the last light over the 73. I was able to get past, but Adrian stroked it out and got by me for the finish. I could only hope that he'd putter out at his pace, but he held me off again for the 2nd time this week. Good job!
While almost more than half of the ride was solo for me, I won't complain about the 20 mph average. Thanks to the guys up front and behind for pushing me today.
P.S. Seon had fallen off with the new Sandy but did have a good butt whippin' experience with her. Awesome.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Portola OAB with Jamboree Finish
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2341946
Good turnout today: Galen, Todd, Vince, Shannon, Adrian, Mitchell, Seon, Vin, Jaffe, Peter, and Jeremy (on his new Focus steed). Both Vince and Galen honored the "Sandy" today, so I guess you can say she came too.
You can tell by those who were in attendance it was going to be a fast one...and it was. I can only imagine how it would have been had LTJ not have just come back from vacation and if Shannon didn't get a flat on his 25s on the bike trail heading out.
I was feeling really good today, so I thought I'd go ahead with the lead out on the bike trail (plus, it sucks having to overcome the accordian effect from the back). Todd, Galen and Adrian took turns with me where we had a pretty solid pace by the time we got to Harvard (23.4 average). Despite this, we were all able to regroup at the light.
When we took off on Harvard, Seon took the initial pull (nice to see). He did break off on his own for a bit, but looked back and let me latch on. I took over after, and I think Todd helped here as well. When we got on the bike trail again, Galen was keeping us all honest and at times I just had to tell the guy flat out I had nothing left until I could recover more. I eventually did take over but the rotations were definitely thin in terms of participants.
Vince thought to make it interesting by launching an all out attack (1 of 2 or 3 for today) before the rise up toward Portola, so this was appreciated by the group...NOT! We did reel him in on these attacks, but they were as fun as getting nuts kicked.
We didn't stop at the top and just busted a U and we kept a high pace all the way back. At one point, Adrian relieved me on one of my pulls and actually suggested I rest a bit (who was this guy?). When we rounded the corner and headed back toward Harvard, we saw Shannon ahead of us and immediately we knew it was going to get worse before it got better.
Shannon led us on Harvard for a bit, but I did relieve him as I know he doesn't like being held out too long. I did get a little worked here though, so I was in major recovery mode once we got back on the bike trail. I knew going onto the bridge, it was going to be a bear from the back, so after rounding the corner, I was already full on standing and making sure not to pop off. The guys ahead of me were keeping the pace up, so I rested up a bit while they worked the rotation.
Shannon was the last one to lead us out on University headed to California, but no one relieved the guy. Of course, when I passed the #2 wheel to do so (names withheld to protect the innocent), I did say "nice blocking." HA HA
The guys let me lead them up to Jamboree, which was very nice of them. Shannon got a jump, but I found a good rhythm here and made my way by him. Then to my left, I see Mitchell trying to work his way by me. Was it to pull (finally...just kidding)? Was it an attack? I wasn't sure, but I didn't up letting him get by. No Strava KOM here today, but then again, this one's mine already.
After re-grouping at the light, we headed down Bison and I just knew Adrian was trying to set up a final sprint. When the last light turned green, Mitchell and Shannon were ahead of us but there was also a truck to their left on the lane. When Adrian came around me, he was moving at a good clip and all I could do was just latch on and see if he'd pop before California. He didn't. Good job.
It was definitely a fast pace today with a 22.8 average (according to my Garmin) where Strava knocked it down to 22.5. Boo. I still am having problems with my Edge, but at least I was able to post it on Strava. It stopped talking to my PC again before I can upload to GC. I'm hoping Garmin sends me an RMA# soon.
Thanks, gents!
Good turnout today: Galen, Todd, Vince, Shannon, Adrian, Mitchell, Seon, Vin, Jaffe, Peter, and Jeremy (on his new Focus steed). Both Vince and Galen honored the "Sandy" today, so I guess you can say she came too.
You can tell by those who were in attendance it was going to be a fast one...and it was. I can only imagine how it would have been had LTJ not have just come back from vacation and if Shannon didn't get a flat on his 25s on the bike trail heading out.
I was feeling really good today, so I thought I'd go ahead with the lead out on the bike trail (plus, it sucks having to overcome the accordian effect from the back). Todd, Galen and Adrian took turns with me where we had a pretty solid pace by the time we got to Harvard (23.4 average). Despite this, we were all able to regroup at the light.
