Today's stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/82578506
Originally, we expected it would take almost a couple hours to make our way out to the event, so we took off from my house at 5:30 a.m. expecting a ride start near 8 a.m. With the ride start time for the metric century distance being between 6:30 to 8 a.m., we were expecting to be in chase mode the whole time. Even on the drive down, I was contemplating what was the best route to get there the earliest, but ultimately opted for the 5 > 805 > 8 east route. As we neared Alpine, we looked at the clock and saw that it wasn't even 6:30 yet. We even missed the exit, and ended up going to Tavern Rd, taking a BIO break, and then turning back around to start in El Cajon off of Harbison/Duncan exit.
Upon our arrival, we saw several riders already on the road heading out and near the Summers Past Farms where it started, we ended up parking in front of a house just across the street next to a couple cop cars. It turns out the cops were out since a resident of the house had come out and was swinging a baseball bat at people. Glad we missed that drama, but what an awesome parking spot!
Gary and I started to get ready and while we were doing so, we noticed a couple guys in Descender kits riding up and down the street. I guess one had made eye contact with S-Gary, but there was no exchange of words. Gary and I just giggled.
We also saw my wife's cousin, Al, roll by in his car and said hi, but since he was not ready to roll when we were, we did not end up riding with him. Darn. Next time.
When we got ready to go, we decided to wait to jump in a group, as they would form at the intersection underneath the balloon banner. Again, this was not a mass start ride like it was last year, so we sat for a little bit. During this time, the same Descender rolled by and being my cordial self, I extend a "hi." I think he returned it, but I may have been preoccupied with the thought of why he's still around.
Once there was a group of about 30 riders, we rolled out with them. Now as some of you know, I just got my new compact crank installed and had it in the small ring at the start. Once we got rolling, I tried to get into the big ring but for the longest time could not. Of course, we fell behind a little bit as I kept trying, and I was almost going to try to make the best of it and go on. Fortunately, a couple more tries and BAM!...it had finally shifted. Curiously, I didn't have this problem beyond this. Hence, the "break-in" idea before next week was definitely a good idea.
When we finally got going, Gary took the lead and I made my way up to the front to join him. The Descender had gotten away by this point, so we decided to do our own thing. Eventually, the other riders behind us thinned out to just one guy in our draft, so Gary and I just took turns as we made our way through the course. On the descents, it seemed like I was spinning out pretty fast so Gary would jump up front when I had no more speed to give. Thanks!
On one of the first ascents, we were going up and keeping a decent pace when a few guys in Navy kits, passed us. I went to jump on to stay with them, but the pace was a little high for Gary where he let us go and did his own pace.
I exchanged positions with some of the guys going up, but I was wanting to save some to also be able to finish strong. The Navy guys were solid and made for a good pace. One of them had fallen off, and I decided to just keep his pace rather than the ones in front. We took a couple turns, but on one of his turns, he turned it up a bit but I hung on. His group was just ahead of us, so he waved me on to take the next pull so I obliged. When passing him, he gave me a push from my lower back (okay it was my butt) to get some more momentum. I took off and got going and he eventually ended up dropping off. Now had he squeezed, I may have stuck around more and bonded.
I ended up stopping at the 2nd or 3rd SAG hoping to re-group with Gary at this point. I waited a bit, then decided to take a BIO break and even had a couple of the Fig Newtons there, but no S-Gary to be found. The Navy guys had left, but I waited just to see if Gary was going to roll up. Since I couldn't see him down the road, I figured he must have kept going. Sure enough, I found him in the following SAG. I didn't end up needing anything, so we just rolled on from there.
We rolled together again from there, and there was another long ascent. Earlier on, I had actually not been feeling too good about the new gears and just didn't feel like the cranks were spinning up despite the shorter gears. However, it felt like it had loosened up a lot by this time where I started to crank up the hill. I had caught and passed a lot of people, but on the following descent, all I could pretty much do was coast down that long hill. Gary had fallen back on the hill, but as I neared the turned near the 30 mile mark, I looked back and saw that Gary was not far behind.
After the turn, I missed one of the signs and went straight instead of going left. I don't think Gary saw me, but as I arrived at one fork where there was no sign, I decided I'd wait to see which way Gary thought we should go. Sure enough, Gary rolled past the sign too and we both ended up looping around an unfamiliar neighborhood until we found a lady to let us know how to get back on course. What was weird is that it did not seem like anyone else missed the sign except Gary and me. Go figure.
We got to the SAG at the halfway point, and there were a lot of riders there. However, a lot of them had rolled off before we could finish refilling our bottles. I filled my one empty bottle at this point, and I think Gary ate a little, and we were off shortly after. This was the last SAG we hit for the day.
When we rode off, we kept a moderate pace in preparation for the last big ascent. Once we got to it, we saw one group of riders in the same kit (women included) and started working our way up toward them. I had found a good rhythm when I worked my way past them, but my right quad felt a little "cold" still where I wasn't sure if it was the onset of a cramp. It turned out not to be, but I was a little cautious. As I passed, I heard someone say "get him" and I was like WTF? I kept the pace up, and Gary had fallen behind but another rider (not sure if he was in the group or came up from behind) was working his way up to me. I kept my pace and didn't want to break my rhythm, and he eventually passed me. However, the top of the hill came sooner than I expected, so the chase was on.
He kept ahead of me for a while, but I managed to finally catch and pass him during one of the downhill. There was this right turn to go toward Descanso where it was a nice slight downhill section as you made your way around the loop. With the guy still close, I decided to drop the hammer through this section and hit averages of 27 and almost 30 mph. He dropped.
For the rest of the ride, I was mostly in pursuit mode but as I got close to the long descents on the way back, another rider had jumped on and we started taking turns for a little bit. I went to reach down for my bottle before one of the ascents, and he had gotten a little bit ahead of me. As I would reel him in on the climbs, he would get away once we descended again. This went on for a few miles, but he ended up getting away from me after one guy riding abreast to his younger daughter had slowed me down on a narrow road with cars coming from both directions. Oh well.
As I didn't see any more strong riders to mix it up with, I pretty much just rode the rest of the way back alone. I still kept the pace up and even tried to blow up my legs on the stretch back to the finish, but then wondered again if I was on the right road. HA HA. Ultimately, it ended up being a good ride and it didn't take Gary much longer to come in after. He had been mixing it up on the way back as well, and showed one guy who tried to break away that BRCM riders don't play that.
Weather-wise, it started out a little cool but tolerable so no base-layer or arm warmers. There was also some pretty good head and cross winds on the way out, but nothing as crazy as what I heard about up here in Orange County. The warm weather didn't end up being too much of a factor though, and I finished the ride barely starting out my 3rd bottle.
The post ride festivities included some beer at the car, although we were worried about the crazy neighbor, so we didn't drink too openly. We also had some IPA at the beer garden along with the pasta and burger meals they were serving. After Al came back, he let Gary have his beer ticket, so Gary was feeling pretty good after a 2nd one. We did see that same Descender in his kit in the tent area after we were eating, so it looked like he just got back since he was stretching out on a chair.
Another good day of riding. No real mechanicals (Gary had shifting problems also but got by), flats, or crashes and good beer after? Awesome. Gary and I missed having more there, so we'll have to see what next year holds...especially knowing that Descenders do this ride too.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Bike Path -> Laguna -> Ridgeline to Summit -> Sunnyhill -> Bonita -> MacArthur-> In.
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/82173485
We had a good turnout today, somehow most everyone decided to wear the white. After convincing Verm to forego the flogging himself on the hills we took off with ten, despite Gary and Rich having to stay back today.
Right off Verm, with his sandbags, started pushing the pace. Even in the back the power necessary to keep up was somewhere around 400w (high). Seon must have instigated him, as he was up front initially.
It was pretty hard to see the dynamics up front from my cherry spot right behind Adrian (10th). Lots of traffic on the bike path and so many of us made for some dicey moves. Todd said he got a little close to one of the joggers, not sure if everyone was using hand signals or not, but it was a close call. There was no exchange of words, this time.
After the S-turns once Adrian moved up, and we got split up a bit. By the end of the bike path we were running a 24.3mph avg, with the help of a little tail wind. The four of us up front got along the 405 and I tried to contest Adrian's sprint zone dominance. Vince and Todd had done most of the work leading it out, so we were setup well for it. I think Adrian let me have it.
By Ridgeline Verm caught up, and charged the hill with Vince. Todd, Adrian and I thought it better not to push the sandbag crew, thinking we might kill them. Eventually, we forgot about their cardiac welfare and Todd dialed them in. After that, I blew up pretty spectacularly, with Vince and Todd in tow. That was about the last we saw of those guys, Todd had a crank issue so turned back, and Vince was gone (miraculously to reappear at MacArthur).
Pretty quickly all the guys made it to Summit Ct for our regroup. At this point Jaffe, with Sandy in tow, explained his minor delay in arriving, he actually had stopped to obey a traffic signal. Then we headed down to Sunnyhill and across to Bonita. Enroute Verm mentioned he had filled so many of his bottles with sand that he was a bit low on water, hardcore! He still led us up and over Shady.
At some point Adrian got back in the front and really got moving. He was leading it out for quite some time, in the wind, taking us up to 37.6mph! Impressive.
Vin and Mike led us most of the way across Bonita, where we reconnected with Vince. And, since we were at 20miles already folks just headed in on MacArthur, instead of going over to Jamboree.
I think Verm broke away at one of the lights, and nobody wanted to contest Adrian for the final sprint.
Good ride today, I had us at a 21mph avg with about 1200ft of climbing.
thanks,
Shannon.
We had a good turnout today, somehow most everyone decided to wear the white. After convincing Verm to forego the flogging himself on the hills we took off with ten, despite Gary and Rich having to stay back today.
Right off Verm, with his sandbags, started pushing the pace. Even in the back the power necessary to keep up was somewhere around 400w (high). Seon must have instigated him, as he was up front initially.
It was pretty hard to see the dynamics up front from my cherry spot right behind Adrian (10th). Lots of traffic on the bike path and so many of us made for some dicey moves. Todd said he got a little close to one of the joggers, not sure if everyone was using hand signals or not, but it was a close call. There was no exchange of words, this time.
After the S-turns once Adrian moved up, and we got split up a bit. By the end of the bike path we were running a 24.3mph avg, with the help of a little tail wind. The four of us up front got along the 405 and I tried to contest Adrian's sprint zone dominance. Vince and Todd had done most of the work leading it out, so we were setup well for it. I think Adrian let me have it.
By Ridgeline Verm caught up, and charged the hill with Vince. Todd, Adrian and I thought it better not to push the sandbag crew, thinking we might kill them. Eventually, we forgot about their cardiac welfare and Todd dialed them in. After that, I blew up pretty spectacularly, with Vince and Todd in tow. That was about the last we saw of those guys, Todd had a crank issue so turned back, and Vince was gone (miraculously to reappear at MacArthur).
