Thanks for mapping this one out for us Gary, we ended up with a decent turnout (Adrian, Hiroshi, Jaffe, me, Mitch, Sean, Todd, Vin).
Todd and Adrian led most of the BB, not a lot of rotating there, evidently folks were saving up for the hills. I tried to make a break, but didn't get far.
Hiroshi began attacking San Joaquin from very bottom, Todd barely edged him out at the top. Vin and Sean were not far behind. As a self penance Jaffe decided to hit Ridge Park after San Joaq, while the rest of us went down NPC.
It was a pretty leisurely jaunt back up to the top via Pelican/Vista.
There was some wind on the way back, but with Adrian leading we still hit high 40's.
Stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/89314013
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Hill Trainer - Highland Pac Island (both sides) Nyes Park NPC Shady 133 Aliso Creek
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/89071575
I met up with Gary and Eddie in Aliso Viejo at the Starbucks where we used to meet in the past and rolled out shortly after 7 a.m. as planned. There was a marathon or something going on at Alicia, but we managed to still ride on it to head toward the hills.
We hit Highlands and Pac Island, where on the latter, Gary wanted to make sure we did both sides to keep us honest.
After short breaks at the top, we then took Eddie for his first time up Nyes and Park. Fortunately for him, he had his compact crank on. When we hit Nyes after the 3 climbs we've done already, I had to turn out just a little on a few pedal strokes because the intensity was pretty high. Eddie was a trooper and stayed with me for a good part of the hill. He even took an inside line on the first right where it pitches up ridiculously.
We hit Park after finding our way down Summit, and Eddie broke away for a bit once the road widened up. I found a rhythm to make my way to him and passed him eventually, and I believe Gary was able to close on him as well.
After Park, we rode on PCH toward NPC after reeling in some guys and passing them in downtown Laguna Beach and just outside of it.
NPC seemed a lot easier considering the hills we just did, and S-Gary was working his way to try and sneak past me at the top but got caught at a light. Once at the top, Eddie didn't want to take any breaks and we were off toward Shady.
Going up Shady, I started to feel some hints of cramping, but some Shot Bloks took care of that. Gary had lead us up the hill where I was hanging back, but I managed to ride up on them at a bridge due to pedestrian traffic. Near the top, Eddie decided to "bust it" but I had just enough for him. I had to remain seated though just in case Mr. Cramp wanted to come out and play.
We kept the pace pretty decent going up 133, with Gary taking some strong pulls. When we got on El Toro, Gary seemed to fall back some while Eddie stayed with me as we headed toward Aliso Creek. Going up Aliso, I was watching to see if anyone was coming up behind me as I climb, and just like NPC, S-Gary was trying to set me up for a pass in between looks but didn't manage to because of another light.
Great hill trainer with 5100+ feet of vert in 48 miles...I didn't realize how good until afterwards when I went to lunch and a movie with the family. Legs were toast.
Thanks, guys!
I met up with Gary and Eddie in Aliso Viejo at the Starbucks where we used to meet in the past and rolled out shortly after 7 a.m. as planned. There was a marathon or something going on at Alicia, but we managed to still ride on it to head toward the hills.
We hit Highlands and Pac Island, where on the latter, Gary wanted to make sure we did both sides to keep us honest.
After short breaks at the top, we then took Eddie for his first time up Nyes and Park. Fortunately for him, he had his compact crank on. When we hit Nyes after the 3 climbs we've done already, I had to turn out just a little on a few pedal strokes because the intensity was pretty high. Eddie was a trooper and stayed with me for a good part of the hill. He even took an inside line on the first right where it pitches up ridiculously.
We hit Park after finding our way down Summit, and Eddie broke away for a bit once the road widened up. I found a rhythm to make my way to him and passed him eventually, and I believe Gary was able to close on him as well.
After Park, we rode on PCH toward NPC after reeling in some guys and passing them in downtown Laguna Beach and just outside of it.
NPC seemed a lot easier considering the hills we just did, and S-Gary was working his way to try and sneak past me at the top but got caught at a light. Once at the top, Eddie didn't want to take any breaks and we were off toward Shady.
Going up Shady, I started to feel some hints of cramping, but some Shot Bloks took care of that. Gary had lead us up the hill where I was hanging back, but I managed to ride up on them at a bridge due to pedestrian traffic. Near the top, Eddie decided to "bust it" but I had just enough for him. I had to remain seated though just in case Mr. Cramp wanted to come out and play.
We kept the pace pretty decent going up 133, with Gary taking some strong pulls. When we got on El Toro, Gary seemed to fall back some while Eddie stayed with me as we headed toward Aliso Creek. Going up Aliso, I was watching to see if anyone was coming up behind me as I climb, and just like NPC, S-Gary was trying to set me up for a pass in between looks but didn't manage to because of another light.
Great hill trainer with 5100+ feet of vert in 48 miles...I didn't realize how good until afterwards when I went to lunch and a movie with the family. Legs were toast.
Thanks, guys!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Team BRCM at Como Street
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/88880259
It was a little iffy this morning as to whether or not we would make it out today given the wet roads when I awoke. However, Verm, Shannon, Gary and I met at the BJ's parking lot in Irvine to decide whether we were going to go out. It was still a little wet, so we decided we would go ahead and take a chance but if it did rain, we would find cover and/or make our way back. About a minute after making this decision, it began pouring as we sat in our cars seeing if it would go away. Fortunately, it didn't last and would not be a factor today.
Just to be certain we don't freeze again, we opted for arm warmers and a base layer. Shannon as usual even had a spare base layer for Gary. McGyver I tell ya. Verm ended up wearing a wind breaker since he didn't have arm warmers, but did end up taking it off and pocketing it 10 miles into the ride.
We started off waiting for the peloton to join us at one of the intersections on Bryan Ave. after Jamboree. We started off rolling off and leading the peloton temporarily in the typical mellow warm up pace. I had warmed Verm that the pace stays pretty mellow until we hit Irvine Blvd off of Jeffrey. As expected, the peloton surged and caught Verm a little off guard. I saw him and Gary start to fall back in the pack a little during one of the 30 mph surges, but they recovered and stayed in.
Once we got to the light to El Toro, we were all pretty much together, but with a lot of people in front of us as usual. I was again trying to let Verm know that we need to move up in the pack as we go up towards Cooks, or it will be hard to latch on to the front if they get away. Once we were off from the light, I ended up riding with Shannon on the traffic side of the pack, but we weren't moving up too quickly. I figured we still had plenty of time given we can work together if we needed to.
After one of the lights (Santa Margarita?), we started moving forward and the next thing you know, I was in front with Shannon and the rest of the peloton behind me. I had found a decent cadence and rhythm going up, and somehow managed to get up front. This was not the plan, but I went with it.
At the next light, I was glad that another guy decided to push the pace a little where Shannon followed. I was going to suggest not to chase him down too much and let the peloton chase him down, but when I tried to clip in, I was having problems doing so. I actually spent a good amount of time trying to clip in where Verm had passed me at one point asking if I was okay. When I finally clipped in and looked back, I found that I had fallen all the way to the end of the peloton. This was NOT where I wanted to be. Plus, I was hoping to be Shannon's wing man on the hill after Cook's.
I started making my way forward, but by the time we started ascending on the hill, I was still only midway in the pack. I had passed Verm, who had given me a little cheer as I went by, but I knew I had to keep moving forward and see if I could get in a good group on the way up where if not the front, at least a group that can chase the front.
I made my way past Todd Blaser, the guy who'd come out and ride with us on occasion, and said hi as I passed. He was busy working though, so he didn't respond at the time. As I was nearing the first crest, I saw Shannon just off the back of the front group trying to make up ground. He was, however, too far away for me, and I was starting to tire based on my rate of ascent where others started to pass me just before the 2nd crest. Todd was one of them, and at that point did return my "hi."
I turned myself inside out just to pick up the guy behind him where I did manage to get in this 2nd group of about 8-9 guys letting the first group and Shannon get away from us. Unlike last week, this group of guys were a lot more organized and we were able to work very efficiently performing fast rotations and keeping the pace very high. If anyone did not get up soon enough, someone from the back would call them out and say get up there. Fortunately, I didn't have that happen to me, but on one of the small climbs, the guy who just rotated out was still keeping the pace real high where I had a hard time getting in front of him. Todd hooked me up with a little push, and I ended up standing for a sprint just to get ahead of him. I didn't feel so bad needing this, as some of the others had skipped a turn at this point.
We kept the pace moving fast, and at one point, we ended up picking Shannon up as he had just missed the front group also, but had been working with one other guy who he says was pretty strong also. According to Shannon, the other guy was actually doing more of the pulling than he was. Holy smokes! Unfortunately, the guy ended up getting a flat leaving Shannon to fend for himself.
