Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/3774448
The NPC + Double Back Bay route is notorious for being fast and frantic, and today was no exception. Vince made it back out after a 2 week hiatus since the Stagecoach, but you couldn't tell he was gone since he was helping to push the pace throughout.
Gary started things off though, as usual, and got the early jump on Bison and E Peltason...hence the segment through Anteater being named accordingly. I kept the pace up behind him but a off the back, so it was nice when others came around on Anteater to reel him back in. There were some sections where the group broke up a little bit, but we all managed to make the left to NPC together.
Vince and Shannon were ahead of me originally as we were going up, but I found a good tempo where I climbed past them just after the first light. When I looked back, I saw that Adrian had followed and was moving at a pretty good clip where I decided to pace him for as long as he could hold it. When Shannon made his way past us again, I broke the rule and decided to try and pace him up NPC. At a couple points, I even took the front mostly based on momentum, but then I realized the error of my ways once he started to put the power down near the top where he snapped me off like a cheap bra.
Fortunately, Vince was just behind us and he and I regrouped on San Joaquin to work together and we ended up chasing Shannon after we got split up at a light. We ran into him at the Marguerite light, but since it was a long one, everyone eventually did too.
Gary led us toward Back Bay on Jamboree, and it didn't look like too many people were interested in helping him out...ha ha. I decided to relieve the guy from like 5 bikes back and got us on Back Bay Drive. Gary, the trooper that he is, still pushed up to the front after and I advised him to save a little in the tank for the BB run since I knew it would be fast.
After Shannon got up front, Adrian and Vin made a break before San Joaquin and Vince ended up going with them. The rest of us had a pretty good head of steam coming up behind them though, and I think they eventually succumb to just coming back into the pack before the tight bend.
At one point, Shannon seemed to be up front for a while and since I was 3 bikes back, I asked (okay maybe yelled at) Mitchell (#2) to push up and relieve the guy and he did. Nice. Adrian relieved Mitchell after and managed to keep the pace steady in the process...after some convincing since I was right behind him. Ha ha.
At we came up on Eastbluff, I'm glad it wasn't an all out sprint to the top because I was pretty spent. Vince rolled up beside me with Adrian and Shannon there also, but they seemed to be getting ready for the upcoming Jamboree climb.
Shannon crossed the street ahead of us but Vince and I weren't too far back. When we got on Jamboree, the 3 of us had a pretty good pace and managed to get together up the climb. I was worried at one point I was going to drop, but shifting to a lower gear helped me get back on.
From there, it was just the 3 of us as we made our way back around BB for the 2nd pass. We had a good pace and traded pulls Stagecoach style, but vince decided some unannounced crit training at the end would be good. He broke away with Shannon and all I could do was watch. Cool!
Luckily, I ended up meeting them at the light to go up California with my average being 22.2 at that point...I'm sure they had faster ones. I jumped to the front as we climbed to keep the pace up, but ultimately ended up with a 21.9 (21.7 per Strava).
According to Adrian, the rest had stayed and worked together behind us also getting a good workout from this route. Kudos.
Thanks for the training, gents.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Team BRCM - SJC to Camp Pendleton OAB + Extra Hill (Shannon's Ride Report)
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/3716881
Weather conditions iced us to begin with, once we popped out into the sunlight Gary regained his self and made up for lost time. Doheny got lit up.
It was a pretty quick trip down to McDonald's after that. I think Rich attempted to steal Verm's spot on the San Clemente climb despite some trouble breathing. Nice!
On the way back we scoped out the Bulldog climb. A couple of short steep sections connected with longer false flats. Overall steeper than we recalled, those false flats will be good spots to up the pace :)
On exiting Pendleton we picked up a senior straggler. With Rich hitting it hard and giving relief as if on queue I decided to see what he guy could do. He held on, surprisingly, despite all attempts on his life (no ordinary attacks). Stoic old f*cker, never once went to the drops and insisted on climbing the hills abrest.
Finished up with a early happy hour at Rich's place, thanks!
-SM.
Also, should note: sprint finish at the end, not sure if Gary edged out Rich, lol.
Weather conditions iced us to begin with, once we popped out into the sunlight Gary regained his self and made up for lost time. Doheny got lit up.
It was a pretty quick trip down to McDonald's after that. I think Rich attempted to steal Verm's spot on the San Clemente climb despite some trouble breathing. Nice!
On the way back we scoped out the Bulldog climb. A couple of short steep sections connected with longer false flats. Overall steeper than we recalled, those false flats will be good spots to up the pace :)
On exiting Pendleton we picked up a senior straggler. With Rich hitting it hard and giving relief as if on queue I decided to see what he guy could do. He held on, surprisingly, despite all attempts on his life (no ordinary attacks). Stoic old f*cker, never once went to the drops and insisted on climbing the hills abrest.
Finished up with a early happy hour at Rich's place, thanks!
-SM.
Also, should note: sprint finish at the end, not sure if Gary edged out Rich, lol.
Friday, January 27, 2012
2012 Accomplishments and Accolades
1/14/12 - Stagecoach Century and Team Time Trial (Team - A: Shannon, Vince, Todd and Me - first place open and overall; Team - B: PV, Galen, Adrian and Verm - 2nd place open and 5th overall; individual finishers - Gary and Noah). Ride benefits go to Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund
2/11/12 - Tour de Palm Springs. Attendees: Todd, Galen, Vin and me. 20.9 mph average despite very heavy winds. Ride benefits various Coachella charities.
2/25/12 - Harding TT. PV got 3rd in his age group and 24th overall.
3/31/12 - Great Park Crit (Shannon 8th place)
4/29/12 - L'Etape du California. Attendees: Shannon, Todd, Verm and Noah. (Shannon in top 10 in his age group). Ride benefits Breakaway from Cancer.
5/5/12 - Alpine Challenge. Attendees: Shannon, Vin and me. Half the ride benefits go to Radys Children's Hospital San Diego and the other half will be used to provide college scholarships.
5/5/12 - Wildflower Triathlon - Noah received top podium honors on the Mountain Bike sprint course.
6/4/12 - Big Bear 50 Mountain Bike Race - PV got 5th in his class and Shannon received top podium honors in his.
6/9/12 - Ride Around the Bear. Attendees: Shannon, Todd, Galen, Jeremy, Noah and me. Shannon and Todd finished together 3rd overall. Galen was top 10 and Jeremy was in top 25.
7/21/12 - Pasadena Gran Fondo (Inaugural) - Attendee: Shannon and me. Shannon placed 3rd overall in KOM challenge. I placed 3rd in my age group.
9/30/12 - Tour de Poway - Just me. Supported by several North San Diego County Kiwanis clubs.
10/20/12 - Santa Barbara Century - Attendees: Shannon, Todd, Galen, Jeremy and me. Overall results for KOM challenge: Shannon - 6th, Galen - 9th, Todd - 11th, me - 35th and Jeremy 40th. Per the organizers, 85% of the proceeds went to local charities.
11/17/12 - Noah completed AZ IronMan in under 10 hours (9:57)!
11/17/12 - Todd on the podium for Santiago TT series with 3rd place finish.