Pretty quickly all the guys made it to Summit Ct for our regroup. At this point Jaffe, with Sandy in tow, explained his minor delay in arriving, he actually had stopped to obey a traffic signal. Then we headed down to Sunnyhill and across to Bonita. Enroute Verm mentioned he had filled so many of his bottles with sand that he was a bit low on water, hardcore! He still led us up and over Shady.
At some point Adrian got back in the front and really got moving. He was leading it out for quite some time, in the wind, taking us up to 37.6mph! Impressive.
Vin and Mike led us most of the way across Bonita, where we reconnected with Vince. And, since we were at 20miles already folks just headed in on MacArthur, instead of going over to Jamboree.
I think Verm broke away at one of the lights, and nobody wanted to contest Adrian for the final sprint.
Good ride today, I had us at a 21mph avg with about 1200ft of climbing.
thanks,
Shannon.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
BRCM Lunch - NPC/Vista Intervals
Garmin stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/81794904
Last year, I think it was clearly known among our group that I hated hills. While my tolerance for it grew a lot this year (out of necessity), I now found something I despise more: Vince's interval training on the hills.
A few of us were still recovering from the weekend, so it started out fairly mellow going down CA. The pace picked up a little on the bike trail with Todd and PV (who carried the Sandy trophy) keeping us all honest, and even more so on Back Bay. Despite this, the group stayed together with only 1 person dropping off but catching up back on Jamboree. Adrian pulled ahead for a little toward the end of Back Bay, so I thought I'd buzz him as I sprinted by on the exit. Boy, was he startled.
The group stayed together through CDM and made it's way to NPC via PCH. The pace remained moderate though since most of us wanted to save some for the intervals. After sitting to cross the PCH to NPC, Marc, Hiroshi, Mike Z. and Vin were off while the rest of us received last minute instructions from Vince.
Basically, the deal was to go 90-100% for 30 seconds and rest (spin) as follows: 60-60-45-45-30-30-15-15...or something close to that. Vince was calling out the start and stop times based on his stopwatch, and we did our best to do the intervals accordingly. This added a whole new level of pain to our ride in my opinion. It got increasingly more painful to "spin" as we're climbing up Vista. Hearing Vince call out "Go" almost became unbearable after a while. Overall, the 7 of us did our best to perform the intervals and were pretty much blown up after reaching the top. Shannon did go ahead since he had to get back for a meeting, but at the top of Vista, no one was eager to do any extra credit and climb Summit.
For the non-interval group, Hiroshi and Marc finished first and Vin and Mike Z. followed after. Mike Z. had been working pretty hard, and had this picture taken 45 minutes AFTER taking a shower to show for it:
The ride down Ridge Park was a little hairy with a couple cars following the group. Adrian and Todd had gotten ahead going down NPC, but it was fun to chase them down and run back into them once we got on Bonita Canyon.
Todd and PV got the pace going pretty good on Bonita Canyon, but on the incline, I thought I'd perform one last interval and push it up the hill after the bridge. I got away for a little, but PV caught back up and pulled to McArthur. I thought I could break away after but got caught at the first light by the rest.
On Bison, everyone was trying to setup for the lights over the 73 with PV having created a little gap, but Vin had set up the 2nd light perfectly and sprinted past us. Given that he had only put in a little time with the group, plus the fact that he was wearing a loose tank top (Velominati rule 7 violation), there just was no way I could let him get away. HA HA. Although he had a good jump, I had caught and cornered CA with him. He didn't want any action to the gate where the real sprint ends as we all know. Keep trying, grasshopper, but for now, not on my watch.
Thanks to Vince for setting this up, calling out the times, and making today's training ridiculously painful. We'll have to add this to our training regimen AFTER the L'Etape.
Good job everyone!
Last year, I think it was clearly known among our group that I hated hills. While my tolerance for it grew a lot this year (out of necessity), I now found something I despise more: Vince's interval training on the hills.
A few of us were still recovering from the weekend, so it started out fairly mellow going down CA. The pace picked up a little on the bike trail with Todd and PV (who carried the Sandy trophy) keeping us all honest, and even more so on Back Bay. Despite this, the group stayed together with only 1 person dropping off but catching up back on Jamboree. Adrian pulled ahead for a little toward the end of Back Bay, so I thought I'd buzz him as I sprinted by on the exit. Boy, was he startled.
The group stayed together through CDM and made it's way to NPC via PCH. The pace remained moderate though since most of us wanted to save some for the intervals. After sitting to cross the PCH to NPC, Marc, Hiroshi, Mike Z. and Vin were off while the rest of us received last minute instructions from Vince.
Basically, the deal was to go 90-100% for 30 seconds and rest (spin) as follows: 60-60-45-45-30-30-15-15...or something close to that. Vince was calling out the start and stop times based on his stopwatch, and we did our best to do the intervals accordingly. This added a whole new level of pain to our ride in my opinion. It got increasingly more painful to "spin" as we're climbing up Vista. Hearing Vince call out "Go" almost became unbearable after a while. Overall, the 7 of us did our best to perform the intervals and were pretty much blown up after reaching the top. Shannon did go ahead since he had to get back for a meeting, but at the top of Vista, no one was eager to do any extra credit and climb Summit.
For the non-interval group, Hiroshi and Marc finished first and Vin and Mike Z. followed after. Mike Z. had been working pretty hard, and had this picture taken 45 minutes AFTER taking a shower to show for it:
 |
| Someone needs to buy an office fan |
The ride down Ridge Park was a little hairy with a couple cars following the group. Adrian and Todd had gotten ahead going down NPC, but it was fun to chase them down and run back into them once we got on Bonita Canyon.
Todd and PV got the pace going pretty good on Bonita Canyon, but on the incline, I thought I'd perform one last interval and push it up the hill after the bridge. I got away for a little, but PV caught back up and pulled to McArthur. I thought I could break away after but got caught at the first light by the rest.
On Bison, everyone was trying to setup for the lights over the 73 with PV having created a little gap, but Vin had set up the 2nd light perfectly and sprinted past us. Given that he had only put in a little time with the group, plus the fact that he was wearing a loose tank top (Velominati rule 7 violation), there just was no way I could let him get away. HA HA. Although he had a good jump, I had caught and cornered CA with him. He didn't want any action to the gate where the real sprint ends as we all know. Keep trying, grasshopper, but for now, not on my watch.
Thanks to Vince for setting this up, calling out the times, and making today's training ridiculously painful. We'll have to add this to our training regimen AFTER the L'Etape.
Good job everyone!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Gary's Como Street Ride on Easter
Did como street today since I had a bunch of work to do today and thought a good high intensity ride was in order.
Thought it was going to be a small group today since we were only about 30 strong when leaving the parking lot. Not the case at all. We picked up a bunch of riders along the way and probably ended with over 100. Before getting to cook's corner, the pace was above average so I was not feeling very confident that I would crest with the group. I kept with the pack for most of the hill, but the group broke apart just before the last climb before hitting the down. I ended up in a chase group which was actually perfect since it gave me a chance to get a good workout in. After blowing past a number of folks, I ended up working with one other guy. There was a pack of 5+ in front of us working together and no matter what we did we could not make any ground up on them. The gap remained the same for most of the canyon. A few miles before dump hill, a group of 4 riders came by us and I jumped on. The guy I was riding with was spent and could not catch the wheel.
We caught the group in front of us and continued to blow past them. The guy pulling was starting to fade and nobody would take over. I came up front and we ended up getting a 3 man rotation going. On dump hill, I started the pull, but got passed midway up. I jumped on and almost was able to take the hill but the lead rider had too big of a gap by that point. We kept a high pace on Jamboree which was pretty cool and finished the ride with a 21 avg.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Pedal for the Nation - BRCM Team of One
Since I wore my BRCM jersey today to represent the team, I figure I might as well go ahead and post how my ride went today. So here goes:
I signed up solo to do a charity ride for a Filipino organization that contributes to building schools in poverty-stricken location in the Philippines where the name of the ride was "Pedal for the Nation" (in tagalog though). The ride had over 100 riders signed up for the 62 mile route which started out at the Yorba Linda Regional Park > SART bike trail > Katella > E. Santiago > Jamboree > Santiago Canyon > El Toro > Trabuco > Irvine Blvd > Jamboree > E. Santiago and back to SART to starting location. Obviously, this was a route we are all too familiar with.
Unlike last year, there was not a mass start this year, so I waited around until a group formed. I saw a bunch of small little groups and individuals heading out, but I wanted to wait to see when some of the bigger teams were heading out. I was fortunate to run into one guy I knew from the Mira Mesa Cycling Club (Mike). His team ended up not being available for the ride, so he opted to ride with me. Woo hoo...someone to ride with.
Once some of the teams took off (Adobo Velo, River Velo, and others), about 25-30of us were off. The pace in the beginning was not our typical BRCM no-warm up pace, so it was nice for a change to run moderately. Since there were a couple teams out there, I decided not to jump to the front right away since I was flying solo. I did sit about 7th down from this group as they headed down to Katella.
When we got to Katella (where the Honda Center is located), the group got a little confused based on the markings and somehow, I found myself up front heading onto the street. I guess at this point, I wasn't going back, and decided to stay up front. I did break away for a bit and was riding on my own, chasing down people in front of me. However, at one of the light, the peloton caught up.
I started trading off at the front with a couple other guys, but once we got passed Cannon and started going through some of the rollers, I had broken away at one of the hills (not really intentionally) and found myself riding alone again. At the last hill before Jamboree, a few others had caught up to me and more so once we got to the light to turn into Santiago Canyon.
Going up dump hill, everyone stayed behind all the way but kept my pace. At the very top, there were some guys sitting up there resting but I rolled forward thinking that the others would follow behind me. However, when I started to descent, I looked back and didn't see anyone.
I kept going and chased down all who were in front of me, and at one point, noticed that the guys who were behind me had again caught me. A couple of the guys including Mike started taking turns with me, so it was nice to actually take a break here and there. We continued to pass others who had left before us and made our way up to the last hill before Cooks. At the bottom, I had slowed a bit to left the 3-4 remaining guys get go ahead so I can take a big drink. I'd been waiting since I pretty much had to go pee only minutes after starting out where I hadn't drank that much. Well, the guys started to charge the hill, so after a good swig, I was off after them. They were able to keep the distance for a bit, but eventually, I was able to reel them all in. One guy (who's name I later found out was Greg...I think) was able to latch on, but on the 2nd pitch right before the descent, I sprinted to the top and broke him off.
After the descent (and a quick bio break at Cooks), Mike and I chased down the 2 other guys who had kept going and ended up seeing them at the SAG in the middle of the descent down El Toro. One of their buddies, who was suppose to stop, decided he was going to keep going. They said he was a strong time trialist, so I thought it would be fun to chase him down once they had gotten their fill of water and food...I was still finishing up my first bottle.
