Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2161401
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/125425296
Notable climbs: San Joaquin, Ridge Park to the end, Pelican, Park, Temple, Summit, Nyes, Pacific Island (both sides), Highland (both sides), Niguel, Glenn Ranch, Saddleback, Modjeska, Dump Hill, Jamboree.
When Shannon sent out the map for today's route, I knew it was going to be intense based on all the hills he had us doing. Not only was it a 9.5-10.5K route, it was 90 miles long and got to about 90 degrees in the canyons. It was brutal.
Vin joined us for a good portion of the ride and got de-virginized from the 7 sisters. What was impressive about it was how he did it with all the other hills before it, where this was no small feat. And while his pull may have been limited to just 1 for the day and early on, he nevertheless got it done. He did have to take off before Glenn Ranch, but to date it must have been the biggest ride he's ever done. He pretty much hated us after the ride, but I'm sure he'll hate us more tomorrow and maybe even Tuesday if he doesn't ice his legs.
Now the pace was suppose to be fairly mellow to save up for the hills, but even on the bike trail heading toward back bay, we were hitting speeds of 25-26 mph. I suppose it was okay though given it was a little chilly at the start. Back Bay was pretty much the same.
On San Joaquin, we were all staying together but we did run into a guy in a BMC kit on McArthur who was on his way to do Como Street. We got ahead of him at the light, and we maintained a pretty decent pace and stayed together. However, BMC kit guy came around just after the light on Spyglass at a pretty good clip. Being that we were all in BRCM kits, I felt compelled to just follow him up the hill just so he knows he didn't drop us. When I passed him at the top to and gave him a "good job," he didn't even look at me. Sigh. Can't we all just get along?
Since the others were saving it, I decided to go up Ridge Park ahead of them. I just set a pace up the hill where I could stand the whole time. Sure enough, Shannon caught up to me on the last rise before Vista, so I was able to pick up to his pace up and over the top as we headed toward the end. Now if only I could have gotten a head start on all the rest of the hills.
After a quick regroup, we were headed down Vista. Rather than going down NPC to the 2nd Pelican, we decided to go down on the first Pelican first, turn around, and go back down. Gary and Vin had a pretty good jump on Pelican as Gary sprinted up the hill before the down. I thought Shannon was looking to hit it hard, so I started to accelerate expecting him to come with to chase Gary. When I turned around and noticed he didn't come, I decided to give chase solo. Gary was moving though, so he did get to the bottom just ahead of me.
We turned around and I decided to slow it down some and not charge up Pelican too hard. Then, Vin passed me with some seemingly bad intentions, so what's a BAM to do? I decided to just reel him in as we went over the first two hills, but just before the last down and the final long climb up, I decided to pick the pace up a little more just to keep him honest.
On our 2nd trip down Pelican, I was content with taking it easy, but Gary was still in mix it up mode. Gotta love him. Of course, I'm always game so we exchanged passes. Good times.
When we got on NPC and then PCH, we finally decided to back off a bit. Shannon was onboard with this plan, thank God, and S-G even backed off a bit here (wha?). It was a tame pace even going through Laguna Beach, so no break aways here.
On Park, we had prepared Vin for the upcoming hill and prepared him for what's to come. Once we knew he'd be safe, off I went. I had found a good pace going up, and Shannon ended up just pacing me up here where we arrived at the Top of the World together. Gary arrived shortly after, and Vin not much longer.
When we went up Temple and Summit, I broke the #1 fight club rule and paced Shannon as best as I could. However, he turned up the heat at the end of both snapping me off near the top each time. Just seeing him most of the climb is good for me, so I'm happy.
When we went down Nyes, I got down first and started up the hill just ahead of Gary and Shannon. That first part remains to be a friggin' nightmare, but after the right turn, it wasn't as bad. Now I was waiting for Shannon to come by at some point, but he chose the path of just pacing me instead so I did get to the top just ahead of him. I remember Todd giving me crap before about not going to the very top after the park, so I made sure to do so today.
Shannon, Gary and I regrouped, but wasn't sure if Vin was going to make it up. Gary mentioned he had stopped due to a cramp, so we decided to just go down in case he was waiting for us at the bottom. About 100 feet down, we see him making his way up and I suggested he turn around and follow but Shannon told him to keep going since the end was near. So he did. Good for you, Vin! We did wait at the bottom on PCH for him, but when he didn't show up for a while, I did start to make my way up to find him and make sure he was okay. I was so glad he made the turn toward PCH up ahead of me before I had to climb that first part again.