After a few rotation, one of the guys in the group had gotten a flat and all of his team mates stopped to give him a hand. We just kept going at this point, and made our way to dump hill. I was still working the rotation at this point, but on dump hill, I decided to just try to keep a good pace and not fall off. It was a little tough as the guys were still pushing it, but Shannon was behind me still recovering from his solo effort so I couldn't let us drop. Thankfully, we did manage to hit the crest behind the others and also stayed in the pack on the downhill to Jamboree. I was trying to make my way up toward the front after one of the guys broke away, but there was just not enough runway.
On Jamboree, everyone still kept mixing it up and it looked like we ran into some of the front guys after Portola. There were no more breakaways, and it was just everyone going 100+% all the way until we got to Irvine Blvd to where we turned left to regroup at the p-lot.
Shannon and I waited on his truck with Verm coming in a few minutes later. At this time, no one was really too interested in doing any extra credit based on how hard the ride was today, and I agreed. Gary came in much later as he had gotten yet another flat (this time on the front tire) on El Toro that he had fallen off at that point. Shannon and I didn't see it happen, but Verm had tried to wait for him only to be waved on to go by Gary. That was one of the reasons why Verm had been toward the back of the pack when I first saw him after trying to clip in. Gary made it back safely though, but had to do it solo.
Overall, it was a pretty tough ride today. It was rather windy through some sections and personally, my clip in failure just took me out of trying to see if I could have worked with Shannon to jump on the front pack. The road conditions were pretty wet in some sections as well, just making it less than ideal like last week. Average speed dropped over half a mile per hour, but the intensity was more given I actually had to work up front more during the rotations rather than letting the front group tow me the whole time until the hills.
Verm had to take off right after, but it was nice to finally get to sit, drink and eat with my buddies Shannon and Gary. It seems like it's been a long time!
Good ride today...guess we do it again next week?
It was a little iffy this morning as to whether or not we would make it out today given the wet roads when I awoke. However, Verm, Shannon, Gary and I met at the BJ's parking lot in Irvine to decide whether we were going to go out. It was still a little wet, so we decided we would go ahead and take a chance but if it did rain, we would find cover and/or make our way back. About a minute after making this decision, it began pouring as we sat in our cars seeing if it would go away. Fortunately, it didn't last and would not be a factor today.
Just to be certain we don't freeze again, we opted for arm warmers and a base layer. Shannon as usual even had a spare base layer for Gary. McGyver I tell ya. Verm ended up wearing a wind breaker since he didn't have arm warmers, but did end up taking it off and pocketing it 10 miles into the ride.
We started off waiting for the peloton to join us at one of the intersections on Bryan Ave. after Jamboree. We started off rolling off and leading the peloton temporarily in the typical mellow warm up pace. I had warmed Verm that the pace stays pretty mellow until we hit Irvine Blvd off of Jeffrey. As expected, the peloton surged and caught Verm a little off guard. I saw him and Gary start to fall back in the pack a little during one of the 30 mph surges, but they recovered and stayed in.
Once we got to the light to El Toro, we were all pretty much together, but with a lot of people in front of us as usual. I was again trying to let Verm know that we need to move up in the pack as we go up towards Cooks, or it will be hard to latch on to the front if they get away. Once we were off from the light, I ended up riding with Shannon on the traffic side of the pack, but we weren't moving up too quickly. I figured we still had plenty of time given we can work together if we needed to.
After one of the lights (Santa Margarita?), we started moving forward and the next thing you know, I was in front with Shannon and the rest of the peloton behind me. I had found a decent cadence and rhythm going up, and somehow managed to get up front. This was not the plan, but I went with it.
At the next light, I was glad that another guy decided to push the pace a little where Shannon followed. I was going to suggest not to chase him down too much and let the peloton chase him down, but when I tried to clip in, I was having problems doing so. I actually spent a good amount of time trying to clip in where Verm had passed me at one point asking if I was okay. When I finally clipped in and looked back, I found that I had fallen all the way to the end of the peloton. This was NOT where I wanted to be. Plus, I was hoping to be Shannon's wing man on the hill after Cook's.
I started making my way forward, but by the time we started ascending on the hill, I was still only midway in the pack. I had passed Verm, who had given me a little cheer as I went by, but I knew I had to keep moving forward and see if I could get in a good group on the way up where if not the front, at least a group that can chase the front.
I made my way past Todd Blaser, the guy who'd come out and ride with us on occasion, and said hi as I passed. He was busy working though, so he didn't respond at the time. As I was nearing the first crest, I saw Shannon just off the back of the front group trying to make up ground. He was, however, too far away for me, and I was starting to tire based on my rate of ascent where others started to pass me just before the 2nd crest. Todd was one of them, and at that point did return my "hi."
I turned myself inside out just to pick up the guy behind him where I did manage to get in this 2nd group of about 8-9 guys letting the first group and Shannon get away from us. Unlike last week, this group of guys were a lot more organized and we were able to work very efficiently performing fast rotations and keeping the pace very high. If anyone did not get up soon enough, someone from the back would call them out and say get up there. Fortunately, I didn't have that happen to me, but on one of the small climbs, the guy who just rotated out was still keeping the pace real high where I had a hard time getting in front of him. Todd hooked me up with a little push, and I ended up standing for a sprint just to get ahead of him. I didn't feel so bad needing this, as some of the others had skipped a turn at this point.
We kept the pace moving fast, and at one point, we ended up picking Shannon up as he had just missed the front group also, but had been working with one other guy who he says was pretty strong also. According to Shannon, the other guy was actually doing more of the pulling than he was. Holy smokes! Unfortunately, the guy ended up getting a flat leaving Shannon to fend for himself.
After a few rotation, one of the guys in the group had gotten a flat and all of his team mates stopped to give him a hand. We just kept going at this point, and made our way to dump hill. I was still working the rotation at this point, but on dump hill, I decided to just try to keep a good pace and not fall off. It was a little tough as the guys were still pushing it, but Shannon was behind me still recovering from his solo effort so I couldn't let us drop. Thankfully, we did manage to hit the crest behind the others and also stayed in the pack on the downhill to Jamboree. I was trying to make my way up toward the front after one of the guys broke away, but there was just not enough runway.
On Jamboree, everyone still kept mixing it up and it looked like we ran into some of the front guys after Portola. There were no more breakaways, and it was just everyone going 100+% all the way until we got to Irvine Blvd to where we turned left to regroup at the p-lot.
Shannon and I waited on his truck with Verm coming in a few minutes later. At this time, no one was really too interested in doing any extra credit based on how hard the ride was today, and I agreed. Gary came in much later as he had gotten yet another flat (this time on the front tire) on El Toro that he had fallen off at that point. Shannon and I didn't see it happen, but Verm had tried to wait for him only to be waved on to go by Gary. That was one of the reasons why Verm had been toward the back of the pack when I first saw him after trying to clip in. Gary made it back safely though, but had to do it solo.
Overall, it was a pretty tough ride today. It was rather windy through some sections and personally, my clip in failure just took me out of trying to see if I could have worked with Shannon to jump on the front pack. The road conditions were pretty wet in some sections as well, just making it less than ideal like last week. Average speed dropped over half a mile per hour, but the intensity was more given I actually had to work up front more during the rotations rather than letting the front group tow me the whole time until the hills.
Verm had to take off right after, but it was nice to finally get to sit, drink and eat with my buddies Shannon and Gary. It seems like it's been a long time!
Good ride today...guess we do it again next week?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thrusday Night Crit
Today I decided to tackle a cat4/5 crit at the Irvine Great Park. Upon arrival, I realized that this going to be fun. Plenty of riders showed up and the old Air Strip made a perfect stage for some good racing. I paid my $15 and picked up my numbers. I couldn't get much info from the staff on how the preems would work so I just decided to play it by ear. My plan was to just lay back in pack for a few laps to get the turns down and make sure I could handle the pace. I really did not know what to expect other than we should hear/see a bell at some point in the race indicating that the next lap was for points. I do remembering them mentioning that they would hold up a card when there is 2 laps to go.
As we prepared to start they lined up the Pros, Cat4/5, Masters, Cat1/2/3. As I looked around I noticed the pros/cat1s did not have that typical sub 120lbs TOF GC human skeleton build. Most of them had quads like tree stumps and some upper body as well. Power wins sprints and crits. Rich and Adrian would definitely fit in. My class was a mixed bag of kitted riders and joe blows like me.
Rule#1
Don't miss the preem bell as you won't be prepared for chaos that ensues over the next mile.
Rule#2
Don't miss the break that will most likely happen after the preem lap completes.