Once we took off, I kept the pace high up front and had some occasional relief from 2 of the other 3 who were with me. The Trabuco to Irvine Blvd sections were riddled with lights, but we tried to keep the pace up despite. Once we got past Alton, we hit my favorite section where I started to bring the group up to a good pace. As needed, the other 2 guys who'd help out and relieve me, and ultimately, we caught their TT friend.
We also ran into a couple more guys who tried to break away at one of the lights, but I chased them down and we managed to pass them before we got back onto Jamboree. On Jamboree, we had picked up a couple riders, but by the top of the hill, I was alone again. I guess all the hill training we've been doing is paying off. The 3 guys who I'd been riding with had caught up again at the Santiago Canyon light, and we started trading off as we got on E. Santiago.
Once it turned to Katella, there was a lot of traffic, so we were pretty much soft pedaling for a while and chatting as we went through traffic. However, once we got back to SART, I told the guys my wife was waiting for me (she came with me today and was at the start point) and that I wanted to turn it up and get back. As they were willing, we were off. Little did I know that at this point, none of them were willing/able to get up front anymore, so I pulled us all the way back. I didn't mind doing a lot of the work today since I missed out on big hill training this weekend. It was just cool to have the guys behind me to ride with and push me to keep going. It was cool to be the first to get back.
Overall, it was a good training session for me and hopefully a good representation of the BRCM team. Unfortunately, no Garmin stats available since I forgot it (I was so bummed), but the average my buddy Mike showed was over 20.
Pics:
I signed up solo to do a charity ride for a Filipino organization that contributes to building schools in poverty-stricken location in the Philippines where the name of the ride was "Pedal for the Nation" (in tagalog though). The ride had over 100 riders signed up for the 62 mile route which started out at the Yorba Linda Regional Park > SART bike trail > Katella > E. Santiago > Jamboree > Santiago Canyon > El Toro > Trabuco > Irvine Blvd > Jamboree > E. Santiago and back to SART to starting location. Obviously, this was a route we are all too familiar with.
Unlike last year, there was not a mass start this year, so I waited around until a group formed. I saw a bunch of small little groups and individuals heading out, but I wanted to wait to see when some of the bigger teams were heading out. I was fortunate to run into one guy I knew from the Mira Mesa Cycling Club (Mike). His team ended up not being available for the ride, so he opted to ride with me. Woo hoo...someone to ride with.
Once some of the teams took off (Adobo Velo, River Velo, and others), about 25-30of us were off. The pace in the beginning was not our typical BRCM no-warm up pace, so it was nice for a change to run moderately. Since there were a couple teams out there, I decided not to jump to the front right away since I was flying solo. I did sit about 7th down from this group as they headed down to Katella.
When we got to Katella (where the Honda Center is located), the group got a little confused based on the markings and somehow, I found myself up front heading onto the street. I guess at this point, I wasn't going back, and decided to stay up front. I did break away for a bit and was riding on my own, chasing down people in front of me. However, at one of the light, the peloton caught up.
I started trading off at the front with a couple other guys, but once we got passed Cannon and started going through some of the rollers, I had broken away at one of the hills (not really intentionally) and found myself riding alone again. At the last hill before Jamboree, a few others had caught up to me and more so once we got to the light to turn into Santiago Canyon.
Going up dump hill, everyone stayed behind all the way but kept my pace. At the very top, there were some guys sitting up there resting but I rolled forward thinking that the others would follow behind me. However, when I started to descent, I looked back and didn't see anyone.
I kept going and chased down all who were in front of me, and at one point, noticed that the guys who were behind me had again caught me. A couple of the guys including Mike started taking turns with me, so it was nice to actually take a break here and there. We continued to pass others who had left before us and made our way up to the last hill before Cooks. At the bottom, I had slowed a bit to left the 3-4 remaining guys get go ahead so I can take a big drink. I'd been waiting since I pretty much had to go pee only minutes after starting out where I hadn't drank that much. Well, the guys started to charge the hill, so after a good swig, I was off after them. They were able to keep the distance for a bit, but eventually, I was able to reel them all in. One guy (who's name I later found out was Greg...I think) was able to latch on, but on the 2nd pitch right before the descent, I sprinted to the top and broke him off.
After the descent (and a quick bio break at Cooks), Mike and I chased down the 2 other guys who had kept going and ended up seeing them at the SAG in the middle of the descent down El Toro. One of their buddies, who was suppose to stop, decided he was going to keep going. They said he was a strong time trialist, so I thought it would be fun to chase him down once they had gotten their fill of water and food...I was still finishing up my first bottle.
Once we took off, I kept the pace high up front and had some occasional relief from 2 of the other 3 who were with me. The Trabuco to Irvine Blvd sections were riddled with lights, but we tried to keep the pace up despite. Once we got past Alton, we hit my favorite section where I started to bring the group up to a good pace. As needed, the other 2 guys who'd help out and relieve me, and ultimately, we caught their TT friend.
We also ran into a couple more guys who tried to break away at one of the lights, but I chased them down and we managed to pass them before we got back onto Jamboree. On Jamboree, we had picked up a couple riders, but by the top of the hill, I was alone again. I guess all the hill training we've been doing is paying off. The 3 guys who I'd been riding with had caught up again at the Santiago Canyon light, and we started trading off as we got on E. Santiago.
Once it turned to Katella, there was a lot of traffic, so we were pretty much soft pedaling for a while and chatting as we went through traffic. However, once we got back to SART, I told the guys my wife was waiting for me (she came with me today and was at the start point) and that I wanted to turn it up and get back. As they were willing, we were off. Little did I know that at this point, none of them were willing/able to get up front anymore, so I pulled us all the way back. I didn't mind doing a lot of the work today since I missed out on big hill training this weekend. It was just cool to have the guys behind me to ride with and push me to keep going. It was cool to be the first to get back.
Overall, it was a good training session for me and hopefully a good representation of the BRCM team. Unfortunately, no Garmin stats available since I forgot it (I was so bummed), but the average my buddy Mike showed was over 20.
Pics:
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| Chillin' at the start |
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| Taking off |
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| The Filipino peloton |
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| At the Finish line |
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| Represent |
Baldy Part 2 - by Vince
Letape pre-ride summary. Riders: Mitch, PV, Shannon and me for the full monty, Eddie and Mike Z for Baldy Rd + Ski Lifts.
84 miles 11k of climbing.
The best way to describe this ride is... 84 mile and 11k of climbing. Looks like they will need to update the stats for Letape, that last 1k is "legit". We had good temps and there was very little in the way of traffic. Mitch, PV, Shannon, Mike Z, Eddie, and I all met at the Coffee Bean as planned. We departed for Baldy at ~6ish. We arrived at the Plot off of Mill rd and Baldy rd within an hour. We took off at a very moderate pace and I think we were all surprised at how much of a grind Baldy road was. PV was feeling good and created a gap that no one was really interested in chasing. On the way up, I had "gear ratio envy" as watched Shannon and Mitch make use of the low gears to spin up Baldy road. It actual got to the point where I had to go faster to make it easier which made it hard to ride together. I will be changing my gears as I really want to spin on the non timed sections. We regrouped with PV at the intersection of Baldy rd and GRR. We waited for Eddie and Mike Z and wished them well on their assault on Baldy. It was time for us to take the long descent down GRR and East Fork. The play by play at this point is non eventful, so let's skip to the goods.
GMR highlights
-GMR has been renamed to SMR. Shannon killed it. From my estimates, he would have been well in front of the first place Velo Viet KOM guy. By just trying to keep in sight it brought my speed closer to last week's KOM killer, Noah. Can't wait to see Shannon and Noah on this climb, team BRCM is legit.
-PV channeled his inner HTT and did well on the climb with Mitch trailing not too far behind.
GRR Highlight
-PV continued his push for pain whilst we just stayed in preservation mode. All of PV's efforts finally caught up to him and he started to feel the vert. We eventually caught him 3/4 way through the ridge. He almost wanted to throw in the towel on the Baldy climb, but his inner VQ prevailed and he stuck it out. It reminds me that I hit GRR with the same ambition last week and had to pay the piper on baldy. GRR is legit.
BALDY!!!
- We refueled at the Lodge and were ready to go. I was actually feeling pretty good at this point thanks to the experience from last week's ride and some caffeine.
- We started the climb from our perceived start point just past the lodge. Yes, the section from the lodge to the ice house sucks.
- I created a small gap early that I later lessened to let my legs rest before the switchbacks. Night and day difference from last weekend and actually rode up in straight line. Can't wait to get some more suitable gearing and see what I can really do up this thing. Shannon finished not too far behind, which was very impressive given his effort on GMR.
- PV rolled in a little later smiling! This guy is nuts, he pushes the pace the entire ride, is slightly bonked, and thinks we still need to do GRR back to the cars! His ultra endurance skills prevailed and he made the final climb! I feel sorry for whoever is racing MTB's against PV. PV's road skills are legit.
- Mitch rolled in and finished strong after overcoming a little bonk. He was happy with bike setup and gave me some friendly advice for gearing. We will have separate thread on this....
Pics:
Links to the rest of the pictures:
Pics:
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| Poor BMC, being adorned with ugly keg bottles and jacket. The crank breaker shows no mercy. Top of GRR. |
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At the top of GRR getting the layers on for the descent, burrrr |
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Not a bad place to ride, East fork sure is purdy |
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Lot's of runoff. |
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Mitch and Shannon descending East Fork. |
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Shannon at the ski lifts. His look of disapproval is upon realizing that that the warming hut is closed. No BEER! |
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Paul at the ski lifts! At this point he still thought we had to take GRR again! His new nickname is smiley cuz, who would smile if we they had to do GRR again after 11k of climbing? |
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Mitch at the ski lifts!!! He was quick to call me an "amateur" for running a standard crank with a 11-25 on this climb, I agree! |
Links to the rest of the pictures:
Thursday, April 21, 2011
BRCM Lunch - BB NPC Pelican Vista Summit Loop
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/80634191
Although a few people are planning a training ride up Baldy tomorrow, there were still 9 of us who made it out today. Shannon made it out despite plans to go up Baldy as well, but as we all know, it's just a matter of him changing his battery so recovery is not typically his problem.
Todd wanted to get some hills in today, so we hit NPC, Pelican, Vista Ridge and Summit with a Back Bay warm-up. Shannon had mentioned wanting an easier ride today, and this was the route Todd proposed as a response.
On Back Bay, the pace was solid with everyone staying together the whole time. 23-25 was the range with Todd and a couple others doing all the work. Shannon lit up the end of the Back Bay with Adrian in tow.
Todd seemed to do most of the work getting us out to NPC where I wanted to help, but didn't...HA HA. Shannon was also pulling back. Who are we to get in the way of Todd's training?
On Pelican, Adrian's attempt to get a head start by jumping on the left turn lane didn't work out where those of us who went across caught the green. I was wanting to keep a steady pace, but ended up riding with Todd and Shannon. I did get a little breakaway for a bit (not really intentionally) but as expected, both reeled me in before the top.
