Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2800064
Isn't winter time suppose to be when people taper off their training? It surely didn't feel like that on today's lunch ride. And based on what I'm reading on e-mails, it seems people are just working harder and harder in preparation for January's race. Awesome.
9 of us made it out today, but the pace (as well as mechanicals) caused some separation fairly early on. Vin also wore Sandy today to fulfill his obligation, and that probably stymied his random little attacks that he likes to do on occasion.
I led the group out to Culver/Bonita Canyon and had started the climb up Culver when Shannon passed where I mistakenly believed it was to relieve me. It turned out he was going for it on this section, so I tried in vain to get in his draft. I wasn't too far off, and while I didn't have anyone in my draft, Gary and Hiroshi weren't far off either. I'm not sure if David or anyone else was there also.
I did manage to get with Shannon on Campus and took the lead after rounding the corner to Turtle Rock. I had a pretty decent pace going, but then all of a sudden, Hiroshi passes with some serious momentum. No one was behind him when he did, so I had to jump up off the seat and chase him down just to get on his rear wheel for a bit. As he slowed, I came around and made my way up to Sunnyhill alone. I think Shannon may have had his chain come off during this section. When I got to Sunnyhill though, I looked back and saw Gary and Hiroshi +1 just a little bit behind me. By the time I got to the bike trail, they were with me again.
I led us up Shady initially, then S-G (despite his morning spin) took the lead for a bit and I gladly took the opportunity to catch my breath. I saw Hiroshi lingering behind and you can just tell he was trying to setup another "attack." I did take the lead again before the last bridge, and then broke off from the others on the last part of the climb.
On the downhill, I was still alone, but looking back at the bottom, you can see that some of the other guys are still not too far off. Then, I see Shannon coming at a pretty mean clip, so I prepared myself to be able to jump on and hopefully stay on. When he did go by, I was just able to get on, but I was nowhere near ready to try to help him as we made our way toward the bridge. He was moving, and when I did try to pass once, he never let up so I had to just get back in his draft and hang on. It was only after the bridge that he let me start trading pulls with him again.
Shannon and I made our way to Ridgeline and got stopped at the light for a little bit. When I noticed we could cross, I looked on the bike path and saw Gary and Hiroshi still in hot pursuit. It was like a recurring nightmare.
Shannon and I took turns going up Ridgeline and worked together to get to Turtle Rock. He had gapped me a little just before hitting that street, but I just caught up to him as he slowed for the stop sign on the way back to Sunnyhill.
I traded a pull or two with him, but once we got back on Shady headed up the hill toward Bonita Canyon, there was just no way I could help since he decided to again turn the screws here and make it hurt. I thought about throwing in the towel, but just did what I could to hang on. After we crested, I took the lead and led us down toward Bonita Canyon. No race...just teamwork.
We got the light at Bonita Canyon, fortunately, and we headed toward Turtle Ridge together. On Summit, Shannon did a little recovering, so I took advantage and got a little separated from him as we made our way up the hill. I figured he'd catch me at some point anyway. I did make it to the top ahead but I was never really sure where he was at behind me. I saw Hiroshi, Gary and also Vin making their way up the hill as I was descending, so I just kept going.
When I got down to Bonita Canyon again, I had just gotten the green but looked back and saw Shannon coming at a very high pace. I knew once again that I had to prepare for it, so once he passed, I was sprinting just to get onto his wheel. He was moving! He never really slowed down much all the way until past the 73 underpass, but I did manage to get in front to take the pull to the light before McArthur. He finished the rest of Bonita Canyon and I had actually started to fall off. Fortunately for me, the light on McArthur had turned green to red before either of us could have crossed it.
When we did cross, I was offering to lead him up the condo, but he didn't think he had enough for it. I pretty much felt the same way. After stopping at the light at the top, he descended ahead of me to go first. Since there was a car at the corner turning right, however, we both had to check up and hardly had enough momentum after squeezing between it and the sidewalk. That didn't stop Shannon from hammering after anyways. I tried to find a good pace that will hopefully not let him drop me too much, but that didn't happen. He gapped me pretty good.
I was lucky on Bison that the lights had slowed him down enough to get up to him again and we both ended up getting caught at the light on McArthur. We saw Peter turn right onto Bison from McArthur ahead of us, so the focus (for me anyway) was to see if we can catch him. Of course, we hit two more lights on there but once I got on the 73 bridge, I started to hammer and see if I could 1) catch Peter and 2) keep the average up. I did run into Peter, but just as he was getting ready to cross Health Science Rd from California. Good enough.
I was spent when I got to the gym where I had to lie down for a bit just to let my HR come back down to a respectable level. Peter, being the nice guy he was, offered me water and even a Gatorade, but the reality was I probably could only have benefited from a respirator at that point.
Good training ride today, gents! Thanks for coming out.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Team BRCM - TTT SC Trainer 3x Santiago Cyn OAB (or 6 passes)
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2748478
Shannon, Vince, Todd and I wanted to get out and get some TTT training in and opted to do what Todd originally called a triple canyon loop. In my mind, that's more like Como street x3, but apparently, I didn't pay enough attention to his route last week where it actually meant doing 6 passes through the canyon - 3 out and 3 back. If I had known, I'm not sure I'd have taken Eddie's QR TT bike for it's maiden voyage with these guys. As I figured after riding it on Thursday, hills will not be ideal for this thing and there was plenty of climbing.
With the plan being to minimize or even not have any stops for this ride, I had filled the aero bottle up in the front of the bike and had 2 bottles in the cages for this ride. This didn't bode well, especially I'm slow to warm up and we were already climbing right out of the gate. We didn't really set any agendas either except just to train hard, so I went with the flow and we were all off.
LTJ took the lead out of the Rock N Road parking lot going up Marguerite toward El Toro, and he immediately created a gap ahead of us. We got all together again by the down hill just before the right turn to El Toro for the grinder. For the most part, I kept up with the guys until midway up the hill past Cooks. The guys were seemingly on a mission to kill it on the first pass, and I just couldn't handle their pace. Eventually, I backed off and again not knowing the agenda, just climbed it as best as I could. When I got to the top of the 2nd crest and saw no one there, I realized at this point I was on my own.
In a way, being dropped was probably the best thing for me. I still had a lot of getting used to on the bike and it was wicked windy out there where riding on 60 mm profile wheels was just outright scary. Despite the heavy crosswinds and the bike bucking under me like crazy, I didn't turn around and just go home. LOL. I did get a good feel for being on the aero bars despite, and found a good but careful rhythm through the canyons.
I knew the 3 guys were working together ahead of me, so I was wondering where they would be when I'd see them again given the OAB route. I was actually surprised when I saw them just after the 261 freeway where they weren't too far ahead of me. I didn't turn around and join them though since I wanted to get the full route in, so I made my way down toward Jamboree and u-turned just before the island that led to the intersection.
On my way back, I still kept a fairly good pace and was starting to climb a little better. It is definitely not the same climbing on this TT bike considering my knees were just touching the pads for the aero position and there wasn't really a lot of other hand positions for the climb. I did more seated climbing as a result. As often as possible though, I'd get back in the aero position and the winds were just as wicked going through this way.
I again began to wonder when I'd see the guys making their way out again where I was thinking they'd be headed down at some point before the climb up the hill headed towards Cooks. However, it was on my way down the hill that I saw Todd and Shannon first and then Vince shortly after. I then started to think if they were tiring, I may actually be able to make more ground on them through our 3rd pass once I got up over the hill again. After a U-turn at Cooks, I started climbing and despite the pads, managed to climb off the seat for all of the hill. At the top of the first crest, I see the 3 guys waiting for me. I told them not to stop and wait for me as I rolled by, and they got going pretty quickly and found their way onto my rear wheel as we were descending for the 3rd pass. Cool...I finally get to work rotations.
It wasn't long before we were taking turns as we made our way through the canyons. Based on Shannon's stats, this pass was faster than their original pass when measured from the top of Santiago Canyon to the bottom of Dump Hill. I did some good long pulls on the aeros since the TT bike was just made for that, but it was really nerve racking since the bike was still all over the place due to the winds. One thing it wasn't made for, however, was getting back onto the paceline since I typically like to stand on the bike to do so where on this bike, it just wasn't as easy to latch on.
As we started going up Dump Hill, Todd and I were leading the group up and this time I was able to keep up. I led the pull just over the crest and Todd and I made our way down to Jamboree for a U-turn. As we did, we weren't sure where the others were but saw that Shannon had u-turned ahead of us where Todd and I made our way toward him. We also saw Vince u-turn just before the 261, so we made our way up Dump Hill and managed to regroup at the top without stopping.
