Lunch Ride - Turtle Rock Shady Ridgeline Summit Loop

When I saw Todd in the locker before the ride, he asked if anyone else was going as we were both worried given our leg workouts from the morning.  Aside from Jaffe who came in after, we didn't think anyone else was coming so the thought of an easier ride (including wait points) was what we looked forward to doing.  Of course, arriving at "the corner" and seeing Galen and Vince waiting for us pretty much changed all that where both Todd and I collectively sighed at their sight upon our approach.  

I'm narrating a little blindly again given that my Garmin is still giving me problems, but the pace heading out to Bonita Canyon didn't seem too bad.  It was obvious, however, that Galen learned his lesson yesterday and did not take the front during that time.  Todd and I led out, and Vince took the last pull.  

When we got on Bonita Canyon, Vince and Galen were pushing the pace while the rest of us just watched in anticipation of Turtle Rock.  Since no one posted their stats either, I don't know how we did.  Everyone stayed together for a while, and I thought Jaffe was even making his way up to the front at one point.  After all, it is his "hood."   The pace, however, got a little too hot for him eventually, which left the remaining four of us make our way up.  Vince took the last pull and had the best chance of beating my challenge to take this segment, along with the following Shady segment, away from me.  We'll see.

On Shady, the 4 of us continued working together, but at one point Galen decided he wasn't going to keep up going up the hill.  Vince launched an attack near the top with Todd and I trailing not too far behind as we went over the crest. 

Vince kept the gap all the way to the bridge, but Todd and I eventually made our way up to him after.  Galen also made his way up to us, so we all headed to Ridgeline together.  

On Ridgeline, I took the front initially and tried to start up the hill at a good pace (~20-21 mph).  Eventually, Vince jumped up front with Todd behind, and I was just able to jump on and ride with them for about 95% only getting gapped just before we hit Turtle Rock again.  

After regrouping with Galen at the top, we proceeded toward Shady.  We saw Irvine PD sitting at the first intersection, where we all obediently stopped as we normally do.  :)  When we headed to Sunnyhill, we saw Jaffe was actually not too far behind and was glad he was just as obedient as we were.  

Going up over the Shady rise toward Bonita took some trading off up front, and the same heading down.  Galen led most of the way down, and no one contested for a sprint to the bike trail opening as usual.  I had thought about taking the front, but my left calf that was twinging earlier finally reached a point of a full cramp.   I hate when that happens, but I did expect it today.  

Galen went ahead on Anteater, and I waved Vince and Todd to go ahead without me due to my calf problem, but when I saw I could make the left turn on Turtle Rock ahead of them (since they crossed and waited to go straight), I played rabbit since my cramp temporarily subsided.   Both of them caught me as expected midway up the hill, but I tried to get back on Todd's wheel near the top only to have my calf fully lock up at that point.  At least I made it to the top, so I was able to coast all the way back down to Bonita Canyon.  Jaffe wasn't far behind here, so he ended up running into the 3 of us while we waited for the long light.  Here, I let the guys know I was skipping the "duplex" and since no one felt they had it in them to take the segment on Strava, they all agreed to do the same.  Funny how Strava can do that to our rides.

Vince led on Bonita Canyon and since my cramp subsided again (after some fluids), I decided to help take the front to keep the pace up.  After getting under the 73, the cramp came back so Todd and the remaining 3 passed me and basically left me for dead.  HA HA...just kidding.  I made it back at crawl speed, so if/when I am able to upload my data, prepare for it to reflect my suckiness.

Thanks for the workout, gents.  The masochism continues tomorrow....

Lunch Ride - Portola and Back

Attendees:  Adrian, Vince, Todd, Gary, Galen, David, Hiroshi, Vin, Seon, Marc, Eric, Robert and me

Big group today, so I guess bringing up the upcoming OC Gran Fondo worked.  You can tell it was going to be one of those days given the pace we were heading down California toward the bike trail.

The pace got even more maddening once we got on the bike trail where people were literally sprinting after getting on.  I know I had to just to latch onto the back.  It was crazy.

Todd, Vince, Galen and Adrian were just going for it, and Gary was one of the first to realize it was ridiculous to try and keep up.  I was behind Vin and Hiroshi, and when they got snapped off the back, I tried to close the gap but succumb to just keeping them in sight.  I tried to recruit Galen to help after he fell off the pace, but he had pushed too hard in the beginning and hadn't recovered yet.  Luckily, Vince, Todd and Adrian got caught at the light on Harvard.

The pace on Harvard was pretty fast, but it was a little chaotic trying to figure out how we were going to jump onto the bike trail.  Hiroshi was calling out to go straight, while the rest of us just made a u-turn just after the bike trail opening (due to construction).

There was a good sized group heading toward Portola, but on the last rise, it had thinned out a little where Vince and Todd eventually broke away.  I gave chase, but could not close the gap in time before they reached the top.  I contemplated turning around where the other trail from Portola intersected, but it wasn't safe with others coming up behind me.  By the time I had turned around, Adrian and Vin had come around and took off where others latched on with an earlier u-turn.

I ended up riding with Seon, who helped reel in Adrian eventually, and we all managed to get to the light on Harvard with everyone else.  The pace remained fast in between lights and all the way back to the bike trail, but the group that formed at the first light remained intact.

On the bike trail back after the bridge, David's rear tire skipped out on the turn and he ended up tumbling toward a fence with Todd and I just missing him.  Unfortunately, Dave's bike was out of commission after that due to the front wheel, so Hiroshi went back to his house to pick Dave up.  Oh...Dave was okay, but it's all about the bike, right?

We took off again after making sure Dave was okay, and I was just happy to stay in the back after falling off the pack twice already by this time.  Vince launched a couple pulls, notably after Vin pulled, and this pretty much shrunk the front to just him, Todd, Galen, Adrian and myself.