On Vista, it was pretty much the same where I started out in back, got up front, but then got spit out the back by both before the first crest where it flattened out. At the top, Adrian rolled up after followed shortly by Marc and Hiroshi. Everyone else rolled up not too long after that.
For Summit, some of us were a little worked from the fast NPC downhill, so Hiroshi and Jaffe attacked near the bottom and got a pretty solid lead on everyone. Todd and I gave chase and was able to get by, and Todd took me down just before the top.
The rest of the way back, Todd, Adrian and I led everyone back (Shannon had broken away) and Adrian and I took off for a little sprint to CA. Both of us were cramping at this point, but it was still fun to charge on Bison.
For the new Sandy award, the first to receive it will be Steve Jaffe. Please make sure to congratulate him on Tuesday as he rides with the trophy.
Quote of the Day
Vin: "Rich, why didn't you wait for me so we can sprint?"
Classic.
Thanks for coming out everyone. Overall, another great training ride today.
Although a few people are planning a training ride up Baldy tomorrow, there were still 9 of us who made it out today. Shannon made it out despite plans to go up Baldy as well, but as we all know, it's just a matter of him changing his battery so recovery is not typically his problem.
Todd wanted to get some hills in today, so we hit NPC, Pelican, Vista Ridge and Summit with a Back Bay warm-up. Shannon had mentioned wanting an easier ride today, and this was the route Todd proposed as a response.
On Back Bay, the pace was solid with everyone staying together the whole time. 23-25 was the range with Todd and a couple others doing all the work. Shannon lit up the end of the Back Bay with Adrian in tow.
Todd seemed to do most of the work getting us out to NPC where I wanted to help, but didn't...HA HA. Shannon was also pulling back. Who are we to get in the way of Todd's training?
On Pelican, Adrian's attempt to get a head start by jumping on the left turn lane didn't work out where those of us who went across caught the green. I was wanting to keep a steady pace, but ended up riding with Todd and Shannon. I did get a little breakaway for a bit (not really intentionally) but as expected, both reeled me in before the top.
On Vista, it was pretty much the same where I started out in back, got up front, but then got spit out the back by both before the first crest where it flattened out. At the top, Adrian rolled up after followed shortly by Marc and Hiroshi. Everyone else rolled up not too long after that.
For Summit, some of us were a little worked from the fast NPC downhill, so Hiroshi and Jaffe attacked near the bottom and got a pretty solid lead on everyone. Todd and I gave chase and was able to get by, and Todd took me down just before the top.
The rest of the way back, Todd, Adrian and I led everyone back (Shannon had broken away) and Adrian and I took off for a little sprint to CA. Both of us were cramping at this point, but it was still fun to charge on Bison.
For the new Sandy award, the first to receive it will be Steve Jaffe. Please make sure to congratulate him on Tuesday as he rides with the trophy.
Quote of the Day
Vin: "Rich, why didn't you wait for me so we can sprint?"
Classic.
Thanks for coming out everyone. Overall, another great training ride today.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Starcrest Hill Repeats!
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/80254182
For the first time as a group, we (okay it was Vince) decided that hill repeats would make for a good training route today. To avoid traffic, we chose Starcrest as the hill to do so. We didn't have any set landmarks for the repeats, so where we all stopped and descended/ascended may not have been consistent across the board. Either way, there was plenty of climbing on this route with over 2K elevation achieved.
It was suppose to start out mellow where the intensity was going to be applied upon the climbs (so I thought), but Gary and Adrian saw it differently and pushed the pace from the beginning. I really wanted to tax my legs on the climbs, so I opted not to try and keep up early on and stayed with PV until we got onto Bonita Canyon. PV, the maniac that he is, opted to do this on his mountain bike and was able to hold the roadie pace for a respectable period of time heading out. Impressive!
Once on Turtle Rock, Adrian had gotten ahead on the climb, but Shannon and Marc wasn't too far behind him. I had gotten by Gary once on Turtle Rock and had caught up to Shannon and Marc just as they closed the gap on Adrian right before Starcrest.
There was a little confusion as to what to do once we got to the base, but I think I just indicated to the others "keep going." So that's what I did. All together, we did 5 repeats and it was cool to keep seeing one another as we kept going up and down. Gary and Shannon even offered some encouraging words, but I was having difficulty speaking (breathing) where I could not return them.
I had gotten a head start on the climbs, but groups seemed to form behind me: Adrian/Marc/Vin was one, Shannon/Vince/Gary and PV was another but with Shannon and vince passing Adrian's group on the 4th or 5th ascend.
Now if I didn't mentioned Vince early on, it turned out he did some hidden extra credit where not only did he carry 2 bottles for the ride, one was actually filled with sand to increase the intensity! Nice! I was wondering why he had dropped off early on at E. Peltason, but that explains a lot. His hill charging considering this was pretty amazing. One new suggestion he had for those who perform TLB's in the future will be to have to carry this bottle of sand (we'll call Sandy) on the subsequent outing. I like it!
For the route back, the "plan" was to take it easy, but never a dull moment with this group. We still kept the pace up coming back up over Shady, and shannon led the charge to the bottom. For fun, I thought I would sit on Adrian's side and block him out to prevent the sprint. However, when Shannon kicked up the pace toward the bike trail, I was worked and could not keep him blocked where he and Shannon bolted to the bike trail opening. They obviously could have used another hill repeat.
Shannon and Adrian got the light on Bonita canyon, and PV took his mountain bike over some curbs to get ahead of the rest of us. We eventually got all together before we got to McArthur where Shannon and Adrian were up for some extra credit to Jamboree. However, we were short on time.
On Bison, we were all aware of 5-0 sitting at the light to turn left onto the 73 onramp, so we took it easy for the most part. However, Vin must have felt good with his new wheelset and opted to sprint out to CA. We'll have to teach him about the "sprint diva" term later on, but I had to contest just so he doesn't feel too "confident" on his first Tuesday outing. Now he did have some pretty good speed going where he had started to pass, but I was able to match and start passing after a while. I also probably swerved toward him a little with my bike being twitchy from the wind today, but it was not intentional and may have caused him to check up. I was hoping he wanted to contest more toward the gate in case that's what happened, but I guess he'll have to try again next time.
Good trainer today and we may have to do something similar on NPC on a nearby future outing (pre-L'Etape).
Thanks!
For the first time as a group, we (okay it was Vince) decided that hill repeats would make for a good training route today. To avoid traffic, we chose Starcrest as the hill to do so. We didn't have any set landmarks for the repeats, so where we all stopped and descended/ascended may not have been consistent across the board. Either way, there was plenty of climbing on this route with over 2K elevation achieved.
It was suppose to start out mellow where the intensity was going to be applied upon the climbs (so I thought), but Gary and Adrian saw it differently and pushed the pace from the beginning. I really wanted to tax my legs on the climbs, so I opted not to try and keep up early on and stayed with PV until we got onto Bonita Canyon. PV, the maniac that he is, opted to do this on his mountain bike and was able to hold the roadie pace for a respectable period of time heading out. Impressive!
Once on Turtle Rock, Adrian had gotten ahead on the climb, but Shannon and Marc wasn't too far behind him. I had gotten by Gary once on Turtle Rock and had caught up to Shannon and Marc just as they closed the gap on Adrian right before Starcrest.
There was a little confusion as to what to do once we got to the base, but I think I just indicated to the others "keep going." So that's what I did. All together, we did 5 repeats and it was cool to keep seeing one another as we kept going up and down. Gary and Shannon even offered some encouraging words, but I was having difficulty speaking (breathing) where I could not return them.
I had gotten a head start on the climbs, but groups seemed to form behind me: Adrian/Marc/Vin was one, Shannon/Vince/Gary and PV was another but with Shannon and vince passing Adrian's group on the 4th or 5th ascend.
Now if I didn't mentioned Vince early on, it turned out he did some hidden extra credit where not only did he carry 2 bottles for the ride, one was actually filled with sand to increase the intensity! Nice! I was wondering why he had dropped off early on at E. Peltason, but that explains a lot. His hill charging considering this was pretty amazing. One new suggestion he had for those who perform TLB's in the future will be to have to carry this bottle of sand (we'll call Sandy) on the subsequent outing. I like it!
For the route back, the "plan" was to take it easy, but never a dull moment with this group. We still kept the pace up coming back up over Shady, and shannon led the charge to the bottom. For fun, I thought I would sit on Adrian's side and block him out to prevent the sprint. However, when Shannon kicked up the pace toward the bike trail, I was worked and could not keep him blocked where he and Shannon bolted to the bike trail opening. They obviously could have used another hill repeat.
Shannon and Adrian got the light on Bonita canyon, and PV took his mountain bike over some curbs to get ahead of the rest of us. We eventually got all together before we got to McArthur where Shannon and Adrian were up for some extra credit to Jamboree. However, we were short on time.
On Bison, we were all aware of 5-0 sitting at the light to turn left onto the 73 onramp, so we took it easy for the most part. However, Vin must have felt good with his new wheelset and opted to sprint out to CA. We'll have to teach him about the "sprint diva" term later on, but I had to contest just so he doesn't feel too "confident" on his first Tuesday outing. Now he did have some pretty good speed going where he had started to pass, but I was able to match and start passing after a while. I also probably swerved toward him a little with my bike being twitchy from the wind today, but it was not intentional and may have caused him to check up. I was hoping he wanted to contest more toward the gate in case that's what happened, but I guess he'll have to try again next time.
Good trainer today and we may have to do something similar on NPC on a nearby future outing (pre-L'Etape).
Thanks!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Team BRCM - Glendora High > GMR > GRR > Mt Baldy Out and Back
Garmin stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79903594 (stopped for about 45 minutes during the ride - the last KOM section - probably didn't register my slow ass speed)
First off, we'd like to thank the VeloViet Cycling group (and Gary's dentist, Steve, who's been out with us a couple times) for allowing us to join them today and providing a roving SAG support. They allowed us to provide them a bag to haul some items (including 1 water bottle ea.) to the base of GRR so that we could lighten our load as we hit the first KOM section. They also hauled unnecessary items down the hill after the 2nd KOM section, and had one car that provided water and Gatorade at the very top. I can only hope the L'Etape du CA SAG is just as helpful, or we may need to create our own SAGs for that event comparable to today's.
The day started off early with Gary picking me up a quarter past 5 (2nd weekend in a row to start this early), and he picked up Noah and then Vince at the Coffee Grinder place Shannon suggested. Verm couldn't make the meetup in time (again), but we ended up seeing him on the 57 and following him to Glendora. We got a little split up but managed to make it to Glendora High School to meet with the Veloviets, along with other cycling groups. All-in-all, there was probably about 50-60 people out there today. At some point while we we're all getting ready, Verm was introduced to one of the VeloViet members and came up with the brilliant question of "what does the 'Viet' stand for?" After the Vietnamese member answered, Verm replied with "Oh, I thought it could have been Vietnam Vet or something." Where was Mitchell to dish out the "Stupid!" today when we needed him? Geez, Verm.
