Whiskey 50 - ride report (Paul V)

"I just wanted you to know that ALL of US got HERE at 6:45"

That's what was loudly announced to me shortly after I hopped over the gate to line up by an overly enthusiastic racer in front of me.  They told us at the meeting the night before we would line up by expected finish time.......what they didn't say is that it was 'first come - first serve' apparently.  So there I stood in complete silence for an awkward 20 minutes or so not even on my bike....it was packed too tight for me to even get to it.  When the gun went off I grabbed it, did a running mount, and we were off.

The race starts on the main drag in downtown Prescott and climbs on the pavement to the National Forest just outside of town.  From there you slowly merge onto the singletrack and form a giant conga line for the next 30 minutes or so.  I felt good....my HR was in control...the sun was out....a good day on the bike was in progress. 

Eventually we got to a climb that had big log steps...a lot you could make but some were impossible.  At one point everyone was off their bike pushing uphill.  After that was a loose steep downhill that a few riders got around me on and absolutely shredded down (maybe it helps if you have ridden it before? :)  Then more climbing followed by a loooong descent into the appropriately named 'Skull Valley', which marked the halfway and turnaround point to begin the beast of a climb from the 24 to 36 mile mark. 

 I was doing well...I had made a pre-race goal of trying to bust 4 hours and had time checks along the way that I was meeting or close to. I needed to make it to the turn around in under 2 hours (check, but not by much) and back up to the turn off in under 3 (check, but again not by much)  From there big surprise....more climbing to the high point of the race.

This is where it really got grueling.  The grade increased just when you didn't want it too, and at the same time the air got thinner.  They warned us at the meeting this is where we would want to walk but just stick it out....man did that guy nail it.  When the top finally popped into view it was a welcome sight.  There was a lot of people cheering, and a gentlemen with a cup of beer in one hand and a bottle of Jim Beam in the other simply asking 'Whiskey or Beer'?  I chose the latter, tipped the bottle back for a warming swig of firewater and proceeded on my way to the final descent.

The descent was sweet.  Flowy high speed singletrack that would put a grin on a dead mans face.  Eventually it takes you down to a creek which is crossed back and forth several times while zooming through the trees.  Then it happened.

It was 3:54:08 into the race when I came to an abrupt stop.  I know because my garmin took a split time when I flipped into the bushes (an undocumented feature perhaps? :).  I wasn't sure what happened, did I not see a rock and hit it? The guys behind me asked if I was OK and I indicated I was fine and to move on.  I turned my pedal to gear down before I hopped back on but it wouldn't move.  Huh??  Checked the chain, fine, tried again, WTF??  Flip the bike over, my tire is jammed into the frame!  Turns out my rim didn't like the firewater induced punishment I was handing out and decided to let me know by folding like a taco.  I took the wheel off and examined where it was bent.  Then I leaned it against a rock, crawled up and bounced up and down on it until it looked a bit straighter.  Then back on, spun it, still completely messed up but not hitting the frame at least.  Cool, I can try riding it out!!

From there I babied it out, my race was pretty much over.  I didn't want to risk another jolt that would fold it again, and when I got to the road that takes you back to town I didn't want to take much chances either.  Some guy asked me if I wanted to draft him so I took him up on it for a while.  At a certain speed the wobble didn't seem quite as bad so I stuck with that.  Just a little further and I was back in town and across the finish line.  Sweet!!

This town knows how to put on a bike race for sure.  After hanging out a bit it was time to grab mexican food for lunch, followed by a pub crawl and watching the awards and band play from the beer garden later on and into the evening.

If you are a mountain biker and have a pulse I would seriously consider putting this on your calendar next year!!  15, 25 and 50 proof versions available.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/whiskey-off-road-2012/amateur-50-and-25-proof/results

http://epicrides.com/index.php?contentCat=6

2012 L'Etape du California

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/7528250

"Epic" is how Strava describes our suffer scores for this ride, and I would have to wholeheartedly agree.  It almost was a word that preceded "failure" as to how this ride almost went, but in true BAM fashion, we completed the ride.  This was despite the extra 9 miles added to the total route and temperatures reaching into the triple digit mark during GRR and Baldy segments.  And with 11,400 feet of climbing...crazy!

Shannon and Verm met Todd and I at the hotel we were staying at,  and we rolled over to the start to try and get in on the first wave.  However, by the time we arrived, we were only able to get going in the 3rd or 4th wave.  Here, we saw Craig along with some of his Sho-Air friends, but we didn't get to see Noah who had come out with Brad, Kevin and some others.

Our wave rode out as a group initially but we already started making wrong turns early on.  Fortunately, people figured it out right away.  We didn't really plan this ride out too much, but Todd and I had talked about how we really wanted to pull back a lot early on.  In doing so, he and I got separated from Shannon and Verm at a light, so we made our way on our own with those who rode around us.  We probably should have pulled back a lot more but I don't think any of us expected that the temperature would be as extreme as it would be later on.

Going up Euclid to Shin and ultimately Baldy, we were still passing more people than vice versa.  We saw Verm at some point as we were climbing Baldy and slowly made our way toward him.  Shortly upon getting on his rear wheel, he dropped a chain and had to pull over.  I asked if he was okay, and I believe he indicated yes, so todd and I pressed on.  It turned out, however, his chain got wedged between his spokes and cassette requiring the cassette to be removed in order to get fixed with SAG support's help.  Bummer.

I felt pretty good near the top of Baldy and stood up on some of the last climbs slowly pulling away from Todd who was managing his watts carefully through his PT.  We were separated before the climb up GRR, so I was on my own.  For some reason, I always feel good going up this first ascent into GRR (maybe because I know there's a lot of downhill after), so I was passing several people on my way up and without too much effort.  When I got to the top and did not see anyone I knew at the first SAG, I kept going.

The descent on GRR this time out was definitely a lot more fun than two weeks ago when we came up to train.  No water on the road and the road was pretty clean.  Everyone I saw ahead of me ultimately became a target.  I was not pedaling too much on the descents to preserve energy, but I did like keeping the momentum on some of the ascents following a downhill, so I didn't mind working on those.  I passed several people on the way down but I always like to wait until it's safe to do so.  I got passed by 3 people, but I jumped on their draft and would pass and breakaway from them on a subsequent climb.  Fun.

On tthe turn that headed to East Fork, I was by myself when I started the descent and made my way down past a few people, but getting by them was a little more challenging given how it was a little tighter and with more blind turns.  I don't like taking too many chances to pass and risk startling the rider in front of me.  Case in point, a guy had come up behind me and without calling out that he was passing me, and I actually wobbled a little since I didn't expect someone was there since he was passing me on a bend.  He also passed some guys ahead of me who I ended up passing ultimately as well, but he did so by crossing the road on the bends whereas I waited until it was a little safer.

On East Fork, I got passed by a couple guys, but one guy slowed down shortly after and didn't want to keep the my pace or the guy's pace ahead of me.  I ultimately closed the gap on the guy ahead of me, and sure enough,  he pops off one one of the ascents on that road.  I tried to slow my pace down to let others catch up where I'd have someone to ride with (or hide behind...ha ha).   However, I was still passing people.  Right before getting to the 39 though, a couple people had caught up and started to ride with me.