2/11/12 - Tour de Palm Springs. Attendees: Todd, Galen, Vin and me. 20.9 mph average despite very heavy winds. Ride benefits various Coachella charities.
2/25/12 - Harding TT. PV got 3rd in his age group and 24th overall.
3/31/12 - Great Park Crit (Shannon 8th place)
4/29/12 - L'Etape du California. Attendees: Shannon, Todd, Verm and Noah. (Shannon in top 10 in his age group). Ride benefits Breakaway from Cancer.
5/5/12 - Alpine Challenge. Attendees: Shannon, Vin and me. Half the ride benefits go to Radys Children's Hospital San Diego and the other half will be used to provide college scholarships.
5/5/12 - Wildflower Triathlon - Noah received top podium honors on the Mountain Bike sprint course.
6/4/12 - Big Bear 50 Mountain Bike Race - PV got 5th in his class and Shannon received top podium honors in his.
6/9/12 - Ride Around the Bear. Attendees: Shannon, Todd, Galen, Jeremy, Noah and me. Shannon and Todd finished together 3rd overall. Galen was top 10 and Jeremy was in top 25.
7/21/12 - Pasadena Gran Fondo (Inaugural) - Attendee: Shannon and me. Shannon placed 3rd overall in KOM challenge. I placed 3rd in my age group.
9/30/12 - Tour de Poway - Just me. Supported by several North San Diego County Kiwanis clubs.
10/20/12 - Santa Barbara Century - Attendees: Shannon, Todd, Galen, Jeremy and me. Overall results for KOM challenge: Shannon - 6th, Galen - 9th, Todd - 11th, me - 35th and Jeremy 40th. Per the organizers, 85% of the proceeds went to local charities.
11/17/12 - Noah completed AZ IronMan in under 10 hours (9:57)!
11/17/12 - Todd on the podium for Santiago TT series with 3rd place finish.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
BRCM Lunch - Puke Route with Off the Seat Climb Challenge
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/3604295
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/144594396
For today's ride, it was a good sized group and it was nice to see Shannon back on the saddle again after a 1.5 week hiatus post-race. I also haven't ridden with Galen for a while, so it was nice to see him out there crushing it. Gary, Mitchell, Seon, Vin, Jaffe and Hiroshi (partial) made it out as well and although it was a little windy here and there, made for a decent day of riding.
I'm not sure who was on board with the idea, but I solicited that today we climb and do as much off the seat as possible to apply a focus to to our training for once. I think everyone blew me off though...ha ha. I should have offered beer as an incentive. Doh! Anyway, at least I stuck to this plan.
I thought people were on-board in the beginning since when we started, no one was pedaling as we made our way down Health Science drive where they may have been saving it up for the hills. I was soft pedaling passing everyone thinking WTF? Seon did jump to the front by the bottom and led with a slight gap as we made our way to Anteater. I got by at one point, but the Gary and the rest of the boys got it done and led us out through Bonita Canyon.
Galen, Shannon, S-Gary and Hiroshi? made the light to turn on NPC but the rest of us got caught behind the red. When we got through the light, Vin and Mitchell got a jump and caught up with S-Gary who I think was doing the off-the-seat exercise at the time. I was climbing a steady pace, with Mitchell being my wing man again, and we made our way up past Hiroshi, who jumped on behind us on his tri-bike, to just behind Gary as we reached the top of NPC. Vin and Mitchell had gotten to the top ahead of us. Hiroshi opted for a BB stint on his tri-bike instead, so the rest of us made our way to the left turn on Ridge Park. S-G just got through the light, but the rest of us had to stop.
On Ridge Park, S-G started riding with Shannon (who I believe waited for us) and was just ahead of the rest of us. Mitchell and I broke off the rest, but Mitchell eventually succumb to being off my wheel as I made my up. Shannon broke off from Gary never to be seen again, but Gary got to the top of Ridge Park ahead of me and stayed ahead while we did the extra credit. This was the only time I saw Galen making his way out of extra credit just as were making our way to the circle. We saw others do extra credit as well, as we made our way back toward Vista Ridge. I think Shannon skipped it, but he doesn't need extra credit anyway.
Mitchell and I regrouped with S-G as we made our way down Vista. Oddly enough, I was reminded as we made our way down why I don't ride on Wednesday (leg days). Ironically, my calves started cramping (both of them) but only when I'd pedal sitting down. Weak!
The 3 of us stayed together as we made our way down NPC. Going up Pelican, Gary got a good head start and although I passed him, he came back around and passed me again just prior to the first peak. BAM! Mitchell was still my wingman, and stayed on my wheel to keep me honest. On the 2nd peak, I got by Gary again and then we made our way to the long climb towards NPC. Here, I found a decent pace and ended up separating from Mitchell and Gary. It was nice to also be able to keep a decent cadence while still on the big compact ring. I was just able to make the left turn light on NPC, so I'm not sure if Gary and Mitchell were as lucky.
On NPC, my calves were popping like an Orville Redenbacher corn product, so I was close to just heading back from there. Then that dreaded P word came up in my head, so up Vista I went. I definitely dropped it down some gears going up Vista nervous about my calves, but I still managed the off the seat climb all the way to the false flat and then on the subsequent climb just before Ridge park.
I didn't see anyone at the top, so I did the extra credit again all by my lonesome. Hoping to see someone on the way back, I saw no one, so the rest of the way back was a lonely ride with plenty of stop lights, even two without any cross traffic. When I was going down NPC, a big ass bus made a u-turn right in the middle of the downhill, and just sat there across one lane and the bike trail as I made my way to it. Slowing down and several "gestures" later, he finally backed up and finished the u-turn where he drove on the bike lane to make a right that he apparently missed. Luckily, I wasn't carrying a Sandy or I may have just chucked it at him.
No glory on Strava for me on today's ride, but still a good training day nonetheless. It was nice to have some company while it lasted. Thanks for the training today, gents!
Edit: Shannon and Gary stuck to the plan given their strict adherence to rule #5.
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/144594396
For today's ride, it was a good sized group and it was nice to see Shannon back on the saddle again after a 1.5 week hiatus post-race. I also haven't ridden with Galen for a while, so it was nice to see him out there crushing it. Gary, Mitchell, Seon, Vin, Jaffe and Hiroshi (partial) made it out as well and although it was a little windy here and there, made for a decent day of riding.
I'm not sure who was on board with the idea, but I solicited that today we climb and do as much off the seat as possible to apply a focus to to our training for once. I think everyone blew me off though...ha ha. I should have offered beer as an incentive. Doh! Anyway, at least I stuck to this plan.
I thought people were on-board in the beginning since when we started, no one was pedaling as we made our way down Health Science drive where they may have been saving it up for the hills. I was soft pedaling passing everyone thinking WTF? Seon did jump to the front by the bottom and led with a slight gap as we made our way to Anteater. I got by at one point, but the Gary and the rest of the boys got it done and led us out through Bonita Canyon.
Galen, Shannon, S-Gary and Hiroshi? made the light to turn on NPC but the rest of us got caught behind the red. When we got through the light, Vin and Mitchell got a jump and caught up with S-Gary who I think was doing the off-the-seat exercise at the time. I was climbing a steady pace, with Mitchell being my wing man again, and we made our way up past Hiroshi, who jumped on behind us on his tri-bike, to just behind Gary as we reached the top of NPC. Vin and Mitchell had gotten to the top ahead of us. Hiroshi opted for a BB stint on his tri-bike instead, so the rest of us made our way to the left turn on Ridge Park. S-G just got through the light, but the rest of us had to stop.
