The weather was just as predicted; cold in the morning (47) and warm by the end (80+) of the ride. There was wind heading toward the windmills and some sections through the residential, but overall, it was pretty good. We did wear a base layer to start off, but no arm or leg warmers. We represented BRCM white in preparation for the heat.
Here's Eddie and I freezing our asses off before the ride:
We got out as scheduled, and got to park pretty much where we parked last year. Perfect place for the out-of-the-way drinkfest that ensued after the ride (more on this later). It didn't take us too long to get ready from there and be on our way. Shannon even had time to decimate one of the porta-potties beforehand.
It was the same as last year...staggered start and freezing until we got to take off. Everyone kept bunching up, and Eddie and I got a little separated from Shannon. When we took off, Eddie and I rolled off but I was worried Shannon didn't get to go when we did. I ended up pulling over to wait, and Eddie kept going. When Shannon rolled up, we started to ride together but very slowly. I actually stopped my Garmin since it was so crowded we were barely moving. For that brief moment it was on, the average speed was 5 mph. I started it when we were able to actually pedal and even then, the first mile average was still 8.9. Bummer. Getting around one old guy who had fallen helped contribute to this.
After we got through a light to turn left, I was still feeling a little cold but we saw Eddie up ahead of us finally. At that point, Shannon decided to get up front and passed me. He told me just beforehand that he needed to take a leak, so I thought trying to keep up with Shannon on a mission would not be a good idea. I saw that he caught up to Eddie where Eddie latched on and they were off. I kept a moderate pace and was still passing everyone as we started the ascend. Midway up, another guy passed me and I latched on to him. One other guy latched on, and the 3 of us worked together to the first SAG.
The first SAG was actually worse than last year. Again, they had people across the whole street just standing there and the only way to get through was to walk the bike. I did well holding back the profanities, but what a serious clusterf#@*! I did see Eddie there though, so we hooked up and took off together from there. Shannon had just finished watering one of the road signs across the street when we saw him, so we called out to let him know and we were off down the hill. Eddie, Shannon and I were just picking people off down the hill, but we did get some people to jump on and that's when a group started forming. However, it wasn't exactly a group where others felt a need to take a turn up front.
Shannon did a lot of the pulling through the rollers, and I'd try to help once the descents came since others weren't too eager. Shannon said he was actually hurting a little after all his pulling, but you would never have known it. I was always glad when he came around to take over.
We did pick up this one group who looked like they may be willing to help out, but it turned out they were only doing the 50, so they turned off. We also saw this hot chick on a BMC that seemed like she was doing really well but unfortunately, she dropped off at some point. There was one guy on a Trek that started to help out, but Shannon and I were pretty much dictating the pace on the downhill. One guy on a TT bike tried to breakaway a couple times, but we'd reel him in and pass each time.
Toward the bottom and near the 50 SAG, the road got really rough. It was pretty rough actually through a lot of sections, which was substantiated by all the people on the side of the road fixing their flats. It was nice to be able to stop from all the vibrating from the road when we finally arrived at the SAG. Shannon and I didn't realize Eddie had dropped off, but he arrived shortly after. We refilled our bottles, got a little nourishment, and took a bio break and were off shortly after. Breakaway Eddie got out first and made it through a light, but we ended up catching him. There was a gal on a TT bike wearing some pretty small shorts who had some serious legs that ended up riding with us for a while, but she also met the same fate as BMC chick.
We did pick up others and a group started to form, but when the rotations up front weren't moving too quickly, I decided to tear away from the group where Shannon and Eddie followed along with a guy on an S2. After a while, there was just the 4 of us working together to keep the pace up. S2 guy was pretty strong, and Eddie and Shannon were also keeping the pace high. Eddie kept upping the pace when he'd pass, and I think I'd slow it down. Shannon would bring the pace up also (and keep it up), but he was more gradual. Maybe that's why the S2 guy kept telling Eddie he's splitting up the line. Too bad S2 guy decided to stop at the next SAG.
As Shannon started leading us toward the one climb in the residential area, a few guys who we passed as they were off to the side of the road eating passed us with fresher legs, but Shannon and I managed to latch on. One guy was wearing a Bike Religion jersey, and I did hear them mention that the hill we were on reminded him of Ridgeline, so I thought that was pretty cool.
These guys pretty much kept the pace up throughout and we took advantage of the opportunity to finally let others do some of the work. Eddie eventually caught us at a light, and we were all together from then on. At one point while in Indio, we had a police escort helping us get through the intersections, so that also helped keep the pace up. The guys up front did SAG at mile 90, so at that point, we were on our own again.
Fortunately, we caught up to others who were willing to work and we pretty much rode with them through the rest of the ride. There were even some ladies on TT bikes that were pretty solid who wouldn't keep up during the acceleration, but they would catch up on every light. There was no point in trying to breakaway since the different routes have merged and it was just too dangerous. Some guys would sprint off from the stops, but we just kept reeling them in. On the last stretch before the end, it was just too crowded. I did try to get by this one old guy near the end, and he asked me "What's the rush?" Sure enough, as we entered the parking lot for the finish, Eddie jumped in front of me to claim he beat me. That's what the rush was.
The post ride beer fest courtesy of Shannon was perfect. We did have to hide from the sun so we wouldn't get totally dehydrated, so we sat up against a wall and threw a few back. Then, the mexfest at the Margaritas restaurant was perfect...definitely worth revisiting next year for the pre-ride meal.
Overall, it was a great ride and the averages for me were up from last year by at almost a whole mph. Maybe we'll have more come out for next year where we can top this again. Madness.
Here are my stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/67958770
great read and good job...
ReplyDeletefor sure I won't go next year now LOL