This canyon pass was pretty tough and I did what I could to help, but this always seems to be where Shannon just grinds it out and makes it hurt. Vince didn't feel too great to begin with and had been off the bike for a week, so he was the first casualty. I probably was more overzealous than I should have been, and also met the same fate at one point leaving Shannon and Todd to go ahead.
I didn't stop and kept a moderate pace on my own, and saw an awaiting Todd and Shannon at the top of the hill before Cooks where I again rolled by and said let's keep going. Todd jumped on and made his way down the hill just behind me. As we made our U-turn at Cooks, Shannon indicated he needed to get some water inside. Since Todd and I still had some, we kept on going and up the hill we went. We saw Vince making his way down as we went up where Vince waved to let us know he was done.
Todd and I exchanged position as we made our way up the hill, but once over the 2nd crest, it was time to work on the aero bars again. Since I was able to hold a good pace for most of the canyons on them, Todd came for the ride but took a couple pulls, one of which he thought I asked for help whereas I hadn't. I did have one gust of wind have me get super wobbly at one point while Todd was behind me, and he and I both thought I was going down. We still had a pretty good pace going up Dump and down toward Jamboree. At the bottom when we made a u-turn, we needed some major nourishment. We never stopped but began pedaling up the hill while eating. I managed to down a gel and a waffle, and have a drink out of my 2nd bottle, but I realized it just was not safe to try and replace bottle in cage and asked Todd to go ahead in case I fell. HA HA. I got back with Todd after doing so, and we were on our way over the 261. As we started the climb after, we see Shannon u-turn ahead of us and slowing to let us get up to him just as we made our way to the top of Dump. Once we were together, Shannon led us down with Todd and me behind him.
Now we were all tired at this point on this last past, but Shannon was still willing to lead us down for a while. Todd must have forgotten to share the memo with me, but I guess this is where we just shouldn't try to help Shannon pull anymore. HA HA. I took a couple stabs up front, but after my 2nd pull when Shannon passed me not too long after, I knew I was done exclaiming my Savior's name for help. Unfortunately, it didn't work and the two were off and gone. One other rider had passed me as well (looking fresh as spring) and made his way up to the Todd and Shannon to mix it up, but I guess Shannon ended that in typical BAM fashion.
I was able to ride up on my own and the hill before Cook's was just not easy on this last pass where I finally succumb to just spinning it out...not too easy with Eddie's standard crank and 11-23 cassette. Once I got over the top though, weeeeeee!
Now I had been over 20 mph average over all the passes before, but after this last one, it had dropped a couple ticks to a 19.8. Good enough for 5500+ feet of climbing and nearly 80 miles. Although this was a trainer for the SC TTT, we still have some things we need to work out as a team to improve our efficiency. However, as Shannon put it after, we also needed the intense training as well, so it was also more of an "anything goes" kind of ride. It was definitely intense, so we'll have to do it again 1 or 2 times before the race at a minimum. I have concluded, however, that while the TT bike is awesome on the flats and downhills, this will not be the ideal bike for me to ride with these animals. Maybe I can get better between now and then on it, but I think I'll opt for one of my road bikes that weigh less by almost 4 lbs. Now it's just a matter of figuring out compact or standard crank.
Thanks for the training, gents! Can't wait to do it again.
Shannon, Vince, Todd and I wanted to get out and get some TTT training in and opted to do what Todd originally called a triple canyon loop. In my mind, that's more like Como street x3, but apparently, I didn't pay enough attention to his route last week where it actually meant doing 6 passes through the canyon - 3 out and 3 back. If I had known, I'm not sure I'd have taken Eddie's QR TT bike for it's maiden voyage with these guys. As I figured after riding it on Thursday, hills will not be ideal for this thing and there was plenty of climbing.
With the plan being to minimize or even not have any stops for this ride, I had filled the aero bottle up in the front of the bike and had 2 bottles in the cages for this ride. This didn't bode well, especially I'm slow to warm up and we were already climbing right out of the gate. We didn't really set any agendas either except just to train hard, so I went with the flow and we were all off.
LTJ took the lead out of the Rock N Road parking lot going up Marguerite toward El Toro, and he immediately created a gap ahead of us. We got all together again by the down hill just before the right turn to El Toro for the grinder. For the most part, I kept up with the guys until midway up the hill past Cooks. The guys were seemingly on a mission to kill it on the first pass, and I just couldn't handle their pace. Eventually, I backed off and again not knowing the agenda, just climbed it as best as I could. When I got to the top of the 2nd crest and saw no one there, I realized at this point I was on my own.
In a way, being dropped was probably the best thing for me. I still had a lot of getting used to on the bike and it was wicked windy out there where riding on 60 mm profile wheels was just outright scary. Despite the heavy crosswinds and the bike bucking under me like crazy, I didn't turn around and just go home. LOL. I did get a good feel for being on the aero bars despite, and found a good but careful rhythm through the canyons.
I knew the 3 guys were working together ahead of me, so I was wondering where they would be when I'd see them again given the OAB route. I was actually surprised when I saw them just after the 261 freeway where they weren't too far ahead of me. I didn't turn around and join them though since I wanted to get the full route in, so I made my way down toward Jamboree and u-turned just before the island that led to the intersection.
On my way back, I still kept a fairly good pace and was starting to climb a little better. It is definitely not the same climbing on this TT bike considering my knees were just touching the pads for the aero position and there wasn't really a lot of other hand positions for the climb. I did more seated climbing as a result. As often as possible though, I'd get back in the aero position and the winds were just as wicked going through this way.
I again began to wonder when I'd see the guys making their way out again where I was thinking they'd be headed down at some point before the climb up the hill headed towards Cooks. However, it was on my way down the hill that I saw Todd and Shannon first and then Vince shortly after. I then started to think if they were tiring, I may actually be able to make more ground on them through our 3rd pass once I got up over the hill again. After a U-turn at Cooks, I started climbing and despite the pads, managed to climb off the seat for all of the hill. At the top of the first crest, I see the 3 guys waiting for me. I told them not to stop and wait for me as I rolled by, and they got going pretty quickly and found their way onto my rear wheel as we were descending for the 3rd pass. Cool...I finally get to work rotations.
It wasn't long before we were taking turns as we made our way through the canyons. Based on Shannon's stats, this pass was faster than their original pass when measured from the top of Santiago Canyon to the bottom of Dump Hill. I did some good long pulls on the aeros since the TT bike was just made for that, but it was really nerve racking since the bike was still all over the place due to the winds. One thing it wasn't made for, however, was getting back onto the paceline since I typically like to stand on the bike to do so where on this bike, it just wasn't as easy to latch on.
As we started going up Dump Hill, Todd and I were leading the group up and this time I was able to keep up. I led the pull just over the crest and Todd and I made our way down to Jamboree for a U-turn. As we did, we weren't sure where the others were but saw that Shannon had u-turned ahead of us where Todd and I made our way toward him. We also saw Vince u-turn just before the 261, so we made our way up Dump Hill and managed to regroup at the top without stopping.
This canyon pass was pretty tough and I did what I could to help, but this always seems to be where Shannon just grinds it out and makes it hurt. Vince didn't feel too great to begin with and had been off the bike for a week, so he was the first casualty. I probably was more overzealous than I should have been, and also met the same fate at one point leaving Shannon and Todd to go ahead.
I didn't stop and kept a moderate pace on my own, and saw an awaiting Todd and Shannon at the top of the hill before Cooks where I again rolled by and said let's keep going. Todd jumped on and made his way down the hill just behind me. As we made our U-turn at Cooks, Shannon indicated he needed to get some water inside. Since Todd and I still had some, we kept on going and up the hill we went. We saw Vince making his way down as we went up where Vince waved to let us know he was done.
Todd and I exchanged position as we made our way up the hill, but once over the 2nd crest, it was time to work on the aero bars again. Since I was able to hold a good pace for most of the canyons on them, Todd came for the ride but took a couple pulls, one of which he thought I asked for help whereas I hadn't. I did have one gust of wind have me get super wobbly at one point while Todd was behind me, and he and I both thought I was going down. We still had a pretty good pace going up Dump and down toward Jamboree. At the bottom when we made a u-turn, we needed some major nourishment. We never stopped but began pedaling up the hill while eating. I managed to down a gel and a waffle, and have a drink out of my 2nd bottle, but I realized it just was not safe to try and replace bottle in cage and asked Todd to go ahead in case I fell. HA HA. I got back with Todd after doing so, and we were on our way over the 261. As we started the climb after, we see Shannon u-turn ahead of us and slowing to let us get up to him just as we made our way to the top of Dump. Once we were together, Shannon led us down with Todd and me behind him.