As we neared the bike trail next to University, the pace did slow down some and Galen thought we were just starting to take it easy.  I know Vince and Todd didn't want to lead us up to University so that they don't get slingshot, so I figured I'd go ahead and take the last pull once we got up there.  Galen jumped ahead not realizing that it was a sprint zone, but I passed him with a lead out for whoever wanted to jump on.  Adrian and Vince did, and they ultimately sprinted for the finish to California with Vince taking it.  Adrian, hold your line.  Vince, call out which side you're passing.  Glad you're both okay.

Up California, Todd led a few of us up (Adrian had enough on the bike trail, but wouldn't this have been where he could have tested out his new compact crank?).  I jumped up front to keep the pace up, but couldn't get back into the big ring right away when it flattened out some, and the 3 got by me.  When I finally got it in gear, I ended up trying to chase Vince down who broke away from the others but couldn't close in on him before Bison.

Definitely a good training day today.  Todd rode like he didn't even ride yesterday.  We need to check his water bottle.  The others were also kicking ass as well.

Since Galen is still fairly new to us, here are some of the BAM (Broadcom Alpha Male) things he learned:
- This group does not warm-up
- Push too hard in the beginning, and this group will pop you off the back
- Never expect that the pace will stay slow.  It just usually means someone is trying to get ready for an attack.
- Cool down is what the showers are for.

Based on today's ride, we really should consider the following moving forward:
- If you're not going to get up front, don't get in the rotation between those who do.  Let others who are getting in the rotation ahead of you.
- If you think you're going to fall off the pace, let others behind you know BEFORE you do.

Just sayin'.

Thanks for the workout, gents!

P.S.  My Garmin won't connect for some reason, so no stats.

Lunch Ride with Todd and Jaffe

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/1423440

With Todd and I having had too much to drink over the weekend, it seemed like we were on the same wavelength again for this ride...masochism!  Of course, since this was a hilly ride, all that would entail is trying to keep up with Todd.  I think his mission was just to try and drop everyone.  This combination ended up being too much for Jaffe as he first fell off the back on Anteater, and then fully once we got on Turtle Rock.

Todd knows how to keep a good rhythm, so in my mind all I wanted to do was try and match it.  This worked pretty much going up Turtle Rock and NPC, but he once again snapped me off on the last rise on Pelican.  I tried to have him work more than me (to make it even...ha ha), but it didn't help.  I probably made the same mistake and passed him up Pelican too aggressively only to have him return the favor at a pace I could not keep.   Gotta love the guy.  At least I wasn't too far off the back where we were back together at the light to NPC.

NPC was much of the same where we were both taking turns hauling ass down the hill.  Actually, this was pretty much the case for the rest of the ride.  I tried to return the favor and snap him off on Bison on our way back, but he wasn't having any of it.  He was stuck like glue.  

Considering how HOT and WINDY it was today, it was still a good ride.  Tomorrow should be more fun with more peeps...or not.

Como Street 8-28-11

Woke up this morning with some pretty nasty lung congestion. I felt pretty guilty for wussing out on the Thursday Crit and wanted to go work the demons out on Como. My ride stats lately have been sub par and heart rate has been 10-12 BPM higher than usually. Not sure what is going on, but I knew Como was going to hurt.

Rolled into the plot early and did some warm ups around the shopping center. I make my way back to sbucks to wait for the start and notice that Manny Prado is joining us (fresh off a USA Ultra endurance MTB championship). They guy can't be over 130lbs and he is with 3 guy's of similar make up. I look at my Garmin and it is 87 in the shade. I try cough up some more junk out of my lungs and get ready for cardio pain. The ride starts and I hear a few riders mention that this is a big group. I can't confirm since this is my first time to start with the group. It felt like 40 plus riders. After ~4 mile warm up, it turned into a crit. I don't know why, but everyone was really trying to get up front. Funny thing was Manny and his crew was sitting back and watching happen like they knew it would be a waste of time. We finally get to El Toro and the pace is lifted, I notice Manny goes to the front with his pals. I follow them thinking "shit, if they break I just was to say I watched it". Well yes, they did break, and yes I did watch it. I looked at the guy's around at the front to suggest, "If you want to ride with them through the canyon, be my guest". Most of the guy's probably knew that the pro class of shoair was more than we could handle. 2 guy's broke off and tried to catch Manny's group of 4. We watched them catch Manny's group then sit up and roll right back to us. At this point we let them go and realized that we were now a peleton that needed a second break to make it fun for us "nonpros". The attacks started coming quick. I looked at my Garmin and my heart rate was no bueno. I was using way to much energy and not riding at the pace I should be at. A break formed and I jumped on in the hopes I could just sit back until I got yelled at. Unfortunately, the break did not work and was a waste of energy. Out of nowhere, a guy comes by drafting behind a motor scooter, everyone jumps on but the pace was so high we all go single file to hold his wheel. We are approaching dump and I notice the scooter group has formed a break and I can't get to it. I look as my heart rate and realize I should not have rode today. I am pegging 183 and my speed does not show it. I sit up and basically quit trying. Damn! This sucks! I let everyone roll by me and cruised back. At least the first half of the ride was fun. The second half was like sticking your head in the oven whilst some one flogged you in the crotch. One word to describe my ride today "FAIL".

Last 2011 GP Crit - Cat 4/5

Attendees:  Todd, Seon, Verm and me

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/1375551

Believe me when I tell you that I really did not want to write about tonight's ride.  In fact, forgetting about this ride can't come soon enough.  It was my worst outing ever, but I'll write about it anyway for historical value as well as try to take something positive from it.  The crappy thing about it is that I'll have to wait for redemption next year.

During the warm ups, one of the things Todd and I decided to do was hold back and just ride in the pack to take advantage of the draft.  It sounded like a good plan but the one thing we forgot to do was get into position to be able to have this work effectively.  At the start, we were already at the very back of the pack.   After the race started, I really didn't do too much to better my position, but Steve and Todd were able to work their way up fast enough.  I figured this race would start just like all the other races in the past where nothing would happen on the first lap, but this ultimately ended up to my early demise.