The race starts and I am sitting 6-7th wheel out of ~30 riders. The pace starts out at an easy 20-22 mph. I have a lot of teams pushing me out of the line so I have to constantly jockey for a spot. The easy pace holds for 2 more laps an then a riders decides it is time to test the field. We tick up to 25-28. I move up to 4th wheel and start getting a little nervous that this pace will lift. We hold the pace for 2-3 more laps and this creates some attrition. The rider who is making the pace decides it is time for someone else to do the work. At this point everyone just starts soft pedaling and I am thinking, "no way I am getting in front as I don't even have the turns memorized". Finally, a team comes through and lifts the pace. The pack is now down to ~15 riders. As we get close to completing the lap the pace lifts to 30+ and I am like "WTF, I did hear/see a bell on the last lap?". I decide to lay back thinking some JA is just killing himself for no reason and quickly realize that me and 4 others are being dropped. Who is the JA now? After they cross the line, I realize, "crap, that must of been a preem". They start to soft pedal and I am hoping that they just were going for the preem, but I soon as I think that I see a guy shoot off the front. Damn, I am off the back with 4 others. At this point I though everyone would work together to bridge the gap, wrong! Everyone rode like they were alone and just tried to bridge the gap solo creating insane upticks in pace that ended up killing everyone. It was like Adrian was pulling had 3 twin brothers to follow him up. At this point, I really missed the team. The gap was only 200 meters and were a dysfunctional grupetto. Me and another rider were the only 2 standing after the antics. We tried like crazy to close the 200 meters for like 3 more laps and finally had to tempo down and preserve. We worked well together. His pulls were faster than mine, but he would blowup after them and sit on my wheel to recoup. It worked and we ended picking off 5 more riders that fell off the lead group. The lead group was now only 7. This put us at 8,9, and 10th(we picked up a rider that fell back from the break). As we came to final lap, I let the 2 guys go for the sprint as I did not have anything left. Finished off 10th and felt good to be done! If you think are lunch rides are jerky and chaotic, this will definitely set you back some. 2x Portola. Big adrenaline rush and there is no way I missing the preems or breakaways next week! I really think that we have some riders that could hang with the sprints and create/close gaps.
Shannon suprised me at the finish line (and during the race taking pics) with some beers and words of encouragement. Peronis were tasty, Thanks Shannon!
Pictures from Shannon:
As we prepared to start they lined up the Pros, Cat4/5, Masters, Cat1/2/3. As I looked around I noticed the pros/cat1s did not have that typical sub 120lbs TOF GC human skeleton build. Most of them had quads like tree stumps and some upper body as well. Power wins sprints and crits. Rich and Adrian would definitely fit in. My class was a mixed bag of kitted riders and joe blows like me.
Rule#1
Don't miss the preem bell as you won't be prepared for chaos that ensues over the next mile.
Rule#2
Don't miss the break that will most likely happen after the preem lap completes.
The race starts and I am sitting 6-7th wheel out of ~30 riders. The pace starts out at an easy 20-22 mph. I have a lot of teams pushing me out of the line so I have to constantly jockey for a spot. The easy pace holds for 2 more laps an then a riders decides it is time to test the field. We tick up to 25-28. I move up to 4th wheel and start getting a little nervous that this pace will lift. We hold the pace for 2-3 more laps and this creates some attrition. The rider who is making the pace decides it is time for someone else to do the work. At this point everyone just starts soft pedaling and I am thinking, "no way I am getting in front as I don't even have the turns memorized". Finally, a team comes through and lifts the pace. The pack is now down to ~15 riders. As we get close to completing the lap the pace lifts to 30+ and I am like "WTF, I did hear/see a bell on the last lap?". I decide to lay back thinking some JA is just killing himself for no reason and quickly realize that me and 4 others are being dropped. Who is the JA now? After they cross the line, I realize, "crap, that must of been a preem". They start to soft pedal and I am hoping that they just were going for the preem, but I soon as I think that I see a guy shoot off the front. Damn, I am off the back with 4 others. At this point I though everyone would work together to bridge the gap, wrong! Everyone rode like they were alone and just tried to bridge the gap solo creating insane upticks in pace that ended up killing everyone. It was like Adrian was pulling had 3 twin brothers to follow him up. At this point, I really missed the team. The gap was only 200 meters and were a dysfunctional grupetto. Me and another rider were the only 2 standing after the antics. We tried like crazy to close the 200 meters for like 3 more laps and finally had to tempo down and preserve. We worked well together. His pulls were faster than mine, but he would blowup after them and sit on my wheel to recoup. It worked and we ended picking off 5 more riders that fell off the lead group. The lead group was now only 7. This put us at 8,9, and 10th(we picked up a rider that fell back from the break). As we came to final lap, I let the 2 guys go for the sprint as I did not have anything left. Finished off 10th and felt good to be done! If you think are lunch rides are jerky and chaotic, this will definitely set you back some. 2x Portola. Big adrenaline rush and there is no way I missing the preems or breakaways next week! I really think that we have some riders that could hang with the sprints and create/close gaps.
Shannon suprised me at the finish line (and during the race taking pics) with some beers and words of encouragement. Peronis were tasty, Thanks Shannon!
Pictures from Shannon:
BRCM Lunch - Starcrest Shady Summit Jamboree Loop
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/88187013
Highlights for today:
Highlights for today:
- PV and Shannon back out with the group today and dominating the hills
- Hiroshi is pushing the pace as well and broke away on Summit with PV and Shannon. We need to watch out for this guy.
- With Gary's lead out, Eddie attacked on the sprint down Shady, but I set him up for a pass just before the bike trail.
- Seon and Vin were launching attacks on the hills and pushing the pace here and there.
- Eddie and Mitchell were staying together up Summit, but Gary and I were just able to sprint by just at the top.
- Gary pushed the pace on Bison for a sprint to the finish, but I managed to get by.
- I thought we were done by the stop sign but Vin wanted to test his sprint to the gate. Nice try.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
BRCM Lunch - NPC Ridge Park Pelican PCH CDM PCH BB CA
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/88007549
Good turn out today for a Wednesday, and the weather couldn't be more perfect. We ended up skipping the interval training S-Gary had planned and instead ended up doing an NPC > Ridge Park > Pelican (down) > PCH > CDM > Jamboree > BB > CA route, which in my opinion may have been more intense that S-Gary's original plan.
Gary led us out all the way to NPC, and was pushing a good pace already in the beginning (typical). On NPC, Todd led the group up, but we got split up at the first or 2nd light. Todd, Mitchell, Hiroshi, and Gary made their way up first, and the rest of us followed behind running into the first group at the light to Ridge Park.
On Ridge Park, Todd held a good pace while Hiroshi stayed with him all the way up to Vista Ridge. Hiroshi is getting scary on the hills. Todd ended up doing extra credit, so I followed for some additional training. I saw Gary do the extra credit also (and maybe 1 more).
On Vista, Todd went down with the others who waited and we all met up at the bottom at the light. Todd also lead the group out on NPC, so I finally decided to help and keep the pace up. We took turns on Pelican, and at the bottom of it, I thought I'd turn it up a notch to keep everyone honest. I looked back and Eddie was breathing down my neck with Todd in tow, but I don't know if I saw anyone else behind them by the time we got back to NPC.
We kept the pace up going down NPC and PCH, and Eddie took this one pull where it nearly turned me inside out just to be able to jump on his wheel after he passed us. Good job! We ended up getting stuck at the light on Poppy where Mitchell had caught up followed by everyone else. Jeremy got a little anxious at the light, and went through followed by someone uttering "Sandy." Since we want to keep encouraging Jeremy to keep coming out (the improvements are showing), we'll defer the award for the next time.
Everyone was catching their breath as we were going through CDM, but once we made it back onto PCH, Todd passed me and says "Let's light this thing up." Nice. S-Gary was just behind him but kindly let me get behind Todd. As we were starting to speed up, we had to succumb to stopping at a light. Once it turned green, Todd's words were still bouncing around between my ears, so I took the front and tried to keep the pace high until I almost detonated. I started falling back and Hiroshi from the back let me back in line.
We were all mostly together when we made our way to Back Bay drive, and S-Gary (I believe) did the initial lead out. Once he rolled off, Todd got up front and started gapping the rest of the group. I swung out with Eddie in tow to close the gap and momentum had me continue past San Joaquin pulling the others. Eddie, Todd, Mitchell and I took turns up front keeping the pace up. As we were nearing the top of Back Bay with me at the front, Hiroshi with his Samurai spirit launched an attack and broke away. I looked back to see if anyone was going to respond, but no one did. I was already worked, but I had no choice but to bridge the gap after taking one deep breath. After doing so, I was cooked with nothing left for the steep climb to the top. I didn't want to get in Todd's way, so I waved him by, but he thought I was just luring him and said "yeah, right" or something to that effect. At CA, after I explained how I blew up on BB, he figured a "thank you" would probably have been more appropriate. HA HA
Todd did break away at the top, and Mitchell and Hiroshi, with Jaffe in tow, were trying to keep the pace up on the bike trail heading to CA. Once we got passed the bridge though, I dropped the hammer to close the gap but 3 guys, who we saw on NPC also, were on the path so I checked up behind them. Coincidentally, they were going up CA as well.