When we took off on Harvard, Seon took the initial pull (nice to see). He did break off on his own for a bit, but looked back and let me latch on. I took over after, and I think Todd helped here as well. When we got on the bike trail again, Galen was keeping us all honest and at times I just had to tell the guy flat out I had nothing left until I could recover more. I eventually did take over but the rotations were definitely thin in terms of participants.
Vince thought to make it interesting by launching an all out attack (1 of 2 or 3 for today) before the rise up toward Portola, so this was appreciated by the group...NOT! We did reel him in on these attacks, but they were as fun as getting nuts kicked.
We didn't stop at the top and just busted a U and we kept a high pace all the way back. At one point, Adrian relieved me on one of my pulls and actually suggested I rest a bit (who was this guy?). When we rounded the corner and headed back toward Harvard, we saw Shannon ahead of us and immediately we knew it was going to get worse before it got better.
Shannon led us on Harvard for a bit, but I did relieve him as I know he doesn't like being held out too long. I did get a little worked here though, so I was in major recovery mode once we got back on the bike trail. I knew going onto the bridge, it was going to be a bear from the back, so after rounding the corner, I was already full on standing and making sure not to pop off. The guys ahead of me were keeping the pace up, so I rested up a bit while they worked the rotation.
Shannon was the last one to lead us out on University headed to California, but no one relieved the guy. Of course, when I passed the #2 wheel to do so (names withheld to protect the innocent), I did say "nice blocking." HA HA
The guys let me lead them up to Jamboree, which was very nice of them. Shannon got a jump, but I found a good rhythm here and made my way by him. Then to my left, I see Mitchell trying to work his way by me. Was it to pull (finally...just kidding)? Was it an attack? I wasn't sure, but I didn't up letting him get by. No Strava KOM here today, but then again, this one's mine already.
After re-grouping at the light, we headed down Bison and I just knew Adrian was trying to set up a final sprint. When the last light turned green, Mitchell and Shannon were ahead of us but there was also a truck to their left on the lane. When Adrian came around me, he was moving at a good clip and all I could do was just latch on and see if he'd pop before California. He didn't. Good job.
It was definitely a fast pace today with a 22.8 average (according to my Garmin) where Strava knocked it down to 22.5. Boo. I still am having problems with my Edge, but at least I was able to post it on Strava. It stopped talking to my PC again before I can upload to GC. I'm hoping Garmin sends me an RMA# soon.
Thanks, gents!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Team BRCM - Tour de Foothills
Shannon's Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2305672 (I can't get my 500 to connect to my PC)
I wasn't sure how this ride was going to go and who was actually going to make it out given the rain forecast since the beginning of the week. I didn't want to push anyone to go given that the last thing I wanted was to be responsible should someone get hurt under dangerous conditions. Thus, worst case scenario was I would just do it alone. Now you'd think I'd have learned from previous rides in the rain that it's just no fun. However, I actually had some rain gear this time, so I was pretty much going to give it a go unless it snowed. Fortunately, PV, Shannon and Verm decided to venture out despite the rainy conditions in the morning. Woo hoo.
It was raining pretty heavily when I got up, but as I got closer to Uplands, the rain had lightened up and even stopped through some sections. The sky didn't look too bad either, but it was hard to tell since it was still dark thirty when I got going.
Shannon had arrived there around the same time, so we found each other fairly easily being that we parked near one another. PV showed up soon after and got to register, while Verm came in a little later. He was delayed based on how long the line had gotten and to boot, he had to do #2 and the closest restroom was just a public one that didn't even have doors on the crapper. He opted for another one elsewhere and we wondered if he would even make the mass start. Fortunately, he just made it.
The weather had dried up but we were all pretty geared up in case it rained since clouds still loomed above us. When we took off, the roads weren't too bad, and we were able to make our way around a lot of the slower riders all the way up to the front group. This took some time to do, but we got up there. At one point, I had fallen back a little and then got separated from the other 3 at a light. Once we got going, I had to pick it up and get the others who were with me to catch back up to the front group. I didn't do it alone obviously, but I'd say I did about 60% of the pulling to do so. Sheesh.
When we caught up, we hit the first SAG stop shortly after and this SAG along with the others were pretty top notch. They had just about everything including honey waffles. I think some of us decided at this SAG to strip down some since it really hadn't rain and the 21+ mph pace to get her got us all pretty warm. Of course, shortly after we left, rain started coming down. Great.