On the 39, I expected that a big group would catch up sooner, but the pace I felt good doing on it put me out on my own again.  It took a while before a good sized group made their way up to me and started to pass.  However, after hitting one of the final ascents before the downhill into town, they seemed to have gone backwards where I moved to the front and towed them over the hill and all the way down to the neighborhood.

Once we got in the neighborhood, I was finally relieved and I fell back into the pack.  Two guys up toward the front appeared to me that they were trying to give each other room where I thought I saw one guy push off the other guy with his elbow.  The next thing you know, both of these guys go down...hard.   Fortunately, everyone around them were able to get around and avoid the crash.  There were several who tended to the two who were scraped up but not seemingly too injured, so I kept going to the SAG where I saw Shannon.

The SAG, my first one had Coke!  Sa-weet!  The only thing was they were warm and the kids were pouring them into a cup half at a time.  I had to take a few of them just to get my caffeine/sugar fill.  I also restocked my bottles in preparation for the climb ahead and drank some of it hoping to finish it before the first KOM with one bottle only.  Todd came in shortly after, but Shannon was ready to go at that time and took off shortly after Todd's arrival.  I was ready to go shortly after that, so I left Todd to tend to his nourishment and proceeded on my own to GMR.

On my way to GMR, I was chugging as much of the 2nd bottle as possible.  I was also trying to manage my pace but curiously still passed people here and there.  Once on GMR, I started my ascent toward the start alone but I could see some people ahead of as I was coming to the Start timing matt for the KOM segment.  As I neared, i began to dump the little remaining amount of my 2nd bottle and started to accelerate.

Early on, I started making my way passed several people.  I actually felt better than the last time I climbed it two weeks prior, so I was definitely on higher gears and holding a better speed.  A passed on guy in a Strava kit who complimented me as I did.  After passing one guy in a blue L'Etape jersey, he got behind me and was riding with me for a while.  I started to lose a little steam and he went by me only to have me do the same and jump on his rear wheel.  I sat on it for a while to recover and thanked him after I passed to take a turn up front.  He passed me again and I passed him one more time after a quick descent, but he passed me and just stayed ahead of me all the way to the finish of the KOM finish line.  I ended up passing one other guy just before hitting the finish line and I don't think he liked it very much.  Oh well. 

I probably should have stopped at the following SAG, but not seeing Shannon I kept going.  "Big mistake, Indie!" (Indiana Jones Temple of Doom).  I slowed down a lot after that KOM segment to try and save up for the final climb, but despite this, my left leg started to cramp pretty good.  Rather than trying to pedal through it, I didn't want to risk injury so I stopped just to give it some time to recover.  I tried to down the rest of my bottle and down some shot bloks, along with getting some gels in me, and this helped just to be able to keep me going.  I was still going slow and not even trying to mix it up at this point as I just wanted to make it to the next SAG.  Hints of cramps still kept hitting me, so I was both on and off the seat making my way through GRR.  I think it was around this time that the temperature hit 100, so I would also pass others on the road resting or trying to relieve their cramps.  At one bend in the road, I saw Shannon resting on some rocks also trying to recover from some cramping.  We talked about how this would not be ideal for a charge up Baldy, and had he wanted to skip it, I would have joined him for sure.

We decided to keep going to the next SAG and decide from there, so we went on.  I was spinning a little faster when we first started, so I had gapped Shannon early on.  However, I had to stop again because of a cramp, so Shannon got by me again in his managed pace.  I got going again and on one of the short downhills got by Shannon again.  I thought he was behind me but I turned around later at some point only to find it was someone else.  I talked to the guy and he thought there was only 1 mile left on the ride.  I don't think he liked when I told him he had at least 5 miles to go and it would probably be the worst 5 miles of his life.  HA HA

We made it to the next SAG with Shannon arriving shortly after, and then Todd arrived seemingly beat up as well.  It turned out all of us shared the same fate of multiple cramps during and after GMR where riding up GRR was the most humbling section to do.   I was waiting to hear one of them say let's skip Baldy under these conditions, but that was only wishful thinking on my part.

After several Cokes, drinks of electroytes and ater, Shot Bloks, and snacks, we decided to keep going and just survive the rest of the ride.  Seriously, it was that bad.  The three of us started making our way up to the lifts and some time after going over the start timing matt, we came up on a guy who was stopped and it was then that I began to cramp again.  I was just behind Shannon at the time, and Todd was behind me.  I stopped just ahead of the guy and as Todd passed, I told him I was done and couldn't possibly make it up the rest of the hill.  He kept going but at his own pace as I turned around to start heading back down to the village.  When I did, I asked the other guy what he was doing since he started walking up toward the lifts and he told me he wasn't going to quit.  Well, this pretty much got the best of me so I turned around again and started to make my way up...again.   At this point, there was no turning back.

Now stopping is another thing, and I did have to stop 3 more times just because I just couldn't shake the cramping enough and the thought of it fully locking up at a 18% or more grade just scared me.  Despite stopping a couple times, I was able to close on Todd in his survival mode.  LTJ was not going to stop, so he did exactly what he had to do to just keep going.  I even made my way past Todd but upon doing so locked up my legs again.  With us coming up to the final climb, I decided to rest enough where i could take one final charge up the hill.  Todd pushed through and kept going non-stop all the way up to the top.  He was even energized after the top of the last 400 foot climb before entering the parking lot switchbacks to an awaiting Shannon.  When i was finally able to go, I succumbed to doing whatever it took not to have to stop anymore, so I began delivering the paper to both sides of the road.  One guy who did not want to succumb to paperboying pushed on, but his pace was so slow that I looped around him to pass.  Once I got to the top to enter the parking lot, I was done.   I didn't even change gears from the lowest just because my legs were toast.   I was just happy I got to the top.

Not a lot of people were up there, but it was nice to be greeted by Todd who had a cup of Coke for me as I arrived.  He and Shannon were loading up after that treacherous climb, so I joined them and began eating anything I could stomach.  I had cleaned out everything I brought up with me in the form of gels and Shot Bloks, so I wasn't going to head down without anything.

Despite eating, we still didn't spend a lot of time up there and were all eager to begin heading down the mountain.  Todd and Shannon took the lead originally, but just before the quick little rise that headed down for more switchbacks, I jumped ahead of Todd in a full tuck to get as much momentum from the descent just before it.  The descent seemed to have gotten my adrenalin to spike, so I lead us down to the Village and then down Baldy Road.  One guy had jumped on my draft after I passed him and his girlfriend and we nearly missed the turned to Shinn Road.  I got on there and waited to ride with the others, so after regrouping, we were taking turns rotating as we made our way down that road.  We ended up making a wrong turn and had to climb back up a little to get back on track, but other than that, it was mostly downhill and my legs were back under me.  I actually no longer cramped and didn't mind doing work up front and closing gaps here, but it was for fun more than anything else.  It was only just before we reached the end that my hamstring started hinting of cramping again.  Good enough...it was nice for the three of us to finish as strong as we did.  On the L'Etape FaceBook page, I was in the picture of those getting the finishing medal as pictured below:

Team BRCM finish

 We never saw Noah although Strava confirms he was there where it looked like he finished strong as well.  We did see Verm as we descended into the village, but he was just starting the climb up so we knew he still had some time to go before he'd make it down the mountain.  Looks like he had a good run as well.   We also saw Craig had finished according to the results page and he looked like he had a good showing although his first KOM timing was not picked up.  Bummer.