How early you ask?  After the first turn!   My trust in nothing happening in the first lap was shoved up my ass.  The accordion effect after the first turn with me near the very back was enough to snap me off right away.  I had to work my around some riders from what I could recall, but all I could do was watch the peloton ahead of me keep inching away.  Todd and Verm had latched on ahead of me, and all I could do was watch.  I tried to close the gap, but it was too much to do on my own.  I had one other guy try and help me, but we were just not able to do so.  Looking at Steve's Strava stats, it looks like the first lap average speed was 26.6.  No F'in wonder. 

Seeing that we were already dropped, the guy I rode with asked if we should cut across and re-join.  While the thought was appealing, the thought of explaining that to other BAM members seemed to outweigh it.  It's like quitting, and that just isn't in my make up.  He ended up cutting across with me, but I had gotten together with another rider where we just made the best out of it and get a good workout. 

We worked together throughout the rest of the race, and we did manage to catch up to Steve who held us off for a while after he dropped from the pack.  Steve joined us, and we got to run another 2-3 laps with him to the end. 

Todd did well and stayed up in the pack working with a younger guy at times to keep him there.  I'm really sorry I didn't get to help him, but as we all know and expect, Todd's a workhorse who can do what it takes to get it done. 

For the rest of the night after the race up to now, all I can think of was how my disappoint must have been like the Griswold's family in the Vacation movie when they couldn't go into Wally World after traveling so far.  I came to race tonight only to be locked out after the first turn, so it was a rather bitter pill to swallow knowing I paid 15 bucks today just to train. 

Anyway boys and girls, racing is that way sometimes, and I again learned a valuable lesson:  don't be a dumbass! 

Thanks to Pam, Kelly and Tracy (Pam's co-worker) for coming and supporting our race.

NPC + Double BB Powered by Muscle Milk

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/1346258

GC:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/108895942


What a way to start a ride.  While we were waiting for everyone at the corner, two young attractive ladies wearing black t-shirts and shorts driving a Muscle Milk truck pulled up and offered us a free drink.  While my dumb ass responded that we were okay given that we were just starting the ride, PV saved the day and said he'd take one.  Once they came out of the truck, it became obvious that PV made the right call so we all lined up behind him and got our free drink.  We even got to take a picture with one of them.  It was a pain in the ass having to carry a 14 oz bottle on this ride, but well worth it considering its origin.  I can only imagine that LTJ is reading this and kicking himself for missing the ride today.

Not the same ones, but close enough

Gary and PV (by the way, welcome back!)  led the group out and had a really good pace going out on E Peltason through Anteater.  I guess they figured since Todd, Shannon and Vince weren't here, there was no reason to save it for NPC.  I stayed in the back and watched, but plotted to launch an assault on NPC.

When we got to NPC, PV decided to go across the street on the red while the rest of us waited.  We'll have to pull out Sandy and let him carry her around on the next ride as a result.  He didn't break away on it though, but we can't have Galen (who joined us again) think this is commonplace for our rides.

When the light turned green, Galen was the one who decided to break away from the others first and got a good head start up the hill.  It took a bit of work to make my way up to him after coming around from behind PV and some others.  He did latch on for a little bit, but was off the back before I got to the 73.  It looked like they were reeling me in after the 73, but I was able to hold them off throughout.  I considered stopping to regroup, but decided that it may be more fun to be chased instead.

On the downhill to San Joaquin, I was pleasantly surprised by Galen who had rolled up beside me.  He even jumped ahead and pulled where I gladly got in his draft.  We worked together through McArthur and PCH, and I guess PV wasn't too far off the back since he ended up catching us on Jamboree.  The funny thing was I asked Galen where he came from, and he responded with...he caught us but he runs lights.  HA HA.  I told you, PV.

The 3 of us worked together on the first Back Bay pass and it was nice to have others help keep the pace up.  Galen is still getting familiar with our routes but gladly took turns up front once he was on board with the destination.  We all crested Back Bay together.

On Jamboree, I took yet another opportunity to try and break off from the two.  I passed Tim, who was running up the hill, and he yelled out some encouragement to keep me going.  I managed to get through the Bison, Ford and San Joaquin lights, but I did get caught at the light on Santa Barbara.  I looked back and I think I saw Galen making his way toward me, so once the light turned green, I just put my head down and took off.

On Back Bay, I kept thinking that PV and Galen would work together to reel me in, but I guess the two had gotten split up as well.  I saw a couple guys in red jerseys ahead of me and thought they were members of our group, so I chased them down only to realize they weren't.  I guess the same thing happened for Galen.

I managed to get to the bottom of California with a 22.1 average at that point.  I kept looking over my shoulder thinking someone was going to roll up behind me, but I got the green light before Galen could.  I guess he was chasing me down the whole time as well.  He tried to chase me up California, but ran out of gas.  I'm glad as it was windy going up that hill.  What a perfect fit for our group though.  Another BAM candidate identified.

Good ride everyone.  Hiroshi brought out his new Felt B16 tri bike, so I hope he enjoyed that thing on Back Bay.  We'll have to get behind him just to see what he can do on that thing.

8-21 Como St + Extra Credit + Evening Festivities

Como:  http://app.strava.com/rides/1322442
Extra Credit:  http://app.strava.com/rides/1322443

It was a good showing for Broadcom today at the Como Street ride.  Jaffe, Verm, Gary and I met up at our usual spot, and Verm brought a friend (insert name here...I forgot).  We also so Kevin and Brad out there as well, but with Noah "noah" to be seen.

The ride had about 70 riders our and was typical except that the pace on Irvine Boulevard wasn't as fast as it usually is.  I tried to get in position on intersection at El Toro, but I think the fact that a lot of people didn't get worked too hard on Irvine, I somehow got pulled closer to middle of the pack by the time we neared Cook's.

This poor positioning made the ascent up the hill a bit more challenging.  I had to make my way past a few people to get closer to the front, and was gladly surprised to see Verm in a good position as I made my way past.  I was just off the front pack (about 6-7 guys) as we neared the 2nd (final) crest, which was good enough to allow me to jump on chase group that formed right after.  It didn't take too long to reel the breakaway group although one guy was pissed that others didn't work to help the chase (I took a pull, so it wasn't me).