On CA, one of the 3 guys started to climb ahead of us but checked up to wait for the other 2 he was with. Todd led us up CA at a 19+ mph pace after, and near the top, I took advantage and sprinted past. One thing I learned is that if you don't sprint past Todd, he'll pick up his pace and get you back. I probably owe him a thank you as well for setting the pace.
We all regrouped at the light on Bison, and at the start, Eddie passed us up and looked back tauntingly like he was going to sprint. I asked him if he was going to bust it, and to go ahead and do so when all of a sudden, S-Gary blew past us. Sweet! One more chase before the showers. The runway was short, and while I was able to close the gap, I'll say S-Gary for the win!
Good ride today. Let's hope we have some left for tomorrow. Thanks!
Good turn out today for a Wednesday, and the weather couldn't be more perfect. We ended up skipping the interval training S-Gary had planned and instead ended up doing an NPC > Ridge Park > Pelican (down) > PCH > CDM > Jamboree > BB > CA route, which in my opinion may have been more intense that S-Gary's original plan.
Gary led us out all the way to NPC, and was pushing a good pace already in the beginning (typical). On NPC, Todd led the group up, but we got split up at the first or 2nd light. Todd, Mitchell, Hiroshi, and Gary made their way up first, and the rest of us followed behind running into the first group at the light to Ridge Park.
On Ridge Park, Todd held a good pace while Hiroshi stayed with him all the way up to Vista Ridge. Hiroshi is getting scary on the hills. Todd ended up doing extra credit, so I followed for some additional training. I saw Gary do the extra credit also (and maybe 1 more).
On Vista, Todd went down with the others who waited and we all met up at the bottom at the light. Todd also lead the group out on NPC, so I finally decided to help and keep the pace up. We took turns on Pelican, and at the bottom of it, I thought I'd turn it up a notch to keep everyone honest. I looked back and Eddie was breathing down my neck with Todd in tow, but I don't know if I saw anyone else behind them by the time we got back to NPC.
We kept the pace up going down NPC and PCH, and Eddie took this one pull where it nearly turned me inside out just to be able to jump on his wheel after he passed us. Good job! We ended up getting stuck at the light on Poppy where Mitchell had caught up followed by everyone else. Jeremy got a little anxious at the light, and went through followed by someone uttering "Sandy." Since we want to keep encouraging Jeremy to keep coming out (the improvements are showing), we'll defer the award for the next time.
Everyone was catching their breath as we were going through CDM, but once we made it back onto PCH, Todd passed me and says "Let's light this thing up." Nice. S-Gary was just behind him but kindly let me get behind Todd. As we were starting to speed up, we had to succumb to stopping at a light. Once it turned green, Todd's words were still bouncing around between my ears, so I took the front and tried to keep the pace high until I almost detonated. I started falling back and Hiroshi from the back let me back in line.
We were all mostly together when we made our way to Back Bay drive, and S-Gary (I believe) did the initial lead out. Once he rolled off, Todd got up front and started gapping the rest of the group. I swung out with Eddie in tow to close the gap and momentum had me continue past San Joaquin pulling the others. Eddie, Todd, Mitchell and I took turns up front keeping the pace up. As we were nearing the top of Back Bay with me at the front, Hiroshi with his Samurai spirit launched an attack and broke away. I looked back to see if anyone was going to respond, but no one did. I was already worked, but I had no choice but to bridge the gap after taking one deep breath. After doing so, I was cooked with nothing left for the steep climb to the top. I didn't want to get in Todd's way, so I waved him by, but he thought I was just luring him and said "yeah, right" or something to that effect. At CA, after I explained how I blew up on BB, he figured a "thank you" would probably have been more appropriate. HA HA
Todd did break away at the top, and Mitchell and Hiroshi, with Jaffe in tow, were trying to keep the pace up on the bike trail heading to CA. Once we got passed the bridge though, I dropped the hammer to close the gap but 3 guys, who we saw on NPC also, were on the path so I checked up behind them. Coincidentally, they were going up CA as well.
On CA, one of the 3 guys started to climb ahead of us but checked up to wait for the other 2 he was with. Todd led us up CA at a 19+ mph pace after, and near the top, I took advantage and sprinted past. One thing I learned is that if you don't sprint past Todd, he'll pick up his pace and get you back. I probably owe him a thank you as well for setting the pace.
We all regrouped at the light on Bison, and at the start, Eddie passed us up and looked back tauntingly like he was going to sprint. I asked him if he was going to bust it, and to go ahead and do so when all of a sudden, S-Gary blew past us. Sweet! One more chase before the showers. The runway was short, and while I was able to close the gap, I'll say S-Gary for the win!
Good ride today. Let's hope we have some left for tomorrow. Thanks!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Bike Trail Laguna Ridgeline Turtle Rock Shady Bonita Canyon McArthur
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/87805301
Pretty good turnout today with 12 of us out there. S-Gary with the lead out down CA and onto the bike trail. Vince, Todd and Adrian dropped the hammer at some point after one of the underpasses. I watched from the back as Vin jumped up front and tried valiantly to bridge it, but when the gap kept increasing, I decided I needed to do so. Unfortunately, no one latched on like I hoped, so it was just the 4 of us in the breakaway group with the rest in the chase group.
There was some sidewalk removed on the bike trail (again) while under construction, and we went through. I forgot to bring up my rear tire as I jumped back on the trail from the dirt, and I believe this caused my rear tire to flat eventually after we got back on the bike trail on Jamboree. I hear Vin met the same fate. Thanks to Adrian for helping me change flat while Vince and Todd waited, but rear tire is done. I'm just glad it survived the rest of the ride.
We didn't see the others roll up on us while changing the flat, so we figured they took a shortcut. We went ahead through original route planned, and pace was fairly high throughout. No sprints on the 405 bike trail though, which I'm glad since this meant we could apply more intensity up Ridgeline.
Vince led up Ridgeline originally, and I took the next turn. with the wind to our back, pace was in the 20's still as we were climbing. Todd and I alternated again, but by Turtle Rock, I felt a little overcooked. Todd and Vince broke away, and we ran into David going up the steep section. David had a good pace going up, and for a while, I wasn't able to pass him. I finally found my second wind on the last pitch up though and got by before we hit Hillcrest.
On Turtle Rock going back up, I saw the chase group along with Vince and Todd and thought maybe there's a chance to catch them. However, by the time I crossed Ridgeline, they were gone and out of sight until I got to the light on Bonita Canyon. Thankfully, I just made it behind them. I said hi to S-Gary, but I think he thought I was someone else.
On Bonita Canyon, Todd and Vince were still keeping the pace up, and I sat in the back for a bit to catch my breath. Once we hit the hill after the 73 underpass, I thought I'd help out too and got up front with Todd asking "where did you come from?" My obvious response at the moment was "the back."
After stopping at one of the lights, S-Gary decided to drop the hammer and broke off from the group with Vince and Todd. If you're not fast clipping in (or miss like me), it would take work to bridge the gap. Everyone else was spinning up working to try and bridge, and it took a sprint for me just to be able to do so. Vince kept the heat up with Todd and I behind him all the way to Bison, and it was all I could do just to hang on. Todd took over on Bison and kept the pressure cooker on high all the way to CA. In the end, the avg speed was 20.8 with a 21.2 moving. I'm sure the Vince and Todd were a few ticks faster.
In the lockers, Jaffe told me about his little incident on McArthur where a truck stopped in front of him on the bike trail causing him to lock up the back and actually crashing onto some grass. No cuts, no bruises (from what I could see), but his rear tire blew out requiring the ol' dollar bill repair to get him back (with Mitchell's help). We both agreed that the best way to fix it would be to buy a Dogma with Di2.
Good ride today despite all the incidents. Thanks for the training!
Pretty good turnout today with 12 of us out there. S-Gary with the lead out down CA and onto the bike trail. Vince, Todd and Adrian dropped the hammer at some point after one of the underpasses. I watched from the back as Vin jumped up front and tried valiantly to bridge it, but when the gap kept increasing, I decided I needed to do so. Unfortunately, no one latched on like I hoped, so it was just the 4 of us in the breakaway group with the rest in the chase group.
There was some sidewalk removed on the bike trail (again) while under construction, and we went through. I forgot to bring up my rear tire as I jumped back on the trail from the dirt, and I believe this caused my rear tire to flat eventually after we got back on the bike trail on Jamboree. I hear Vin met the same fate. Thanks to Adrian for helping me change flat while Vince and Todd waited, but rear tire is done. I'm just glad it survived the rest of the ride.