On Ridge Park, S-G started riding with Shannon (who I believe waited for us) and was just ahead of the rest of us. Mitchell and I broke off the rest, but Mitchell eventually succumb to being off my wheel as I made my up. Shannon broke off from Gary never to be seen again, but Gary got to the top of Ridge Park ahead of me and stayed ahead while we did the extra credit. This was the only time I saw Galen making his way out of extra credit just as were making our way to the circle. We saw others do extra credit as well, as we made our way back toward Vista Ridge. I think Shannon skipped it, but he doesn't need extra credit anyway.
Mitchell and I regrouped with S-G as we made our way down Vista. Oddly enough, I was reminded as we made our way down why I don't ride on Wednesday (leg days). Ironically, my calves started cramping (both of them) but only when I'd pedal sitting down. Weak!
The 3 of us stayed together as we made our way down NPC. Going up Pelican, Gary got a good head start and although I passed him, he came back around and passed me again just prior to the first peak. BAM! Mitchell was still my wingman, and stayed on my wheel to keep me honest. On the 2nd peak, I got by Gary again and then we made our way to the long climb towards NPC. Here, I found a decent pace and ended up separating from Mitchell and Gary. It was nice to also be able to keep a decent cadence while still on the big compact ring. I was just able to make the left turn light on NPC, so I'm not sure if Gary and Mitchell were as lucky.
On NPC, my calves were popping like an Orville Redenbacher corn product, so I was close to just heading back from there. Then that dreaded P word came up in my head, so up Vista I went. I definitely dropped it down some gears going up Vista nervous about my calves, but I still managed the off the seat climb all the way to the false flat and then on the subsequent climb just before Ridge park.
I didn't see anyone at the top, so I did the extra credit again all by my lonesome. Hoping to see someone on the way back, I saw no one, so the rest of the way back was a lonely ride with plenty of stop lights, even two without any cross traffic. When I was going down NPC, a big ass bus made a u-turn right in the middle of the downhill, and just sat there across one lane and the bike trail as I made my way to it. Slowing down and several "gestures" later, he finally backed up and finished the u-turn where he drove on the bike lane to make a right that he apparently missed. Luckily, I wasn't carrying a Sandy or I may have just chucked it at him.
No glory on Strava for me on today's ride, but still a good training day nonetheless. It was nice to have some company while it lasted. Thanks for the training today, gents!
Edit: Shannon and Gary stuck to the plan given their strict adherence to rule #5.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Como Street and Solo Extra Credit
Strava (Como) - http://app.strava.com/rides/3534458 (post) http://app.strava.com/rides/3534354
It was nice to meet up with Gary for this ride, but admittedly, I was a little nervous given we haven't done this type of riding for several weeks. It's nice to know I wouldn't suffer alone. Vin was suppose to meet up with us on El Toro, but ended up following the long route instead. Other BRCM sightings include Gary seeing Shannon on Jamboree, who was watching from him mountain bike, and I believe Noah and his buddy Kevin were in the canyons on my solo post ride.
The ride started out pretty mellow at an optimal warm-up pace, and oddly enough, didn't get too hot on Irvine Blvd. Not that it wasn't fast, but it just didn't seem too bad. Maybe since there was a lot of people out there (it had grown significantly as people jumped on from different locations), the draft made it seem less difficult. Gary and I pretty much stayed together all the way to El Toro.
Going up El Toro, I started to make my way up to get into a better position and upon hitting one of the lights was glad to see S-G had also done the same. S-G ended up pushing more toward the front, while I remained in the upper third of the group.
When the group started to split up for the fast route vs. the long route, I was surprised at how many are now doing the long route. There was still a good size group doing the fast route, but some people I was accustomed to seeing on the fast route (like Todd Blaser) went the other way. I was close to following him, but opted to stay with Gary just to see how this group was.
Making our way to Cooks is always a grind, but I slowly kept making my way up toward the front. At one point, it seems the pace had gotten a little hot for S-G, and he ended up falling back before we got to Cooks. Once the climb started, I started to climb off the seat but managed my pace to stay with those who seemed like they were going to be leading. I also saw Sol, who said hi earlier in the ride, but he fell off during the climb as well. Near the top of the first crest, the front group slowed a bit, so I made my way toward the front only to be right behind one guy.
The guy on the Argon bike, who's fast at the crits and has some serious separation power, made a move after the first crest, but he was chased down. He also tried to make a break at another point, and while no one wanted to follow, I decided to break from the #4 spot and chase him down. Thankfully, others had jumped on and helped reel him in again.
Through the canyons, the pace was fast but it seemed that the rotations were not the same as what I remember. There were definitely a lot of guys not taking their turns, so I'd say there were probably about 5-6, including me, who would do the rotations pretty regularly.
On Dump, I did the same as the hill after Cooks and just stayed with the front group and not overcook to break away. This worked out well as I had plenty of energy after and was able to mix it up a little on our way toward Jamboree.
Once we got on Jamboree, Argon man led the way and I decided to hold him out a little just to make sure he doesn't try any crazy breaks. Others did start to rotate ahead and I took my turns as well. On the downhill though, there were times when I thought man I'm out here longer than normal. HA HA
When we got past Portola, some guys would try and break off but I was also either chasing or following chases to close in. I started alternating more to the front, but anticipated that there may be one last attack. After the last light before we made our way to Irvine Blvd and with no one attacking, I decided to light it up. I was thinking I was going to get passed, but no one did. I think one guy stayed on my wheel but never passed all the way until the end. Overall, Garmin showed 21.7 average for today's run.
Gary couldn't stay for the extra credit, so I did a reverse Como loop on my own. Nothing crazy but a steady pace finishing with a 19.7 average. Passed a bunch of people, but no one to mix it up with. One guy, who I chased down on Irvine Blvd, decided he wanted to try to stay with me after I caught him. Of course, I hit the BAM button and after a bit saw he had fallen off the back. 19.7 average for this run.
Here's the youtube video I made of the Como Street run. I edited it out and added some comments here and there rather than posting the whole thing. No music though.
Next week...the long Como loop.
It was nice to meet up with Gary for this ride, but admittedly, I was a little nervous given we haven't done this type of riding for several weeks. It's nice to know I wouldn't suffer alone. Vin was suppose to meet up with us on El Toro, but ended up following the long route instead. Other BRCM sightings include Gary seeing Shannon on Jamboree, who was watching from him mountain bike, and I believe Noah and his buddy Kevin were in the canyons on my solo post ride.
The ride started out pretty mellow at an optimal warm-up pace, and oddly enough, didn't get too hot on Irvine Blvd. Not that it wasn't fast, but it just didn't seem too bad. Maybe since there was a lot of people out there (it had grown significantly as people jumped on from different locations), the draft made it seem less difficult. Gary and I pretty much stayed together all the way to El Toro.