Now we were all tired at this point on this last past, but Shannon was still willing to lead us down for a while. Todd must have forgotten to share the memo with me, but I guess this is where we just shouldn't try to help Shannon pull anymore. HA HA. I took a couple stabs up front, but after my 2nd pull when Shannon passed me not too long after, I knew I was done exclaiming my Savior's name for help. Unfortunately, it didn't work and the two were off and gone. One other rider had passed me as well (looking fresh as spring) and made his way up to the Todd and Shannon to mix it up, but I guess Shannon ended that in typical BAM fashion.
I was able to ride up on my own and the hill before Cook's was just not easy on this last pass where I finally succumb to just spinning it out...not too easy with Eddie's standard crank and 11-23 cassette. Once I got over the top though, weeeeeee!
Now I had been over 20 mph average over all the passes before, but after this last one, it had dropped a couple ticks to a 19.8. Good enough for 5500+ feet of climbing and nearly 80 miles. Although this was a trainer for the SC TTT, we still have some things we need to work out as a team to improve our efficiency. However, as Shannon put it after, we also needed the intense training as well, so it was also more of an "anything goes" kind of ride. It was definitely intense, so we'll have to do it again 1 or 2 times before the race at a minimum. I have concluded, however, that while the TT bike is awesome on the flats and downhills, this will not be the ideal bike for me to ride with these animals. Maybe I can get better between now and then on it, but I think I'll opt for one of my road bikes that weigh less by almost 4 lbs. Now it's just a matter of figuring out compact or standard crank.
Thanks for the training, gents! Can't wait to do it again.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
BRCM Team - SC Trainer and Team Selection
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2673389
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/134085217
The premise behind today's ride was to try and emulate the Stagecoach with a long local route with minimal stops so that 1) we can get some good training in and 2) it would help determine who would best make up the participants of a 2nd team. Adrian, Verm, S-G, and Vin came out for today's ride, while Shannon came along to keep us honest and help with the assessments.
I was hoping that the ride would be fairly controlled throughout to help us manage power so that we can succeed without stopping too much. As we headed down California and made our way to Back Bay, we were doing pretty good to stay together, but Shannon decided he wanted to work on his aero position and started to open it up creating a pretty good gap. Gary was the next guy in line who yelled out "Gap!" but Shannon was on a mission. I decided to break rank and took off after him to get on his rear wheel dragging everyone else behind me. I wasn't about to try and keep Shannon's pace by rotating in, so I just stayed on his rear wheel until he got out of Back Bay as did everyone else. I think Vin popped off the back for a little bit, but he managed to catch up as we entered the 2nd bike trail to lead to Bayside.
On PCH, everyone was rotating up to the front and helping to keep the pace up but not too high. Once we got on SART, these rotations continued...some were stronger than others, but nonetheless, everyone did what they could. At one point, Vin ended up being behind Shannon (a rather zealous place for him to be), but when I offered to take the spot, he indicated he was fine. What we noted, however, was that after passing Shannon to take his turn, his pull lasted for probably no more than 5-10 seconds and the pace would then drop. I guess he gets an A for effort.
We made it all the way to the Honda Center without any stops, across, and then to Taft still not taking any breaks at this point. We did encounter some lights here and there, but for the most part, it was just go, go, go. When we made our way to E. Santiago, Shannon decided to again keep us honest and brought up the pace on his pull. Verm, Adrian and I were still game, and managed to stay with him along with offering some relief after with more rotations.
When we got to the Jamboree/Santiago intersection, Verm cut across and relieved himself while the rest of us waited for the light to turn green. Once it did, we were on again. Verm jumped ahead at first but fell back to the group. Then, Shannon decided to up the pace, but as we crossed the 261, we did so differently where we didn't really get to ride behind him. Instead, Adrian and I worked to reel him in and eventually be up with him again after the downhill. Verm also ended up catching us as well, so the four of us were rotating between us as best as we could. As we got closer and closer to Silverado, Adrian had a little back spasm and had to pull over to the right but almost causing Verm to run into the dirt. I passed and asked them to talk, and then Verm and Shannon came with me to go to Silverado.
Once we got to the base, Verm went into Verm mode and took off seemingly wanting to attack the hill. I set a good pace and followed him, but Shannon stayed back where we always wondered when it will be that he'll be passing us.I eventually reeled Verm in, and we did a couple rotations to a very managed pace. Verm decided he wanted to go faster, so he took off at one point. I didn't really want to interrupt my tempo at the time, but i did bring it up some just to be close enough where I could keep an eye on Verm. Plus, I knew I'd catch him on the downhill.
Steve reached the top first, and I called out to him to keep going...so he started descending. I looped around at the top and started to give chase, but Verm had a pretty good jump on me. I couldn't see him for the longest time, but I did see Adrian, Shannon, Gary and Vin making their way up still. It took about 70% of the hill where I finally got closed in on Verm, but he was definitely charging all the way. Since Verm was on breakaway mode, I decided to ride off his back and just see how he was doing. I at least wanted to see what kind of pace he'd hold going up Dump Hill. Verm did really well as he made his way there, so I thought I'd roll up to him at the top of Dump and ride down together to the gas station at the corner of Jamboree.
Adrian rolled up shortly after, and I picked up some Cokes and water for the guys, and refilled my one bottle along with chowing down a waffle and a honey gel. Once Gary and Shannon rolled in, I could feel my legs tightening up so we handled them the water and Cokes and Adrian, Verm and I were off.
We made our way toward E Santiago Canyon to get to Cannon, and at one point, Adrian passes me followed by Verm and had gapped me a bit but i didn't react right away figuring I'd catch them at a light or something. Sure enough, it was a light before Cannon. We started riding together up Cannon and made our way onto Taft and the rotations were just random here as we made our way through the streets. Once we got back on SART, however, the plan was that we would run about a 80% pace while rotating and this went very well with everyone passing smoothly all the way down to PCH. We had a couple riffraff join our paceline and take a couple pulls, but that was about it.
We didn't stop once we got on PCH, but we did see a crap load of lamborghinis driving south together. It was a cool sight...for a minute. We then rode on and started to get some gels in us while riding. Then, we managed a strong pace going out to NPC where we ended up crossing from the light.
On NPC, Verm jumped ahead and created a little gap in the beginning, so i decided to use the same position I tried on Friday. I was worried it wouldn't work, but fortunately I held the off-the-seat position all the way to the light at the top. After getting slowed down at the 2nd Pelican Light and getting held at a Red at Vista Ridge, I turned around after it turned green to see Adrian making his way toward me. What better way to get a run down NPC. He and I took turns and managed to get the light on the bottom (Bonita Canyon) and we jumped to the left. We were both willing at this point to blow up our legs, but they held up and we kept a good pace going up and around McArthur.
I even set Adrian up for a final sprint and just said let's go where he passed me pretty easily at this point. I was hoping by chasing him would give me a 21 average. Although Stravo only shows 20.9, My Garmin said 21. mph as the average pace. We probably need to do it again...and with more!
Thanks, Gents
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/134085217
The premise behind today's ride was to try and emulate the Stagecoach with a long local route with minimal stops so that 1) we can get some good training in and 2) it would help determine who would best make up the participants of a 2nd team. Adrian, Verm, S-G, and Vin came out for today's ride, while Shannon came along to keep us honest and help with the assessments.
I was hoping that the ride would be fairly controlled throughout to help us manage power so that we can succeed without stopping too much. As we headed down California and made our way to Back Bay, we were doing pretty good to stay together, but Shannon decided he wanted to work on his aero position and started to open it up creating a pretty good gap. Gary was the next guy in line who yelled out "Gap!" but Shannon was on a mission. I decided to break rank and took off after him to get on his rear wheel dragging everyone else behind me. I wasn't about to try and keep Shannon's pace by rotating in, so I just stayed on his rear wheel until he got out of Back Bay as did everyone else. I think Vin popped off the back for a little bit, but he managed to catch up as we entered the 2nd bike trail to lead to Bayside.
On PCH, everyone was rotating up to the front and helping to keep the pace up but not too high. Once we got on SART, these rotations continued...some were stronger than others, but nonetheless, everyone did what they could. At one point, Vin ended up being behind Shannon (a rather zealous place for him to be), but when I offered to take the spot, he indicated he was fine. What we noted, however, was that after passing Shannon to take his turn, his pull lasted for probably no more than 5-10 seconds and the pace would then drop. I guess he gets an A for effort.
We made it all the way to the Honda Center without any stops, across, and then to Taft still not taking any breaks at this point. We did encounter some lights here and there, but for the most part, it was just go, go, go. When we made our way to E. Santiago, Shannon decided to again keep us honest and brought up the pace on his pull. Verm, Adrian and I were still game, and managed to stay with him along with offering some relief after with more rotations.
