Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/1591130
What perfect weather to get out and get a big ride in...no ridiculous heat, no rain, no thunder/lightning and no hail. The winds were light early on, but it did pick up some through the canyons. Nothing major though, so I'll take it.
James and Todd coming out, we knocked out 77 miles with 5200 ft of elevation. James couldn't do the whole route as he had to cut it short from Mission Viejo, but he was definitely good to have out there with us since he contributed to a lot of good rotations. On the way down to PCH via Back Bay, Todd even mentioned how that was probably one of the smoothest rotations with each doing their share of pulls. Good job!
After going through CDM, there was a triathlon being held, but we were able to squeeze through and ride their bike course as it made its way to the tip of Laguna Beach. There were some guys actually doing the bike leg already while we were on the course, but we pulled all the way to the right so they can pass. We did slow up some as well just so we don't interrupt the race in any way, but there was no way to get through otherwise.
As we made our way to Park, Todd and I tried to prepare James for the climb. I guess he was a little nervous after reading about Todd indicating how others have fallen over, but we assured him it he could do it if he managed his output and not go too hard in the beginning. He still ended up going ahead of Todd and I early on, but once it started pitching up pretty good, we reeled him in and got by. Todd was actually behind me in the beginning, but he got by me just after we got by James. Both of us were a little tentative to pass since James had been doing the paperboy route once the hill pitched up pretty good. He actually did it several times joking at the the top that he must have done twice the distance Todd and I did. Still, he wasn't too far behind once we got to the top.
Descending was another story. Todd and I started bombing down the hill but we ended up having to check up behind a Prius. As we decided to turn on one street to avoid riding through downtown, we waited at the intersection to make sure James doesn't miss the turn. After a while, we started to worry since James seemed to be taking a while so Todd and I both started to work our way up the hill again. Thank goodness James finally came around the bend where we didn't have to climb that monster again.
We made our way to Pac Island, and I was hoping to get a good pace going up where I passed Todd and James early on. Todd jumped on and eventually kept trading places with me as we made our way up. Eventually, he snapped me off near the top but helped me get my PR on that hill. Sweet!
I thought Todd would stop at the top, but he kept going so I started to chase him down. He was a pretty good distance ahead when he got on Highland, but that hill has one of those pitches I can find a good rhythm on. I guess he knew, so as he was making his way up kept looking back. When I got up to him, I kept going thinking I could hold the pace where it wouldn't be easy for him to jump on. I guess that would be a good assumption if it wasn't for LTJ. He got on my rear wheel quick and held the pace where eventually, I gave up. I did end up getting a KOM for that section, but that's just until Todd can get his Garmin stats posted.
We did make our way to Los Alisos and eventually ended up splitting off from James who took Trabuco to get back. One guy jumped on and started to ride in our draft for a while as we continued on to Marguerite. He hung on for a while despite us holding a pretty good pace and even launched an attack at one point but we neutralized that pretty quickly where he never made his way ahead of us after. BAM!
Todd and I continually pushed each other as we made our way through the canyons and up Silverado, and every hill was like a Strava segment. We traded off on who would get up each hill first, and it was intense and non-stop. One guy on an Orbea Orca tried to ride with us for a while, but fell off because of the pace. Dump hill was pretty epic and it was like we were both going for Gold as we must have traded places a few times. In the end, we were side by side near the top and I once again succumb to defeat to LTJ. It was a blast though!
It was much of the same as we went over Jamboree, but I had a pretty good pace where I ended up leading us up that hill. We passed one couple who were climbing up the hill at a pretty fast clip as I don't think we even dropped under 20 where they must have thought "WTF?" We didn't stop alternating and pushing until we got to Irvine Blvd where I was trying to hit 30 on the last flat stretch. In the end, both of us got worked. The pizza and beers were a perfect way to end the ride.
Thanks for coming out, guys!
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