Our times were respectable albeit not our bests but definitely had people recognizing the strength of our team through different parts of the course.  Shannon did get 10th for his age group, and he and Todd was in the top 100 ranking for combined KOM, so congratulations to both of them.   Noah had a strong KOM2 and also finished in the top 100 as well.  I'm happy we all just finished safely and got it done.  Good job, team!

P.S.  While we were all happy to have finished such a grueling ride, Shannon was not able to join Todd and I for the post ride meal since he returned to his truck to find out his truck had been broken into.  This was such a bummer for so many reasons, so I hope those who would do this get what's coming to them.

Lunch Ride - Bike Trail Laguna Canyon Shady Summit Jamboree Loop

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/7360050

I thought I'd get in some extra miles today since the weather held up, so I joined Jaffe, Hiroshi, Vin and Mitchell on today's ride.  In typical fashion, I ending up choosing the route (ha ha) where I figured it would be an easy spin as I taper for the week.  I figured wrong.

With the five of us working, we managed to get to Laguna Canyon with a 23 mph average.  Jaffe and I were talking about how back in the day, we would be happy to see 19 mph.  Nowadays, people do that and more solo.  How times have changed.

Everyone was doing their fair share of work today, including Hiroshi who found out yesterday his brakes were sitting up against his front wheel during the whole ride.  I hate when that happens by the way.  We were still managing a good pace as we headed over to Shady.

As we hit the turnabout, there was a car coming from the right and everyone checked up.  Once I saw the guy was slowing down, I jumped to the front and began leading the guys toward the climb.  Once there, I went into panic mode (meaning I'm panicking about this weekend's ride and I need to train harder) and took off up the hill on a breakaway.  So much for tapering.

We regrouped at the gate subsequently, and I took off to lead the group through the long way but they fell back right away for some reason.  However, when I was climbing up around the other side, I looked back and everyone had latched back on with Mitchell right behind me.  Nice job!

As we headed down toward Bonita Canyon, I was in the back after the pull and watched to see Vin try and relieve Jaffe as they neared the bike path.  Jaffe's inner BAM kicked in and he started going faster where both of them seemed to be sprinting to the bike trail opening.  I used it as an opportunity to swing around and give it a go as well.  932 watts for 5 seconds later (according to WKO+) with a 1005 max and BAM, I was in front. Now I don't really know what all that means, so don't ask.

As we headed over to Summit, Hiroshi and Vin jumped ahead on Turtle Ridge and looked like they were going for some Strava.  I decided I better work too, so I stood up and while on the hoods, worked the big ring eventually passing them.  I was a little pooped at the light to turn left though.  HA HA

Going up Summit, Vin and Hiroshi started it off again with a nice high cadence pace.  I thought I'd still work on the big ring and still managed to find a decent cadence that allowed me to pass.  Mitchell, however, was stuck on my rear wheel like white on rice.  As the hill pitched up some more and with Mitchell not relenting, I ended up succumbing to the small ring to see if that would work to shake him off.  Although not initially, he did eventually.  As I made my way to the top, I was certain these guys were going to pass me again since they're getting so strong, so I stood back up and sprinted to the top just in case.  Fortunately, no one came up to contest.

I made my way down to Turtle Ridge and eventually got to the light to go on Bonita Canyon.  I was thinking I'd wait up for the guys on the other side, so I can have someone to ride with but as the light turned green, Vin and Mitchell passed me without losing any momentum from the downhill.  Nice.  Since they had a good gap on me as I fumbled to clip in, I decided the steady pace (rather than the sprint pace) was a better way to reel them back in.  It took until just before the 73 overpass that I did.

I let Mitchell and Vin pull so I can catch my breath a little, but once I did, I jumped to the front and pulled them up to the top of the rise.  Vin relieved me at the top, and we rode together as we made our way to the McArthur light.  Mitchell, however, pulled a Roberto Duran and gestured (no mas) at this point and headed back to Broadcom.

Vin and I proceeded up Ford to head toward the condo, and Vin jumped ahead just before going up Jamboree.  Once on it though, the goal for me was to stay off the seat the whole time again...something I haven't done in a while.  Mission accomplished.  I knew it wasn't going to be a record pace since I didn't have enough momentum going onto it (Vin was on the inside of my turn), so I did check up at the top.  Plus, the light was red.

Vin was having some cramping issues as we waited to cross McArthur, so he was not up for any sprinting to the end.  I wanted to see what I could do but waited until we crossed the 2nd light before giving it a go.  Hitting a 915 watt peak, I did 851 watts for 10 seconds, which dropped down to 773 watts for 20 seconds.  Again, I have no idea what it all means but I'm sure it confirms I'm old and I'm slow.

Thanks for the midweek ride, gents.

Lunch Ride - BB PCH CDM NPC San Joaq Horseshoe BB CA

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/7303758

It was a pretty good sized group that came out today with Shannon, Gary, Vince, Mitchell, Jeremy, Vin, Seon, Hiroshi and Marc making it out.  We saw Todd in the locker room and thought he may grace us with his presence, but he was a little under the weather and opted to spin instead.  A blessing?  HA HA

While I had the route planned originally to go straight to Bonita Canyon from NPC and finish with Jamboree > University > CA.  S-Gary wanted to get some San Joaquin and/or Horseshoe action, so we re-routed to do so along with going all the way down to Back Bay and head to CA from there.  This added 3 miles to the route, but who's counting?

S-Gary led us out originally on the bike trail in typical fashion, so the pace was high from the start.  Vince and I hung out at the back for a bit to warm up, but Vince pushed up behind Hiroshi toward the front near the Back Bay Entrance and I followed.  Vince went around Hiroshi on the down, and I waited to see Hiroshi push up and latch on as Shannon, Gary and Vince started to pull away.  Once I realized he wasn't going to (probably having ran yesterday and recovering), I swung out and gave chase to the 3 barely latching on once I closed the sizable gap.  From there, the 4 of us broke away from everyone else and had some good rotations heading out to the other gate.  It was only near the end of Back Bay that the pace got to Gary, but he was just behind us as the three of us made our way to Bayside.

There, everyone else caught us at the light to go onto PCH so we all went up the hill toward Jamboree together.  Shannon, Vince and Gary had started to gap going up PCH but I was able to close and pull the other guys behind me up to the group.  I relieved Vince once I could, and a few us were rotating all the way to Avocado.

Everyone was pretty much together when we went through CDM, but on Ocean, Shannon started to pull away.  Vin, Jaffe and Mitchell didn't seem to eager to close the gap and rightfully so.  I pulled up and didn't want to blow up trying to catch him but also didn't let him pull away much more.  Once we got on Poppy, however, Shannon had passed a slow moving car that all of a sudden decide to slow down and even stop making it dangerous to pass.  Vince had gotten around on the sidewalk, but most of us were forced to pass carefully once able to do so.