When we got to the Jamboree/Santiago intersection, Verm cut across and relieved himself while the rest of us waited for the light to turn green. Once it did, we were on again. Verm jumped ahead at first but fell back to the group. Then, Shannon decided to up the pace, but as we crossed the 261, we did so differently where we didn't really get to ride behind him. Instead, Adrian and I worked to reel him in and eventually be up with him again after the downhill. Verm also ended up catching us as well, so the four of us were rotating between us as best as we could. As we got closer and closer to Silverado, Adrian had a little back spasm and had to pull over to the right but almost causing Verm to run into the dirt. I passed and asked them to talk, and then Verm and Shannon came with me to go to Silverado.
Once we got to the base, Verm went into Verm mode and took off seemingly wanting to attack the hill. I set a good pace and followed him, but Shannon stayed back where we always wondered when it will be that he'll be passing us.I eventually reeled Verm in, and we did a couple rotations to a very managed pace. Verm decided he wanted to go faster, so he took off at one point. I didn't really want to interrupt my tempo at the time, but i did bring it up some just to be close enough where I could keep an eye on Verm. Plus, I knew I'd catch him on the downhill.
Steve reached the top first, and I called out to him to keep going...so he started descending. I looped around at the top and started to give chase, but Verm had a pretty good jump on me. I couldn't see him for the longest time, but I did see Adrian, Shannon, Gary and Vin making their way up still. It took about 70% of the hill where I finally got closed in on Verm, but he was definitely charging all the way. Since Verm was on breakaway mode, I decided to ride off his back and just see how he was doing. I at least wanted to see what kind of pace he'd hold going up Dump Hill. Verm did really well as he made his way there, so I thought I'd roll up to him at the top of Dump and ride down together to the gas station at the corner of Jamboree.
Adrian rolled up shortly after, and I picked up some Cokes and water for the guys, and refilled my one bottle along with chowing down a waffle and a honey gel. Once Gary and Shannon rolled in, I could feel my legs tightening up so we handled them the water and Cokes and Adrian, Verm and I were off.
We made our way toward E Santiago Canyon to get to Cannon, and at one point, Adrian passes me followed by Verm and had gapped me a bit but i didn't react right away figuring I'd catch them at a light or something. Sure enough, it was a light before Cannon. We started riding together up Cannon and made our way onto Taft and the rotations were just random here as we made our way through the streets. Once we got back on SART, however, the plan was that we would run about a 80% pace while rotating and this went very well with everyone passing smoothly all the way down to PCH. We had a couple riffraff join our paceline and take a couple pulls, but that was about it.
We didn't stop once we got on PCH, but we did see a crap load of lamborghinis driving south together. It was a cool sight...for a minute. We then rode on and started to get some gels in us while riding. Then, we managed a strong pace going out to NPC where we ended up crossing from the light.
On NPC, Verm jumped ahead and created a little gap in the beginning, so i decided to use the same position I tried on Friday. I was worried it wouldn't work, but fortunately I held the off-the-seat position all the way to the light at the top. After getting slowed down at the 2nd Pelican Light and getting held at a Red at Vista Ridge, I turned around after it turned green to see Adrian making his way toward me. What better way to get a run down NPC. He and I took turns and managed to get the light on the bottom (Bonita Canyon) and we jumped to the left. We were both willing at this point to blow up our legs, but they held up and we kept a good pace going up and around McArthur.
I even set Adrian up for a final sprint and just said let's go where he passed me pretty easily at this point. I was hoping by chasing him would give me a 21 average. Although Stravo only shows 20.9, My Garmin said 21. mph as the average pace. We probably need to do it again...and with more!
Thanks, Gents
Friday, December 9, 2011
BRCM Morning Trainer - Irvine CDM Newport Loop
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2633597
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133524987
4 BAM members came out to play this morning in the bitter cold. PV set the time to depart at 7 a.m., but upon arrival, he was still getting ready. HA HA. Shannon had donned the cold weather gear from head to toe, and when we first started made me wish I had more than a jersey with baselayer, arm warmers and leggings. Se la vie.
The pace in the beginning was a good warm-up pace, but I didn't want to take the front for a bit for a couple reasons: 1) I was sooo cold, and 2) I forgot my water bottles at home and had to use the one in my office with water only. I was somewhat in preservation mode. I finally took the front and started rotating in right before the Bonita Canyon intersection and up as we made our way toward Shady.
It was nice how everyone was working together harmoniously taking turns up front when they could, and this was pretty much throughout the entire ride. I appreciated getting pulled initially, so I did take the front when I could as well. Shannon took the lead as we made our way up the bike trail to the top and powered it up pretty good causing some separation, but we were all together again as we rode down toward the bridge that went across the 405.
We made our way up toward E. Irvine and did the Orchard Hill loop (that was my first time up it). PV mentioned a hill on it, but I wasn't sure where...until he attacked it. He passed me, but I think I passed him before the top. Nonetheless, his Strava time was better than mine and we all know it's all about Strava.
The two of us got ahead of the others, but we were together once back on Portola. Once there, we hear a honk and it was Carla (Eddie's wife) driving by probably after dropping kids off at school. I wonder if she was thinking "hey, why isn't Eddie riding today?"
The pace down the Peter's canyon bike trail was pretty fast, and a little scary considering there were some wet patches here and there. We got through incident free and had some good rotations going down toward Harvard.
The pace continued to be high on Harvard and also on the bike trail after where at one point, we happen to see a guy with panniers on his bike. Lo and behold, it was the mystical Noah...mystical because he's hardly ever seen. He jumped in our draft on his commuter, but not before I could go by and goose him.
We ran a good pace all the way down through Back Bay onto PCH. On PCH, we went through CDM instead of Ocean where it was a little hairy, especially with some senior citizen getting ready to open her door in front of us...until Shannon scolded her to watch out. HA HA. After CDM, I got up to the front and found a pretty good cadence and was able to stroke out a good pace all the way to NPC. The average speed showing on my Garmin here was 21.4, I believe.
At the light, Shannon mentioned regrouping at San Joaquin, but PV was wanting to do a Strava section from PCH to Bonita Canyon. I ride with Shannon more so.... When the light turned green, I still felt good after PCH so I got into a nice rhythm all the way to the top while off the seat and on the drops. The only thing that really tired much in doing so was my arms from holding my fat ass up. HA HA. I hit the 2nd Ridgeline light and subsequently the Vista Ridge light. PV caught and passed me here as the light turned green, and I thought he said we should just go to the light (meaning San Joaquin) so I chased him down and passed him to this intersection as well. Of course, he kept going based on his original plans while I waited for Shannon and Gary. I looked at my Garmin here as well, and NPC had dropped the average down to 20.3.
Once we regrouped, we took turns rotating as we made our way down toward Bonita Canyon to an awaiting PV. Since we hit the green light at the bottom, I decided I'd take the opportunity to try to bring up our average to 21 again, so I just took off on my own little break away. After hitting a second light once on McArthur, the guys caught me here and PV took the lead after. I took advantage of the break, but just before the 73, I opened it up and just let it all out there where my Garmin did show a 20.9 average at the end. Close! Move average, per Garmin Connect, was at 21 though. Damn Strava brought it down back to 20.7. Bah.
Considering how it was cold and took a while to warm up, we actually probably averaged more along the lines of 22 mph if you strip the first few miles off. Needless to say, it was damn good training ride. Super strong efforts from all those who came out today. Looking good, team BRCM! PV, great effort considering it was Shannon's Trek bike he was on out there.
Thanks for letting me come out and ride with you guys!
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133524987
4 BAM members came out to play this morning in the bitter cold. PV set the time to depart at 7 a.m., but upon arrival, he was still getting ready. HA HA. Shannon had donned the cold weather gear from head to toe, and when we first started made me wish I had more than a jersey with baselayer, arm warmers and leggings. Se la vie.
The pace in the beginning was a good warm-up pace, but I didn't want to take the front for a bit for a couple reasons: 1) I was sooo cold, and 2) I forgot my water bottles at home and had to use the one in my office with water only. I was somewhat in preservation mode. I finally took the front and started rotating in right before the Bonita Canyon intersection and up as we made our way toward Shady.
It was nice how everyone was working together harmoniously taking turns up front when they could, and this was pretty much throughout the entire ride. I appreciated getting pulled initially, so I did take the front when I could as well. Shannon took the lead as we made our way up the bike trail to the top and powered it up pretty good causing some separation, but we were all together again as we rode down toward the bridge that went across the 405.
We made our way up toward E. Irvine and did the Orchard Hill loop (that was my first time up it). PV mentioned a hill on it, but I wasn't sure where...until he attacked it. He passed me, but I think I passed him before the top. Nonetheless, his Strava time was better than mine and we all know it's all about Strava.