We took a quick break on PCH at a liquor store, but after that we were off to finish the rest of the b!tches. I was feeling pretty good still, so I decided to go up ahead on Pac Island once we started up it. I found a good rhythm, so I kept ahead of the guys and went on once I got to the top. Now I thought the plan was to go up Highland (both sides) and do Niguel at the top of it, which I did. Now I looked for the other guys and didn't see them as I waited at the corner of Highland and Niguel. After failing to reach Gary in case I didn't go on the right route, I started making my way back toward Pac Island and saw the others making their way up Highland. I tried joining them, but they told me I forgot the other side of Pac, so off I went. I was worried they would wait for me, so I kept a decent pace up and managed to get to the corner of Highland and Niguel just before the guys were heading down Niguel.
Now having completed the sisters and all the other hills before them, we did keep the pace fairly moderate as we made our way on the bike trail off Alicia that took us all the way to PD Valencia and Aliso and finally to a gas station at the Jeronimo intersection for another break.
When we took off, I finally started to feel the earlier miles so when Shannon led us on a bike trail off Jeronimo toward El Toro, I had to wave Gary and Vin on while I downed some Shot Bloks to keep hamstrings from popping. This worked and I was able to make my way up to Gary and Vin but we stayed off the back of Shannon until he stopped at the Portola/El Toro intersection. This was where Vin ended up going home from, so the 3 of us continued. Now Shannon had asked me if I wanted to skip Glenn Ranch, but I didn't want to not mess up his ride so we kept going. When we finally got on Glenn Ranch, Shannon got ahead of Gary and I and I was not about to chase since I knew Saddleback and Modjeska was still ahead.
Shannon waited at the bottom of Saddleback, and I did too just ahead of him. Once Gary rounded, he was going up at a pretty good pace, so I paced him also following the rhythm of the song on my iPod. After some time, I did start to breakaway from Gary but maintained a nice steady pace. As I was nearing the top, I heard and saw Shannon coming up behind me, so I did pick the pace up to finish just ahead of him. Of course, this woke up the sleeping giant. As we made our way to Modjeska, he said the first one up it pays for lunch. I asked "first?" and he said yes. Then he was gone!
I didn't even have a chance to get on his wheel as he started up toward Modjeska, so all I could do was watch him. When I started to climb up Modjeska, both legs seized up pretty good and it took some effort just to stop. Gary had done the wise thing and decided to skip it, so I thought I should just turn around and follow him. I stood for a while eating and drinking contemplating what to do, and I just couldn't skip the elevation gain for my stats. HA. A mountain biker had ridden by as I tried to recover, but at this point, I didn't even care anymore. I continued up the hill and after another 100 feet or so, my left hamstring started to cramp again requiring yet another stop since it was way too steep to try pedaling with just one leg. I took some more swigs and had one more shot blok and just spun the rest of the way up after luckily not popping anymore.
Since it took me a while to get through Modjeska, Gary and Shannon were making their way back to make sure I was okay. After turning around, we were off on Santiago. I tried exchanging some pulls, but I was really worried knowing I still had to climb up Dump. I was off the back a lot but not too far behind, but Gary was really strong here and did a lot of the pulling exchanging with Shannon.
When we got to Dump, I was with them again, and I tried to stay with them but my left hamstring started to cramp again. Since it wasn't too steep, I opted not to stop and just pedal one-legged on the lowest gear. Although uncomfortable for my left leg, I was doing okay. Then I realized my right leg was actually capable of pushing harder, so I went up a couple gears and was able to finish the hill this way.
When I started going downhill, I just coasted but took my last Honey Stinger gel. By the time I got over the 261, I was feeling pretty good again. The high from the thought that the ride was almost over must have kicked in as well. I was able to catch Gary and Shannon at the Jamboree light.
On Jamboree, we got a little separated since Gary and I crossed the street via the crosswalk without Shannon. I spun forward not wanting to cramp up again, but Shannon and Gary caught up before the hill. Shannon led us up, but since I had some new found energy, I went ahead and Gary came with. Once we got over the crest, Gary and I started exchanging attacks down toward Portola. This continued beyond and at one of my pulls, I decided to just expend all my energy standing and sprinting at one point only to get caught up at a light. Once the last light turned green, Gary decided the same thing and it was on. Way to push to the very end!
Overall, this ride was probably the most intense ride I've ever done with the guys that was local. Thanks for setting it up, Shannon, and thanks for the BJ's food and beer as well as a bottle of your home brew. It's you all day!
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