After the group pictures, it wasn't much longer before we were off with team cars following. The team cars had one of their lady members taking pictures of the group as we were riding all the way through the hills to GRR. I overheard them saying that the pictures should be posted on their blog, so another thing to be thankful to them for. Now we just need to figure out how to get our significant others to do the same for the day of the L'Etape.
While we soft pedaled at the beginning as we rolled out as a large group, our guys all started moving toward the front as soon as we got on GMR. One of the other club riders in a Rock Racing kit (Luke) decided to test out the waters and started to push the pace early. Noah and Vince answered, and while I stayed on for a little, I decided to find my own rhythm since there was a lot of climbing ahead of us. Steve and Gary pretty much did the same behind me. At the KOM finish at the base of GRR, Luke, Noah and Vince were there waiting along with one guy from River Velo who just got away from me on one of the climbs. Steve and Gary followed shortly after, so with all the guys who came out today, our team of 5 was among the first 8-9 riders up. Luke, after riding with Noah, now wants to come out and train with us on the weekend. Team BRCM is legit...but we know this.
Noah had told us that GRR wasn't anything too crazy, but it ended up still being another 13 miles or so with more climbing. We were trying to keep a pace that would keep everyone fairly together, although Steve and Gary seemed to want to start this section pretty hard. They eventually settled down, and we were keeping a decent pace, but this got broken up when someone with a probikekit kit passed us. Vince gave chase, and the two were off. I had found a good rhythm to make it through this section, but I still remembered Noah saying how gnarly the KOM2 section was where I was trying to manage my power. Verm and Noah were chatting behind me, but Verm made his way up to me and ended up helping to pull us toward 3 guys as we were working our way toward the down section.
When we got on Mt Baldy road, one of the team cars were there where I decided to wait for Noah and Gary before going up. Vince had bypassed this SAG and Verm did too just ahead of me. Noah got to remove his base layer (which proved to be useless given the perfect weather today), and I grabbed a bite to eat. As we prepared to roll out, Gary was just making his way in to the SAG. I got a little head start, and despite the fueling, this section was just plain HARD. I think the comparison to 4 Ridge Park climbs was pretty accurate. The pitch on some of the switchback sections was pretty intense though (reminiscent of Park and Nyes).
A different Luke had passed me at some point, and Noah followed. Then, the same guy in the probikekit kit ended up catching up to me, and riding with me for a while. He had a team car following him, and at one point, I heard the pitter patter of feet running behind me to see one of the guys from the car had gotten out and was giving him a push. I wonder if I can talk the wife into doing that for me on the 7th. He stayed with me for a bit, and at one point, he finally ended up passing me. As we rounded one of the turns before the final 15% grade climb, I saw him catching Verm just ahead of me. They both got to the top together, with probikekit doing the paperboy S's, behind him. I started to do the S's as well heading to the top, and boy did it feel good. As Noah indicated, this hill is legit.
Noah, lacking of breast milk as a youth, went ahead and did some additional switchbacks up past where the road ended...on his backup Cannondale at that. Gary came up after and received some of the hydration offerings of one of the team cars with us.
We then made our way down the hills, and going down the switchbacks was a little hairy. The aluminum wheels was a good choice for this given all the speed scrubbing I had to do leading others into the turns. Then, Vince passed and showed me some good lines on the switchbacks and led us to the base of the GRR climb back where we all regrouped again.
We all made our way up GRR together until the downhill. Then, Vince kicked the pace up and we were moving down the GRR down sections pretty quickly. On some of the hills, Vince wasn't feeling the climbs as much any more, but continued to pass on the downhills.
After we got on GMR, he had gotten behind on one of the hills (rightfully so after killing it on GMR, GRR, and Mt. Baldy Rd), so I went ahead and rode to the bottom on my own. What an f'in blast! It was fun to chase down everyone I saw in front of me. I even got to pass the River Velo guy who passed me up for KOM1 the first time. The motorcycles made this a little hairy for some, but they didn't end up being too scary for my ride down. I can't wait to go down this again, but Noah's other route (39?) may be an interesting descent to try next time as well. On Noah's way down, he saw a rattlesnake and that pretty much ended the short-lived fearlessness he was getting after getting comfortable through some of the turns.
We all managed to make it back to the start point free of any incidents making for a great day of riding. The beer fest at the end was also awesome. It was strange that aside from our team, no one else brought beer for their post-ride refreshments.
Gary, thanks so much for driving today and for hauling all of us up there. Thanks for bringing some beers also. It's been a while since we've been on a long ride together, so this was a great way to get back out there with us. I'll drive to the Alpine Challenge.
Thanks to everyone who came out today and making this another good Team BRCM outing.
First off, we'd like to thank the VeloViet Cycling group (and Gary's dentist, Steve, who's been out with us a couple times) for allowing us to join them today and providing a roving SAG support. They allowed us to provide them a bag to haul some items (including 1 water bottle ea.) to the base of GRR so that we could lighten our load as we hit the first KOM section. They also hauled unnecessary items down the hill after the 2nd KOM section, and had one car that provided water and Gatorade at the very top. I can only hope the L'Etape du CA SAG is just as helpful, or we may need to create our own SAGs for that event comparable to today's.
The day started off early with Gary picking me up a quarter past 5 (2nd weekend in a row to start this early), and he picked up Noah and then Vince at the Coffee Grinder place Shannon suggested. Verm couldn't make the meetup in time (again), but we ended up seeing him on the 57 and following him to Glendora. We got a little split up but managed to make it to Glendora High School to meet with the Veloviets, along with other cycling groups. All-in-all, there was probably about 50-60 people out there today. At some point while we we're all getting ready, Verm was introduced to one of the VeloViet members and came up with the brilliant question of "what does the 'Viet' stand for?" After the Vietnamese member answered, Verm replied with "Oh, I thought it could have been Vietnam Vet or something." Where was Mitchell to dish out the "Stupid!" today when we needed him? Geez, Verm.
After the group pictures, it wasn't much longer before we were off with team cars following. The team cars had one of their lady members taking pictures of the group as we were riding all the way through the hills to GRR. I overheard them saying that the pictures should be posted on their blog, so another thing to be thankful to them for. Now we just need to figure out how to get our significant others to do the same for the day of the L'Etape.
While we soft pedaled at the beginning as we rolled out as a large group, our guys all started moving toward the front as soon as we got on GMR. One of the other club riders in a Rock Racing kit (Luke) decided to test out the waters and started to push the pace early. Noah and Vince answered, and while I stayed on for a little, I decided to find my own rhythm since there was a lot of climbing ahead of us. Steve and Gary pretty much did the same behind me. At the KOM finish at the base of GRR, Luke, Noah and Vince were there waiting along with one guy from River Velo who just got away from me on one of the climbs. Steve and Gary followed shortly after, so with all the guys who came out today, our team of 5 was among the first 8-9 riders up. Luke, after riding with Noah, now wants to come out and train with us on the weekend. Team BRCM is legit...but we know this.
Noah had told us that GRR wasn't anything too crazy, but it ended up still being another 13 miles or so with more climbing. We were trying to keep a pace that would keep everyone fairly together, although Steve and Gary seemed to want to start this section pretty hard. They eventually settled down, and we were keeping a decent pace, but this got broken up when someone with a probikekit kit passed us. Vince gave chase, and the two were off. I had found a good rhythm to make it through this section, but I still remembered Noah saying how gnarly the KOM2 section was where I was trying to manage my power. Verm and Noah were chatting behind me, but Verm made his way up to me and ended up helping to pull us toward 3 guys as we were working our way toward the down section.
When we got on Mt Baldy road, one of the team cars were there where I decided to wait for Noah and Gary before going up. Vince had bypassed this SAG and Verm did too just ahead of me. Noah got to remove his base layer (which proved to be useless given the perfect weather today), and I grabbed a bite to eat. As we prepared to roll out, Gary was just making his way in to the SAG. I got a little head start, and despite the fueling, this section was just plain HARD. I think the comparison to 4 Ridge Park climbs was pretty accurate. The pitch on some of the switchback sections was pretty intense though (reminiscent of Park and Nyes).
A different Luke had passed me at some point, and Noah followed. Then, the same guy in the probikekit kit ended up catching up to me, and riding with me for a while. He had a team car following him, and at one point, I heard the pitter patter of feet running behind me to see one of the guys from the car had gotten out and was giving him a push. I wonder if I can talk the wife into doing that for me on the 7th. He stayed with me for a bit, and at one point, he finally ended up passing me. As we rounded one of the turns before the final 15% grade climb, I saw him catching Verm just ahead of me. They both got to the top together, with probikekit doing the paperboy S's, behind him. I started to do the S's as well heading to the top, and boy did it feel good. As Noah indicated, this hill is legit.
Noah, lacking of breast milk as a youth, went ahead and did some additional switchbacks up past where the road ended...on his backup Cannondale at that. Gary came up after and received some of the hydration offerings of one of the team cars with us.
We then made our way down the hills, and going down the switchbacks was a little hairy. The aluminum wheels was a good choice for this given all the speed scrubbing I had to do leading others into the turns. Then, Vince passed and showed me some good lines on the switchbacks and led us to the base of the GRR climb back where we all regrouped again.
We all made our way up GRR together until the downhill. Then, Vince kicked the pace up and we were moving down the GRR down sections pretty quickly. On some of the hills, Vince wasn't feeling the climbs as much any more, but continued to pass on the downhills.
After we got on GMR, he had gotten behind on one of the hills (rightfully so after killing it on GMR, GRR, and Mt. Baldy Rd), so I went ahead and rode to the bottom on my own. What an f'in blast! It was fun to chase down everyone I saw in front of me. I even got to pass the River Velo guy who passed me up for KOM1 the first time. The motorcycles made this a little hairy for some, but they didn't end up being too scary for my ride down. I can't wait to go down this again, but Noah's other route (39?) may be an interesting descent to try next time as well. On Noah's way down, he saw a rattlesnake and that pretty much ended the short-lived fearlessness he was getting after getting comfortable through some of the turns.
We all managed to make it back to the start point free of any incidents making for a great day of riding. The beer fest at the end was also awesome. It was strange that aside from our team, no one else brought beer for their post-ride refreshments.
Gary, thanks so much for driving today and for hauling all of us up there. Thanks for bringing some beers also. It's been a while since we've been on a long ride together, so this was a great way to get back out there with us. I'll drive to the Alpine Challenge.
Thanks to everyone who came out today and making this another good Team BRCM outing.
Friday, April 15, 2011
BRCM Lunch - BB Bayside Ocean PCH NPC Vista Bonita Cyn Jamboree Loop
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79382506 (Stopped at mile 12...fail!)
Small crew today with Jaffe, Hirsoshi Jeremy and me only. My plan was to take it easy and spin just to keep the circulation in the legs going and save some for the weekend, but we still got to push some pretty decent speeds (albeit not reflected through GPS stats).