The two of us got ahead of the others, but we were together once back on Portola. Once there, we hear a honk and it was Carla (Eddie's wife) driving by probably after dropping kids off at school. I wonder if she was thinking "hey, why isn't Eddie riding today?"
The pace down the Peter's canyon bike trail was pretty fast, and a little scary considering there were some wet patches here and there. We got through incident free and had some good rotations going down toward Harvard.
The pace continued to be high on Harvard and also on the bike trail after where at one point, we happen to see a guy with panniers on his bike. Lo and behold, it was the mystical Noah...mystical because he's hardly ever seen. He jumped in our draft on his commuter, but not before I could go by and goose him.
We ran a good pace all the way down through Back Bay onto PCH. On PCH, we went through CDM instead of Ocean where it was a little hairy, especially with some senior citizen getting ready to open her door in front of us...until Shannon scolded her to watch out. HA HA. After CDM, I got up to the front and found a pretty good cadence and was able to stroke out a good pace all the way to NPC. The average speed showing on my Garmin here was 21.4, I believe.
At the light, Shannon mentioned regrouping at San Joaquin, but PV was wanting to do a Strava section from PCH to Bonita Canyon. I ride with Shannon more so.... When the light turned green, I still felt good after PCH so I got into a nice rhythm all the way to the top while off the seat and on the drops. The only thing that really tired much in doing so was my arms from holding my fat ass up. HA HA. I hit the 2nd Ridgeline light and subsequently the Vista Ridge light. PV caught and passed me here as the light turned green, and I thought he said we should just go to the light (meaning San Joaquin) so I chased him down and passed him to this intersection as well. Of course, he kept going based on his original plans while I waited for Shannon and Gary. I looked at my Garmin here as well, and NPC had dropped the average down to 20.3.
Once we regrouped, we took turns rotating as we made our way down toward Bonita Canyon to an awaiting PV. Since we hit the green light at the bottom, I decided I'd take the opportunity to try to bring up our average to 21 again, so I just took off on my own little break away. After hitting a second light once on McArthur, the guys caught me here and PV took the lead after. I took advantage of the break, but just before the 73, I opened it up and just let it all out there where my Garmin did show a 20.9 average at the end. Close! Move average, per Garmin Connect, was at 21 though. Damn Strava brought it down back to 20.7. Bah.
Considering how it was cold and took a while to warm up, we actually probably averaged more along the lines of 22 mph if you strip the first few miles off. Needless to say, it was damn good training ride. Super strong efforts from all those who came out today. Looking good, team BRCM! PV, great effort considering it was Shannon's Trek bike he was on out there.
Thanks for letting me come out and ride with you guys!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
BRCM Lunch - Turtle Rock Shady Ridgeline Summit Bonita Cyn Condo
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2599072
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133087133
First, thanks to David for honoring the coveted Sandy today. The list of recipients is diminishing.
Shannon came to the corner with his aero bars installed, so I just knew it was going to be one of those days. And with Todd inquiring about them, I can see these rides getting more and more painful in the next couple weeks.
Shannon led us out originally, and Jeremy pretty much held his wheel all the way to Anteater. SMH. Guys, if you won't take a turn up front, no worries, but I think we covered before how it's probably better not to sit behind the guy up front. Now you know.
Vince and I came around on Anteater, and decided to help our brother out. On my pull after the stop sign, Vin didn't take the front but launched an all out attack. Being that Hiroshi consider me Vin's "rival," it was my duty to return the favor. Can you spell "BAM?" He chuckled after I passed him because he never saw me coming. Now he knows.
Since Vin obviously had a lot of extra energy, he led us up on Culver toward campus while I held his wheel to let him get it out of his system. HA HA. I did finally come around at one point as did Vince, Todd and Shannon (and maybe Adrian).
After we got on Campus and onto Turtle Rock, the pace picked up and the rotations where then limited to the five of us. I think most everyone was able to stay on all the way up to Sunnyhill, but as the pace picked up on Shady, there was definitely some attrition. I'm not sure how I got the KOM on there (Todd hasn't uploaded at the time of this writing) but Vince and Todd finished ahead of me with a gap. I was in the back in the beginning though, so.... In any case, the pace was high going up obviously. Nice to see Adrian get a good time too, but did anyone see him up front at any time on this hill? LOL.
I made the lost ground up on Vince and Todd on the downhill, so we were all together as we made our way on and off the bike trails. A few had caught up as well as we made our way toward the 405. On the series of turn before going parallel to the freeway, I was making my way toward the front (in part due to momentum) and had gotten just beside Vince with Todd up front. When Todd called out there was a lady in a stroller on the opposite side, I didn't have too much room to maneuver so I locked up my rear wheel a couple times trying to stop going sideways at some point hoping Todd wouldn't turn towards me. Fortunately, I managed to stay upright, but I'll definitely say it was my bad since it was just not an ideal time to be passing when I did. If that warrants a Sandy, I'm cool with it. I could also be rabbit for the next ride instead. Believe me...it's equivalent.
As we made our way toward the bridge, no one was eager to do any sprinting and people just rotated to keep the pace up with Shannon doing so up to the bridge. As we got by University, Shannon had taken off for a bit and none of us were too eager to give chase or try to hang on. Fortunately, we caught him at the light to cross and go up Ridgeline.
Shannon being the trooper still led us up Ridgeline. As we came onto the first pitch, I took over and got us over the 2nd one as well. Todd and Vince made their way past after where I didn't have anything left to jump on, but I did catch Shannon's wheel as he did where we ended up catching up to them right after turning onto Turtle Rock. I also noticed Jeremy was right behind us, so he came along as well.
On Shady, 4 of us rotated as we went up and over and the hill. I wasn't about to sprint on this section either, but when Shannon decided to break off, I tried to catch him and he just wasn't having any of that business and got to the bike trail first. I really need to get a TACX trainer.
As we made our way onto Bonita Canyon, Jeremy was still with us but apologized for not taking any pulls. Not a problem, young man...it's impressive enough he didn't fall victim to the attrition. The 5 of us stayed together as we made our way to Summit. Vince led us up originally followed by Todd, and I tried to pass Todd but could only hold on until it flattened out a little. He and Vince both broke off at this point, and Shannon passed me immediately after. Jeremy may have been a little more hesitant, but he too passed me as well. I was hoping to sprint the final section past him, but he stood up as well and got to the top just behind Shannon. I wouldn't catch up to these guys until the left turn onto Bonita Canyon. Of course, it turned green when I arrived there so I had to take the initial pull. Damn. HA HA
On Bonita Canyon, we were contemplating whether we hit the Condo or stay on McArthur, which was what was mapped originally. Todd finally decided we would do the Condo, so you can kind of see everyone not pushing super hard after. We just caught the light to cross McArthur where Todd was up front, but I thought I 'd go ahead and lead us toward the condo for a change and took the front.
After we got to the top of Ford, Vince takes off shortly followed by Todd and Shannon just gets ahead of me. The group had splintered at this point, so no one was really in anyone's draft going toward the condo. Vince rounded the corner first shortly followed by Todd both taking a tighter line while Shannon and I both opted to take a wider line to come in tight on Jamboree. I think Jeremy had a tighter line as well just off the back behind me.
Shannon rounded the corner ahead of me, but I got up to him pretty quickly given the pace I had. He jumped on behind me, and we were in KOM mode making our way past Todd and Vince at a pretty good clip. As we neared the crest, Shannon came around me and started hammering. I tried to jump on, but it was just too much. If the light was green, he definitely would have taken top honors given he reached 32 mph on here, but because it was red, had to just move in with me. Cool...a roommate.
On Bison, Vince came flying by the both of us but we were all caught at the light to cross McArthur...thankfully. I was still trying to recover from Jamboree. Once the light turned green, both Vince and Todd took off for the final sprint to California (I think Vince got their first) and all I could do was just watch from off the back. I did manage to get my Garmin from 20.8 to 20.9 average, which I thought was cool, but of course, Strava knocked it back down to 20.8. Hence, the GC link. HA HA
I got cooked on today's ride. Thanks, guys! I predict SC is going to be "ridiculous."
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133087133
First, thanks to David for honoring the coveted Sandy today. The list of recipients is diminishing.
Shannon came to the corner with his aero bars installed, so I just knew it was going to be one of those days. And with Todd inquiring about them, I can see these rides getting more and more painful in the next couple weeks.
Shannon led us out originally, and Jeremy pretty much held his wheel all the way to Anteater. SMH. Guys, if you won't take a turn up front, no worries, but I think we covered before how it's probably better not to sit behind the guy up front. Now you know.