As we were riding through the canyon, I sat on the tail of the line and didn't move up as I seemed to be pushing really hard just to stay on.  Even when the guy in front was not pedaling, I would start to fall off.  I stayed with the pack over a couple rollers, but then I felt that repeated thud coming from my front wheel where I just knew it was the valve stem bouncing off the pavement.  When I pulled over and checked, sure enough...the tire was soft.

I got to see the others go by in the packs they were in, and it was nice to have had so many people check to make sure I was okay.  I waved them all on, because if brown man services can't fix a flat, we have problems.  I took my time when I fixed it since I actually just fixed it the night before as well.  By the time I got it on, there were no more Como riders going by so I had to solo it back to BJs.  Average was down to 21.6, but good enough.  I heard Verm caught the front pack at the light and gave them a taste of BAM.  Nice.

For extra credit, only Gary and I went, and we managed to add an extra 44 miles to Como.  We were thinking of doing hills, but opted to just do a run down to the PCH and back up SART.  We were going to hit Imperial Hwy, but Gary somehow forgot to eat and ended up visiting Bonkville instead.  We cut through Taft (the OCGF route) and after going about 13-15 mph average, I asked Gary if he had any food.  He responded with how he had 1 gel that he was saving.  Although I didn't say it, my immediate thought was "Saving?!?  For what...a 12 mph average?"  I offered up one of my gels and lo and behold, S-Gary came back around and was able to finish strong on Jamboree with me.  We'll need to work on his ride nutrition for the next one.  :)

Now I know this is a cycling blog, but one of if not THE top member of our group got hitched.  It was an absolutely beautiful wedding, and it was nice to see both the mountain and road bike groups represented.  Shannon and Dina definitely knew how to put together a good party, and party we did.  There were exotic dancers, an open bar, all the guys and their ladies looking good, and Shannon and Dina looking amazing and amazingly happy.  Of course, the road bike guys closed down the place typical of our post ride festivities.  It's how we roll.  Thank the Lord my wife was able to get me, Adrian and Karye home safely though.  Sorry for spitting all over your front yard, Adrian!  I passed out just inside the house when I got home and am still unsure how I ended up just in my underwear when I got up.

Congratulations to Shannon and Dina!

Friday Lunch Ride with LTJ and Galen

http://app.strava.com/activities/1295929

Oh the feeling of puking on a Friday lunch ride.  Never a dull moment with these lunch rides I guess.

Galen came out to join us today for the first time, and let me tell ya...the guy is legit on the flats.  I hope he can come out more often since he actually takes turns up front.  HA HA.  Since it was windy on the way out on Back Bay, Todd, Galen and I were working just to keep the pace up in the 23-24 mph range.  Ridiculous.

We all worked together through PCH and CDM all the way up to NPC.  Once we got to Pelican, I thought I'd try and keep Todd's pace.  Galen wasn't familiar with the hill and fell back some.  He was surprised that those hills even existed, so he definitely needs to come out with us more.  I held Todd's wheel for most of the way, but fell off after I miss-shifted where Todd just grinded it out making it impossible to recover.  LTJ is an animal!

We regrouped on NPC and attempted to bomb down the other side, but this big truck made it not as fun as usual.  Galen showed he's got some downhill capabilities also and worked to keep the pace up here as well.

We worked together on Bonita Canyon, but once on Ford, I checked up a bit in preparation for the duplex.  After all, I live there too, so I had to clean up for the guests.  Todd saw me slowing up a bit and falling off, and said "I know what you're up to.  You're planning on running up the hills past us."  My response:  iiyeaaah.  I wasn't denying I was trying to set up that hill.  Poor Galen probably didn't know anything about this hill, but he led Todd out for it.  Todd got a good jump, but I found a pretty good tempo as well and got up to him about 3/4 of the way up where he ran out of steam.  I was just off the record pace by a second...I didn't realize it at the time, but maybe that explains the vomit that was coming up my throat after.

Good ride for a Friday for sure, and it was again good to have Galen join us.  I hope we see more of him on these rides.

Thanks, LTJ and Galen!

Thursday GP Crit - Masters 2-Man Team

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/1290498

GC:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/107643071

For today's race, Todd and I decided we were going to give the Masters class a try just to see how we could do as a team of two.  We both would have liked to ride with more of the team in the Cat 4/5 class, but the lure of riding with others in our age group was appealing.

The start of the race was much like how the Cat 4/5 class would start where everyone seems to hold back.  Watching the Cat 1/2/3 class take off before us though was quite humbling considering they seemed to have flat out sprinted right out of the gate.  Crazy!

Although we didn't really plan it, both of us seemed to be on the same page for a majority of the race.  We both kept an eye on each other where if one would defend a break, the other would be right there as well...all without prompting.  There were also several break attempts during the race, and it seemed we were both on board to defend them despite not really having the numbers to do so.  In one of the breakaways, not only did we defend it but we pretty much did so by ourselves.  The nice thing was we wouldn't leave one another hanging out there for too long before the other would relieve us despite others trying to block.  Great team work!  I can only imagine how it would have been with more of us.

For the primes, I did sprint for both of them since I knew LTJ was nearby to pick me up in case an attack followed.  I wanted to see how fast these guys could sprint, but without a leadout, I couldn't really get a good position for them.  It still serve the purpose of letting me know just how fast these guys were. 

After having defended attacks as much as Todd and I did, the last lap was tough to set up.  Having closed or helped as many breaks as we did, the peloton for the sprint finish was huge!  One guy tried to break away, but the group picked up the pace to almost 29 mph starting midway on the back stretch all the way to the end.   Todd tried to set up a leadout for me, but the pace was too hot that it wasn't feasible.  I had to pass early and ask LTJ to jump in the draft and see if we could set something up on the last few turns.  Unfortunately, this was impossible since now there was probably about 20 or more people getting ready for that final sprint.  I was caught between all sorts of people, so it was hard to get into a good position.  When I tried, there were just too many people to chase down since it was like a swarm of bees heading toward the finish line. 