We didn't see the others roll up on us while changing the flat, so we figured they took a shortcut. We went ahead through original route planned, and pace was fairly high throughout. No sprints on the 405 bike trail though, which I'm glad since this meant we could apply more intensity up Ridgeline.
Vince led up Ridgeline originally, and I took the next turn. with the wind to our back, pace was in the 20's still as we were climbing. Todd and I alternated again, but by Turtle Rock, I felt a little overcooked. Todd and Vince broke away, and we ran into David going up the steep section. David had a good pace going up, and for a while, I wasn't able to pass him. I finally found my second wind on the last pitch up though and got by before we hit Hillcrest.
On Turtle Rock going back up, I saw the chase group along with Vince and Todd and thought maybe there's a chance to catch them. However, by the time I crossed Ridgeline, they were gone and out of sight until I got to the light on Bonita Canyon. Thankfully, I just made it behind them. I said hi to S-Gary, but I think he thought I was someone else.
On Bonita Canyon, Todd and Vince were still keeping the pace up, and I sat in the back for a bit to catch my breath. Once we hit the hill after the 73 underpass, I thought I'd help out too and got up front with Todd asking "where did you come from?" My obvious response at the moment was "the back."
After stopping at one of the lights, S-Gary decided to drop the hammer and broke off from the group with Vince and Todd. If you're not fast clipping in (or miss like me), it would take work to bridge the gap. Everyone else was spinning up working to try and bridge, and it took a sprint for me just to be able to do so. Vince kept the heat up with Todd and I behind him all the way to Bison, and it was all I could do just to hang on. Todd took over on Bison and kept the pressure cooker on high all the way to CA. In the end, the avg speed was 20.8 with a 21.2 moving. I'm sure the Vince and Todd were a few ticks faster.
In the lockers, Jaffe told me about his little incident on McArthur where a truck stopped in front of him on the bike trail causing him to lock up the back and actually crashing onto some grass. No cuts, no bruises (from what I could see), but his rear tire blew out requiring the ol' dollar bill repair to get him back (with Mitchell's help). We both agreed that the best way to fix it would be to buy a Dogma with Di2.
Good ride today despite all the incidents. Thanks for the training!
Gary's race report - 2011 Big Bear US Cup #5
Just as PV described the race, it was very challenging from a fitness perspective. On our pre-ride, I was already feeling the altitude and knew it was going to be a painful day.
Right from the start, the top rider in my category went out hard. I knew if I were to try and hold that pace that soon it would be suicide. I kept a pace I knew I could hold for a while. Mid way up the first climb I was able to push a little harder, but felt like I was going so slow that all I was hoping for was to not be in last place. My heart rate was already above 170 and was very concerned.
The first hill kept going and going before we got any relief. As PV stated, the relief was short lived and we were climbing again.
For me, I was really surprised on the downs. I seemed to come up on riders quickly and even passed a bunch. This is so opposite for me since I have no technical skills on the mtb and thought I would make up most of my time on the up's. Just before the last ST, there was a fast fire road section that I was able to pace with a cat 1 rider.
When I got to the finish and heard PV yell out to me, my immediate reaction was how slow I must have been for him to of beat me down given I was doing a shorter course. We checked my mileage and realized I had done the same course as PV. Either I missed a turn and did the wrong course, which would not have surprised me, or I was supposed to have done the medium course. Cat 2 and 3 did the same course so I was still possibly not in last place.
My legs were already starting to tighten up so the climb back the car was quite fun. We had a few before heading down to the restaurant to check on our results. I was shocked to see myself being 3rd. Talking to others, it seems like everyone felt like they were much slower than they were used to.
Thanks PV, Rich and Shannon for talking me into doing this. I believe I have locked up second place for the series.
Monday, May 23, 2011
PV's race report - Big Bear US Cup #5
Gary and I headed up to Big Bear for US Cup #5. Weather report had predicted temps's in the low 40's for the morning, thankfully that did not materialize and we showed up to absolutely perfect conditions on our arrival.
We did a long-ish pre-ride (~ 6 miles) that would later come in handy for the race. We headed back to the car for last minute prep and then off to the start line. Big Bear is a unique course and a little hard to explain or understand unless you have done it.......I'll try though :)
The registration is at a Mexican Restaurant a few miles away from the start, and the finish is somewhere else entirely. It is a big loop with three lengths, and you turn off the main loop to go back depending on the course you are assigned (short, medium, long), so all racers wind up riding together for the start and finish. Then it is back to the restaurant for beer, taco's, awards, and smack talking!
We got ready and before we knew it was go time. They lumped three cat's together for my start so it was something like 60 people (at least) taking off at the same time, a little chaotic. Right away I could tell the air was thin. Since you start essentially at the ski area and only go up the altitude plays a big role in this race. My heart rate felt 10 BPM faster than it read, I think other people experienced the same thing. It is painful!!
Painful would be the one word description for this race. Right from the start it climbs and then continues relentlessly. There are some short down sections but overall the course seems to defy physics, an infinitely ascending Escher staircase that is more up than down. This one favors the roadies in the crowd for sure!
My race went OK, but not ideal. I had some guy stop right in front of me on one of the ST's, almost crashed into him when he decided he didn't want to ride through a puddle and came slamming to a stop instead. With a lot of different classes on the course at the same time it is a roll of the dice who winds up in front of you and how easy it is to pass them, I think I lost the roll a couple times. :))
Although painful it went by pretty quickly and the finish line was a welcome site. But where was Gary?? He was doing the short course and should be here, did he crash or have a mechanical???
Haha, turns out his Cat did the medium course!! I think this is the first time his and my cat did the same exact course length ...go Gary! The Cat1/Pro course was longer still, ouch!
Gary came in 3rd in his cat (nice!), I wound up in 10th in mine. Tim Z (Sho-Air MTB captain) came in 1st in his cat (Cat 1), wow!! What is funny is we are all in the 45-49 cat, Gary Cat3, me Cat2, Tim Cat1.
My cat is tougher than last year for sure, I had almost exactly the same time as this year and came in 4th at 2:23 behind #1 Alex Teno last year. This year I came in 10th at 9:15 behind #1 Greg Turner, he had the fastest time overall of all Cat2! Guess I better step it up!!!! :))
OK, picture time!!
Heading up to Big Bear, nice day or what??
Pre-Ride, FYI, I was cutoff hard here by another rider during the race and had to go straight through the cones to avoid crashing !
Pre-ride - this is the last down, we rode down and came back up. You can kinda see the trail snake down to the left.
Pre-ride, fun log roller, part of the course.
Riders starting to gather at the start.
Timmy Z came in #1!! (Alex Teno on the left, he was in my cat last year, dude is fast)
Gary is #3!! (dear god, someone tell that guy to put on some shorts! :)
Bringin' home the hardware, sweet!!!
results:
garmin stats (I accidently stopped it for the last mile or so taking a split time, doh!):
Vince's Baldy Stage 7 Ride and Race Summary
Todd and I decided to go up to Claremont to ride and then watch the Stage 7 of the TOC. The pre-ride, race, and post ride drink fest was a perfect 10 in my book. Amgen really put a good one together this year.
Ride summary:
Todd and I left from Claremont at about 745 to head up GMR, GRR, and then Baldy. Pam and Tiff were nice enough to get up early, drop us off at Claremont, and then find a spot on Baldy road to tailgate. Todd and I were cruising down E Foothill and the first guy we roll up on had a Descender’s jersey. He notices Todd’s Stagecoach Jersey and proceeds to tell us how their “A” team would of won the TT but broke a derailer. At this point I am keeping my mouth shut as we don’t have BRCM kits on and want to hear what he has to say. Nice guy and hope we didn’t hurt his feelings when we dropped him like bad habit. At this point, I was both disappointed in myself and Todd for not flying the BRCM colors at this event. The amateurs pre-riding this thing was about the same a letape. Lots of clubs and teams representing.
GMR: Todd and I rode together at what I thought was optimal pace to have a strong Baldy finish. We worked together and were passing a ton of people. It was perfect weather and I was really glad Todd and I made it out. GMR is really a fun climb when you’re not turning yourself inside out for a KOM.