Vince and I came around on Anteater, and decided to help our brother out. On my pull after the stop sign, Vin didn't take the front but launched an all out attack. Being that Hiroshi consider me Vin's "rival," it was my duty to return the favor. Can you spell "BAM?" He chuckled after I passed him because he never saw me coming. Now he knows.
Since Vin obviously had a lot of extra energy, he led us up on Culver toward campus while I held his wheel to let him get it out of his system. HA HA. I did finally come around at one point as did Vince, Todd and Shannon (and maybe Adrian).
After we got on Campus and onto Turtle Rock, the pace picked up and the rotations where then limited to the five of us. I think most everyone was able to stay on all the way up to Sunnyhill, but as the pace picked up on Shady, there was definitely some attrition. I'm not sure how I got the KOM on there (Todd hasn't uploaded at the time of this writing) but Vince and Todd finished ahead of me with a gap. I was in the back in the beginning though, so.... In any case, the pace was high going up obviously. Nice to see Adrian get a good time too, but did anyone see him up front at any time on this hill? LOL.
I made the lost ground up on Vince and Todd on the downhill, so we were all together as we made our way on and off the bike trails. A few had caught up as well as we made our way toward the 405. On the series of turn before going parallel to the freeway, I was making my way toward the front (in part due to momentum) and had gotten just beside Vince with Todd up front. When Todd called out there was a lady in a stroller on the opposite side, I didn't have too much room to maneuver so I locked up my rear wheel a couple times trying to stop going sideways at some point hoping Todd wouldn't turn towards me. Fortunately, I managed to stay upright, but I'll definitely say it was my bad since it was just not an ideal time to be passing when I did. If that warrants a Sandy, I'm cool with it. I could also be rabbit for the next ride instead. Believe me...it's equivalent.
As we made our way toward the bridge, no one was eager to do any sprinting and people just rotated to keep the pace up with Shannon doing so up to the bridge. As we got by University, Shannon had taken off for a bit and none of us were too eager to give chase or try to hang on. Fortunately, we caught him at the light to cross and go up Ridgeline.
Shannon being the trooper still led us up Ridgeline. As we came onto the first pitch, I took over and got us over the 2nd one as well. Todd and Vince made their way past after where I didn't have anything left to jump on, but I did catch Shannon's wheel as he did where we ended up catching up to them right after turning onto Turtle Rock. I also noticed Jeremy was right behind us, so he came along as well.
On Shady, 4 of us rotated as we went up and over and the hill. I wasn't about to sprint on this section either, but when Shannon decided to break off, I tried to catch him and he just wasn't having any of that business and got to the bike trail first. I really need to get a TACX trainer.
As we made our way onto Bonita Canyon, Jeremy was still with us but apologized for not taking any pulls. Not a problem, young man...it's impressive enough he didn't fall victim to the attrition. The 5 of us stayed together as we made our way to Summit. Vince led us up originally followed by Todd, and I tried to pass Todd but could only hold on until it flattened out a little. He and Vince both broke off at this point, and Shannon passed me immediately after. Jeremy may have been a little more hesitant, but he too passed me as well. I was hoping to sprint the final section past him, but he stood up as well and got to the top just behind Shannon. I wouldn't catch up to these guys until the left turn onto Bonita Canyon. Of course, it turned green when I arrived there so I had to take the initial pull. Damn. HA HA
On Bonita Canyon, we were contemplating whether we hit the Condo or stay on McArthur, which was what was mapped originally. Todd finally decided we would do the Condo, so you can kind of see everyone not pushing super hard after. We just caught the light to cross McArthur where Todd was up front, but I thought I 'd go ahead and lead us toward the condo for a change and took the front.
After we got to the top of Ford, Vince takes off shortly followed by Todd and Shannon just gets ahead of me. The group had splintered at this point, so no one was really in anyone's draft going toward the condo. Vince rounded the corner first shortly followed by Todd both taking a tighter line while Shannon and I both opted to take a wider line to come in tight on Jamboree. I think Jeremy had a tighter line as well just off the back behind me.
Shannon rounded the corner ahead of me, but I got up to him pretty quickly given the pace I had. He jumped on behind me, and we were in KOM mode making our way past Todd and Vince at a pretty good clip. As we neared the crest, Shannon came around me and started hammering. I tried to jump on, but it was just too much. If the light was green, he definitely would have taken top honors given he reached 32 mph on here, but because it was red, had to just move in with me. Cool...a roommate.
On Bison, Vince came flying by the both of us but we were all caught at the light to cross McArthur...thankfully. I was still trying to recover from Jamboree. Once the light turned green, both Vince and Todd took off for the final sprint to California (I think Vince got their first) and all I could do was just watch from off the back. I did manage to get my Garmin from 20.8 to 20.9 average, which I thought was cool, but of course, Strava knocked it back down to 20.8. Hence, the GC link. HA HA
I got cooked on today's ride. Thanks, guys! I predict SC is going to be "ridiculous."
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Team BRCM - SC Training Starting in BRRRvine
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2576531
Attendees: Vince, Gary, Jaffe and Verm (intercepted us on Santiago)
This is what the temperature read when I was leaving this morning:
It even dropped down to 32 at one point on my way out, but it did manage to get up to a cozy 39 degrees by the time I got to BJ's. Gary was already in the parking lot when I got there, but neither of us seemed willing to get out of our cars right away but kept getting ready in the comfort of our vehicles. Vince showed up after and amazingly, Jaffe rode up from his house to join the fun as well. All of us seemed prepared for the cold weather, and I was going to wear a windbreaker since it was so cold. However, after seeing S-G man-up and not wear one and further see Vince not wearing any leg warmers, the vest came off.
I didn't realize how much the cold weather would affect all of us, but when we got going on Irvine Blvd, we could barely hold 18 mph. The cold air in the lungs just hurt. Power-wise, it felt like we should have been going well over 20 mph though. It took 5 miles just to be able to get up in the 20s. In a way, it was good Shannon didn't make it out as I'm sure this would have annoyed him immensely. HA HA
When we got to Bake, we were a little more warmed up so we picked up the pace some here. S-G was pushing up the hill and got ahead for awhile, but Vince and I were able to make our way past him. Vince and I were trading places as we made our way up, and I thought we had a pretty good gap on Gary and Jaffe by the time we got to Portola. When I asked Vince if we should wait for the others, he pointed behind us to show they weren't too far behind. Nice.
When we went up Glenn Ranch, S-G and I went through the intersection ahead of Vince and Jaffe, and S-G took advantage and made his way up to Saddleback ahead of the three of us. We weren't far behind though and we all turned left onto it pretty much with him.
On Saddleback, I got by S-G at the bottom and found a good rhythm to go up the hill. Midway up, Vince passed me, so I tried to stay with him but couldn't hold his wheel. I didn't fall too far behind, but I was able to close the gap some near the top. Thankfully so as I was able to make sure he made the right turn on Ridgeline.
After regrouping at Cooks, we were off again up the hill. S-G led us up for a bit until he made his way to another cyclist who had gone up just ahead of us. I then made my way up past them. Vince got up front near the first crest and I think brought the pace up gapping the others behind us. Once we got over the 2nd crest, Vince and I started working together down the hill.
After making our way through the canyon just before the lake entrance, we see Verm make a U-turn ahead of us to join the fun. This was just after Vince told me I needed to drink more since he still saw a lot of fluids in my bottles. I took a sip but I probably should have drank more had I known Verm was out for blood today.
Verm got in the rotation with Vince and I and led us up Dump Hill with Vince and I behind him. About 3/4 of the way up, Verm decides to accelerate and I had nothing. Vince went with and ended up passing him eventually, and I wouldn't see these guys until the light on Jamboree (in part because i was also caught on one of the lights over the toll road).
We regrouped across the street, and took off up Chapman. I led us originally and Vince got up front near the top and got us going down the hill. I made my way past him and began leading us up on Cannon. After one of the stop signs, I tried to accelerate and actually gapped Vince and Verm for a bit. Then, I popped midway up and Vince passed me first followed by Verm, who graciously warned me when he was passing me. :)
They got across E. Santiago ahead of me, and after the light, I started to make my way up. I could see Vince and Verm riding abreast ahead of me and not too far. I was just going to find a nice pace and hopefully meet them somewhere on the other side. However, sometime past midway up, I saw Vince holding Verm's bike while he took a bio break. I was struggling, so as I made my way past Vince I told him that I was and just kept going. Verm had already been making his way to his bike at that point, and they got on my wheel shortly after. I was waiting for them to pass, but I only heard Verm say "good job" at the top.
