Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/970523
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/100361061
I think Todd got it right when he said it was going to be a painful day given who was coming out. Looking at all our Strava activity, you'd think it would drop down a notch but it still turned out to be a ride that asked you what you have even when you've got nothing left...at least that's how I felt. BAM at it's finest.
We took off together, but we ended up getting separated from Seon/Vin at the lights on California. I tried in vain to see if the others were willing to wait, but once this group gets rolling, it hard to get them to stop. Sorry to those who got separated.
On the bike trail headed to Back Bay, I could tell that the winds would be a factor if others were contemplating getting the top spot for the gate-to-gate segment. I spoke up to let others know, but just like trying to get them to stop, the group today only had two switch positions: on or off. Dropping down on Back Bay, you can tell it was ON.
Given the above, I took some stabs up front to try and keep the pace up alternating with Todd, Vince, Shannon and Gary. All-in-all, the wind was too much and we did not break the previous record as I expected. Vince and Shannon duked it out at the end though, and I'm not sure who came out ahead but it was definitely between the two of them.
Todd led us out through PCH all the way to Avocado. We got a little split up from Vince at one of the stop signs in CDM near Ocean, but we were able to be all together again once we came out of Poppy back to PCH. Todd and Vince took the opportunity to break away for a bit, so I figured some crit training was in order to where I worked to close the gap. I subsequently took the last pull on PCH and was a little cooked by the time we got to NPC. I still tried to keep the pace up going up, but Todd, Vince and Mitchell got ahead and all I could do was watch them from a few yards back. Shannon was off the back for a while, but after he uploaded his Strava, I realized his tactic was not to charge initially but do so after he got on Vista. He did pass me at a pretty good clip where it flatted out on NPC. That seemed to work as now he has the KOM for the NPC to Vista segment from today's ride: http://app.strava.com/segments/664640. We still have to see Todd's though as he hadn't uploaded his ride today yet.
On Vista, I was able to catch Mitchell and I could only see Shannon and Vince ahead of me. On the last part of the hill, I thought I'd give the hill a sprint but Vince finished the hill just ahead of me with Todd and Shannon waiting on Ridge Park. We all regrouped at this point but Vin decided to keep going. Since he wore sleeves today, we let him go...at least until the bottom of Ridge Park.
On NPC, Vince got a little bit ahead of us on the descent, but we caught and pulled him into the draft down the hill. I was working that compact crank as best as I could, and after we went under the 73, Vince took over and I got worked just trying to get back on. I was gasping for air at the bottom...again.
I took a break on Bonita Canyon for a bit, but decided to pull Gary in after he had broken away just after the 73 underpass. I also was offering to lead out anyone who wanted to take my Jamboree segment away since we were going that way. Vin jumped ahead as we crossed McArthur and was trying to break away from the group for the climb up Jamboree. However, at the base where we turned from Ford, he got a little held up by some cars and we passed him shortly after. I started cranking once I got past the cars and when I looked back once I sat down, I didn't see anyone there. I kept pushing until the end anyways just to see if I can improve my prior time, and lo and behold...I did. However, after Shannon uploaded his data, it shows he took my house and made it his by 1 second: http://app.strava.com/segments/666393. Thus, I renamed the segment accordingly. According to the comparison chart, it looks like I had him all the way to the top of the hill, but he nosed me out just at the end. Way to go! At least the pressure's off now. HA
I was worked for the rest of the ride, and I think Gary and the others were sprinting on Bison where I got split off at one of the lights...gladly. I hope it was a good sprint finish for those who went for it.
Great workout today, and perfect training for this week's crit. Resting until then, so have fun for the rest of the week. Thanks, gents!
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