Lunch Ride - Turtle Rock Shady Ridgeline Summit Jamboree Route

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/5811836


This morning, I was looking at the temps and the fact that there was no wind and thought it would have been awesome to ride in these conditions.  Unfortunately, the winds kicked up a little by the time we had our lunch ride.  This, however, didn't slow the group down at all.  Gary, Shannon, Galen (welcome back), Adrian, Vin, Seon, Jaffe, Mitchell and Jeremy (welcome back) came out today for some training and it was a good one.

Prior to taking off, Shannon had wanted to define a sprint point but we ended up with two:  the 405 Bridge and the bike trail opening on the way down Shady toward Bonita Canyon.  You know when we define sprint points that it's going to be a helluva day...and it was.

The start was typical BAM fashion and the group almost started to string out as early as East Peltason.  I ended up closing the gap that formed there and just tried to hang on all the way up Anteater to the guys up front.  On the turn to Culver, Shannon, Adrian and Galen immediately broke away from us and was awarded some Strava awards as a result.  S-G took the lead in the chase group and closed the gap to the guys up front by the time we rounded the corner to Turtle Rock.

The pace up Turtle Rock was no record setter, but it was still plenty quick considering the conditions.  There were a couple gaps that formed but didn't hold, and at the top we had a good sized group still.

As we made our way onto Shady (did you guys see that lady being interviewed on the sidewalk by the way?), the group stayed together up until the first bridge. When it pitched up, Galen Shannon and I broke away.  Galen kept the lead the whole time all the way to the top but with Shannon and I not too far behind.

When we went down the other side, another rider had gotten in between Galen and I, so at the start of the trail that goes parallel to the 405, we lost a little ground and Galen had a sizeable gap.  I tried to keep a solid pace, but Shannon came around me and just powered up to catch Galen before the bridge.  I took advantage of Shannon's lead out and sprinted to the bridge once we caught him.  I popped just after where Galen was like "why are you slowing down?"  HA HA

The two had gotten away for a bit while I recovered but I caught them at a light and then everyone else caught us as we waited to go up Ridgeline.  Shannon took the initial pull but I jumped ahead to help.  Galen came around after and started to gap, but Shannon came around and chased him down.  The two were close together once we hit Turtle Rock, which thankfully was a regroup point.

After we regrouped, Seon and Vin took off with Galen and already started to gap us, but we all managed to catch them by the time we got to Sunnyhill. On the way up Shady, there were some pulls but Galen started to gap again only for us to catch him before the top.  I took the front after and then tried to set up for a position on the sprint going down once Mitchell took over, but ended up at the very back of the paceline.  Adrian started the sprint coming around from Mitchell, but took off early where Shannon made him pay for that with a high speed pass once Adrian ran out of steam.

Once on Bonita Canyon, we were all getting ready to go to Turtle Ridge when S-Gary decided to drop the hammer and keep going straight.  We all tried to call him but he looked like he was on a mission and just kept going.  He must have needed to get back.

Going up Summit, Seon took off the hill ahead of everyone, but Vin decided to show Seon he needs to come out more if he's thinking he'll take that hill.  Vin ended up crushing the hill where no one caught him until the light at the bottom of Turtle Ridge.  Nice.

On Bonita Canyon, there were some strong pulls and once again, Galen was instigating here as he tried to egg Jaffe and Vin to break away only to break away himself.  I had given chase but was only able to keep the same distance behind him.  Adrian came out of nowhere, however, and started to close on Galen but the two didn't realize that the route also included Jamboree.  I had to call them back after they made their way onto McArthur.

On Ford, Shannon offered a lead out for the condo but I wasn't sure what I'd have and graciously refused.  He and Galen pushed past me and I just tried to catch my wind in preparation for the run up Jamboree.  Everyone else stayed behind me but Adrian decided last minute he wanted to take a stab at it and passed me at the top.  Once we turned, the three guys ahead picked it up and pushed the pace up the hill.  I pretended someone stole one of my kids and was at the top of the hill, so I took off.  I did manage to catch and pass the three, but it was funny how Galen called out to Adrian how I was coming since Adrian was up ahead of them as well.  It's a conspiracy, I tell ya.  Once I realized I was off the pace for a record given the wind, I dropped it down a notch but felt worked.

We all regrouped on Bison at the McArthur light and sure enough, there was the obligatory sprint to California.  Shannon, Vin and Adrian had set up the first light over the 73 and started moving.  I was hoping Galen was going to reel them in, but I think he thought the same thing about me.  HA HA.  Adrian and Vin made a run at the end, and I tried but was unsuccessful in catching them.

Next Tuesday, prepare for a ride for points again.  It's been a while but it should be fun given how fast everyone has gotten since the last time.

Good training today, gents!