Going up El Toro, I started to make my way up to get into a better position and upon hitting one of the lights was glad to see S-G had also done the same. S-G ended up pushing more toward the front, while I remained in the upper third of the group.
When the group started to split up for the fast route vs. the long route, I was surprised at how many are now doing the long route. There was still a good size group doing the fast route, but some people I was accustomed to seeing on the fast route (like Todd Blaser) went the other way. I was close to following him, but opted to stay with Gary just to see how this group was.
Making our way to Cooks is always a grind, but I slowly kept making my way up toward the front. At one point, it seems the pace had gotten a little hot for S-G, and he ended up falling back before we got to Cooks. Once the climb started, I started to climb off the seat but managed my pace to stay with those who seemed like they were going to be leading. I also saw Sol, who said hi earlier in the ride, but he fell off during the climb as well. Near the top of the first crest, the front group slowed a bit, so I made my way toward the front only to be right behind one guy.
The guy on the Argon bike, who's fast at the crits and has some serious separation power, made a move after the first crest, but he was chased down. He also tried to make a break at another point, and while no one wanted to follow, I decided to break from the #4 spot and chase him down. Thankfully, others had jumped on and helped reel him in again.
Through the canyons, the pace was fast but it seemed that the rotations were not the same as what I remember. There were definitely a lot of guys not taking their turns, so I'd say there were probably about 5-6, including me, who would do the rotations pretty regularly.
On Dump, I did the same as the hill after Cooks and just stayed with the front group and not overcook to break away. This worked out well as I had plenty of energy after and was able to mix it up a little on our way toward Jamboree.
Once we got on Jamboree, Argon man led the way and I decided to hold him out a little just to make sure he doesn't try any crazy breaks. Others did start to rotate ahead and I took my turns as well. On the downhill though, there were times when I thought man I'm out here longer than normal. HA HA
When we got past Portola, some guys would try and break off but I was also either chasing or following chases to close in. I started alternating more to the front, but anticipated that there may be one last attack. After the last light before we made our way to Irvine Blvd and with no one attacking, I decided to light it up. I was thinking I was going to get passed, but no one did. I think one guy stayed on my wheel but never passed all the way until the end. Overall, Garmin showed 21.7 average for today's run.
Gary couldn't stay for the extra credit, so I did a reverse Como loop on my own. Nothing crazy but a steady pace finishing with a 19.7 average. Passed a bunch of people, but no one to mix it up with. One guy, who I chased down on Irvine Blvd, decided he wanted to try to stay with me after I caught him. Of course, I hit the BAM button and after a bit saw he had fallen off the back. 19.7 average for this run.
Here's the youtube video I made of the Como Street run. I edited it out and added some comments here and there rather than posting the whole thing. No music though.
Next week...the long Como loop.
Friday, January 20, 2012
BRCM Lunch Ride 1/19/12 - Video BLOG
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/3465362
Attendees: Todd, Adrian, Jaffe, David, Marc, Vin, Seon and Eric
Not sure why I can't embed, so here's the link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xAgfdC6M6r0
Attendees: Todd, Adrian, Jaffe, David, Marc, Vin, Seon and Eric
Not sure why I can't embed, so here's the link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xAgfdC6M6r0
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
BRCM Lunch - Anteater, Turtle Rock, Starcrest, Shady, Summit and Condo Run
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/3420441
When it came to today's ride, it seemed that there were those who were eager to put the beat down despite the weekend sufferfest we just had. Thankfully, PV and Adrian were among the few who came out, so at least I wouldn't be alone. Curiously though, I did wonder where Vince, Todd and Shannon were and thought to myself maybe they know something I don't. By the end of the ride, I know they did.
No one was eager to get up front initially, so they all sat behind me pretty much all the way to Culver. Vin, being Vin, passed with authority at some point before Culver...again...likely to annoy me...again since it offered me no relief for all the pulling up to that point. Of course, he succeeded to annoy me so I passed him in the same manner only to have him say "I'm not racing you, Rich"...again. One day I hope he realizes that that gets old.
On Culver, I took the initial pull but PV decided to kick it up a notch and brought the pace up to a respectable pace. It took a little work to latch on, but we all managed to do so for a draft all the way to Campus.
We all started Turtle Rock together but PV and Hiroshi took off early on. We managed to reel Hiroshi in before Starcrest, but PV was on a mission. Up StarCrest, Adrian took the front (finally...haha) and led with I believe Hiroshi passing me to get behind him. Hiroshi was on attack mode today for sure and this was despite having ridden in to work today...nice! We reeled him in again with Mitch as my wingman, but Adrian and PV got to the top first.
We didn't stop at the circle, but kept going where Adrian ended up catching PV on Ridgeline. Eric had intercepted and was in front of me as I crossed Turtle Rock to continue down the hill. After I passed him, I didn't expect he latched on, but the next thing you know, Eric was jumping to the front and taking a pull. Nice!
We saw PV and Adrian just ahead of us, but rather than sprinting to catch them, we maintained a nice tempo as we made our way on the bike trail beside the 405. Both Mitchell and Eric helped to close to the gap on them with some good pulls, but we didn't get to close enough before we could catch PV up Shady. We did reel Adrian in before the climb though.
Going up Shady, the pace was steady and Mitchell stayed with me all the way up and down over the other side. Adrian soon rolled up behind us and eventually took a pull just before the gate. We didn't see PV anymore at this point, and based on Strava, he had gone through the gate while we went on the bike trail, so that didn't help us at all.
On the downhill toward the sprint point, Mitchell led out and then Adrian looked back and checked to see if I was latched on. I confirmed, so Adrian dropped on his aeros and just hammered it down. I hung on for my life until he ran out of steam, thankfully before the bike trail opening.
By the time we made the left on Bonita Canyon and subsequently to Turtle Ridge, Jaffe, Hiroshi and Vin had caught up to us. Going up Summit, we did hear PV on the other side, but couldn't see him since the roads were offset. Hiroshi took off up this hill too, and I had to dig deep at the end just to catch up to him before the top.
We regrouped at the left turn to Bonita Canyon as we headed toward Jamboree. Good pulls here with all but Vin taking a turn...ha ha. As we headed up Ford toward the condo, I fell back a little and watched the group ride up but get caught at the light at the top allowing me to catch up. After the light, Hiroshi broke off and made a dash up the condo and gapped pretty much everyone. It took working with Adrian to reel him in after the ascent. Adrian had pushed passed me allowing me to jump on and keeping the pace up, and jumped on after I passed to catch up to Hiroshi. Nice teamwork.
On Bison, everyone was setting up for the final sprint and Jaffe led the attack after the first light over the 73. I took off after him and passed knowing others were behind me, and sure enough, Adrian comes around and take the sprint to the corner. Nice.
Good training today, gents, but I think I'll actually take tomorrow off. Everyone smelled blood out there, so I think I'll save some for Thursday's ride. This group is too fast and furious otherwise. PV, you're an animal.
Thanks!
When it came to today's ride, it seemed that there were those who were eager to put the beat down despite the weekend sufferfest we just had. Thankfully, PV and Adrian were among the few who came out, so at least I wouldn't be alone. Curiously though, I did wonder where Vince, Todd and Shannon were and thought to myself maybe they know something I don't. By the end of the ride, I know they did.