GRR:
We made through GMR at a good time and continued the moderate pace as we passed through the split of East Fork and GRR. This is where we noticed the massive crowds forming on the mountain to witness the best mountain stage in the history of TOC. We soaked in the drunken cheers and bell rings we were gifted by the friendly people waiting for the real race. When we passed people we said “hi” chatted a bit and were being very none competitive about it. We never speed by and did the “is that all you got” look back. Unfortunately, a 4 man crew in InCycle kits wanted to play and were looking to incite a challenge. Luck would have it that they were about to pass 2 breast milk deficient type “A” BRCM riders. There was nothing subtle about how they passed us the first time. As we were coming down a hill to start another climb on the ridge they came by us on the uptick with a standing pass that was meant to gap. Knowing we had another 10-11 miles of cat2 climbing left, Todd and just tempo up to them after a few turns and slowly passed. As we hit the next downhill, they pulled another attack. At this point I started taking inventory of the situation. Todd looked fine but we were out numbered 4 to 2. I could tell that 1 guy was consistently sitting 3 to 4th wheel and could be looking for a free ride or holding back. By the way 2 of the other 3 where sprinting by us, they were either good or just hoping a 500m hill sprint would scare us away. The last one was tempo riding but strong. My thought process at this point was a) most likely these guys are not riding Baldy and we should let them go b) Maybe we can hammer with these guys on the Ridge and then I can talk Todd out of doing Baldy, c) Hammer through the Ridge and pray the cramp Gods have mercy on me for Baldy. Since I was having fun and feeling good I decided to keep rolling with the punches without consulting Todd (big mistake that I would later pay for in form of a variety chalk colored ass stamps). At this point the gloves came off and the attacks were quick and often. It only took ~1mile to rid ourselves of the sprinters. Unfortunately for me, but fortunate for Todd and Baldy, we dropped LTJ a little bit after. Now it’s me tempo guy and wheel sitter. Tempo guy starts working the pace and answers with some upticks. I start rethink the constant retaliations and decide to do some wheel sitting myself given the situation. Just as I start to recover, wheelsitter turns it on and tempo guy jumps on his wheel. This is when I think to myself “no way I am doing Baldy”. I keep them within 2 bike length and start seeing some kinks in Tempo guys armor, I launch one last acceleration and we drop him. Now it is me and wheelsitter, who looks surprised to see me and not his fallen comrade. Impressively, he hits another acceleration and puts ~100m on me about 1 mile from the downhill into the village. He holds this gap all the way to KOM atop the ridge. I see him under a InCycle eazyup and realize his day is done. I wait for Todd contemplating how to convince him not to ride Baldy. I conversation went like this “[me]Todd, I am beat, lets skip Baldy. [Todd] No way, we can’t tell the guy’s we didn’t hit Baldy”!. I need to work on my negotiating skills.
Baldy Rd:
I am hurting and we are not even to the SB’s when Todd drops me. The looks people are giving are a mix of pity and laughter. Thankfully the pity part got me plenty pushes up the hill! The drunk circus lines Baldy road and they love cheering on slugs like me up Baldy. The best part is the “pushers” put a nice chalk covered hand strategically placed on your ass while they push you. By the time I got to the top, my ass was tattooed with pink hand stamps to prove that I needed every bit of help from turn #9 drunk crew. Todd must have been waiting for me at least 10-15 minutes.
THE RACE:
It was one of the coolest events I have been to. By mile 12 the Peleton was less than 60, a breakaway was formed, and the sprinters were looking for help. The stage delivered some outstanding views and racing. Baldy (lodge to the lifts) absolutely exploded the breakaway and what was left of the peleton only 2 miles into the climb. I could not believe what Radio Shack team’s did. They absolutely killed everyone but Levi and Horner. Schleck was done, he freaking started to paper boy on the wall for a few pedal strokes. The one thing about these guy’s it they don’t have an inbetween speed when they are going FTW. They are either flying up the mountain spinning like crazy or they are done. I don’t care if I had a triple, no way could I spin like them up fng baldy. I suffer up baldy and they actually ride up. I hate pros. We partied like rockstars after the race and met up with couple that was out from Florida to watch the whole race. After some 4x4’ng they were nice enough to take us to dinner. Tiff and Pam had a blast and made lots of friends. Good times. Next time we need more than 2 BRCM riders to do this right. I plan on bringing my trailer, parking by a KOM, and we going ride and party again. I will be passing out free ass stamps pushed to anyone who needs one (hopefully opposite sex).
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Como Street Revisited and Solo Extra Hill Trainer
Como Street stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/87404734
Solo hills stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/87403087
After last week's Como street ride in inclement weather, I was curious to know how it would be in better weather. We also missed the additional hill training last week (hypothermia got in the way), so I thought I'd give both a try again this week. With no one seemingly available this weekend, I opted to do it solo...watching stage 7 on the DVR had me pumped! Fortunately, I saw Mitchell rolling up just as I was about to get my bike off the rack, so it was nice to run into a familiar face...scratch that...a teammate. Neither of us expected one another to be there, although I had contemplated on sending him a text last night but never did. As a result, we did not fly BRCM colors; just BRCM attitude.
Mitchell and I talked a little strategy, but it wasn't much longer after we met that we were rolling out. The plan was to stay in the peloton until we got to El Toro and then work our way up. Our initial assessment of the size of the group (around 20-25) seemed like this would be a good plan. However, as people were joining through different parts of the ride, I'd say there was a minimum of at least 70-80 (my original estimate was 60, but decided differently after considering how long and how wide the group was)people out there...maybe more. It seemed huge!
On Irvine Blvd, people kept shifting around, forming gaps on occasion, and Mitchell stuck to the plan and got to a good spot somewhere in the middle. When I started realizing there were a lot of people ahead of me, I looked back and noticed there were only a few people behind me. Oops. At this point, I decided it would be good to move up in the group. Guys, and ladies, were about 3-4 abreast, so moving up meant taking some risks and being able to jockey into a spot, which is what I did. I also had a bridge one gap at one point, but got to recover once back in the draft.
At the start of El Toro, I was probably 3/4 of the way back again in the peloton since everyone bunched up at the left hand turn. One annoying thing I found was that some people would push up toward the front at the light where they would just present obstacles after. Que sera sera, I guess. Taking more risks and more jockeying got me closer to the front as we made our way toward Cooks. There was an event going on through Santiago that seemed like it was going to get in the way, but the peloton hardly slowed and plowed right through.
I decided to try something different this week to not fall off the front at the top of the hill past Cooks, but I didn't anticipate how much the group dynamics would differ given how many more people showed up. When 2 guys decided to break away, I decided I was going to give chase and better my position eventually also breaking the peloton off behind me. Plus, given I had my Cervelo today, I didn't want to chance falling off on the downhill with my compact crank.
While I thought I had a good pace going up, I was not able to hold it for the whole hill. Bummer. Near the top of the first crest, guys started to pass me, who eventually also swallowed up the 2 guys ahead of me. I was trying to stay on the tail of this front group, but just missed hitching on. Then, a few other guys passed me at a good clip once we started to descent, and I latched on while they reeled in the front group just ahead of us. Unlike last week when there were only five up front, there was at least 15 of us in the front group today on the downhill.
The pace was pretty relentless throughout the canyons, and there were a couple guys who eventually got blown out the back. One guy wearing a hat (vs. a helmet) I thought popped off behind me, but the next thing you know, he was back behind me again. There's definitely some talent out there.
As we were nearing dump hill, I wasn't sure where I wanted to be in the pack going up, so the plan here was just to find a good rhythm and see where I end up. Who'd have thought I'd make my way up to the front. When I passed the front guy, I remember him looking over at me, but I just kept pedaling. Others then jumped on and I held the front almost to the top. I had forgotten about the slight bend to the right where it keeps going up a little, so once again, I couldn't hold it and others started making their way past me. Just as I thought I might get dropped here, the same guy up front that I passed, who was now in the back, called out and said to jump on his wheel...so I did...barely.
On the downhill over the 261 and toward Jamboree, everyone was still moving. After the 261, one guy decides to break off for a sprint, so what's a BRCM guy to do but give chase, right? Since there was no risk of spinning out at this point, I chased him down and eventually passed him ultimately getting to the left turn light on Jamboree first. Wha?
On Jamboree, these guys still kept pushing the pace and it was fun to keep mixing it up all the way back to Tustin Market. I was at the front by the time we got to Irvine Blvd and was still wanting to sprint, but I guess people were cooling down at that point, so I started to as well. I still had more solo miles ahead, so this worked out also.
Mitchell ended up coming in a little after I got back while I was loading up for my hill trainer. He stayed in the group behind ours and also had a good ride today. I offered to see if he wanted to come with me for some Bear training, but he had to get back. After he finished telling me how the cranks on my bike were too small and is normally for women (gotta love the guy), I was off solo.
For my hill trainer, I headed toward the 133 so I can hit Aliso Creek, Highlands, and Pacific Islands. Then from PCH, I went up NPC to complete another 2900 vert. Overall, the route was an additional 52+ miles over Como's 32. When I got on the bike trail on East Bluff to head back, I thought I'd keep a 20-21 mph pace all the way back. I was doing well up until the stretch right before the bridge when BAP...a bee hits my mouth and stings the hell out of my lip. It actually took a while to get the stinger out since I didn't want to stop riding, so by the time i got the stinger out, my lip felt like it got smacked by a baseball bat. On the way back, my jaw and my cheeks even started to feel numb. Nice adrenalin rush as a result though.