BB was decent with Hiroshi and Jaffe helping to keep a decent pace despite the wind. We waited for Jeremy at the end, and then we were off through Bayside.
Going through Ocean today was a joke and was ridiculously busy where we sat behind one gardening truck for a while until he finally pulled over to let us by on Poppy.
On PCH, I thought I'd hold a decent pace to keep us all together, but Hiroshi wasn't having any of that. He decided to open it up some creating a gap. I reeled him in and decided to open it up as well.
Up NPC, Hiroshi took off like a bat out of hell catching the rest of us off guard. It took awhile to be able to catch him and sit on his rear wheel for a bit to recover. When I got in front, he jumped on mine, so I to pushed to get him to work and he hung on for a while only fading near the top.
When we regrouped, Jeremy gave the pass on Vista but Hiroshi still wanted more hills so off we went. This time, I led us out and found a nice rhythm to climb up Vista where Hiroshi stayed with me for a good portion only to drop off before the first crest. I kept the rhythm and got to the last hill and looked behind not seeing anyone all the way around the bend. I still wanted to work up the hill, so I kept a good pace going up but near the top, I sat down and spun the rest of the way. I looked behind just before I crested and there Hiroshi was again starting up the hill behind me. Nice.
We met up again at NPC after Ridge Park, and I thought I'd take the guys on a fast downhill but ended up breaking away. We met at the Bonita Canyon intersection at the bottom and Jaffe wanted to finish up Jamboree. On the climb up it, I was still pushing the big ring up to keep the intensity high since the two behind me seemed willing. Hiroshi was on me like bees on honey for a good portion of the hill. Jaffe wasn't too far behind.
Overall, a good training ride for the day and probably more than I had wanted to expend considering the weekend possibilities. Thanks for the training, gents!
Small crew today with Jaffe, Hirsoshi Jeremy and me only. My plan was to take it easy and spin just to keep the circulation in the legs going and save some for the weekend, but we still got to push some pretty decent speeds (albeit not reflected through GPS stats).
BB was decent with Hiroshi and Jaffe helping to keep a decent pace despite the wind. We waited for Jeremy at the end, and then we were off through Bayside.
Going through Ocean today was a joke and was ridiculously busy where we sat behind one gardening truck for a while until he finally pulled over to let us by on Poppy.
On PCH, I thought I'd hold a decent pace to keep us all together, but Hiroshi wasn't having any of that. He decided to open it up some creating a gap. I reeled him in and decided to open it up as well.
Up NPC, Hiroshi took off like a bat out of hell catching the rest of us off guard. It took awhile to be able to catch him and sit on his rear wheel for a bit to recover. When I got in front, he jumped on mine, so I to pushed to get him to work and he hung on for a while only fading near the top.
When we regrouped, Jeremy gave the pass on Vista but Hiroshi still wanted more hills so off we went. This time, I led us out and found a nice rhythm to climb up Vista where Hiroshi stayed with me for a good portion only to drop off before the first crest. I kept the rhythm and got to the last hill and looked behind not seeing anyone all the way around the bend. I still wanted to work up the hill, so I kept a good pace going up but near the top, I sat down and spun the rest of the way. I looked behind just before I crested and there Hiroshi was again starting up the hill behind me. Nice.
We met up again at NPC after Ridge Park, and I thought I'd take the guys on a fast downhill but ended up breaking away. We met at the Bonita Canyon intersection at the bottom and Jaffe wanted to finish up Jamboree. On the climb up it, I was still pushing the big ring up to keep the intensity high since the two behind me seemed willing. Hiroshi was on me like bees on honey for a good portion of the hill. Jaffe wasn't too far behind.
Overall, a good training ride for the day and probably more than I had wanted to expend considering the weekend possibilities. Thanks for the training, gents!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Bike Trail BB San Joaquin Ridge Park Vista Ridge San Joaquin Jamboree
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79221631
What a turnout! Even with Todd and Vince away, there were 14 of us out there today ready to get some good climbing on (mine showed 1800+ feet but PV's showed 2300+). Maybe they all came out BECAUSE Vince and Todd were out? HA HA. Nevertheless, everyone seemed set to attack on the hills.
The pace down CA was a little more mellow than usual, but Gary, Adrian, Mike Z. and Jaffe made it interesting by crossing the light at University ahead of the rest of us. Once the light turned green again, the chase was on.
Mitchell lead the initial charge (apparently fully rejuvenated from Sunday and I believe his ride yesterday) all or most of the way to Back Bay. Once on Back Bay, PV, Shannon (on team Trek for this ride), Eddie and I worked together to catch the 4 guys at the light on San Joaquin and Jamboree with Noah jumping to the front near the bottom of the hill.
Going up San Joaquin, we hit a bunch of lights, which helped to keep the group together for the most part. On the last intersection before the climb, Noah got a jump and created a pretty good gap on everyone. He must have been saving for Ridge Park and soft pedaling near the top where I caught him with Shannon, PV and Adrian not far behind. The rest of the group must not have been far behind either as a lot of them caught us at the light on Ridge Park.
Once the light turned green, Jaffe and Marc got a good jump and attacked the hill in front of us. I started to make my way up with Noah behind me, but orders from the team car (okay, so it was Noah) were to slow up and let Jaffe take the hill. Apparently, Adrian's earphone must have been broken as he then started charging after we all slowed down. Typical. Since the free pass was only for Jaffe, Noah said "I'm not going to let Adrian take the hill" and charged ahead of him. I tried to keep pace, but we all know that can't end well.
I did keep Noah in sight and saw him charge the brief uphill once on Vista. As I was rounding the corner, I looked back to see PV making his way behind me. I was thinking it wouldn't be too long before catching Noah on the down, but he was moving on a mission to keep the gap. I did manage to catch up near the bottom with PV behind, but he wasn't going to let up the charge and caught the light on Ridge Park from NPC (the opposite side) where PV and I just missed it.
PV and I also missed the light to turn left on San Joaquin again, and as we sat, watched David pass shortly followed by Shannon and Adrian. Once the last two went by, we couldn't let them get away so we took off after them. They must have thought it was funny and upped the pace A LOT once they saw us coming. I gave chase and was hoping to work with PV, but when I looked back, I didn't see him so I chased these characters down (passing Noah and David mid-hill) and fortunately ran into them at the light at the bottom.
As we got to the McArthur light, more of the rest of the group caught up. Jaffe was again getting up front, and ended up doing a TLB with Adrian at the light near Jamboree. Fortunately for us (Shannon, Mitchell and I), we were able to get through the Jamboree light with them although still with a good gap.
Mitchell led the initial chase followed by Shannon (who appeared to not be content on the Trek today along with having problems shifting). I think once Shannon got up front, Adrian thought better than to try and keep the gap and started soft pedaling, with Jaffe behind him. I had gotten in front to close the gap on these guys and upon approaching told them to "GO!" HA HA. Adrian finally started spooling up and a few of us started alternating keeping the pace up. Adrian took a pretty mad pull at one point with Jaffe behind him where I was thinking, I need to make sure Jaffe doesn't pop and let Adrian get away. That didn't happen today. In fact, Jaffe even took a good pull to almost lead us up to the top of Back Bay! Holy smokes!
I was able to sprint to the top uncontested but then worried what Jamboree would hold. After crossing the street, Shannon passed me and said "one more," so I jumped on. At the base, Shannon again didn't seem to be feeling it, so I got up front with Adrian behind me. I got in a good rhythm thinking Adrian wasn't going to hold on, but he not only hung on, he also passed me (more to make a point than anything else) but detonated literally seconds after. I returned the pass after.
On Bison, a few us were together again at the light at McArthur, which speaks volumes to how strong the group is. Mitchell lead the initial charge once the light turned green, but Adrian and Noah were able to charge past him and Jaffe? on the 73 bridge. I sprinted after thinking I may not catch Adrian but I can't let a climber beat me. Although I was able to close on them by the time we got to CA, they both got the best of me to the gate. Noah must have had his sprint face on, but on this occasion, I could not see it from behind him. Awesome!
I think I provide more detail on lunch rides than centuries, right? HA HA
Good showing today and some really impressive riding out there from a lot of folks. Thanks!
What a turnout! Even with Todd and Vince away, there were 14 of us out there today ready to get some good climbing on (mine showed 1800+ feet but PV's showed 2300+). Maybe they all came out BECAUSE Vince and Todd were out? HA HA. Nevertheless, everyone seemed set to attack on the hills.
The pace down CA was a little more mellow than usual, but Gary, Adrian, Mike Z. and Jaffe made it interesting by crossing the light at University ahead of the rest of us. Once the light turned green again, the chase was on.
Mitchell lead the initial charge (apparently fully rejuvenated from Sunday and I believe his ride yesterday) all or most of the way to Back Bay. Once on Back Bay, PV, Shannon (on team Trek for this ride), Eddie and I worked together to catch the 4 guys at the light on San Joaquin and Jamboree with Noah jumping to the front near the bottom of the hill.
Going up San Joaquin, we hit a bunch of lights, which helped to keep the group together for the most part. On the last intersection before the climb, Noah got a jump and created a pretty good gap on everyone. He must have been saving for Ridge Park and soft pedaling near the top where I caught him with Shannon, PV and Adrian not far behind. The rest of the group must not have been far behind either as a lot of them caught us at the light on Ridge Park.
Once the light turned green, Jaffe and Marc got a good jump and attacked the hill in front of us. I started to make my way up with Noah behind me, but orders from the team car (okay, so it was Noah) were to slow up and let Jaffe take the hill. Apparently, Adrian's earphone must have been broken as he then started charging after we all slowed down. Typical. Since the free pass was only for Jaffe, Noah said "I'm not going to let Adrian take the hill" and charged ahead of him. I tried to keep pace, but we all know that can't end well.
I did keep Noah in sight and saw him charge the brief uphill once on Vista. As I was rounding the corner, I looked back to see PV making his way behind me. I was thinking it wouldn't be too long before catching Noah on the down, but he was moving on a mission to keep the gap. I did manage to catch up near the bottom with PV behind, but he wasn't going to let up the charge and caught the light on Ridge Park from NPC (the opposite side) where PV and I just missed it.
PV and I also missed the light to turn left on San Joaquin again, and as we sat, watched David pass shortly followed by Shannon and Adrian. Once the last two went by, we couldn't let them get away so we took off after them. They must have thought it was funny and upped the pace A LOT once they saw us coming. I gave chase and was hoping to work with PV, but when I looked back, I didn't see him so I chased these characters down (passing Noah and David mid-hill) and fortunately ran into them at the light at the bottom.
As we got to the McArthur light, more of the rest of the group caught up. Jaffe was again getting up front, and ended up doing a TLB with Adrian at the light near Jamboree. Fortunately for us (Shannon, Mitchell and I), we were able to get through the Jamboree light with them although still with a good gap.