While we would have preferred to make top 10, one of the rewarding parts of this ride was just how well we could work together and make it an all together different race than week's before.  The Masters never caught the Cat 4/5 group because of how we kept neutralizing the attacks, so the workout was just as intense as the last race if not more.  My average of almost 25 mph was actually the highest its been in all of these outings, so we definitely worked our asses off.  Chalk this up as another great race.

Thanks to Pam, Shannon and my wife and kids for making it out to support us.  Of course, we probably would have appreciated it more if Shannon was out there racing with us, but he came with cold brew so good enough.  We'll miss him for next week's race. 

BRCM Lunch - Triple BB Again

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/1261256

GC:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/107091899


Doing our triple Back Bay route is always tough.  It gets even tougher as everyone who comes out gets stronger and stronger.  That means more people to push the pace and/or more people to just push.  12 of us made it out for this ride today, and "punishing" would be an understatement for its description.

Vince started up front today like he was on a mission.  He almost broke away on California for crying out loud.  Thank goodness for traffic lights.  He continued to lead out for a while, but Gary and Adrian relieved him just as we were going around the Jamboree corner headed to Back Bay.

The odd thing was when Vince was trying to roll back in the pack after Gary and Adrian took the front, everyone else stayed behind Vince.  What's up with that?  Adrian and Gary had even gotten ahead quite a bit as they descended ahead of us, so Vince, Todd and I decided to turn the screws up to 1) close the gap and 2) push the pace.  Gary and Adrian jumped on as we passed, but to my surprise, so did a few others.  The wind was pretty tough, so that definitely impacted any breakaway attempts, but still....  Toward the end of Back Bay, Vin even got pushed up to the front and took a good pull.  Todd eventually finished it out and led us out to Jamboree.

Once on Jamboree, we turned the screws up again and this time, Adrian, Vince, Todd and I were able to break off and do the 2nd pass through Back Bay together.  We didn't let up any to see if we can sustain it, so we kept working where I felt my ticker was going to pop.  When we got near the gate, we still shot up together with Vince getting to the top first.

Vince and Todd didn't let up here and worked up Jamboree.  I couldn't recover as fast after Back Bay, so I fell off early in the ascent.  Adrian had already decided not to try and keep the pace after Back Bay and wished us good luck.

Vince and Todd definitely broke away after Jamboree, but I was able to see them after San Joaquin where I thought, if they checked up any (or waited...yeah, right), I may be able to do the last run with them.  However, the light after caught me so all I could do was watch them get on PCH and never see them again after.  The thought of taking a shortcut (BB drive) did cross my mind, but that's not BAM style, right?

I ended up doing the last pass solo all along wondering if the guys behind me would work together and reel me in.  Adrian mentioned he could see me and tried to recruit Vin to help do so, but they were never able to close the gap.

When I got to California, Joseph was there ahead of me, but he did his own variation of Back Bay today. It didn't take that long for Adrian, Vin, Jaffe and Seon to roll up behind me though, which was impressive given I was at a 22.2 mph average at that point.

Going up California, Adrian tried to encourage a Strava attempt, but I knew it wouldn't be possible.   I did start to gap a little bit from the bottom, but we all got caught at the first light. When I took off from that light, however, Seon and Jaffe still had some fight in them and climbed along side of me.  At one point, Seon seemed to be working his way past me, so I kicked it up a notch to shake him off.  When I looked back, however, Jaffe was on my rear wheel like we were connected at birth.  I yelled back "good job, Jaffe!" but am uncertain if he heard me.  Then I really took off.   The games we play, right?

Adrian tried to sneak by at the light, and of course, Vin couldn't resist poking at me saying Adrian's going to beat me to the gate.  I am so above that type of teasing at this point of my life...not.  I chased him down.  BAM!

Vince and Todd are always impressive, so nothing new there.  However, the strength of the rest of the group and the visible improvements week after week is even more impressive.  I know one of the younger guys (names withheld to protect the innocent...but his name rhymes with ANNOYIN') has an X marked on my back for some reason, but if it works to keep him and the rest pushing hard...more power to them.

Good ride, guys!  Thanks!

August Big Ride - Local Hills!

Attendees:  Vince, Noah, Adrian and Kevin (Noah's buddy)

Vince's Strava stats (with 26 achievements!)  http://app.strava.com/rides/1210301

The original plan was to do a ride through some hills in Malibu where Mapmyride showed 9000+ feet of elevation gain in 82 miles.  Due to availability or interest, we decided to do a local run instead.  We were suppose to do a ride through SART, but after having eaten an actual peanut butter, jelly, and bacon burger at Slaters 50/50 in Anaheim yesterday, I opted to keep the spirit of "big ride" and changed the route to do a lot of the local hills to burn some of it off.  Participation dropped last minute, but 5 of us still made it out to play.

It was good that Vince came out today even after running 6 miles yesterday.   He actually even showed up early thinking that the departure time was a half hour earlier than what I indicated rather than his usual fashionably late self.  I think we need to do that to him more often. 

Noah brought his buddy, Kevin, who we've ridden with up Baldy before and on a crit.  Both of them met up with us on Jamboree/Portola and were out attacking the hills with the rest of us.  Adrian also came out (finally), and was just as game as the others to do some hill charging. 

We added a few new hills (N. Cannon front and back side, Chapman and Ridgeline near Cooks) and definitely need to do both more often.  The rest of the hills were Cannon, Nohl Ranch, Chapman, Silverado, Modjeska, Santa Marguerita, Jamboree (both sides) and the canyons (both directions).  All of this equated to 6300 feet of climbing today.   Not too shabby.

Noah was not feeling too great today, so he wasn't attacking the hills the way we're accustomed to.  Plus, he was on his Look bike, which is not his climbing bike, so it will be scary when he gets his new bike.  From how he felt going up Nohl, I think he's decided that he'll be putting a compact crank on his R5.   That's going to be scary.  He and Kevin ended up calling it early because of how he felt and skipped out before Silverado.  The local route definitely was a better choice for today.