We got to the bike trail and used it to regroup with the others. At this point, the leg warmers had to come off. Once I peeled them off, the others were ready to go again. Verm led us out originally, and then we all started rotating. Even Jaffe took a couple pulls here but eventually decided it was best just to try and hang on. Vince, Verm, S-G and I kept working and there were some definitely strong pulls all the way down. S-G was there and rotating in up until the last bridge, but once we crossed, Vince opened it up and this just dropped it down to Verm, Vince and I. We were hauling ass and both Vince and Verm moved up on Strava to the #2 spots for this stretch...still behind mine from last year...but barely.
We regrouped on PCH but up to this point, we neither stopped for any water fill-ups or legal bio breaks (vs. in public...LOL). Once we got going, we were all still willing to work and kept rotating. Once we got past the Bayside, we started to go up Jamboree and Verm once again was in charge mode and started charging up the hill ahead of us. I decided to give him a little run on this hill given he's dropped me all morning long, so I reeled him and and accelerated past him where he couldn't jump on. It's my one BAM moment of the day. Jaffe must have broke off and went home his own way here since only 4 of us continued as we went across the Jamboree intersection.
Once we got to NPC, Verm started to lead us up and had a really strong pace still. I tried to hang on, but was just off the back. At one point, another guy passes me on the hill and says nice bike. He was on a BMC Team Machine, so I "let him" pass me. Yeah, that's it. He made his way up to Verm, and it looked like they rode to the top together.
We regrouped at San Joaquin and were thinking about going down it (I thought this was what Vince wanted to do, but he just didn't notice the route was actually to McArthur). Once we figured things out, we headed down NPC, Bonita Canyon and East Bluff. We thought there was a water fountain at the top of Back Bay only to find that there wasn't. We did find one on the bike trail to the right before California.
After the guys refilled their water bottles (S-G filling both despite 8 miles to go...he must have been hurting), we were off. I had 19.7 mph average on my Garmin when we were at the stop, so I told the guys it would be nice if we can get it up to 20 by the time we got back. We were all pretty spent, but we pushed on. S-G took some turns, but ended up succumbing to the pain and dropping off. Verm, Vince and I kept pushing. Verm still had a lot of energy left and brought the pace up on Harvard where it was difficult to relieve him after...but I did.
We were all still working once back on the bike trail and I just kept thinking we're almost back...we're almost back. When we finally got past the freeway, I was glad Bryan wasn't too far ahead. Verm ended up going his way (to the right) as Vince and I went ahead to make the left back toward BJ's. Vince was saying as we were making our way onto the road that his legs were done and quivering, but I convinced him we should still push on and as expected he was game and came with where we still reached almost 25-30 mph to finish off.
We were all worked, including S-G, who came in shortly after and no one was able to stick around after for some post ride decompression. Since Lisa went down to San Diego, I went in solo for a couple Piranhas and some eats...still good even alone.
Thanks for coming out even on the coldest of days, guys. It was good to see everyone working hard despite, so chalk up another good trainer for the books. Cheers!
Attendees: Vince, Gary, Jaffe and Verm (intercepted us on Santiago)
This is what the temperature read when I was leaving this morning:
It even dropped down to 32 at one point on my way out, but it did manage to get up to a cozy 39 degrees by the time I got to BJ's. Gary was already in the parking lot when I got there, but neither of us seemed willing to get out of our cars right away but kept getting ready in the comfort of our vehicles. Vince showed up after and amazingly, Jaffe rode up from his house to join the fun as well. All of us seemed prepared for the cold weather, and I was going to wear a windbreaker since it was so cold. However, after seeing S-G man-up and not wear one and further see Vince not wearing any leg warmers, the vest came off.
I didn't realize how much the cold weather would affect all of us, but when we got going on Irvine Blvd, we could barely hold 18 mph. The cold air in the lungs just hurt. Power-wise, it felt like we should have been going well over 20 mph though. It took 5 miles just to be able to get up in the 20s. In a way, it was good Shannon didn't make it out as I'm sure this would have annoyed him immensely. HA HA
When we got to Bake, we were a little more warmed up so we picked up the pace some here. S-G was pushing up the hill and got ahead for awhile, but Vince and I were able to make our way past him. Vince and I were trading places as we made our way up, and I thought we had a pretty good gap on Gary and Jaffe by the time we got to Portola. When I asked Vince if we should wait for the others, he pointed behind us to show they weren't too far behind. Nice.
When we went up Glenn Ranch, S-G and I went through the intersection ahead of Vince and Jaffe, and S-G took advantage and made his way up to Saddleback ahead of the three of us. We weren't far behind though and we all turned left onto it pretty much with him.
On Saddleback, I got by S-G at the bottom and found a good rhythm to go up the hill. Midway up, Vince passed me, so I tried to stay with him but couldn't hold his wheel. I didn't fall too far behind, but I was able to close the gap some near the top. Thankfully so as I was able to make sure he made the right turn on Ridgeline.
After regrouping at Cooks, we were off again up the hill. S-G led us up for a bit until he made his way to another cyclist who had gone up just ahead of us. I then made my way up past them. Vince got up front near the first crest and I think brought the pace up gapping the others behind us. Once we got over the 2nd crest, Vince and I started working together down the hill.
After making our way through the canyon just before the lake entrance, we see Verm make a U-turn ahead of us to join the fun. This was just after Vince told me I needed to drink more since he still saw a lot of fluids in my bottles. I took a sip but I probably should have drank more had I known Verm was out for blood today.
Verm got in the rotation with Vince and I and led us up Dump Hill with Vince and I behind him. About 3/4 of the way up, Verm decides to accelerate and I had nothing. Vince went with and ended up passing him eventually, and I wouldn't see these guys until the light on Jamboree (in part because i was also caught on one of the lights over the toll road).
We regrouped across the street, and took off up Chapman. I led us originally and Vince got up front near the top and got us going down the hill. I made my way past him and began leading us up on Cannon. After one of the stop signs, I tried to accelerate and actually gapped Vince and Verm for a bit. Then, I popped midway up and Vince passed me first followed by Verm, who graciously warned me when he was passing me. :)
They got across E. Santiago ahead of me, and after the light, I started to make my way up. I could see Vince and Verm riding abreast ahead of me and not too far. I was just going to find a nice pace and hopefully meet them somewhere on the other side. However, sometime past midway up, I saw Vince holding Verm's bike while he took a bio break. I was struggling, so as I made my way past Vince I told him that I was and just kept going. Verm had already been making his way to his bike at that point, and they got on my wheel shortly after. I was waiting for them to pass, but I only heard Verm say "good job" at the top.
We got to the bike trail and used it to regroup with the others. At this point, the leg warmers had to come off. Once I peeled them off, the others were ready to go again. Verm led us out originally, and then we all started rotating. Even Jaffe took a couple pulls here but eventually decided it was best just to try and hang on. Vince, Verm, S-G and I kept working and there were some definitely strong pulls all the way down. S-G was there and rotating in up until the last bridge, but once we crossed, Vince opened it up and this just dropped it down to Verm, Vince and I. We were hauling ass and both Vince and Verm moved up on Strava to the #2 spots for this stretch...still behind mine from last year...but barely.
We regrouped on PCH but up to this point, we neither stopped for any water fill-ups or legal bio breaks (vs. in public...LOL). Once we got going, we were all still willing to work and kept rotating. Once we got past the Bayside, we started to go up Jamboree and Verm once again was in charge mode and started charging up the hill ahead of us. I decided to give him a little run on this hill given he's dropped me all morning long, so I reeled him and and accelerated past him where he couldn't jump on. It's my one BAM moment of the day. Jaffe must have broke off and went home his own way here since only 4 of us continued as we went across the Jamboree intersection.
Once we got to NPC, Verm started to lead us up and had a really strong pace still. I tried to hang on, but was just off the back. At one point, another guy passes me on the hill and says nice bike. He was on a BMC Team Machine, so I "let him" pass me. Yeah, that's it. He made his way up to Verm, and it looked like they rode to the top together.
We regrouped at San Joaquin and were thinking about going down it (I thought this was what Vince wanted to do, but he just didn't notice the route was actually to McArthur). Once we figured things out, we headed down NPC, Bonita Canyon and East Bluff. We thought there was a water fountain at the top of Back Bay only to find that there wasn't. We did find one on the bike trail to the right before California.
After the guys refilled their water bottles (S-G filling both despite 8 miles to go...he must have been hurting), we were off. I had 19.7 mph average on my Garmin when we were at the stop, so I told the guys it would be nice if we can get it up to 20 by the time we got back. We were all pretty spent, but we pushed on. S-G took some turns, but ended up succumbing to the pain and dropping off. Verm, Vince and I kept pushing. Verm still had a lot of energy left and brought the pace up on Harvard where it was difficult to relieve him after...but I did.