No one was eager to get up front initially, so they all sat behind me pretty much all the way to Culver. Vin, being Vin, passed with authority at some point before Culver...again...likely to annoy me...again since it offered me no relief for all the pulling up to that point. Of course, he succeeded to annoy me so I passed him in the same manner only to have him say "I'm not racing you, Rich"...again. One day I hope he realizes that that gets old.
On Culver, I took the initial pull but PV decided to kick it up a notch and brought the pace up to a respectable pace. It took a little work to latch on, but we all managed to do so for a draft all the way to Campus.
We all started Turtle Rock together but PV and Hiroshi took off early on. We managed to reel Hiroshi in before Starcrest, but PV was on a mission. Up StarCrest, Adrian took the front (finally...haha) and led with I believe Hiroshi passing me to get behind him. Hiroshi was on attack mode today for sure and this was despite having ridden in to work today...nice! We reeled him in again with Mitch as my wingman, but Adrian and PV got to the top first.
We didn't stop at the circle, but kept going where Adrian ended up catching PV on Ridgeline. Eric had intercepted and was in front of me as I crossed Turtle Rock to continue down the hill. After I passed him, I didn't expect he latched on, but the next thing you know, Eric was jumping to the front and taking a pull. Nice!
We saw PV and Adrian just ahead of us, but rather than sprinting to catch them, we maintained a nice tempo as we made our way on the bike trail beside the 405. Both Mitchell and Eric helped to close to the gap on them with some good pulls, but we didn't get to close enough before we could catch PV up Shady. We did reel Adrian in before the climb though.
Going up Shady, the pace was steady and Mitchell stayed with me all the way up and down over the other side. Adrian soon rolled up behind us and eventually took a pull just before the gate. We didn't see PV anymore at this point, and based on Strava, he had gone through the gate while we went on the bike trail, so that didn't help us at all.
On the downhill toward the sprint point, Mitchell led out and then Adrian looked back and checked to see if I was latched on. I confirmed, so Adrian dropped on his aeros and just hammered it down. I hung on for my life until he ran out of steam, thankfully before the bike trail opening.
By the time we made the left on Bonita Canyon and subsequently to Turtle Ridge, Jaffe, Hiroshi and Vin had caught up to us. Going up Summit, we did hear PV on the other side, but couldn't see him since the roads were offset. Hiroshi took off up this hill too, and I had to dig deep at the end just to catch up to him before the top.
We regrouped at the left turn to Bonita Canyon as we headed toward Jamboree. Good pulls here with all but Vin taking a turn...ha ha. As we headed up Ford toward the condo, I fell back a little and watched the group ride up but get caught at the light at the top allowing me to catch up. After the light, Hiroshi broke off and made a dash up the condo and gapped pretty much everyone. It took working with Adrian to reel him in after the ascent. Adrian had pushed passed me allowing me to jump on and keeping the pace up, and jumped on after I passed to catch up to Hiroshi. Nice teamwork.
On Bison, everyone was setting up for the final sprint and Jaffe led the attack after the first light over the 73. I took off after him and passed knowing others were behind me, and sure enough, Adrian comes around and take the sprint to the corner. Nice.
Good training today, gents, but I think I'll actually take tomorrow off. Everyone smelled blood out there, so I think I'll save some for Thursday's ride. This group is too fast and furious otherwise. PV, you're an animal.
Thanks!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Shannon's Unabridged 2012 Stagecoach TTT Race Report
Having heard reports of multiple teams training hard to go after us this year Broadcom put in some ridiculous training to be ready. I think every weekend for the past month involved century rides that included non-stop repeats, with simulated rotations, and minimal stops to model the conditions. This was a major pain in the ass, certainly less enjoyable than usual.
It was quite a relief when the day of actually arrived. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better nights sleep, I don’t know how long Gary was shaking me before I came to. After rallying at the ‘shop’, for some that meant coffee shop others donut shop, in any case everyone was rolling for Ocotillo from Alpine around 5am.
The winds were high and blowing us around enroute, but once arriving things calmed down; it was warm, and looked to be the best conditions we’d seen there. My prayers for cloud cover had been answered, after a little more Tebowing for a clean run we were ready.
Last year the first section was tough, we weren’t warmed up, it was cold, and it is a long steady climb. This year Vince had his trainer, weather was better, and we knew what to expect. Still, I was going to fast and Rich suggested we dial it back. After telling him I could hold the pace all day and to pick it up, I realize maybe he was right and tried to slow things down (sorry!). We got the power back in range, and made our way to the first decent.
Vince was carving and Rich wasn’t far behind, I think Todd and I were not so sure of the shaded corners. By the bottom we were back together though. And, ready to slug our way across the desert, some forty miles and twenty-five hundred feet of climbing.
Rotations were going like clock work, we were passing some other teams, and it was looking like things were going to workout alright. Wanting a bite to eat, went for a pre-opened waffle, bam it hit the road. Hmmn, tough eating at speed.
Initially we’d throw out an elbow to indicate ‘relief please’, soon enough we had to really talk and double check what was going on. Still, it was hard to communicate, sometimes, when to take a pull. Vince seemed to be going real strong so he was out front for some long times. I knew he would be a superstar so, while feeling bad, knew it was the only way.
Aside from the ‘time to eat’, ‘on your left’, ‘rock’, comments there were occasional bursts of enthusiasm belted out, not that I couldn’t comprehend. I was thinking of mentioning if there was going to be any of that kind of stuff to use the English language, but let it go, LOL. It is surprisingly hard to communicate while on the bikes.
At the first climb I think we were all feeling a bit relieved, just to get out of the saddle. Rich and I both hit granny gear and then were thinking, WTF, was it actually that steep or were we cooked? At least that’s what I was thinking. Soon enough he said thathe wanted to find his 'tempo', Rich speak for ‘see ya!’ But, he stayed close and we got up it quickly enough, thankfully. Later on when Vince heard that statement he'd had it and told him to find his tempo out front! Nice (which he did, the trooper that he is).
Near mile thirty-eight it starts to pitch down, I certainly was looking forward to that. I’d had some double cramps (both thighs) a few miles earlier so was hesitant, but when the power was sub standard I couldn’t hold back and suggested we really move out. After saying that I just kept fantasizing the next landmark would appear, our right turn stop sign. It took what seemed like forever for it to come, with temps dropping and dropping, cramps on the verge, it got rough. Another team was behind us and we didn’t want to end up waiting for them at the SAG so had to tempo up even more.
I’m not sure what was going on near the SAG, we saw some other teams, who knows what they were doing. I certainly had other things on my mind. At the SAG we got stamped by the officials, grabbed some gallon jugs, and tried to get going. I had to get something to quiet the cramps, and had a vial of items; ended up with a handful of caffeine and endurolytes, got as many in my mouth as I could, chugged them, grabbed as many of the ones that missed my mouth off the ground as I could, realized the guys were gone, pushed some Herbalife out of the way, and stuffed a Bonkbar in as I rolled out.