In his place, Vince was definitely on attack mode on the hills.  He was not only attacking it with us, he was also defending the jersey when others would challenge us up hills like Silverado and back through the canyon.  I sure am glad he was out to do so, as each time, I just didn't have enough.  This was a great outing for Vince, and I think if he was worried about having lost ground after his crit crash, he shouldn't worry any more. 

Vince did offer to tempo ride after we finished Ridgeline, and even I have to admit I fell for it.  Adrian was starting to feel the hills when we took the break at Cooks, so the plan was to soften the pace some so we can keep going through the entire route.  Going up Live Oak, however, I thought I had a good pace to keep us all together.  The next thing you know, Vince took off again despite dominating most of the previous hills we did earlier.  BAM!

Despite being a trooper and doing all the hills, Adrian had enough by the time we went up Santa Margarita and Marguerite.  He was going back via Irvine Blvd, but Vince and I ended up going back through the canyons.  We did skip Glen Ranch and Saddleback so that Adrian doesn't end up waiting too long for us...thank God!  My legs started cramping after Cooks and then really popped midway through the canyons after we started mixing it up with a guy on a BH bike.  If the BH bike guy didn't have a flat going up Dump hill, I would never have seen him and Vince again. 

Damn good ride today, and I think all of our legs are feeling it (still as of this writing).  Thanks to those who made it out and keeping the training up.  We'll have to do this same route again soon...when it's not as hot. 

Friday Lunch Ride - Strava Challenge #1 plus NPC Pelican PCH BB Loop

The challenge segment:  http://app.strava.com/segments/676086

The ride:  http://app.strava.com/rides/1210301

Noah issued the first Strava challenge for the team where the goal was to complete the California to Bison segment under 2 minutes.  For this Friday ride, THAT was the mission.  Although I thought I made that clear to those I invited to come out, I guess Todd didn't get the memo.  Nevertheless, the guy is a trooper, so it didn't take much convincing.

Mike Z. also came out today and being the nice guy he is, he offered to ensure that the light on CA was green where it couldn't impact out Strava attempt. 

On our way to CA, we saw Jaffe and Hiroshi heading the opposite way on the bike trail since I guess we left early and they went to look for us.  They turned around to join us and also offered to go ahead of Todd and me, so they can let Mike Z. know we were coming.  They would also serve as targets to shoot for as they too took a stab at the challenge.  All together, BAM teamwork at its finest!

When Todd and I took off, he wasn't able to clip in right away, so I took off given that we weren't suppose to work together for this challenge.  This was ensured by Noah, who actually came out to watch to make sure we played by the rules.  Funny guy.

I ended up making my way past Hiroshi and Jaffe st some point, but I think my tempo was too high where I ended up sitting sooner than I expected.  I tried to spin faster after sitting, but this was not ideal evident with Todd passing me about 2/3 of the way up.  Ultimately, he was able to bang out the "true" KOM for the segment with me behind him, but both of us failed to make it under 2 minutes.

Ideally, this challenge is probably better to attempt in the morning with less wind.  Also, might I suggest a real warm up?  We were so cold when we took off up the hill that our legs and lungs were on fire at the top.  HA HA


We still did an NPC PCH BB loop after this ride, and some standout moments were when Hiroshi and Jaffe broke off up NPC, Hiroshi staying up front for 3/4 of the way up NPC, and Mike Z.'s bombing down Pelican like a mad man.  No howls though.

Todd and I eventually broke off and pushed each other on NPC.  We did decide to drop it down a notch on BB since we were both feeling pretty worked.  This meant a respectable 23-25 mph pace.   We did finish off going up California, but nothing like we did earlier.


Overall, it was a good trainer for a Friday.   Thanks to all those who came out and helped. 

Thursday Lunch Ride - BB San Joaquin Ridge Park Vista NPC and Back with Jamboree Finish

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/1198067

Attendees:  Todd, Adrian, Vince, Hiroshi, Jaffe, Jeremy, Seon, Vin, Joseph, Yong and Peter

A dozen cyclists made it out today with a couple new faces:  Welcome Joseph and Yong(?).   Considering yesterday's tragedy, I wasn't sure anyone was coming out.  I'm glad everyone made it out despite. 

Todd, despite not being 100%, still proved to be one of the group's workhorse.  He led everyone all the way to Back Bay, and had Vince not jumped to the front, we all probably would have been content to sit in his draft the whole time.  I did go up with Vince to help and also convinced Adrian to do so as well. 

When we got to the San Joaquin kicker hill, Hiroshi decided to assert himself and attacked the hill with Vin just behind him.  Nice attack!  I think the consensus by the others was that there was still a lot of climbing to go. 

On San Joaquin, we all pretty much stayed together until the last light before the climb.  Vince, Todd and I broke away for a little bit but others weren't too far behind where after pausing at one intersection, others were back in the draft shortly thereafter. 

On Ridge Park, we all managed to cross the intersection together.  Vince led us up the hill originally, and I jumped ahead sometime after.  Both Adrian and Jaffe passed me for a short period of time, but slowly fell back after.  I led for a bit, but Todd and Vince made their way past me.  I tried to hold their wheel, but it became futile after a while on the 39/26.   Looks like Vince broke off of Todd's wheel near the top and kept the pace up earning him a Strava KOM to the top.  Nice!  I was struggling but looking back, I saw Hiroshi making his way up behind me.  He was definitely starting to reel me in, so I kicked it up just enough to get to the top.  He ended up just behind me when we got to the meet up point at the stop sign after the extra credit. 

After regrouping, the descent down Vista was pretty fast paced.  Vince and Adrian led the charge, and it took some work just to make up some ground from the back.  If it wasn't for a truck getting in the way, it might have been impossible. 

The charging on San Joaquin continued up through the first rise and down the descent.  Have I mentioned how I love descending?  What a rush!  Vin even got in the mix at one point.  Ah...to be young. 