We made our way onto Sierra Madre and toward GMR, and I was asking the guys to slow up a bit and save it for the mountain. Glad they listened as I was wanting to have some left for the climb. Plus, there was some pretty strong winds we were fighting, so it was definitely wearing me out.
Once we got on GMR, Verm decided to take it easy but Shannon and PV took off even before the gate. By the time I picked up my pace at the gate, they were GONE! Nice. It was tough doing it with all the gear we had on, but it helped given that the weather even got a little more rainy near the top. I passed several people on my way up, but never enough to make up the ground on the Shannon and PV.
When we got to the top, Shannon and PV were enjoying the SAG but I was not willing to get off of my bike! Shannon being the bud that he is handed me either a Honey stinger Peanut Butter protein or energy bar, and I gotta say "Damn that's a good bar!" Even though Verm rolled up shortly after, I needed to go as the air temp up there was just too high. Sorry, Verm, but I was freezing!
I headed down toward the 39 and upon reaching the fork, I heard PV behind me where I wasn't sure what he said. He went by me and since I didn't see Shannon and Verm, I decided to follow as he went by me. PV is a madman though. Despite the conditions of the road, he was still railing down the hill. I admittedly wasn't that ballsy, so I checked up to make sure I didn't loose traction on the painted line and loose rocks and gravel. I ran into PV at some point down the way as he pulled off to relieve himself, and we rode together for a bit until he had to relieve himself AGAIN. That must have been some good coffee at the top. I kept going because I really wanted to get off the mountain to get warm again, so I kept going solo all the way to the SAG at the bottom. Shannon and Verm rolled in after and PV rolled in not too long after but had had problems with his pedals (speedplays) not being able to clip in. He didn't wear covers and walked in the dirt up at the top of GMR, so no wonder.
We made our way to Baldy through the route provided, and there were some small climbs where we were able to separate from those who were riding on our wheel. One guy hung on though, so I rode his wheel out at times when he was working pretty hard seemingly to try and break away from us. Couldn't let it happen. When we went up Baldy, PV jumped ahead but I let this guy do some work. Shannon and I finally worked and got past him and PV. Since I found a good rhythm on this hill and no longer cold, I had a little break away for a bit with no one opting to chase. I thought the SAG was where we turned around, but it was actually Shinn road, which was less than half a mile up. I went on and then waited after the first drop. When PV passed, I joined him. We worked together along with that other guy who ended up catching up again on the downhill.
When we were suppose to make a left, PV missed it but I double-backed and decided to wait for Shannon and Verm at the corner. Shannon had gotten there and was still rolling so we ended up rolling together from there. The guy who we were riding with had called out to us but made the turn and got away. When Shannon and I caught up to him, he was stretching out his hamstrings as they had cramped on him.
Shannon and I worked together and was able to take down a few guys, one of whom had passed us pretty aggressively at one point. He hung with us for a while until we got on some rollers, but he fell off eventually. I had been feeling good, but after working with Shannon, that turned to not feeling so good shortly after. Thankfully, we only had 8 miles left, but this was a hard 8 miles as we continued to take turns all the way back to the finish.
I had 17.9 mph on my GPS, but unfortunately am not able to upload it as I mentioned above, and with all the elevation gain on this ride (between 6.5 and 7.5K), that was pretty damn good. We were all worked. Verm had to take off early but PV, Shannon and I got to enjoy their pasta lunch.
Despite the weather, it ended up being a great long distance trainer with some good elevation. I think we can still only get better from here. Thanks again for all the guys who came out today...you guys rocked!!
I wasn't sure how this ride was going to go and who was actually going to make it out given the rain forecast since the beginning of the week. I didn't want to push anyone to go given that the last thing I wanted was to be responsible should someone get hurt under dangerous conditions. Thus, worst case scenario was I would just do it alone. Now you'd think I'd have learned from previous rides in the rain that it's just no fun. However, I actually had some rain gear this time, so I was pretty much going to give it a go unless it snowed. Fortunately, PV, Shannon and Verm decided to venture out despite the rainy conditions in the morning. Woo hoo.
It was raining pretty heavily when I got up, but as I got closer to Uplands, the rain had lightened up and even stopped through some sections. The sky didn't look too bad either, but it was hard to tell since it was still dark thirty when I got going.
Shannon had arrived there around the same time, so we found each other fairly easily being that we parked near one another. PV showed up soon after and got to register, while Verm came in a little later. He was delayed based on how long the line had gotten and to boot, he had to do #2 and the closest restroom was just a public one that didn't even have doors on the crapper. He opted for another one elsewhere and we wondered if he would even make the mass start. Fortunately, he just made it.