Overall, it was a good day of riding despite the bee sting. I didn't end up stopping for any breaks and got by with the 2 bottles I had saved in my car for the hills. 1 waffle and 3 gels along with 1 Shot Bloks package got me through, but I was starved right after. Too bad there was no one to eat and have beers with after. Next time.
Solo hills stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/87403087
After last week's Como street ride in inclement weather, I was curious to know how it would be in better weather. We also missed the additional hill training last week (hypothermia got in the way), so I thought I'd give both a try again this week. With no one seemingly available this weekend, I opted to do it solo...watching stage 7 on the DVR had me pumped! Fortunately, I saw Mitchell rolling up just as I was about to get my bike off the rack, so it was nice to run into a familiar face...scratch that...a teammate. Neither of us expected one another to be there, although I had contemplated on sending him a text last night but never did. As a result, we did not fly BRCM colors; just BRCM attitude.
Mitchell and I talked a little strategy, but it wasn't much longer after we met that we were rolling out. The plan was to stay in the peloton until we got to El Toro and then work our way up. Our initial assessment of the size of the group (around 20-25) seemed like this would be a good plan. However, as people were joining through different parts of the ride, I'd say there was a minimum of at least 70-80 (my original estimate was 60, but decided differently after considering how long and how wide the group was)people out there...maybe more. It seemed huge!
On Irvine Blvd, people kept shifting around, forming gaps on occasion, and Mitchell stuck to the plan and got to a good spot somewhere in the middle. When I started realizing there were a lot of people ahead of me, I looked back and noticed there were only a few people behind me. Oops. At this point, I decided it would be good to move up in the group. Guys, and ladies, were about 3-4 abreast, so moving up meant taking some risks and being able to jockey into a spot, which is what I did. I also had a bridge one gap at one point, but got to recover once back in the draft.
At the start of El Toro, I was probably 3/4 of the way back again in the peloton since everyone bunched up at the left hand turn. One annoying thing I found was that some people would push up toward the front at the light where they would just present obstacles after. Que sera sera, I guess. Taking more risks and more jockeying got me closer to the front as we made our way toward Cooks. There was an event going on through Santiago that seemed like it was going to get in the way, but the peloton hardly slowed and plowed right through.
I decided to try something different this week to not fall off the front at the top of the hill past Cooks, but I didn't anticipate how much the group dynamics would differ given how many more people showed up. When 2 guys decided to break away, I decided I was going to give chase and better my position eventually also breaking the peloton off behind me. Plus, given I had my Cervelo today, I didn't want to chance falling off on the downhill with my compact crank.
While I thought I had a good pace going up, I was not able to hold it for the whole hill. Bummer. Near the top of the first crest, guys started to pass me, who eventually also swallowed up the 2 guys ahead of me. I was trying to stay on the tail of this front group, but just missed hitching on. Then, a few other guys passed me at a good clip once we started to descent, and I latched on while they reeled in the front group just ahead of us. Unlike last week when there were only five up front, there was at least 15 of us in the front group today on the downhill.
The pace was pretty relentless throughout the canyons, and there were a couple guys who eventually got blown out the back. One guy wearing a hat (vs. a helmet) I thought popped off behind me, but the next thing you know, he was back behind me again. There's definitely some talent out there.
As we were nearing dump hill, I wasn't sure where I wanted to be in the pack going up, so the plan here was just to find a good rhythm and see where I end up. Who'd have thought I'd make my way up to the front. When I passed the front guy, I remember him looking over at me, but I just kept pedaling. Others then jumped on and I held the front almost to the top. I had forgotten about the slight bend to the right where it keeps going up a little, so once again, I couldn't hold it and others started making their way past me. Just as I thought I might get dropped here, the same guy up front that I passed, who was now in the back, called out and said to jump on his wheel...so I did...barely.
On the downhill over the 261 and toward Jamboree, everyone was still moving. After the 261, one guy decides to break off for a sprint, so what's a BRCM guy to do but give chase, right? Since there was no risk of spinning out at this point, I chased him down and eventually passed him ultimately getting to the left turn light on Jamboree first. Wha?
On Jamboree, these guys still kept pushing the pace and it was fun to keep mixing it up all the way back to Tustin Market. I was at the front by the time we got to Irvine Blvd and was still wanting to sprint, but I guess people were cooling down at that point, so I started to as well. I still had more solo miles ahead, so this worked out also.
Mitchell ended up coming in a little after I got back while I was loading up for my hill trainer. He stayed in the group behind ours and also had a good ride today. I offered to see if he wanted to come with me for some Bear training, but he had to get back. After he finished telling me how the cranks on my bike were too small and is normally for women (gotta love the guy), I was off solo.
For my hill trainer, I headed toward the 133 so I can hit Aliso Creek, Highlands, and Pacific Islands. Then from PCH, I went up NPC to complete another 2900 vert. Overall, the route was an additional 52+ miles over Como's 32. When I got on the bike trail on East Bluff to head back, I thought I'd keep a 20-21 mph pace all the way back. I was doing well up until the stretch right before the bridge when BAP...a bee hits my mouth and stings the hell out of my lip. It actually took a while to get the stinger out since I didn't want to stop riding, so by the time i got the stinger out, my lip felt like it got smacked by a baseball bat. On the way back, my jaw and my cheeks even started to feel numb. Nice adrenalin rush as a result though.
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| Post ride fattie |
Overall, it was a good day of riding despite the bee sting. I didn't end up stopping for any breaks and got by with the 2 bottles I had saved in my car for the hills. 1 waffle and 3 gels along with 1 Shot Bloks package got me through, but I was starved right after. Too bad there was no one to eat and have beers with after. Next time.
Friday, May 20, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Shady 133 PCH NPC Bonita Cyn Jamboree Bison
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/86869044
A couple earlier rides today that we missed out on with Gary doing coffee crew and Hiroshi, James, and Jaffe doing a 30 mile loop (Hiroshi's stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/86831725 - good pace!). Vince, Todd, Jeremy and I decided to give the same 30 mile loop a try during lunch.
Originally, the plan was to take it easy, but from experience we all know that has "sucker" written all over it. There was even talk of hurting from yesterday, a morning run and an earlier leg workout where it was easy to believe this might just be that ride, but you'd be better off buying beach front property in AZ in case the big one hits.
We did ask Jeremy to come with us, but as Vince pointed out at some point during the ride, that's like throwing out bait or lure. Jeremy did good going through Anteater and up through Shady where he didn't drop off too much, but once we got near the 133, the pace picked up pretty good where that was the last we saw of him (until the locker room that is). We all felt bad, and Todd especially, but the funny thing with Todd was as he went back to see if Jeremy wanted to continue with us, he then sprints away from him and past us afterwards.
The 133 was a beast with the wind, and it was all we could do just to keep the pace up. Before the top, Vince had jumped to the front with some authority, and I know it was all I could do just to get back on. The pace going down it and through the PCH rollers was just as relentless.
When we finally got to NPC, I thought these guys are just going to light me up even more here so I checked up thinking it wasn't worth it. They did just ahead of me together but I ended up not falling off as bad as I expected. Thanks to the light at Ridge Park, I was able to catch up and ride with them again.
Going down NPC was ridiculous. Vince charged down and led for a while and then Todd took over at some point, and it was all I could do on the compact just to stay with them. With a 44.8 max, that means I was in the 120-125 RPM range. Picture Wicked Witch of the West from Wizard of Oz.
Bonita Canyon was pretty windy as well, so that took some good rotations to keep us going. On Ford, everyone got up front for a bit, but Vince finished the pull as we got on Jamboree. I thought I'd give the hill a charge after and took off past Vince. Then Todd started getting on it as well with his low cadence high gear rhythm. I felt a second wind, so I gave chase (at a higher cadence of course) and we never dropped under 20.4 on that hill. In fact, by the time we got near the top, we were in the 25-26s. Nice tail wind!
We still kept the pace up through out Bison and on my Garmin eeked out a 20.3 avg with a 20.8 moving. Pretty intense considering the winds and the vert (1.758 ft)...and all the sandbagging as well.
Thanks for the intense training before the weekend, guys. Tomorrow's rest day will be thoroughly enjoyed. Enjoy stage 7 of the TDC!
A couple earlier rides today that we missed out on with Gary doing coffee crew and Hiroshi, James, and Jaffe doing a 30 mile loop (Hiroshi's stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/86831725 - good pace!). Vince, Todd, Jeremy and I decided to give the same 30 mile loop a try during lunch.
Originally, the plan was to take it easy, but from experience we all know that has "sucker" written all over it. There was even talk of hurting from yesterday, a morning run and an earlier leg workout where it was easy to believe this might just be that ride, but you'd be better off buying beach front property in AZ in case the big one hits.