We ultimately made our way to Back Bay and upon the turn from San Joaquin, Vince decided to work the group and break away for a bit.  Others lined up behind Todd to let this workhorse reel him back in, which he did eventually.  Adrian took a turn up front to keep the pace up, which is always "fun."  Some time after, I decided to take a rotation and tried to keep the pace up.  When I started running out of gas, Vince launched an attack where I looked back hoping others would help defend.  When I tried to close the gap, I tried to do so on a less than preferred bigger gear and blew up shortly after.  Todd and Adrian came around so I jumped on their draft to the end.  Vince had broken away and made it to the top first followed by the rest of us. 

On Jamboree, Todd had gotten up with Vince and started to lead him away with a good gap ahead of me.  All I could do at that point was just watch them as they kept pulling away.  When they got on Bison, that was pretty much the last I saw of them.  Adrian ended up catching me on Bison and we rode in together, but I guess the others had gone back and up California to finish their ride.

I observed some really solid performance out there from Jeremy, Jaffe, Hiroshi, Seon, Vin and Yong.  Now I know what Vince was talking about the other day...damn the youth!  It definitely makes me nervous to see these guys keep improving on every outing...that's a good thing.

Thanks for the workout today, gents!  Glad it was a safe one. 

Wednesday Ride - Good Ride but with a Tragic Ending

Attendees:  Hiroshi, David and Jaffe

Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/1186906

It was a little windy today, so I think we spent a good 5 minutes discussing what route we were going to take.  Ultimately, we ended up doing a BB out in back plus the CW bike trail Laguna Canyon Shady route. 

Going out was tough as expected given the wind, but Hiroshi, David and Jaffe took turns with the pulls while I warmed up after being sick and off the last few days.  It was nice that they didn't give me crap sitting in the back while they rotated, but I finally gave in toward the end of Back Bay once the averages dropped from the heavy winds. 

Hiroshi tried to relieve going up Jamboree toward PCH, but I was feeling okay and didn't mind working the front.  We made our way through the bike trail by the trailer park and back onto BB drive.   Jaffe, Hiroshi and Dave led the first part of BB, but I took over before San Joaquin and led from there. 

At the top of BB, Hiroshi and Jaffe passed but I didn't see David.  When I got back up front before the bridge, David had made his way back onto the draft.  I didn't realize there was a Strava section from BB to Jeffrey, and I guess with the tailwind, I managed to get a silver with a 24 mph average.  Now if only the others worked with me....  :)

On the bike path after Jeffrey, Hiroshi led the other 2 while I replenished my fluids but I made my way back up to them after.  They stayed with me to Laguna Canyon but once we were going over the freeway, the pace up the rise was a little much and I broke away. 

I did see the guys on Quail Hill but once I started heading up Shady, I didn't see them for the rest of the ride.  I thought the pace may have been much given that I was at a 21.2 average by the time I got to Bonita Canyon.  However, I came to find out that they were heading up toward Shady when they all heard a thud behind them.

The thud was probably one of our worst nightmares...a car vs. cyclist on a guy who just passed them.  Steve, Jaffe and Hiroshi made their way back to assist and call 911 and from the sound of it, the guy didn't look good.  I don't think they have much more details than that, but they were all pretty shaken up having seen it. 

My well wishes go out to the cyclist, but selfishly, I'm glad it was not one of the guys who rode out with me today.  Maybe there is something to be said about safety in numbers, but don't kid yourselves...act like they never see you and ride accordingly. Be safe out there.

***Update - the cyclist din't make it:  http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/killed-29441-local-bicycling.html.  RIP Duane Parkison.

Tuesday Ride Shady/Turtle Ridge

Riders: Adrian, Seon, Vin, Hiroshi, Jaffe, David, Marc, and I.

Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/1178773

Route: ~1.3k vert through Shady/Turtle Ridge area.

Summary:

Although we were missing the usual pace makers, no one was going to let that spoil the pain party that is known as the BRCM lunch ride . Adrian made it clear in the first 1-2 miles that no one was going to get to ease into the ride and the others followed suit. Gone are the days of tempo riding for the greater good, the Crits have a stronghold on the group and the "No Pain, No Pain" attitude is in full effect. I like it, but damn it hurts! Hiroshi and Jaffe are pretty much unshakable and are finding their way up front to dish out some pace. Vin and Seon are stacked up on dehydrated sweet potatoes, youth, and drive. They will be putting me on the old and retired team soon. I am just counting the days until I have to start saying stuff like "when I was your age, I never used my 39t" or "I would totally kick your ass on Strava if my medicaid covered EPO's". The lines are blurred, I no longer know who can climb the fastest, mash the flats, sprint, or breakaway. All I know, is lunch rides hurt no matter who shows up.

Thursday GP Crit - Cat 4/5 (Flippin' the Script)

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/1105907

GC (legacy for non-conformist):  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/104154096

Being that we left from the parking lot of the at 9:40 PM, let's get right to the race talk, shall we?

Today, the plan in general was to not let team Sho-Air dictate the race results like last week where we were caught with out pants down.  With us showing up in more numbers, that's EXACTLY what we did.  We probably could align better with what we plan to do more, but one never knows how these races are going to go down.  Despite this, I'm pretty sure they'll remember us for the next outing.  What's funny is that the guy who stages the race outed us and told Sho-Air that there's another team (didn't know our name but referred to us as the team in a black kit) coming for them.  Can you say "foreshadowing?" 

There were six of us out this afternoon with this being Todd's and Seon's initial outing.  For the most part, we had guys marking the point leader from the front (Vince and Todd), from nearby (me), and from the rear (Shannon, Mitchell and Seon).   There were attempts in breaking away, but all of them were pretty much neutralized.

Todd, despite his first outing, represented in BAM fashion.  I think he actually even went after someone who took off for the first prime.  Shannon and I worried a little about him, but Todd is legit to crit.  He never faded, and now can't wait for the next race.  In fact, I think if he had lights for his bike, he probably would still be out there!

Shannon saw how the race was going this week, and took 2 stabs at breaking away.  Stab 1, he offered Scott (point leader) a draft but got refused.   When he broke the 2nd time, no one followed thinking it would turn out the same.  In the meantime, Todd and Vince started managing the tempo of the group from the front, while I watched Scott from nearby.   This allowed Shannon to work with a non-conformist Sho-Air guy (James) and keep the breakaway for the rest of the race...and there was still 4-5 laps to go!