Shannon was a pretty good distance ahead once we got on PCH, but Vince was closer as he must have realized it would not be fun trying to catch up to Shannon.  Mitchell took the initial pull on PCH, but I took over and was subsequently relieved by Vince as we made our way to NPC.

Going up NPC, everyone passed me initially and I thought, oh boy, here we go again.  However, after standing on the pedals, I was able to stay with the trailing group for a while and eventually pass them with only Shannon, Mitchell and Gary ahead of me.  

Shannon eventually broke away, but I decided to not overcook it and stayed with Mitchell and Gary for a bit.  Gary finally slowed after a bit and I held Mitchell out for a bit until I can recover more from closing from behind them.  Once I recovered, I got by Mitchell and thought he and Gary were latched on behind me.  However, after a few look backs, I realized they weren't anymore but not too far behind. 

I decided if I can't climb NPC with any tenacity, this weekend's ride is going to suck, so I stuck it out all the way to the top ahead of the others.  Fortunately for me, Shannon got caught at the Ridge Park light and I was able to come up on him and make the left together for San Joaquin.  Looking back, however, there was a group of about 4-5 guys but they just weren't close enough to make the light with us. 

Shannon and I got on the Horseshoe and worked together pretty well as we made our way around.  At the very end, I almost fell off but hung on just behind him as we got back on San Joaquin.  I started trading pulls with him, but his pace was difficult just to be able to stay with him.  Thankfully, we had a short break to get across McArthur, and I was able to recover enough just to be able to not get dropped as we headed back to Back Bay.  I almost did though.

We got stopped at the light on Jamboree, and looking back, we didn't see anyone so Shannon suggested we could take it easy.  The problem with this is Shannon's definition of easy differs from mine.  I think we were still hitting the 30s on Back Bay, but there were some good sections of tail wind that helped. 

We still didn't slow up as we headed toward University and Shannon lit it up with me in tow as we headed to California.  I tried to pass and offer relief, but he passed me shortly after since I needed some serious recovery time.  It was his draft that helped me move up and actually get top 10 on Strava (something I hadn't been doing for some time now).  Thanks!

We had some rest before heading up California, and hitting the first light also helped.  I went ahead and worked on my standing climb from there and although not record breaking, it was a decent pace.  

Thanks for the workout today, gents!  Take it easy on us on Thursday please.  I'll be in the back and saving it for Saturday. 

Como Pick Up Ride and Canyon Back

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/7205787 (Como pick up), http://app.strava.com/rides/7205789 (Back through the canyon)

This morning, Lisa and I headed over to Vin's house in the morning where Vin and I would start out from to join the Como loop.  Originally, we were thinking we may do the long route, but we ended up deciding to do the short route instead.  This would allow us to get back a little sooner and indulge in some lunch, dessert and of course, alcohol.  Plus, Vin stayed up really late preparing the food and dessert and was just not feeling it. 

After we got going, I realized that the two or so minutes it took to get to El Toro from Santa Margarita was probably going to make it difficult to latch on when the Como gang would come up on us.  Since we were there probably a few minutes ahead of the group, I just suggested we keep going to warm up more.  At first I thought we could wait at the top of the rise just before Cook's, but by the time we got there, it seemed even more appealing to wait at the top...so we kept going. 

As we got to the top, we passed one guy in a Simple Green kit and then got to the top of the 2nd rise just before the descent.  It turned out the Simple Green guy was also looking to do the same thing as he waited just ahead of us.  While waiting, it didn't seem like the Como crew were coming too quickly, so when the Simple Green guy took off, we took off just behind him.  After passing him, he ended up jumping in our draft. 

I let Vin know to not go all out as it may be nutty to try and jump in with the Como lead pack when they caught us.  Yet, we still managed a good pace on our own.  A tall Sho-Air guy came up on us and we ended up picking up the pace as we rotated with him.  Then, all four of us started to rotate up front. 

When we came up to Silverado, the Como guys hadn't caught us yet but there were a few cyclists who got on Santiago Canyon from Silverado just ahead of us.  We passed them pretty easily, but as we continued to rotate, they ended up passing us back with a guy on a TT bike leading the pack.  However, it seemed he was the only one among them who was willing to work.  Once he started slowing down, no one would relieve him.  The Sho-Air guy ended up pulling up to the front and Vin and I jumped ahead with him to bring the pace back up again. 

When I got up front on one of the rises and after pulling for a bit, the Como crew showed up and came by pretty fast.  There were about 15 of them, including Sol who said hi, and we jumped in on their paceline for those who could keep up. 

When we got to Dump, it was a pretty good pace going up.  I stood up and started getting momentum to pass, but I didn't want to get swarmed at the top again, so I pulled back into the group that started to break away.  The acceleration after the bend near the top is crazy though, and I had to dig deep just to stay on and crest over the top with them. 

Guys were sprinting after going over the 261, but I was happy enough just to stay with them.  I figured it would still be pretty fast on Jamboree.  Vin had caught up but had gotten behind someone who wasn't on board with keeping up and ended up falling off.  On Jamboree, it was as I expected.  On the climb, Sol was just in front of me and he ended up making his way up to the front to pull.  I followed and relieved him right after and brought everyone up to the crest.  On the descent, others came around and really started to hammer.  I stayed on, but then 3 guys got together and launched an attack after Portola.  There was one guy ahead of me who was willing to give chase, so I stayed with him until he popped.  I then gave chase after and just as I was closing, I popped.  They all ended up getting caught at the next light, which wasn't that far ahead, so I got lucky.  I thought they may sprint on the last section before Irvine Blvd but they all pretty much checked up then.  22.3 mph average to this point.

From there, Vin and I decided to double-back through the canyon for some more miles.  After fixing a flat tire I got after Portola, we were back on our way.  Vin saw a group of guys behind us who he thought may catch us, but I convinced him that they'll probably pop off on the climb.  They did.

Vin was definitely not feeling it on the way back, but after waiting for him on a couple different points of the ride, he told me at the Silverado intersection on the canyon he didn't want me to wait anymore and that I should let him catch me.  From there, I listened to him and went into TT mode breaking away eventually.  We ended up regrouping near his place since...well, I didn't know how to get back to his house.  HA HA.   I'm sure if Vin had slept more than 2 hours, he would have been with me the whole time.

The topper was a chicken, shrimp and pasta lunch he made along with some food Hiroshi brought when he came by to hang out.  He even made fresh ice cream!  And of course, there was alcohol.  Hello?  Vin, thanks for the post ride festivities, bud.  Good stuff after a good training ride.  

Lunch Ride - Anteater Turtle Rock Starcrest Shady Summit Condo Route

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/7017420

Maybe it's just me, but seeing that Galen and Shannon are coming out for the lunch ride always seems to cause my heart rate to go up while I'm still in the locker room.  Mitchell, Marc (my first time seeing him out there in a while although I hear he was out on Tuesday), and Adrian came out as well, so at least I knew I wasn't the only one who would suffer their punishment.  Hey, it's all about sharing the love, right?