We were all still working once back on the bike trail and I just kept thinking we're almost back...we're almost back. When we finally got past the freeway, I was glad Bryan wasn't too far ahead. Verm ended up going his way (to the right) as Vince and I went ahead to make the left back toward BJ's. Vince was saying as we were making our way onto the road that his legs were done and quivering, but I convinced him we should still push on and as expected he was game and came with where we still reached almost 25-30 mph to finish off.
We were all worked, including S-G, who came in shortly after and no one was able to stick around after for some post ride decompression. Since Lisa went down to San Diego, I went in solo for a couple Piranhas and some eats...still good even alone.
Thanks for coming out even on the coldest of days, guys. It was good to see everyone working hard despite, so chalk up another good trainer for the books. Cheers!
Friday, December 2, 2011
BRCM Morning Trainer - Shady 133 PCH NPC McArthur Jamboree Loop
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/2537458 (Got my 500 back...yippee!)
I thought it would just be Todd and me, but it was nice to see Vince and Galen come out also and join us for a morning pain fest. We got going just a little after 6:30 and the temperature was sub 50 still. The sun was starting to peek out though, so it warmed up to a toasty 55 degrees by the end of the ride. Todd and Galen opted not to have leg warmers and shorty gloves only. Studs.
Our initial pace going out was pretty chill but that lasted until we got to E. Peltason...ha ha. Galen, Todd and I kept the pace up, but Vince must have been recovering from what I heard was some brutal cross training in the last few days and stayed in the back.
Going across Bonita Canyon toward Shady, I led us out originally but Galen passed and created a little gap where Todd said he'd close it so I jumped behind him. Todd must have reconsidered doing so since Galen kept ahead of us for some time at a pretty mean pace, but I finally jumped up to help Todd reel him back in. No fun.
When we went up the Shady bike trail, we took turns rotating and Todd led us to the top followed by Galen and me. Vince was still trying to get the blood circulating, so we waited at the top and regrouped.
We all stayed together and rotated as we made our way to the 133, but before we got to the top, I felt I was bouncing on my stem in the rear where I knew I had gotten a flat. After trying an inner tube with a stem too short for my 25mm rear wheels (thanks to my wife...HA HA...inside joke) and failing to inflate it, I had to drop in the other spare tube which had a 60mm stem. I felt rushed trying to get the 2nd tube in that I think I got a good 80 PSI of CO2 in there only...good enough. Thankfully, the guys waited for me.
As we headed down the other side of the 133, everyone was taking turns so we averaged over 31 mph per hour for a few miles. We still kept the pace up on PCH, although admittedly, I think I got a little winded earlier and I probably could have used a drink but was too afraid to do so given the pace. I did take some turns here and there, but when I found out we were going up NPC (instead of Back Bay), I was a little nervous.
Vince conceded that he wasn't going to try and hang up NPC, so the three of us made our way up at a pretty decent clip. Galen led the way, but Todd eventually got beside him and they started riding up together. Before midway, I dropped off their pace and went into slight survival mode. Then, a guy passes me on a cyclocross bike. Wow. I jumped on his rear wheel for a while and he did pull me closer to Todd and Galen, but I didn't have enough to hold on for the rest of the hill. He passed Galen also, but when he got to Todd, Todd wouldn't have any of it (BAM) and broke away. Todd was pretty happy with this feat...until we pointed out how the guy was on a cyclocross bike. Then, not as much.
Fortunately, I caught both Galen and Todd at the light at Ridge Park, and I led us down the other side of NPC. It was pretty hairy with the morning commuters, one of which wouldn't respect Todd's space, but we still managed to make it down safely. Vince would catch us at the light on McArthur, so he was safe as well.
We exchanged some pulls on Bonita Canyon, but Todd led us up on Ford as we made our way to "Rich's Condo." Vince didn't opt to come with us here, but I knew Todd and Galen were going to give it a good run. I dropped off the back a little as we neared Jamboree just to swing out wide on Ford to come in tight on Jamboree. We all had to check up a little though based on some water on the road as well as the cars that were about to come through on the green behind us.
After rounding the corner, Galen took off and got a sizable gap ahead of Todd and I. I jumped into a gear I thought I could hold for a while, and made my way past LTJ and gave chase to Galen. I wasn't sure I was going to catch him, but he lost a little steam near the end of the rise where I was able to get by. I did have to drop down to gears I didn't think would let me beat my record up here, but I kept going nonetheless. 23 mph average was good enough for today.
The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful but still with a solid pace. In the end, the average pace for the whole route was 21.7 mph. Not too shabby. We know Todd and Vince are legit, but seeing Galen continue to make gains, I'd have to agree with Verm's assessment from last Wednesday...this dude is definitely legit too.
Thanks for coming out, gents! Spin class at lunch? I'm sick and need serious psychological attention.
I thought it would just be Todd and me, but it was nice to see Vince and Galen come out also and join us for a morning pain fest. We got going just a little after 6:30 and the temperature was sub 50 still. The sun was starting to peek out though, so it warmed up to a toasty 55 degrees by the end of the ride. Todd and Galen opted not to have leg warmers and shorty gloves only. Studs.
Our initial pace going out was pretty chill but that lasted until we got to E. Peltason...ha ha. Galen, Todd and I kept the pace up, but Vince must have been recovering from what I heard was some brutal cross training in the last few days and stayed in the back.
Going across Bonita Canyon toward Shady, I led us out originally but Galen passed and created a little gap where Todd said he'd close it so I jumped behind him. Todd must have reconsidered doing so since Galen kept ahead of us for some time at a pretty mean pace, but I finally jumped up to help Todd reel him back in. No fun.
When we went up the Shady bike trail, we took turns rotating and Todd led us to the top followed by Galen and me. Vince was still trying to get the blood circulating, so we waited at the top and regrouped.
We all stayed together and rotated as we made our way to the 133, but before we got to the top, I felt I was bouncing on my stem in the rear where I knew I had gotten a flat. After trying an inner tube with a stem too short for my 25mm rear wheels (thanks to my wife...HA HA...inside joke) and failing to inflate it, I had to drop in the other spare tube which had a 60mm stem. I felt rushed trying to get the 2nd tube in that I think I got a good 80 PSI of CO2 in there only...good enough. Thankfully, the guys waited for me.
As we headed down the other side of the 133, everyone was taking turns so we averaged over 31 mph per hour for a few miles. We still kept the pace up on PCH, although admittedly, I think I got a little winded earlier and I probably could have used a drink but was too afraid to do so given the pace. I did take some turns here and there, but when I found out we were going up NPC (instead of Back Bay), I was a little nervous.
Vince conceded that he wasn't going to try and hang up NPC, so the three of us made our way up at a pretty decent clip. Galen led the way, but Todd eventually got beside him and they started riding up together. Before midway, I dropped off their pace and went into slight survival mode. Then, a guy passes me on a cyclocross bike. Wow. I jumped on his rear wheel for a while and he did pull me closer to Todd and Galen, but I didn't have enough to hold on for the rest of the hill. He passed Galen also, but when he got to Todd, Todd wouldn't have any of it (BAM) and broke away. Todd was pretty happy with this feat...until we pointed out how the guy was on a cyclocross bike. Then, not as much.
Fortunately, I caught both Galen and Todd at the light at Ridge Park, and I led us down the other side of NPC. It was pretty hairy with the morning commuters, one of which wouldn't respect Todd's space, but we still managed to make it down safely. Vince would catch us at the light on McArthur, so he was safe as well.
We exchanged some pulls on Bonita Canyon, but Todd led us up on Ford as we made our way to "Rich's Condo." Vince didn't opt to come with us here, but I knew Todd and Galen were going to give it a good run. I dropped off the back a little as we neared Jamboree just to swing out wide on Ford to come in tight on Jamboree. We all had to check up a little though based on some water on the road as well as the cars that were about to come through on the green behind us.
After rounding the corner, Galen took off and got a sizable gap ahead of Todd and I. I jumped into a gear I thought I could hold for a while, and made my way past LTJ and gave chase to Galen. I wasn't sure I was going to catch him, but he lost a little steam near the end of the rise where I was able to get by. I did have to drop down to gears I didn't think would let me beat my record up here, but I kept going nonetheless. 23 mph average was good enough for today.
The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful but still with a solid pace. In the end, the average pace for the whole route was 21.7 mph. Not too shabby. We know Todd and Vince are legit, but seeing Galen continue to make gains, I'd have to agree with Verm's assessment from last Wednesday...this dude is definitely legit too.
Thanks for coming out, gents! Spin class at lunch? I'm sick and need serious psychological attention.
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