We did ask Jeremy to come with us, but as Vince pointed out at some point during the ride, that's like throwing out bait or lure. Jeremy did good going through Anteater and up through Shady where he didn't drop off too much, but once we got near the 133, the pace picked up pretty good where that was the last we saw of him (until the locker room that is). We all felt bad, and Todd especially, but the funny thing with Todd was as he went back to see if Jeremy wanted to continue with us, he then sprints away from him and past us afterwards.
The 133 was a beast with the wind, and it was all we could do just to keep the pace up. Before the top, Vince had jumped to the front with some authority, and I know it was all I could do just to get back on. The pace going down it and through the PCH rollers was just as relentless.
When we finally got to NPC, I thought these guys are just going to light me up even more here so I checked up thinking it wasn't worth it. They did just ahead of me together but I ended up not falling off as bad as I expected. Thanks to the light at Ridge Park, I was able to catch up and ride with them again.
Going down NPC was ridiculous. Vince charged down and led for a while and then Todd took over at some point, and it was all I could do on the compact just to stay with them. With a 44.8 max, that means I was in the 120-125 RPM range. Picture Wicked Witch of the West from Wizard of Oz.
Bonita Canyon was pretty windy as well, so that took some good rotations to keep us going. On Ford, everyone got up front for a bit, but Vince finished the pull as we got on Jamboree. I thought I'd give the hill a charge after and took off past Vince. Then Todd started getting on it as well with his low cadence high gear rhythm. I felt a second wind, so I gave chase (at a higher cadence of course) and we never dropped under 20.4 on that hill. In fact, by the time we got near the top, we were in the 25-26s. Nice tail wind!
We still kept the pace up through out Bison and on my Garmin eeked out a 20.3 avg with a 20.8 moving. Pretty intense considering the winds and the vert (1.758 ft)...and all the sandbagging as well.
Thanks for the intense training before the weekend, guys. Tomorrow's rest day will be thoroughly enjoyed. Enjoy stage 7 of the TDC!
Gary's Coffee Crew Ride
Crazy ride today.
Normally, the pace is very controlled for the first 10 miles while we pick up additional riders along the way. Not today.
We left from PCH and MA and a guy on a TT bike led us out. Once on BB, the pace was steady around 26 - 27.
The pace continued on the flats so it was no surprise to see the attacks that happened on the hills. I hung onto the wrong persons wheel at first since they started to fall off, so I went around and tried to bridge the gap that formed. I went all out and made some progress but never caught the lead group.
We regrouped on El Toro just before getting onto Laguna Canyon. I followed the TT guy and was able to hang all the way until PCH.
Once on PCH, there was no letting up on the pace. The rollers were a bit much for me and I fell off. A few other riders fell victim to the pace and jumped onto my wheel as I passed them.
I pulled the rest of the way on PCH and at times the group that was on my wheel fell off. Missed a few lights so they would catch back up.
Great workout today. It was race pace today.
Normally, the pace is very controlled for the first 10 miles while we pick up additional riders along the way. Not today.
We left from PCH and MA and a guy on a TT bike led us out. Once on BB, the pace was steady around 26 - 27.
The pace continued on the flats so it was no surprise to see the attacks that happened on the hills. I hung onto the wrong persons wheel at first since they started to fall off, so I went around and tried to bridge the gap that formed. I went all out and made some progress but never caught the lead group.
We regrouped on El Toro just before getting onto Laguna Canyon. I followed the TT guy and was able to hang all the way until PCH.
Once on PCH, there was no letting up on the pace. The rollers were a bit much for me and I fell off. A few other riders fell victim to the pace and jumped onto my wheel as I passed them.
I pulled the rest of the way on PCH and at times the group that was on my wheel fell off. Missed a few lights so they would catch back up.
Great workout today. It was race pace today.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Hill Trainer (aka Vince's Puke Route)
GPS stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/86687051
I guess given the weather the last few days, a lot of people were itching to get out today resulting in 13 (plus 3 from Wed/Fri crew - David, Peter, and one other guy) coming out to tackle the hills. Unfortunately, Vin came in with what looked like a rear tire that wasn't safe for the hills and got held back with Seon who stayed behind to help him. Vince, being fashionably late...again, let us go ahead and also did not start the ride with us.
S-Gary led us out in his usual frantic pace in the beginning, and he and Todd took turns up front to get us to the base of NPC where everyone in the group stayed together the whole time. If I missed anyone else pulling at that point, it was hard to tell from the very back.
Once on NPC, S-Gary got another rear flat (not having a lot of luck on the loaner lately) but insisted everyone else go ahead. I tried to stop and Verm actually came back to help, but he wouldn't have any of it. Looking up after, Todd and Shannon were all ready starting to pull away from the others where it took a bit just to catch up and ride with Adrian, Hiroshi, and Mitchell. Adrian, Mitchell and I worked together to get us to the top where we managed to catch the light to Ridge Park with Todd and Shannon.
Going up Ridge Park, Hiroshi was in attack mode and actually passed Shannon at one point ahead of me. Shannon eventually passed, but Hiroshi kept the pace up and got up to the top behind the two. It took coming back from the extra credit to actually be able to catch up to the guy too. Great job!
Hiroshi, Verm and I got caught at the light at the bottom of Vista and just didn't see the two ahead of us anymore after that. We descended together down NPC and upon going up Pelican, I thought I had a pretty good pace when out of nowhere, Hiroshi launches another attack and passed me with some authority. It took some effort to catch back up and eventually get past him too. When I was ahead going up the final climb on Pelican, I actually thought Hiroshi had reeled me back in given how well he was doing today. Near the top, I thought I'd try and shake him off, but it ended up being super stud, Vince, who passed me no problem. Vince also just caught the green light to NPC ahead of me, so I had to wait at the red where Verm caught me.
On Vista, we started the climb and could see Adrian not too far ahead of us. I was hoping to close the gap on him at one point, but he must have picked it up a lot when he hit the flat section. I was hoping to catch him on the last hill, but he was more than half way up by the time I reach the base.
At the top, I didn't see anyone there from our original group (I did see David and Peter just making it up Ridge Park). Since I was pressed for time, I headed back by myself and saw S-Gary just making his way up Ridge Park (probably doing repeats).
The wind was pretty rough in some sections today including Bonita Canyon, but overall definitely better than it's been the last few days. It was nice to finally get out and ride with the guys again today, and super effort from a lot of those out there.
Thanks for the workout!
I guess given the weather the last few days, a lot of people were itching to get out today resulting in 13 (plus 3 from Wed/Fri crew - David, Peter, and one other guy) coming out to tackle the hills. Unfortunately, Vin came in with what looked like a rear tire that wasn't safe for the hills and got held back with Seon who stayed behind to help him. Vince, being fashionably late...again, let us go ahead and also did not start the ride with us.
S-Gary led us out in his usual frantic pace in the beginning, and he and Todd took turns up front to get us to the base of NPC where everyone in the group stayed together the whole time. If I missed anyone else pulling at that point, it was hard to tell from the very back.
Once on NPC, S-Gary got another rear flat (not having a lot of luck on the loaner lately) but insisted everyone else go ahead. I tried to stop and Verm actually came back to help, but he wouldn't have any of it. Looking up after, Todd and Shannon were all ready starting to pull away from the others where it took a bit just to catch up and ride with Adrian, Hiroshi, and Mitchell. Adrian, Mitchell and I worked together to get us to the top where we managed to catch the light to Ridge Park with Todd and Shannon.
Going up Ridge Park, Hiroshi was in attack mode and actually passed Shannon at one point ahead of me. Shannon eventually passed, but Hiroshi kept the pace up and got up to the top behind the two. It took coming back from the extra credit to actually be able to catch up to the guy too. Great job!
Hiroshi, Verm and I got caught at the light at the bottom of Vista and just didn't see the two ahead of us anymore after that. We descended together down NPC and upon going up Pelican, I thought I had a pretty good pace when out of nowhere, Hiroshi launches another attack and passed me with some authority. It took some effort to catch back up and eventually get past him too. When I was ahead going up the final climb on Pelican, I actually thought Hiroshi had reeled me back in given how well he was doing today. Near the top, I thought I'd try and shake him off, but it ended up being super stud, Vince, who passed me no problem. Vince also just caught the green light to NPC ahead of me, so I had to wait at the red where Verm caught me.
On Vista, we started the climb and could see Adrian not too far ahead of us. I was hoping to close the gap on him at one point, but he must have picked it up a lot when he hit the flat section. I was hoping to catch him on the last hill, but he was more than half way up by the time I reach the base.
At the top, I didn't see anyone there from our original group (I did see David and Peter just making it up Ridge Park). Since I was pressed for time, I headed back by myself and saw S-Gary just making his way up Ridge Park (probably doing repeats).
The wind was pretty rough in some sections today including Bonita Canyon, but overall definitely better than it's been the last few days. It was nice to finally get out and ride with the guys again today, and super effort from a lot of those out there.
Thanks for the workout!
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