Rightfully, we all let Shannon and Galen lead us out to Culver where I'm sure everyone else with me was thinking this was the only way we can hopefully have a chance to keep up.  It doesn't seem team-like to do so, but my thought is I just want to optimize their training.  Yeah...that's it.

I did take the front after we got onto Culver to bring the pace up, and everyone jumped on.  Shortly after, Galen, Adrian, Shannon and Mitchell passed me, so I was thinking it'd be cool just to hang on.  Galen and Adrian kicked it up a notch and broke away a little bit, but apparently, Adrian missed the memo that there was a lot more climbing to do.  They definitely went for the KOM in that segment, but unfortunately, it just didn't happen.

After we rounded the corner to go on Campus toward Turtle Rock, we passed Adrian who pretty much looked like he had thrown his bike in reverse (must be a Cannondale gear that our bikes don't have).  Galen was not the worse for wear, however and as expected, so he came with us to head to Starcrest.  That, however, was the last we saw of Adrian on the route.

Going up Turtle Rock, I just couldn't hold their wheel and while Mitchell did a lot longer, he too suffered the same fate and fell off.  He did latch on to me as I passed him though, and we ended up riding up Starcrest not too far behind Galen and Shannon.  We at least could still see them as we neared the top, but by the time I got to Summit Court, they were gone.

Mitchell had fallen off a bit on that climb, but by the bottom of Ridgeline had once again caught up to me.  We could see Galen and Shannon ahead of us, and Mitchell started to work with me to keep the pace up as we headed toward Shady.  We could still see them as we climbed up shady, but once Mitchell and I crested, they were gone.

Mitchell and I opted to go through the gate (vs. the long way) because 1) I didn't actually know the route and thought if Shannon and Galen had gone through the gate, they would definitely be too far ahead to run into at a light if we took the long way and 2) I was tired.  HA HA

As Mitchell and I were climbing up the Shady rise that headed towards Bonita Canyon, we did see that Shannon and Galen took the long way and thought, "Cool!  We may have a chance to catch them at Bonita canyon."

As we neared the bike trail opening, one of the construction guys stepped out and stopped us only to have us watch Shannon and Galen go through the green light ahead of us.  They stopped us to let this big old truck try and get turned around on our side of the street without being able to cross over the median.  We literally sat there for several minutes watching him make multiple attempts to do so reminiscent of this Austin Powers scene:

We then get caught at the light after once we were finally able to go, the light to go on Turtle Rock and the two lights to go onto Summit after.  At that point, I was fully recovered where I decided to ride up the hill off the seat breaking away from Mitchell...finally.  Thankfully, Shannon and Galen had waited for us midway down, and the 4 of us regrouped and headed toward Bonita Canyon together.

Thankfully, that break did help keep Galen and Shannon from snapping us off again...barely...and that's with holding them out some.  Sorry guys.

When we got onto Ford, I was thinking to myself if they stayed behind me, I'll try to lead them up the Condo, but Galen offered the same after passing me with Mitchell in tow.  I tried to latch on but he was already going too fast for me to do so.  HA HA.  I was able to get some momentum on the turn to Jamboree and had a decent run up the hill.  I kept looking back expecting someone to pass me though, but they must have felt sorry for me.

We all regrouped on Bison and although I wasn't sure if anyone was game based on the light situation over the 73, I did take off on the last light just to see if I had any snap.  Again, no one followed so they must have been in cool down mode already.

While that would normally be the end of the blog, I did want to point how that once we got back to the gym, Shannon started hitting squats.  Wow.  That's just way too much BAM for me.

Thanks for the workout, gents!

Shannon's Tuesday Portola OAB Ride Report

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/6914206

We had a good showing today, there must have been ten of us.  Ideal conditions for a ride, way better than for working.

The route was a Portola OAB, regroup at Barranca and Portola.  That worked well, we tried to keep rotations short.  But, Galen got hung out a few times.  Didn't seem to phase him much.

Heading up to Portola Galen took the first sprint, Adrian and I followed.  We were only down one at the turnaround (and stayed together thereafter).

Right off there was a gap on the route back, I tried to pull Hiroshi in.   Which paid off, he took the lead a couple of times after.

Jaffe was working hard and closed a couple of gaps, Vin was also firing on all cylinders.  I should say Mitch was strong today too.

Once on the bike trail to the backbay, Galen kept the pace high, and nobody wanted any part of relieving him.  Eventually I gave him a break.  However, that was somewhat conditional, he was now part of a leadout...

Going into CA Mitch was leading, and Galen came around to pull Adrian and I to the endpoint.  I had a helluva hard time getting out of the saddle to do my part, but finally launched Adrian only about 300yds short of the finish.  LOL.  Nice job making it Adrian.  (Will do better)

Thanks for the ride.

Mt. Baldy Pre-L'Etape Trainer

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/6828686#127617571

Having missed the Devil Dog race yesterday, it was nice to have an alternative trainer for the weekend.  However, this was not just your ordinary trainer, it's one that is probably the most epic nearby hill trainer around...Mt. Baldy.  Craig invited us out, and one by one, Shannon, Todd, Gary and I all decided to come out and join him.

It was a cold morning to start out with and all of us were in full warmers except Craig (unbelievable).  It was even colder at the top fo Baldy given that there was plenty of fresh fallen snow.  It was unbelievably cold on the way down.  However, after we got down from GRR on the way back, the weather actually warmed up and it became almost perfect weather conditions for the ride down GMR.

When we started up GMR, LTJ was on a mission to just kill it to the top, so he left followed by Gary.  I was just with Craig and Shannon, and when I was standing and climbing while they spun behind me chatting up a storm, I knew it was going to be a long day.

Shannon and Craig caught and rode with Gary up ahead of me, while I had fallen back and they just stayed in sight up until the last climb before dropping down toward East Fork.  I thought I made up some ground on them at some points, but they just blew me out the back eventually where I brought up the rear all the way to the top.  Gary with his new seating position is legit, and Craig has come a long way since I last rode with him also quite legit.  We already know Todd and Shannon and legit, so....

When I got to the top, I didn't want to stop long so I took off ahead of everyone.  It wasn't long before Todd, Craig and Shannon passed me on GRR.  I just couldn't hold their wheel, and at this point, I was really getting nervous about the climb up to the ski lifts.    I was even more nervous seeing snow on the side of the road and water running off where I was worried about possible ice.

When I got to Baldy Village, I just saw Todd who had his chain drop while Shannon came out from behind the tourist station to grab something to eat.  Very shortly after, Gary rolled up behind me.   I didn't want to wait too long since my pace just isn't on par with these guys, so I took off and got a head start up to the lift.  The roads were filled with even more ice and water, and all i could think was how scary it would be for the guys riding on carbon wheels.  I wanted to turn around, but I pressed on at a slow pace just to make sure I finished and got to the top.  Just before the final climb, Todd and Shannon made their way past me and charged up the hill.  My objective was just not to paperboy, so I was able to do that but barely.   Turning around before making the turn into the parking lot, I saw Craig charging up as well.  At the top, I was only there for a little bit when Gary showed up as well.  Animals...the lot of them.