Mitchell led the initial chase followed by Shannon (who appeared to not be content on the Trek today along with having problems shifting). I think once Shannon got up front, Adrian thought better than to try and keep the gap and started soft pedaling, with Jaffe behind him. I had gotten in front to close the gap on these guys and upon approaching told them to "GO!" HA HA. Adrian finally started spooling up and a few of us started alternating keeping the pace up. Adrian took a pretty mad pull at one point with Jaffe behind him where I was thinking, I need to make sure Jaffe doesn't pop and let Adrian get away. That didn't happen today. In fact, Jaffe even took a good pull to almost lead us up to the top of Back Bay! Holy smokes!
I was able to sprint to the top uncontested but then worried what Jamboree would hold. After crossing the street, Shannon passed me and said "one more," so I jumped on. At the base, Shannon again didn't seem to be feeling it, so I got up front with Adrian behind me. I got in a good rhythm thinking Adrian wasn't going to hold on, but he not only hung on, he also passed me (more to make a point than anything else) but detonated literally seconds after. I returned the pass after.
On Bison, a few us were together again at the light at McArthur, which speaks volumes to how strong the group is. Mitchell lead the initial charge once the light turned green, but Adrian and Noah were able to charge past him and Jaffe? on the 73 bridge. I sprinted after thinking I may not catch Adrian but I can't let a climber beat me. Although I was able to close on them by the time we got to CA, they both got the best of me to the gate. Noah must have had his sprint face on, but on this occasion, I could not see it from behind him. Awesome!
I think I provide more detail on lunch rides than centuries, right? HA HA
Good showing today and some really impressive riding out there from a lot of folks. Thanks!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Turtle Rock Shady Ridgeline Summit Bonita Cyn Jamboree
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/78859159
Even on a day with a few guys not able to make it out, we still had 9 people out there. I'm starting to think rare are the days when only 2-3 are able to get out on a Tues/Thurs ride. This is not a bad thing. It was nice to finally get to ride with S-Gary again as well.
It was a weird start for the ride...people seemed like they were soft pedaling from the onset and PV and I wondered what was going on. He and I ended up leading everyone out through Anteater. On Culver, Adrian and S-Gary got up front for some fast downhill action to Campus.
We were all together starting on Turtle Rock, but Vince and I ended up breaking away for a bit keeping a 19-20 plus average going up. I don't know if that was a good idea on my part, but it made for some great training.
The others started working together near the top, and Adrian was able to reel us in shortly after we got on the bike trail up Shady. Near the top, I started to gas, and Vince and Adrian got away where I wasn't able to see them again until after the bridge.
PV had made a lot of ground up and had caught and passed me in the middle of Ridgeline. I had to wait to get across the street from the sidewalk and hoped to pace him up, but got held up enough to where I could never close the gap. This remained the case all the way up Shady heading toward Bonita Canyon.
PV did manage to catch Adrian and the two worked together downhill gapping me pretty good. They ended up running into Vince at Bonita Canyon and got a jump where I also made it across but still quite some distance behind them.
On Summit, Vince had gotten a gap on PV and PV on Adrian. I was starting to reel Adrian in near the top, but not in time. Once he made a u-turn, he was gone.
On the way down, I got to see S-Gary, Marc, and the others, but it was a little bit of a blur. I was just interested to see if I can catch up to the guys in front at a light. What was odd was at the bottom of Turtle Ridge, Vince was sitting at the light while PV and Adrian were nowhere to be seen (probably TLB'd?). Vince got the green before I could get to him, but luckily, I was able to make the same light.
Vince still had a good gap on me, and I tried to make it up on Bonita Canyon. For a while, I started to close, but after the 73, either I was winded or he recovered...probably both...but he increased the gap even more.
Vince ended up catching PV and Adrian at the light, and I was sprinting to try and catch them but the light turned green and they were off again with Vince leading them out. WTF?!? Didn't he just get there? Nice.
I was able to make the same light, but these guys were just not willing to wait for me. I thought I'd catch them at the light at the top, but it turned green before I could get to them. As we neared the bottom to turn right on Jamboree, I thought maybe I could close on them after the turn. However, a bus was sitting on the curb right after the turn and while we all probably checked up for it, they turned it on after they passed and just broke away again. Bastards! HA HA
I FINALLY was able to run into them on Bison at the light on McArthur. In front of us, we saw S-Gary and Marc round the turn. Once the light turned green, the chase was on and led by Adrian. I wasn't about to let him get away here, so I managed to get in his draft and we caught Gary and Marc as we went over the 73. I kept pace with Adrian after to see if he was wanting to sprint to the gate, but he gave me the wave to go, so I did.
20.3 mph average (20.5 moving) for this route is over 1 mph faster than last time in February. I think Vince, Adrian and PV got better times given their pace elsewhere. These guys were on it today for sure.
Thanks for the great workout!
Even on a day with a few guys not able to make it out, we still had 9 people out there. I'm starting to think rare are the days when only 2-3 are able to get out on a Tues/Thurs ride. This is not a bad thing. It was nice to finally get to ride with S-Gary again as well.
It was a weird start for the ride...people seemed like they were soft pedaling from the onset and PV and I wondered what was going on. He and I ended up leading everyone out through Anteater. On Culver, Adrian and S-Gary got up front for some fast downhill action to Campus.
We were all together starting on Turtle Rock, but Vince and I ended up breaking away for a bit keeping a 19-20 plus average going up. I don't know if that was a good idea on my part, but it made for some great training.
The others started working together near the top, and Adrian was able to reel us in shortly after we got on the bike trail up Shady. Near the top, I started to gas, and Vince and Adrian got away where I wasn't able to see them again until after the bridge.
PV had made a lot of ground up and had caught and passed me in the middle of Ridgeline. I had to wait to get across the street from the sidewalk and hoped to pace him up, but got held up enough to where I could never close the gap. This remained the case all the way up Shady heading toward Bonita Canyon.
PV did manage to catch Adrian and the two worked together downhill gapping me pretty good. They ended up running into Vince at Bonita Canyon and got a jump where I also made it across but still quite some distance behind them.
On Summit, Vince had gotten a gap on PV and PV on Adrian. I was starting to reel Adrian in near the top, but not in time. Once he made a u-turn, he was gone.
On the way down, I got to see S-Gary, Marc, and the others, but it was a little bit of a blur. I was just interested to see if I can catch up to the guys in front at a light. What was odd was at the bottom of Turtle Ridge, Vince was sitting at the light while PV and Adrian were nowhere to be seen (probably TLB'd?). Vince got the green before I could get to him, but luckily, I was able to make the same light.
Vince still had a good gap on me, and I tried to make it up on Bonita Canyon. For a while, I started to close, but after the 73, either I was winded or he recovered...probably both...but he increased the gap even more.
Vince ended up catching PV and Adrian at the light, and I was sprinting to try and catch them but the light turned green and they were off again with Vince leading them out. WTF?!? Didn't he just get there? Nice.
I was able to make the same light, but these guys were just not willing to wait for me. I thought I'd catch them at the light at the top, but it turned green before I could get to them. As we neared the bottom to turn right on Jamboree, I thought maybe I could close on them after the turn. However, a bus was sitting on the curb right after the turn and while we all probably checked up for it, they turned it on after they passed and just broke away again. Bastards! HA HA
I FINALLY was able to run into them on Bison at the light on McArthur. In front of us, we saw S-Gary and Marc round the turn. Once the light turned green, the chase was on and led by Adrian. I wasn't about to let him get away here, so I managed to get in his draft and we caught Gary and Marc as we went over the 73. I kept pace with Adrian after to see if he was wanting to sprint to the gate, but he gave me the wave to go, so I did.
20.3 mph average (20.5 moving) for this route is over 1 mph faster than last time in February. I think Vince, Adrian and PV got better times given their pace elsewhere. These guys were on it today for sure.
Thanks for the great workout!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
2011 San Diego Gran Fondo
Garmin stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/78497765
For today's ride, we met up at my house in the morning to head out to San Diego together at 5:24 a.m....only 9 minutes after our original designated time. Mike Z. ran a little behind in the morning, but more than made up for it by hauling Mitchell and Todd down to San Diego. Shannon went with me, and Eddie and Verm drove separately due to post ride plans. Verm had a little trouble getting his car started, but it wouldn't be Verm otherwise. Overall, we managed to make it down to San Diego on time to park in the same area where we were last year.
It felt pretty cold when we got down there, so all of us started out wearing arm warmers. I had the leg warmers on, but stripped it off just before we left since no one else was wearing them. Mike Z. did have a wind breaker vest on, but it was thankfully not the tigger one that we have all grown to know and love. We were all pretty much shivering on India St. where it started, but fortunately we were able to go on the 2nd wave almost a half hour after we lined up.
Although we were all together when we started, Eddie rode off only to have us finally run into him at an intersection probably about 10 miles or so into the ride. Although we were passing a ton of people, our plan was to conserve power until the timed section so we weren't in any hurry to catch him. Verm and Mike Z. must have also missed the memo on conserving power as they were up ahead a lot where the rest of us hoped it wouldn't be detrimental to their timed effort. The rest of us let a couple ladies set the pace for most of the way to SAG at the Olympic Training center. For the most part, I think no one was truest to wanting to conserve power for the climb than Shannon. It was a little odd to see him pull back as much as he did, but it would pay off in the climb (more on this later).
At the SAG, everyone was fueling up and hydrating in preparation for the climb 10 miles away. It was still pretty chilly when we stopped, so I did not strip off my arm warmers...something I'd regret for the climb.
When we headed out to the climb through Telegraph Canyon, this was the most humbling experience of the ride. Here, we were allowing all these other riders to pass us while we held back. Verm and Mike Z. had pulled away and at some point, I found myself in between them and the others behind me. Given that I just wanted to sit in a draft, I caught up to the group Verm and Mike Z. were riding with. We then slowed up our pace and was able to get with the others about a mile away from the Honey Springs (aka the hill climb).
Once we got on Honey Springs, we looked for where the starting timer was at and a few cyclists were spread out across almost blocking us from being able to go over it. One guy had his bike sideways in front of it even...WTF?!? Fortunately, we were able to go over it and then the "fun" began. Shannon lead and started taking turns with Todd with the plan to charge the initial section as fast as we can since the grade was pretty mild. All I could do was hang on since this pace was "ridiculous" considering we had over 6 miles of climbing to go. At some point, Shannon's plan to save everything for the climb paid off and he ended up breaking away. Todd and I stayed together for a while, but after 3-4 miles in, I couldn't hold the pace anymore and Todd began to pull away at this point. Animals...the both of them. I continued to pass several riders nonetheless, but I did get passed by 3 riders...all seemingly not in my age group. Near the top, I actually zoned out for a bit looking at my Garmin and the route slip trying to see how much more torture was left. This led me off the road onto the side and almost over the edge, but fortunately I was able to keep the bike upright and go back on the road.
