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.