With Shannon up front, we never wanted to lead anyone up to him, so we absolutely flipped the script on Sho-Air giving them a taste of their own medicine.  Needless to say, I don't think they were too happy about it.

We did try to set up the last lap for a leadout in the chase group, but it got a little chaotic as we neared the bottom of the track.  Vince and Todd were there, but I went after others who were already starting to bring the pace up as we neared the turn at the bottom.  After the 3rd to the last turn, things got even more chaotic where someone actually went down right in front of me.  Thankfully, we were all able to avoid the guy.

Shannon ended up getting #2 from his breakaway, which was definitely an awesome team effort.  Of course, he says he would have liked for us to go with him, but we did exactly what we needed to do for this race.   We'll do something different for the next one for sure, but being able to give the other team a dose of their own medicine was just what the doctor ordered.  

Great job, team!

Official results:
  
Cat 4/5 - 1.Tanzy Yang, 2. Shannon McGee, 3. Luke Ollett, 4. Sol Sim, 5. Marc Packey, 6. James Hilyer, 7. Jeff Lewis, 8. Rick Barrosa, 9. Brian Darney, 10. Richard Laureano.

BRCM Lunch - Triple BB (or as Shannon puts it, triple bypass)

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/1065673


The next time I suggest the triple Back Bay route again, please remind me to punch myself in the nuts  instead.  It would be just as "fun" but the pain factor would be a lot less.

11 of us made it out on today's ride, and you can tell based on who came out it was going to be a good  one.  Since we figured this route would be good for some crit training, I think the plan for most of us  who race was to launch attacks here and there, defend them when possible, and watch Shannon.  The  latter was equally important on the last 2 trips through Back Bay.

Vince and Todd led us out originally all the way to Back Bay while the others remained content behind  them.  I was saving up for what I knew was going to be crazy, but I decided to join the rotation and  share in the "fun."  What some of the others who haven't ridden as long probably doesn't know is that  the front is where you get the most training bang for your buck.  It's tough with this group, but  throwing yourself out there and trying to recover after to re-join will help in your progress in my  opinion.

After some rotations, Vin seemed reluctant to give up Todd's wheel near the end of the first pass.  I  told him if he's not getting up front, he needs to let me in.  Like a trooper, he goes ahead and gets  up front all the way to the end of the first Back Bay pass.  What he probably didn't know is that Todd,  Vince and I conspired to launch an attack at the end when we expected everyone to be resting.  However,  there wasn't much of a sprint at the end, so when we did try and snap everyone off, the group hung on.   Nice!

I thought even the little kicker sprint to go up to PCH on Jamboree would break some off, but looking  back on PCH everyone was holding pretty steady behind us.  We tried to launch a couple more attacks  here and there, but it barely shook anyone off that I could see.  Adrian broke away for a bit on the  trailer park, but we didn't respond because we knew the group would catch him in a matter of time.  We  won't talk about the incident coming off of the bike trail at the trailer park though since that could  have not been good.

Once we got back on Back Bay, we held off an attack until we got past San Joaquin.  With Vince up  front, I came from about the 5th position and tried to get Vince to break away with me.  When I turned  around at the first sharp turn, I could still see a long train of guys in the draft.  Damn!  It was at  this point that Shannon decided to jump to the front, and I guess only THIS will string the guys out.  It's his super train pull that just becomes unbearable for some to hang onto.   We did do some  rotations, and at the end, I went ahead and sprinted to the top just edging out my Irish bud by a nose.  
Vince took the lead up Jamboree, and I got into a rhythm I thought I could hold where initially I was  able to get past him.  Then Todd passed me followed by Vince, and Shannon eventually got by too.   Fortunately, we were able to regroup at the light on Ford/Eastbluff or those guys may have gotten away.   Mitchell had jumped on behind me on Jamboree and Seon also caught up to the rest of us at the same  light.

As we made our way out toward PCH, there wasn't really any attacks going on although Todd seemingly  tried to break off a little as we got on the last hill.  However, we were able to reel him back in.

Once we got on the bike trail behind the trailer park, Vince launched a nice attack, and it took a  serious sprint just to get everyone back on his wheel. Todd eventually led us out of the trailer park,  but upon reaching the gates, I decided to bring the pace up again.  Vince took a turn after me  subsequently, but some time after the San Joaquin, the Shannon locomotive hit full stride.  Todd was  there to hang on, and Vince, Mitchell and I did the same as the only remaining in the front group.

Todd got up front eventually, and then I took the front and led the final stretch to the top of Back  Bay.  I tried to save a little for the sprint to the top, but it wasn't enough to fend Vince off who  got past me on this run.

We kept going after the top and it took a little bit before being able to get on Vince's wheel again.   Shannon and Todd also were nearby, but by the time we got under Jamboree, we were all together then.   Vince was either tired or soft pedaling in anticipation of the final sprint to CA.  I decided to lead  out the group and see if I can also defend the sprint from the front again.  We were still moving at a  pretty good clip, when I heard the sounds of someone getting ready to pass...it was Shannon!  I tried  to jump on his wheel to catch the draft, but he was moving where ultimately he took it to me on that  sprint.  Vince and Todd got blocked out (by me accidentally), so they didn't go for it just to keep it  safe.

Going up California, Todd led Vince and I up where we made it through the first light while the others  got caught behind.  Todd kept a good pace going up, so Vince and I stayed behind him for a good portion  of the climb.  Vince took the front near the top of the hill, and I jumped some time after to sprint  toward the light.  I didn't expect Vince had anything left, but he got up beside me and stuck out his  hand as we reach the light either to show he slightly nosed me out or to say stop since our light was  red.  Either way, it was a great way to finish off today's crit simulation training.

Thanks to everyone who came out today.  While no Strava segments were taken today, the 23 mph average  we hit by the time we were at the base of CA definitely made it intense.  Now I can't wait until  Thursday.