Todd was pulled off taking care of some business when I finally reached speed, I would have said something but was having trouble breathing due to a full mouth. Soon enough we were together and jamming down a small hill, overcooking it the cramps came back. Vince, I could tell, was wondering what was up. I couldn’t say much besides ‘gap’ and luckily Rich went into full sprint mode and pulled me back. I was hoping the supplements would kick in, but had to go gingerly for some time, dreading the next climb.
Going up it Todd and I were jumping around trying to dodge traffic and the cactus on the road, knowing any encounter with one of those and the ride would get a lot more difficult. Later we found out how lucky we were, the other two groups both had to deal with flats. Somehow we got through again this year without incident.
After that hill it was all down, aside from one rise. I was checking the clock and thought we were behind schedule, not sure exactly. When the miles started to really roll off I realized we still had a shot. It was a good opportunity to see what we could do, I figured it was ours to lose.
About then, I’d noticed Todd was feeling good (it’s funny how the flow seems to go from one person to the next throughout the ride). But, him hitting on all cylinders I was reassured. Each time I’d go as hard as I dared out front knowing I’d have to jump on the tail, cramp or no cramp. Also, I knew if I wanted to go hard I’d better hold it for a while or everyone would just be getting yanked around.
Once we were across to the base of the final climb out I wanted to go for one last pull, due to some bad timing as soon as I took off all I could hear was swearing behind me. Ha! Todd expected smooth sailing while taking in some shot blocks. No big deal, a bit of rest before the climb never hurts.
Up and out. We got on top of the hill, shortened up the rotations and caught sight of some Decender rabbits. It was pretty freaking incredible the ground we made on them, not having seen them all day, then pulling out all the stops with the finish line nearly in sight.
The pace got hot. It was hard to tell how everyone was doing, I was just trying not to crash in the final mile or two. The road was rough enough that dropping into the tri bars was risky. Oh well, we had another team ahead and we were going against the clock.
Stepping onto the timing mat, Vince was beside me, with Todd and Rich rolling up fast. I knew, looking at the faces around us and tapping my Garmin that we had probably got what we came for, a victory and new team record.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Team BRCM Badazz 2012 Stagecoach Race Report (courtesy of PV)
About 10 seconds before GO we realized verm did not have his wristband. Since this is stamped at the turn around it was mission critical to get it, so we got out of the line up but started shortly after that (one team behind BRCM 'A')
We kept the A team in sight for a while, but they kept the pace high and slowly disappeared. The start seemed tough, the wind was a factor and the ascent kept us working harder than you would think looking at it (I think desert climbs can be slightly deceiving!)
We passed a lot of people, including a few descender teams. Somewhere arond 30 miles in we synced up with a solo TT rider named Tom from Carlsbad. We would be back and forth with this guy up to the turn around. His goal was sub-5, but he didn't think he was on target. We managed to change his mind, and I think he must have made it as we didn't see him after mile 50 (will check results when posted)
As we approached the turn around at mile 50 you can see the racers ahead of you as they return. We saw a group of descenders that numbered over 4 (which appeared to be a violation of the drafting rule) and Verm went completely ballistic! It took a while until he calmed down (maybe he never did? :) We also saw the 'A' Team and gave them some shouts of encouragement.
At the turn around we got marked and filled up our water bottles and got going again. It was good to know the toughest part was behind us!
After that I tried to get into my 'solid food' (banana bread and one big chocolate chip cookie) but had issues (had to rip it open with my teeth and then try to unwrap it) so had to slow down to eat it and not crash! (note to self: make it easier to get into next time :) Right around then Adrian had some stomach problems, so I gave him some of my banana bread which seemed to help a little. I started to feel better after some food too.
After that, just to be even more of a pain in the ass, I had to stop to pee. Galen had to slow down and drag my ass back to catch up (thanks!). Then right after that he got a flat tire, but we all worked together to get it fixed pretty quickly. While fixing the flat a descender team passed us, but we managed to catch up to them and pass on a descent (sweet!).
The rest of the return leg went pretty smoothly, but as we got to the final hill climb Adrian let us now he wasn't feeling it. We decided to make an evaluation at the very top to see how far back he was, but it looked like he had dropped off so we continued on. We knew he would get the same time as us anyways (just three of four have to finish to get a time) so we hammered to the end (painful) and then it was over. Adrian wound up coming in just a few minutes behind us.
We wound up 5th overall (unofficially so far), which I was more than happy with, I think it was BRCM A, then Descender A, Descender B, Herbalife, then us.
After the race we had a nice little post party, but there wasn't many other people hanging out this time (maybe we scared them off? :)
Overall great race, and an amazing performance by the A Team to bring home the gold!
We kept the A team in sight for a while, but they kept the pace high and slowly disappeared. The start seemed tough, the wind was a factor and the ascent kept us working harder than you would think looking at it (I think desert climbs can be slightly deceiving!)
We passed a lot of people, including a few descender teams. Somewhere arond 30 miles in we synced up with a solo TT rider named Tom from Carlsbad. We would be back and forth with this guy up to the turn around. His goal was sub-5, but he didn't think he was on target. We managed to change his mind, and I think he must have made it as we didn't see him after mile 50 (will check results when posted)
As we approached the turn around at mile 50 you can see the racers ahead of you as they return. We saw a group of descenders that numbered over 4 (which appeared to be a violation of the drafting rule) and Verm went completely ballistic! It took a while until he calmed down (maybe he never did? :) We also saw the 'A' Team and gave them some shouts of encouragement.
At the turn around we got marked and filled up our water bottles and got going again. It was good to know the toughest part was behind us!
After that I tried to get into my 'solid food' (banana bread and one big chocolate chip cookie) but had issues (had to rip it open with my teeth and then try to unwrap it) so had to slow down to eat it and not crash! (note to self: make it easier to get into next time :) Right around then Adrian had some stomach problems, so I gave him some of my banana bread which seemed to help a little. I started to feel better after some food too.
After that, just to be even more of a pain in the ass, I had to stop to pee. Galen had to slow down and drag my ass back to catch up (thanks!). Then right after that he got a flat tire, but we all worked together to get it fixed pretty quickly. While fixing the flat a descender team passed us, but we managed to catch up to them and pass on a descent (sweet!).
The rest of the return leg went pretty smoothly, but as we got to the final hill climb Adrian let us now he wasn't feeling it. We decided to make an evaluation at the very top to see how far back he was, but it looked like he had dropped off so we continued on. We knew he would get the same time as us anyways (just three of four have to finish to get a time) so we hammered to the end (painful) and then it was over. Adrian wound up coming in just a few minutes behind us.
We wound up 5th overall (unofficially so far), which I was more than happy with, I think it was BRCM A, then Descender A, Descender B, Herbalife, then us.
After the race we had a nice little post party, but there wasn't many other people hanging out this time (maybe we scared them off? :)
Overall great race, and an amazing performance by the A Team to bring home the gold!
2012 Stagecoach TTT Race Report
Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/3349473
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/141699672
After weeks of electronic silence to limit the visibility of our training progress and the techniques we practiced (or lack thereof), it's nice to be back with good news: Team BRCM successfully defended the title for the 2012 StageCoach TTT! Both teams kicked ass and got the job done. Now onto the race report and the ride....