The weather had dried up but we were all pretty geared up in case it rained since clouds still loomed above us. When we took off, the roads weren't too bad, and we were able to make our way around a lot of the slower riders all the way up to the front group. This took some time to do, but we got up there. At one point, I had fallen back a little and then got separated from the other 3 at a light. Once we got going, I had to pick it up and get the others who were with me to catch back up to the front group. I didn't do it alone obviously, but I'd say I did about 60% of the pulling to do so. Sheesh.
When we caught up, we hit the first SAG stop shortly after and this SAG along with the others were pretty top notch. They had just about everything including honey waffles. I think some of us decided at this SAG to strip down some since it really hadn't rain and the 21+ mph pace to get her got us all pretty warm. Of course, shortly after we left, rain started coming down. Great.
We made our way onto Sierra Madre and toward GMR, and I was asking the guys to slow up a bit and save it for the mountain. Glad they listened as I was wanting to have some left for the climb. Plus, there was some pretty strong winds we were fighting, so it was definitely wearing me out.
Once we got on GMR, Verm decided to take it easy but Shannon and PV took off even before the gate. By the time I picked up my pace at the gate, they were GONE! Nice. It was tough doing it with all the gear we had on, but it helped given that the weather even got a little more rainy near the top. I passed several people on my way up, but never enough to make up the ground on the Shannon and PV.
When we got to the top, Shannon and PV were enjoying the SAG but I was not willing to get off of my bike! Shannon being the bud that he is handed me either a Honey stinger Peanut Butter protein or energy bar, and I gotta say "Damn that's a good bar!" Even though Verm rolled up shortly after, I needed to go as the air temp up there was just too high. Sorry, Verm, but I was freezing!
I headed down toward the 39 and upon reaching the fork, I heard PV behind me where I wasn't sure what he said. He went by me and since I didn't see Shannon and Verm, I decided to follow as he went by me. PV is a madman though. Despite the conditions of the road, he was still railing down the hill. I admittedly wasn't that ballsy, so I checked up to make sure I didn't loose traction on the painted line and loose rocks and gravel. I ran into PV at some point down the way as he pulled off to relieve himself, and we rode together for a bit until he had to relieve himself AGAIN. That must have been some good coffee at the top. I kept going because I really wanted to get off the mountain to get warm again, so I kept going solo all the way to the SAG at the bottom. Shannon and Verm rolled in after and PV rolled in not too long after but had had problems with his pedals (speedplays) not being able to clip in. He didn't wear covers and walked in the dirt up at the top of GMR, so no wonder.
We made our way to Baldy through the route provided, and there were some small climbs where we were able to separate from those who were riding on our wheel. One guy hung on though, so I rode his wheel out at times when he was working pretty hard seemingly to try and break away from us. Couldn't let it happen. When we went up Baldy, PV jumped ahead but I let this guy do some work. Shannon and I finally worked and got past him and PV. Since I found a good rhythm on this hill and no longer cold, I had a little break away for a bit with no one opting to chase. I thought the SAG was where we turned around, but it was actually Shinn road, which was less than half a mile up. I went on and then waited after the first drop. When PV passed, I joined him. We worked together along with that other guy who ended up catching up again on the downhill.
When we were suppose to make a left, PV missed it but I double-backed and decided to wait for Shannon and Verm at the corner. Shannon had gotten there and was still rolling so we ended up rolling together from there. The guy who we were riding with had called out to us but made the turn and got away. When Shannon and I caught up to him, he was stretching out his hamstrings as they had cramped on him.
Shannon and I worked together and was able to take down a few guys, one of whom had passed us pretty aggressively at one point. He hung with us for a while until we got on some rollers, but he fell off eventually. I had been feeling good, but after working with Shannon, that turned to not feeling so good shortly after. Thankfully, we only had 8 miles left, but this was a hard 8 miles as we continued to take turns all the way back to the finish.
I had 17.9 mph on my GPS, but unfortunately am not able to upload it as I mentioned above, and with all the elevation gain on this ride (between 6.5 and 7.5K), that was pretty damn good. We were all worked. Verm had to take off early but PV, Shannon and I got to enjoy their pasta lunch.
Despite the weather, it ended up being a great long distance trainer with some good elevation. I think we can still only get better from here. Thanks again for all the guys who came out today...you guys rocked!!
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