For Verm's climb, his chain dropped 2-3 times so it was a bummer that he couldn't have charged the hill incident free. Todd and I was certain that "an escaped African lion from the San Diego zoo attacked him on the way up where he had to fight it off with a water bottle" would have been a better "Verm-ism." He did come into the following SAG shortly after us, so he must have done really well on the hill as well.
Speaking of the following SAG, this year they changed the route where rather than riding mostly downhill to a nearby SAG after the climb, they decided to add some more climbs and pushed the SAG out 7 miles away. Also absent was going over the Coronado bridge. Based on the changes, the overall elevation gain from this ride jumped to 6100+ feet!
After we regrouped at the SAG (minus Mitchell who we thought ended up taking a different route), we had a major downhill run where everyone was jumping up front pushing the pace. Verm and Eddie were taking some good stabs up front and helped to mix it up with other riders who descended with us. One guy in an Active.com kept passing on the right and definitely represented his jersey very poorly given how dangerous he was.
At the following SAG, we finally found Mitchell who had gotten there ahead of us, so we'll need to see what shortcut he took to get there. It was not likely that he passed us at the pace we were going. (Edit - come to find he did pass up the following SAG thinking we all skipped it as well and worked HARD with others to get to the next SAG) When we left, Mike Z. was still recovering so the rest of us took off.
Todd showed he still had some climb in him on the first hill after the SAG, but Shannon showed that he still had a ton of power (and pain) to dole out. He began to push a pace at some points where it was just too much for us to hang on. We would eventually catch back up to him but I think he broke away at least 2-3 times before we hit the SAG at the Olympic Training center. We did regroup for the 10 mile stretch leading back to it, and were taking turns keeping the pace up. Shannon yelled at Mitchell for not taking a turn and preventing the others drafting us from getting up front with only Shannon, Todd and I doing most of the rotations. Finally, Mitchell pushed up along with the other riders, but we did eventually drop most of them after a while with only 1 guy being able to hang on.
As we neared the Olympic Training center, Shannon's monster pedaling took it's toll and the next thing you know, both his feet were at the bottom of the stroke. His crank had come off to end his ride here. Fortunately, it was walking distance to the SAG and he managed to get a ride back in a van from this point. Mitchell offered his "input" based on what happened to Shannon's crank here and at the parking lot not holding back as usual and not pulling any punches as usual. I started asking myself why he would do so given that Shannon is probably responsible for 80% of why his personal stats are what they are. I then realized that Mitchell's extreme connection with bikes must be the cause where he takes it personally (as a dog lover would seeing someone hurt another dog) whenever he sees some sort of mechanical malfunction. That's it!
For the rest of the ride back without Shannon, it was probably the toughest 20 miles in the wind we've ever done. Everyone was pretty much blowing up at different points, but overall, we all helped one another get back and came through for others when we could. Good BRCM teamwork. Speaking of dog lover, on the trail back, some dumbass was letting his dog walk freely and nearly took a couple of us out as we tried to get by. Todd nearly blew a gasket after we passed since not only could we have gotten hurt, the dog could have gotten hurt as well. Despite this, awesome job, everyone, and props to Eddie for being the first one back to get his medal. Stud.
The post ride celebration was fun, but we had a long drive back so there were still plenty of beers left after. I think we were all pretty tired and it was good to just get some refreshments in followed by their pasta lunch. I'll bring the beer out for the L'Etape, but I may not drive out to that one so I can get ridiculously drunk and provide post ride entertainment. Then again, Noah's going so that may not be necessary.
Thank you guys for coming out for this. Good job to everyone! I hope they post the stats soon.
Pics courtesy of Eddie:
EDIT: The results from the KOM and signonsandiego.com picture
For today's ride, we met up at my house in the morning to head out to San Diego together at 5:24 a.m....only 9 minutes after our original designated time. Mike Z. ran a little behind in the morning, but more than made up for it by hauling Mitchell and Todd down to San Diego. Shannon went with me, and Eddie and Verm drove separately due to post ride plans. Verm had a little trouble getting his car started, but it wouldn't be Verm otherwise. Overall, we managed to make it down to San Diego on time to park in the same area where we were last year.
It felt pretty cold when we got down there, so all of us started out wearing arm warmers. I had the leg warmers on, but stripped it off just before we left since no one else was wearing them. Mike Z. did have a wind breaker vest on, but it was thankfully not the tigger one that we have all grown to know and love. We were all pretty much shivering on India St. where it started, but fortunately we were able to go on the 2nd wave almost a half hour after we lined up.
Although we were all together when we started, Eddie rode off only to have us finally run into him at an intersection probably about 10 miles or so into the ride. Although we were passing a ton of people, our plan was to conserve power until the timed section so we weren't in any hurry to catch him. Verm and Mike Z. must have also missed the memo on conserving power as they were up ahead a lot where the rest of us hoped it wouldn't be detrimental to their timed effort. The rest of us let a couple ladies set the pace for most of the way to SAG at the Olympic Training center. For the most part, I think no one was truest to wanting to conserve power for the climb than Shannon. It was a little odd to see him pull back as much as he did, but it would pay off in the climb (more on this later).
At the SAG, everyone was fueling up and hydrating in preparation for the climb 10 miles away. It was still pretty chilly when we stopped, so I did not strip off my arm warmers...something I'd regret for the climb.
When we headed out to the climb through Telegraph Canyon, this was the most humbling experience of the ride. Here, we were allowing all these other riders to pass us while we held back. Verm and Mike Z. had pulled away and at some point, I found myself in between them and the others behind me. Given that I just wanted to sit in a draft, I caught up to the group Verm and Mike Z. were riding with. We then slowed up our pace and was able to get with the others about a mile away from the Honey Springs (aka the hill climb).
Once we got on Honey Springs, we looked for where the starting timer was at and a few cyclists were spread out across almost blocking us from being able to go over it. One guy had his bike sideways in front of it even...WTF?!? Fortunately, we were able to go over it and then the "fun" began. Shannon lead and started taking turns with Todd with the plan to charge the initial section as fast as we can since the grade was pretty mild. All I could do was hang on since this pace was "ridiculous" considering we had over 6 miles of climbing to go. At some point, Shannon's plan to save everything for the climb paid off and he ended up breaking away. Todd and I stayed together for a while, but after 3-4 miles in, I couldn't hold the pace anymore and Todd began to pull away at this point. Animals...the both of them. I continued to pass several riders nonetheless, but I did get passed by 3 riders...all seemingly not in my age group. Near the top, I actually zoned out for a bit looking at my Garmin and the route slip trying to see how much more torture was left. This led me off the road onto the side and almost over the edge, but fortunately I was able to keep the bike upright and go back on the road.
For Verm's climb, his chain dropped 2-3 times so it was a bummer that he couldn't have charged the hill incident free. Todd and I was certain that "an escaped African lion from the San Diego zoo attacked him on the way up where he had to fight it off with a water bottle" would have been a better "Verm-ism." He did come into the following SAG shortly after us, so he must have done really well on the hill as well.
Speaking of the following SAG, this year they changed the route where rather than riding mostly downhill to a nearby SAG after the climb, they decided to add some more climbs and pushed the SAG out 7 miles away. Also absent was going over the Coronado bridge. Based on the changes, the overall elevation gain from this ride jumped to 6100+ feet!
After we regrouped at the SAG (minus Mitchell who we thought ended up taking a different route), we had a major downhill run where everyone was jumping up front pushing the pace. Verm and Eddie were taking some good stabs up front and helped to mix it up with other riders who descended with us. One guy in an Active.com kept passing on the right and definitely represented his jersey very poorly given how dangerous he was.
At the following SAG, we finally found Mitchell who had gotten there ahead of us, so we'll need to see what shortcut he took to get there. It was not likely that he passed us at the pace we were going. (Edit - come to find he did pass up the following SAG thinking we all skipped it as well and worked HARD with others to get to the next SAG) When we left, Mike Z. was still recovering so the rest of us took off.
Todd showed he still had some climb in him on the first hill after the SAG, but Shannon showed that he still had a ton of power (and pain) to dole out. He began to push a pace at some points where it was just too much for us to hang on. We would eventually catch back up to him but I think he broke away at least 2-3 times before we hit the SAG at the Olympic Training center. We did regroup for the 10 mile stretch leading back to it, and were taking turns keeping the pace up. Shannon yelled at Mitchell for not taking a turn and preventing the others drafting us from getting up front with only Shannon, Todd and I doing most of the rotations. Finally, Mitchell pushed up along with the other riders, but we did eventually drop most of them after a while with only 1 guy being able to hang on.
As we neared the Olympic Training center, Shannon's monster pedaling took it's toll and the next thing you know, both his feet were at the bottom of the stroke. His crank had come off to end his ride here. Fortunately, it was walking distance to the SAG and he managed to get a ride back in a van from this point. Mitchell offered his "input" based on what happened to Shannon's crank here and at the parking lot not holding back as usual and not pulling any punches as usual. I started asking myself why he would do so given that Shannon is probably responsible for 80% of why his personal stats are what they are. I then realized that Mitchell's extreme connection with bikes must be the cause where he takes it personally (as a dog lover would seeing someone hurt another dog) whenever he sees some sort of mechanical malfunction. That's it!
For the rest of the ride back without Shannon, it was probably the toughest 20 miles in the wind we've ever done. Everyone was pretty much blowing up at different points, but overall, we all helped one another get back and came through for others when we could. Good BRCM teamwork. Speaking of dog lover, on the trail back, some dumbass was letting his dog walk freely and nearly took a couple of us out as we tried to get by. Todd nearly blew a gasket after we passed since not only could we have gotten hurt, the dog could have gotten hurt as well. Despite this, awesome job, everyone, and props to Eddie for being the first one back to get his medal. Stud.
The post ride celebration was fun, but we had a long drive back so there were still plenty of beers left after. I think we were all pretty tired and it was good to just get some refreshments in followed by their pasta lunch. I'll bring the beer out for the L'Etape, but I may not drive out to that one so I can get ridiculously drunk and provide post ride entertainment. Then again, Noah's going so that may not be necessary.
Thank you guys for coming out for this. Good job to everyone! I hope they post the stats soon.
Pics courtesy of Eddie:
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| Mitchell offering peace before the ride |
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| BRCM boys lined up and awaiting start |
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| One final smile before the run |
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| Still representing after the ride |
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| Verm awfully close to Todd after alcohol |
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| A tired (and to some a grouchy) Mitchell |
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| Todd doing what he does best |
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| The aftermath of Shannon's mad power |
EDIT: The results from the KOM and signonsandiego.com picture
By age group:
Shannon: 3rd in Men's 35-39
Rich: 6th in Men's 40-44
Todd: 1st in Men's 45-49
Overall:
#10: Shannon McGee (32:04)
#19: Todd Jacobs (34:19)
#37: Richard Laureano (35:33)
#54: Steve Vermillion (36:46)
#136: Mitchell Lin (39:22)
#189: Eddie Narvaez (41:04)
#251: Mike Zierhut (42:45)
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| (Olympic Center SAG) |
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