A long time ago, I went to Army boot camp and had to walk through a gas chamber without a mask where I thought that was the most horrific experience of my life. After making it out of there, I was equally elated at the fact that I did it and it was done. I think today's race (for me anyway) was equally horrific and finishing it left me equally elated.
We all met the night before and stayed at our usual Ayers Inn in Alpine. Of course, upon my arrival my neurosis got the best of me where Noah's lack of upkeep for his Cervelo had me cleaning it immediately after unloading all our stuff from Adrian's truck. It's crazy how such a new bike can have so much dirt on it in so little miles. Everyone congregated in our while I did this so we could figure on a place to eat. I also ended up cleaning Todd's bike as well since I figured if we didn't win, we'd at least look sexy. We eventually found a place to eat where the basis was on how attractive the women who wrote the reviews looked. HA HA. The funnier part was the fact that it was probably the best place we've ever eaten in the area. Additionally, the Calzones are not the only big things we saw over there. Ahem.
We got out pretty much on time in the morning and made our way to Ocotillo where we could feel the winds blowing Adrian's truck around. Fortunately, by the time we arrived there, the winds were more calm but they were still present unlike what the forecast suggested. The temperature was in the low 50's though, which was a plus given we expected a start somewhere in the 40's. While not warm, there were some who opted to not wear arm and/or leg warmers and short gloves. I only opted for the short gloves, but near the mile 50 SAG, my hands were freezing!
Team B (Verm, Adrian, Galen and PV) were setup to go ahead of us for the TTT but as they were getting ready to go, they realized Verm didn't have his wristbands on where this was what they would stamp that you on at the mile 50 turnaround point. Thus, we ended up going ahead of them. Other teams had gone out before us though and I was never really sure if we concluded what would be optimal for us...chasing or being chased.
Since there were teams as well as some other riders who took off ahead of us, it definitely felt like we were in chase mode in the beginning. Vince was prepared for it given he had brought a trainer to warm up, but I felt like my legs were getting pretty cooked early on. To boot, I had ended up behind Shannon in the beginning and wasn't sure how the hell I'd be able to keep his pace. Since he was feeling pretty good where he stated he could hold the pace for a while, we all relegated ourselves to riding behind him to let the Irishman pull as long as he felt good. I think in his pulls, we missed some cues from him to take a turn but the reality was, it just took some time to get by him.
On the first descent, Vince took over and led the group down the curvy road. We were definitely moving down that twisty road at a pretty good clip so it was hard to stay together throughout. However, we never got too strung out and regrouped easily near the bottom and resumed our paceline without skipping a beat.
We caught and passed a few teams on our way including a couple of Descender teams and another team with an Herbalife kit. Now while we thought we had passed and gapped these teams pretty good, we were actually surprised to see a team (the ones with the Herbalife kit) making some ground on us. Fortunately, our team didn't lose their heads where they maintained a steady pace nonetheless. Now they actually did start to try and make their way past me (I was at the back at the time), but I believe we hit an ascent just as they were trying to pass where they ended up falling off again.
On the first real ascent (over 8-9% grade) around the 31st mile or so, I was actually surprised that I ran out of gears, so to speak, where I realized "spinning" up the hill wasn't going to be an option given I only had an 11-25 in the back. I still ended up climbing seated and just cranked as hard as I could on the lowest gear but worried that doing so for the rest of the climbs would just chew up my legs. On the next ascent as we headed toward the 37 mile SAG, I had to stand and climb to find my rhythm where Vince thought I may have just been charging the hill. After explaining how I had to find my tempo, I think Todd said he asked why I don't I find my tempo on the flats too. HA HA. In the end, we all managed to crest together on every hill today, so everything worked out perfectly.
After getting past the 37 mile SAG and the last of the hill, we started hammering down the hill. I think at one point when Todd was up front, Shannon yelled from behind us that we needed to speed it up...so we did. We continued to push it as we made our way to the turnaround point where we saw an "unusual" number of Descenders making their way back before getting the 50 mile SAG. Coincidentally, our second team saw it too as they weren't too far behind us as well.
Anyway, we got to the 50 mile SAG and after getting stamped and getting some water, we were off again. Todd was first to get back on the road, then me followed by Vince. The three of us rode together for a bit wondering where Shannon was where Todd eventually was convinced there was time to pee. Before he could though, Shannon went flying by him and caught Vince then me and Todd had to work his way back to us while on the aeros. It did take a little convincing to slow down enough for him to latch back on but we got it done and were off at full pace once again.
We were taking turns as best as we could and made our way back up the hill toward the highest point in the ride. Vince tore off down the descent again, which was fun to follow, but got a little separated. We regrouped shortly after though and were just going for it at this point. For 20 miles, we averaged a minimum of over 24 miles per hour but would bounce around between 26-33 mph averages.
Due to some miscommunication just before the final hill, Shannon got a little ahead of us but we all climbed it pretty close to him where we ended up regrouping about 3/4 of the way. LTJ was feeling good on this climb and subsequently and was helping to push us with yells of encouragement. Shannon was trying to get us to do faster rotations on the way down, but his pulls were so hard to match that we all just did what we could to push on.
Once we could see the Descenders ahead of us as we neared the finished, it was like sharks smelling blood in the water. The guys were amped! Vince and Shannon got around and were just going for it and Todd and I got a little separated. Since Todd was #3, my time didn't really matter at that point so I saw no reason to try to catch up. Yeah, that's the ticket. The stomach cramp (similarly to the one you would get as child from when your mother told you not to swim/run right after eating and you would anyway) I had from pushing so hard in the last 15 miles of the ride had nothing to do with it. HA HA We all ended up officially finishing in the 4:38's beating last year's record and once again taking down the other teams.
Our 2nd team also had a great finish with Verm, Galen and PV finishing it out for their group as the first 3. Considering that neither Galen nor Verm ever did this ride/route, Adrian having stomach issues but still helping with some strong pulls, and Galen getting a flat (per PV requiring 6 minutes to fix), they still got it done in the low 4:50's. Super impressive!
Noah and Gary did the ride together, but Gary dropped Noah on the first downhill where it took Noah 2 hours to catch back up to him. They were together as we passed them on the way back cheering us on and seemingly having a good old time in contrast...something we all admittedly envied subsequently. Gary had gotten a flat as well on this ride, but with the road conditions at some part the way they are, it's a wonder how more of us didn't also.
Now finishing the race and defending the BRCM team name was definitely a great thing to have participated in, but to me, the post ride festivities always tops the cake. Along with enough beer selection to make BevMo nervous, we also had an assortment of other goodies including my wife's peanut butter chews...something that needs to be on her checklist for the next ride. We were also treated to fresh guacamole that Noah sat and made for us as well. I mean, seriously, this is just one other reason Noah coming to these events with us makes it so ridiculously entertaining. Who does that?
Now that this race is over, as is my back, I guess it's time to make up a list of the other events to attend this year. With 2012 starting out this good, I can only imagine more good things to come for our team. Along with centuries, we have crits, the Bulldog Race, and hopefully other events that continue to show others what BAM is really about. Go Team BRCM!
GC: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/141699672
After weeks of electronic silence to limit the visibility of our training progress and the techniques we practiced (or lack thereof), it's nice to be back with good news: Team BRCM successfully defended the title for the 2012 StageCoach TTT! Both teams kicked ass and got the job done. Now onto the race report and the ride....