As I looked around at the snow and the people preparing to ski/snow board for the day, I just wanted to get back down.  My legs were tightening up, I was cold, and I just wanted to get past all the ice and water on he switchbacks on the way down.  I left ahead of the guys, and even in aluminum wheels, the trek down to the village was scary.  I actually was on the brakes most of the way down just because I didn't want to lose control, so by the time I got to the village, both hands were cramping up from squeezing on the brakes so hard.

Craig came out of nowhere before climbing up GRR, and we started to ascend together.  At the top, he started to pull away on the descent, but I kept him in my sights.  I was ultimately able to catch up to him again and we started trading pulls as we made our way up and down GRR to GMR.  We all were to regroup at the top of GMR so I could GoPro the footage down this fun hill.  Todd rolled up first, and Shannon and Gary rolled up together.

When we rode down GMR, Craig led us out but Gary took some turns up front as we bombed down the hill.  Shannon wanted me to get in front of him, so I got behind Todd.  We were moving pretty fast down the hill, but we got tied up by motorcycles, a car, a truck and a couple of cyclists.  I jumped up front after the last set of motorcycles passed and led the guys down.  I thought my chain dropped at one point, but I was once again able to get it back on the ring.  Cool!

As we made our way down, Craig and Gary took over and we were just going for it.  At one point, Gary wanted to see what I had left so in typical BAM fashion, he started to sprint and I chased him down.  I just had enough to get past him through attrition but he definitely was moving.  As we all made our way back to where we started, people still kept pushing the pace.  I guess there is no such thing as a cool down on our rides.  Sigh.

It was a great outing with some super strong performances out there by everyone.  I'll definitely have to see what L'Etape has in store for me, but it should be a good outing for the others who are coming out in a couple weeks.  Great trainer, gents!  Thanks for coming out.

Lunch Ride - The Turtle Rock Ring Loop

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/6637508

Although not as many came out today as on Tuesday, it was still a good training ride.  Here's some highlights:

• It was a little windy here and there, but behind LTJ, I didn't notice.  
• Pace was over 20 mph when we hit Bonita Canyon intersection, so we were moving at a pretty good clip with some good pulls.
• Up Shady, the pace was a little intense but for the most part, we all made it to Sunnyhill together.
• The pace down Turtle Rock was pretty fast as well and I think everyone took pulls (whether they wanted to or not...ha ha).
• Going up the other side of Turtle Rock, I started off the pace, but LTJ got by me and it was good enough to stay on his wheel all the way to Ridgeline.  We ended up breaking away from the others at some point, so we just kept going to try and hold everyone off. 
• We stayed together up Shady alternating pulls (80% Todd 20% me), and it was more of the same on the 405 bike trail as well.
• We did hit the light at Ridgeline and just managed to get going before the chase group behind us caught up. 
• Todd took off quick up Ridgeline and I thought I had time to latch on, but that was a mistake on my part where I ended up having to do my own thing. 
• As I neared the top, I peeked back and saw I too was being pursued by the chase group. 
• I almost caught Todd at the light on Campus and Culver, but I just missed it.  The chase group rolled up behind me shortly after.  Todd was gone.
• Going up Culver, that was a grind and I thought I'd set a good pace up it.  Vin, Jaffe and Mitchell kept the pace up as well.  
• On Bonita Canyon, we had a paceline going and at a point after Vince rolled off from the front, Vin launched and started motoring up the hill.  I chased him down just enough to get on his wheel to let him drain his youthful energy.  
• When we came to McArthur, I thought the route was to go up the Condo, but apparently, I had this wrong.  Everyone else knew the route and proceeded, so the extra credit was based on ignorance if nothing else.  
• I met Gary on Bison and as expected, he torqued it up after we got over the 73 and we headed toward California head-to-head to finish out the route with nothing left.  

Good job, gents!  I hope I'll be recovered enough for this weekend's race.  

Lunch Ride - aka Critical Mass

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/6538531 (no medals again...sigh)

I don't know how many people actually made it out to the corner today, but we were definitely impeding traffic...HA HA.  I guess everyone was wanting to get a ride in before the rain, so it seems easier to point out who didn't make today's ride than who did:  Shannon, PV, Verm, Marc and Mike Z.  There were actually some other people there who came out with Ron that I didn't know.  Seriously, think Critical Mass.

Anyway, I wasn't sure how I would do today, so I thought I'd play it safe and at least try not to fall off the front group.  Okay, so I was seriously leeching off of others for the most part, but I did take some guilt pulls here and there.

It was cool to see people just going for it on Spyglass too, but I knew doing so will take its toll for the following climb up San Joaquin.  Been there, done that.  Strava has this effect on rides.  Congrats to Vin for acquiring #8 spot.

On San Joaquin, LTJ took the front and I was just able to latch on Galen after he passed me with Mitchell in tow as well.  Rather than make the right turn before NPC, LTJ kept going straight so the rest of us followed.  Everyone else stuck to the route and turned right and got a good jump on us.  I did try to close the gap at NPC by taking the front, and it almost cost me from not being able to hang on subsequently.  This did reduce it down to just LTJ, Galen and me.

We were able to pick up Hiroshi on PCH, but Galen and Todd dropped the hammer and Hiroshi fell off.  I was behind Hiroshi, so when I swung around to try and catch up, it just hurt.  If it weren't for the first light going into CDM that turned red, they'd have been gone.

We also hit the light at Poppy (where we almost caught everyone else), had to ride behind an SUV, a pick up, and an Infiniti M45, going through CDM, and hit the light on Avocado.

Even on PCH, we tried to pick up the pace but then hit the first light after getting on.  Jeremy and Hiroshi were with us, but in our efforts to continue trying to catch up, they fell off and it was just down to the three of us on Back Bay.

I got beat up on Back Bay and after taking a pull just couldn't hang on anymore so I called out to Todd and he jumped on Galen's wheel.  I thought they were going to just get completely away from me, but I saw them at the top of Back Bay and Galen got stuck trying to get across.

LTJ, Galen and I met up at the top of Jamboree and thankfully, I was able to stay together with them through the end from here.  HA HA.  Bummed we didn't get to ride with everyone else, but maybe we'll have the same sized turn-out on Thursday (barring bad weather or bad road conditions).

Thanks for the workout, gents (and all the towing Todd and Galen)!

Thursday Night GP Crit with LTJ

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/6271612

The Cat 4/5 group was not as big as it typically has been during the last two outings, so there didn't appear to be as much craziness as was the case last week.  It seemed more people were prepared for the first lap breakaway, and in typical LTJ fashion, there was no way he wasn't going to chase anyone down who tried.  I, on the other hand, was not willing to push early on hoping for a better outcome.

Even though there were attacks here and there, the overall pace was definitely slower.  No one broke away early and held it.  I actually had visions of launching an attack on the first prime.  When it came around though, I never moved up to get in position.  I just sprinted from about 1/3 of the way up front just to see what I had.  I didn't get passed but neither did I pass anyone else.  Sigh.

