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!
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