A long time ago, I went to Army boot camp and had to walk through a gas chamber without a mask where I thought that was the most horrific experience of my life. After making it out of there, I was equally elated at the fact that I did it and it was done. I think today's race (for me anyway) was equally horrific and finishing it left me equally elated.
We all met the night before and stayed at our usual Ayers Inn in Alpine. Of course, upon my arrival my neurosis got the best of me where Noah's lack of upkeep for his Cervelo had me cleaning it immediately after unloading all our stuff from Adrian's truck. It's crazy how such a new bike can have so much dirt on it in so little miles. Everyone congregated in our while I did this so we could figure on a place to eat. I also ended up cleaning Todd's bike as well since I figured if we didn't win, we'd at least look sexy. We eventually found a place to eat where the basis was on how attractive the women who wrote the reviews looked. HA HA. The funnier part was the fact that it was probably the best place we've ever eaten in the area. Additionally, the Calzones are not the only big things we saw over there. Ahem.
We got out pretty much on time in the morning and made our way to Ocotillo where we could feel the winds blowing Adrian's truck around. Fortunately, by the time we arrived there, the winds were more calm but they were still present unlike what the forecast suggested. The temperature was in the low 50's though, which was a plus given we expected a start somewhere in the 40's. While not warm, there were some who opted to not wear arm and/or leg warmers and short gloves. I only opted for the short gloves, but near the mile 50 SAG, my hands were freezing!
Team B (Verm, Adrian, Galen and PV) were setup to go ahead of us for the TTT but as they were getting ready to go, they realized Verm didn't have his wristbands on where this was what they would stamp that you on at the mile 50 turnaround point. Thus, we ended up going ahead of them. Other teams had gone out before us though and I was never really sure if we concluded what would be optimal for us...chasing or being chased.
Since there were teams as well as some other riders who took off ahead of us, it definitely felt like we were in chase mode in the beginning. Vince was prepared for it given he had brought a trainer to warm up, but I felt like my legs were getting pretty cooked early on. To boot, I had ended up behind Shannon in the beginning and wasn't sure how the hell I'd be able to keep his pace. Since he was feeling pretty good where he stated he could hold the pace for a while, we all relegated ourselves to riding behind him to let the Irishman pull as long as he felt good. I think in his pulls, we missed some cues from him to take a turn but the reality was, it just took some time to get by him.
On the first descent, Vince took over and led the group down the curvy road. We were definitely moving down that twisty road at a pretty good clip so it was hard to stay together throughout. However, we never got too strung out and regrouped easily near the bottom and resumed our paceline without skipping a beat.
We caught and passed a few teams on our way including a couple of Descender teams and another team with an Herbalife kit. Now while we thought we had passed and gapped these teams pretty good, we were actually surprised to see a team (the ones with the Herbalife kit) making some ground on us. Fortunately, our team didn't lose their heads where they maintained a steady pace nonetheless. Now they actually did start to try and make their way past me (I was at the back at the time), but I believe we hit an ascent just as they were trying to pass where they ended up falling off again.
On the first real ascent (over 8-9% grade) around the 31st mile or so, I was actually surprised that I ran out of gears, so to speak, where I realized "spinning" up the hill wasn't going to be an option given I only had an 11-25 in the back. I still ended up climbing seated and just cranked as hard as I could on the lowest gear but worried that doing so for the rest of the climbs would just chew up my legs. On the next ascent as we headed toward the 37 mile SAG, I had to stand and climb to find my rhythm where Vince thought I may have just been charging the hill. After explaining how I had to find my tempo, I think Todd said he asked why I don't I find my tempo on the flats too. HA HA. In the end, we all managed to crest together on every hill today, so everything worked out perfectly.
After getting past the 37 mile SAG and the last of the hill, we started hammering down the hill. I think at one point when Todd was up front, Shannon yelled from behind us that we needed to speed it up...so we did. We continued to push it as we made our way to the turnaround point where we saw an "unusual" number of Descenders making their way back before getting the 50 mile SAG. Coincidentally, our second team saw it too as they weren't too far behind us as well.
Anyway, we got to the 50 mile SAG and after getting stamped and getting some water, we were off again. Todd was first to get back on the road, then me followed by Vince. The three of us rode together for a bit wondering where Shannon was where Todd eventually was convinced there was time to pee. Before he could though, Shannon went flying by him and caught Vince then me and Todd had to work his way back to us while on the aeros. It did take a little convincing to slow down enough for him to latch back on but we got it done and were off at full pace once again.
We were taking turns as best as we could and made our way back up the hill toward the highest point in the ride. Vince tore off down the descent again, which was fun to follow, but got a little separated. We regrouped shortly after though and were just going for it at this point. For 20 miles, we averaged a minimum of over 24 miles per hour but would bounce around between 26-33 mph averages.
Due to some miscommunication just before the final hill, Shannon got a little ahead of us but we all climbed it pretty close to him where we ended up regrouping about 3/4 of the way. LTJ was feeling good on this climb and subsequently and was helping to push us with yells of encouragement. Shannon was trying to get us to do faster rotations on the way down, but his pulls were so hard to match that we all just did what we could to push on.
Once we could see the Descenders ahead of us as we neared the finished, it was like sharks smelling blood in the water. The guys were amped! Vince and Shannon got around and were just going for it and Todd and I got a little separated. Since Todd was #3, my time didn't really matter at that point so I saw no reason to try to catch up. Yeah, that's the ticket. The stomach cramp (similarly to the one you would get as child from when your mother told you not to swim/run right after eating and you would anyway) I had from pushing so hard in the last 15 miles of the ride had nothing to do with it. HA HA We all ended up officially finishing in the 4:38's beating last year's record and once again taking down the other teams.
Our 2nd team also had a great finish with Verm, Galen and PV finishing it out for their group as the first 3. Considering that neither Galen nor Verm ever did this ride/route, Adrian having stomach issues but still helping with some strong pulls, and Galen getting a flat (per PV requiring 6 minutes to fix), they still got it done in the low 4:50's. Super impressive!
Noah and Gary did the ride together, but Gary dropped Noah on the first downhill where it took Noah 2 hours to catch back up to him. They were together as we passed them on the way back cheering us on and seemingly having a good old time in contrast...something we all admittedly envied subsequently. Gary had gotten a flat as well on this ride, but with the road conditions at some part the way they are, it's a wonder how more of us didn't also.
Now finishing the race and defending the BRCM team name was definitely a great thing to have participated in, but to me, the post ride festivities always tops the cake. Along with enough beer selection to make BevMo nervous, we also had an assortment of other goodies including my wife's peanut butter chews...something that needs to be on her checklist for the next ride. We were also treated to fresh guacamole that Noah sat and made for us as well. I mean, seriously, this is just one other reason Noah coming to these events with us makes it so ridiculously entertaining. Who does that?
Now that this race is over, as is my back, I guess it's time to make up a list of the other events to attend this year. With 2012 starting out this good, I can only imagine more good things to come for our team. Along with centuries, we have crits, the Bulldog Race, and hopefully other events that continue to show others what BAM is really about. Go Team BRCM!
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