LTJ, who in typical fashion despite having chased attacks and pushing early on was solid all the way through.  I thought for sure he was going to have some problems latching on after one long chase he gave, but not Todd.  He just latched on every time and was always up there in the mix.  Unfortunately, he did get a flat on the fifth lap and the race was over for him.  You can tell he was bummed, but he'll be back with a vengeance I'm sure.

On my fifth lap, I thought I was doing okay and then all of a sudden, I started to run out of steam once again.  I thought I was well within the front of the peloton but for some reason, I started to fall back where upon looking behind me, I found myself at the back of the group.  I thought for sure I can pull up as I saw others popping as well, but curiously they recovered while I just didn't have anything left to stay on.  Looking at my HR, it looks like I was just pegged for a while and unlike before, I just can't hold it.  Ultimately, I ended up falling completely off and once again, I thought I'll just cut across to get more laps in.  This is not a good habit, and as you would expect it is not something that I'm exactly proud of. 

It just so happened that I saw LTJ with his flat tire just as I was thinking to cut across.  I did offer him my wheel as a replacement, but he was just done.  After failing to have even a better excuse not to continue, I decided to go ahead and latch on again and see if I pop off again.

This time, the pace was manageable where I did latch on once the Cat 4/5 guys passed me.  I was thinking it may be a better workout to push up and do some pulling even, but I thought finishing with the group would probably be better.

I rode another lap or two with the group, and as we rounded the bottom of the track, I thought I'd get up front and lead out anyone who wanted to sprint.  From about half way up, I started moving up toward the front but before I could get up there, some guys launched an attack on the other side of me.  I had to sprint for a bit just to latch on as everyone was trying to shake the guys off behind them.
 For the final sprint, I knew I didn't want to mess up anyone else's position, so I thought I'd just spin up and see who I can pass from the back.  Not having any pressure to do well at this point, I actually was surprised I was catching and passing some people.  Hmmm...maybe I'm onto something.

With Todd having a flat and me going flat, it wasn't one of the team's best outing.  That didn't stop us from hanging out and enjoying each other's company at the end.  If anything, at least we can say that when we are there, you can pretty much be sure we'll close the place down.  You'll get them next time, Todd.

Thanks again to Lisa and Pam for coming out.  With no crit next week, we may need to find something else to do together next Thursday.  :) 

Lunch Ride - NPC Double BB with Points (Or so we thought)

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/6158791 (Garmin malfunction)

Today, we were going to do a double Back Bay run and as we had done in the past, offer points based on the first 3 of each KOM or sprint section.  I'll save the point system and rules for the bottom of the blog, but Todd, Adrian, Mitchell, Seon, Hiroshi, Vin, Jeremy and Mike Z (the woo hoo kid himself, but also referred to as Tigger) came out for the event.  I will point out that one of the conditions for the ride was to be at the corner by 11:45 or suffer a loss of 5 points off the bat.  Miraculously, everyone made it to the corner by that time...even Vin!  Game on, I guess.

Mitchell, Seon and Hiroshi led initially up E. Peltason, but Todd made his way past everyone after the 4 way intersection on Anteater.  No one responded, but Adrian was at the front of the 2nd group almost coming to crawl basically begging for someone else to give chase.  In fear of almost going backwards, I pushed up front and kept a pretty fair distance behind Todd.  Vin picked it up after we got on Bonita Canyon and we were able to catch up to Todd at the light on NPC.

While this may be contested in some people's mind, the rule was not to breakaway at a light.  Given that LTJ had waited before proceeding, whereas everyone else who was there also proceeded to do the same, there were no points deducted here.

Climbing up NPC, I can't recall the order everyone was in as we started the ascent, but at one point, Adrian did push ahead of everyone.  I used it as an opportunity to match his pace but when that pace all of a sudden fell (i.e. pop!), I passed first I believe but Todd came around shortly after where I found it the perfect opportunity to latch on (although is it ever a perfect opportunity to latch on to Todd's rear wheel on a climb?).  I guess I was doing okay today as I managed to stay on his wheel up to the first pointed section (the 73 overpass).  Others had fallen off before then, so I thought rather than try to contest it and meet the other's fate, I'd just hang on for the ride.  Todd was first, I was second, and someone will just have to let me know who got third (not that it mattered anymore...keep reading to find out why).

He kept his pace going up and I just stuck on his rear wheel for about 90 percent of the hill (hey, I ain't dumb!).  I finally came around near the top and overtook Todd, but he made sure to return the favor just before we got to San Joaquin.  If it isn't blatantly obvious, he was first, I was second, and again...I'd think either Mitchell or Vin came 3rd.

Todd and I had a pretty good breakaway, and we both pushed the pace up and over the hill.  We managed to just get through the light on Marguerite, but did get stopped at McArthur.  In my mind, I thought Marguerite was going to be the PITA to cross, but Todd and I may as well have set up camp at the McArthur intersection.  Even as Vin and Mitchell got stopped at Marguerite, they were soon with us STILL waiting for the light to change.

When we got going, we were taking turns pushing the pace toward Jamboree but the 4 of us did get stopped at that light as well where Adrian caught up here.  When we got going, Vin pulled back from the front and as sure as taxes, Adrian had Vin pull up in front of him in the paceline.  Although I was behind Adrian at the time (LOL), I did push up to the front to help Todd with the pull toward Back Bay Drive.

When we got on Back Bay, I actually made the right turn last and had to deal with some accordian action as the group started to push the pace immediately after.  Todd was even ready to close me out thinking I dropped, but I just made it up to the last bike as he was coming off from being up front.  Through some rotations, I found myself behind Adrian with Mitchell was leading and thought...perfect.  After Adrian took the front from Mitchell, I held him out (although you can see he was soft pedaling already) for a bit until I could see a straighter line to launch an attack for the first sprint point.   After sorting through gears looking for the optimal, BAM! I bolted off.  BAM! is actually also the sound SRAM makes when you get on it.

I realized I had a good snap from the group as a couple looks back and I didn't see anyone on my rear wheel.  I knew, however, I was being chased, so I held it enough to where I knew I was going to get first for the San Joaquin sprint.  Now this is where it gets interesting.  We were all pretty much focused on the sprint that when we checked up, we realized that there was a gate that had spanned across the whole rode closing the second section.  There were no signs or anything beforehand that we saw that cautioned of this section being closed, so as we approached it from our sprint, we were still moving pretty fast (at least 30 and over). As soon as I saw it and realized the situation, all I could do was call out to stop but had do everything I could to get my bike to stop just maybe an inch or two (at most) before my front tire made contact with the gate.  I kid you not.  Adrian, who was trying to make up ground on me, just grabbed a handful of brake and literally cooked his tires all the way through flatting out the rear by the end.

Vin, also game for sprints nowadays, was also moving pretty fast, but was unfortunately not able to stop in time and ended up actually hitting the gate with his front wheel and flipping him and his bike up like they were going to over the gate.  It was a steel stop plate that was on the gate that he threw his shoulder into that kept him from doing so and allowed him and his bike to fall back toward the ground with him landing on his feet.  Crazy!

Anyway, here's a picture of that stop plate:

Looking at it, I'm thinking it could have been a LOT worse.  Given the series of turns we had to negotiate to come to that, it was hard to see that far out and to realize that there was a gate that spanned across the whole length of the road.  I'm just glad that despite what happened, we were all relatively still okay.  We'll have to find out tomorrow how Vin feels after that.   Vin also suffered a cut thumb and his bike along with Adrian's also had a blown tire.  Not to joke about the situation or anything, but maybe Vin should try out as a linebacker for football considering the look of that plate.  It's no Honda bumper, but....

I thought maybe it was just us who put ourselves in this position, but some time after, another cyclist was coming up to the gate at a pretty decent clip where we had to yell out to him to slow down, which he thanked us for after.

With two bikes not working, Todd and I worked our way back to work where I picked up my car with my bike on the rack.  I actually didn't know that Adrian needed a ride too, so I guess now it makes sense why everyone was looking at me strangely when I pulled up.  One genius said "Rich can just ride back" while they drive themselves to work.  After some thought and realizing there was no real other way, fine.  Haha.

As I was helping to get the bikes loaded up, Mike Z. and the rest of the crew thought it would be funny to just take off without me.   Great.  LTJ made the ride back tough, and now these guys bail on me too.  Of course, BAM kicked in and the chase of 4 rabbits was on.

I wasn't sure if I could close on them given they had numbers, but when I could see I was making ground, I wasn't going to give up until I did.  It took all the way to the top of Back Bay where I finally was able to get by Mitchell and shortly after Mike Z.  Hiroshi and Seon were just ahead of me, and I decided to play the cool customer and stay with them as I recovered.  After going under Jamboree and over the bridge, Mitchell had come around and was going to push the pace up where I took advantage of the lead out for anyone wanting to sprint to California.

Going up California, Seon and Hiroshi pushed the pace early on but had to slow for the first light as did the rest of the group.  Once it turned green, I kicked it up a notch and broke away to the top.  While the whole point system was already out, I still wanted to get a good workout.   Okay, so really that's what they get for leaving me.  LOL!  No Garmin data for this run for me, however.

It was an unfortunate day today given what happened, but we have to learn from these rather than dwell on what we could have done.  One thing we now know is not to use that as a sprint section ever again.

The point system and rules:


Points for each section:


1st – 5
2nd – 4
3rd - 3


Point Sections


-    First to 73 underpass entrance on NPC
-    NPC Crest (before San Joaquin)
-    First to San Joaquin on Back Bay
-    Top of Back Bay
-    First to Bison light atop Jamboree
-    First to San Joaquin on Back Bay (2nd loop)
-    Top of Back Bay (2nd loop)
-    To light at CA from University bike trail
-    Top of CA (before Bison)


Deductions (based on judging panels discretion)


-     Stop sign/Red light breakaway (minus 5 pts for each)
-     Rubbing on someone’s rear wheel (minus 5 pts)
-     Any other unsafe acts (5 pts)
-     Transparent or shorts with more than one visible hole (3 pts)
-    Not at the corner by 11:45 a.m. (5 pts)


Shortcuts can be taken once again (e.g San Joaquin on 2nd BB loop), but you must be within the pack to attack for pts.

Como Short and Extra Credit

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/6051584 (Como); http://app.strava.com/rides/6051580 (Post Como)

 Today's Como outing was unusual in that it didn't draw out the same number of riders as to what we've become accustomed.  The warm-up pace seemed to last longer than usual also, and really seemed like it was just going to be a touring ride rather than one racers used for training.  This pretty much went on all the way up through Santa Margarita and El Toro.  S-Gary had gotten restless early on and was trying to push the front up but no one would really follow.  There were some small breakaways early on as well, but no one seemed to care.  Seon was even up toward the front on Bryan.  Crazy.

The pace did start to pick up after Santa Margarita, and luckily  I had pushed up some to get closer to the front.  Vin, who met up with us from El Toro, had gotten behind me and followed me closer to the front.  When we all started climbing up Cook's, I tried to get closer to the front group who had started to accelerate midway up.  I think I caught a glance of Vin still with me as I made my way up, but I think he had dropped off a little just before the first crest.  I, again found myself not exactly with the front group at the crest, but heading toward the 2nd, another ride and Vin came by and were ready to work together as we started the downhill. 

What started out with 3 of us ended up growing more with a group catching up to us, and Gary had been able to latch onto that group to join us.  There was some serious aggro action going on at this point, with people yelling out to push up to keep the paceline rotations fast, but not everyone was compliant or possible aware of how that worked (including Vin).  I took some pulls, but they had Vin and Gary working the rotations probably more than they should.  Others weren't pulling into the rotation enough, so as I got behind someone who wouldn't push up, neither would I.   I wanted to save what I had, which I didn't think was a lot, for the latter part of the ride.  We even got picked up by yet another group, so the pace had gotten pretty fast and eventually, I no longer so Gary or Vin in the paceline. 

I had taken some pulls, and no one was eager to jump up and do the fast rotations when I did despite me pulling out.  Before getting to Dump though, I was able to work my way further to the back of the line to catch my breath.  At the climb up Dump, I umped out of the saddle and started to make my way past everyone in this group.  I first thought I wanted to hold their pace, but instead I found my own rhythm and started to break away.  I looked back a couple times wondering when I'd be pass, but no one did right away.  Before the crest though, a CashCall rider came sprinting by and crested ahead of me.  I tried to reel him in but the rest of the pack who were behind came racing by, so I jumped on one of the guys wheels.  We all pretty much stuck together all the way to Jamboree.

On Jamboree, we caught up to some of the guys from the front group, so when we took off from the light it didn't take long before it picked up.  When we started climbing, I tried to make my way toward the front and some of the guys ended up trying to take off where I was just able to latch on to them.   I ended up with a pull or two on the downhill, but other guys were pushing the pace most of the way down. 

We crossed Portola and people started to pick it up and try to break away.  I was just behind the last person who had taken off (while there were others who didn't respond behind me), and either after that light or the next, the group ahead of me got bunched up.  The next thing you know, I see one guy in a Simple Green kit fly off his bike in the middle of the crew and hit pavement...hard.  His bike had even tumbled where I remember seeing his front wheel up in the air.  Fortunately, no one else went down...including me. 

As I sat after stopping trying to catch my breath after having passed it, other riders were rolling up to the guy who fell and others in front started to turn around and head over to help.  I ended up also, but there were a lot of people already around him trying to manage traffic and tend to the guy.  Eventually, I didn't have anything to offer so I took off so as to not crowd the guy and make it easier for emergency crews to access him. 

I pretty much just rode back by myself at that point, and having seen the guy fall definitely took a lot of wind out of me.  When I met up with Gary and Vin back at BJ's, they were also a little less eager to do more miles.  After some resting though, we ended up sticking to our original plans to do some hills.  We were going to take it easy, however, or so I thought. 

As we made our way to Laguna Canyon via the bike trail, we weren't pushing the pace too much but we did hold a decent speed.  As we got to Laguna Canyon and neared the 133, Gary called out and wanted to do a stand-up only drill up the 133 just as I was at the front.  I agreed to do it, but I don't think Vin heard us as he did his own thing and took off up the hill.  I found a good rhythm going up the 133 off the seat, but Gary had broken away on his pace as did Vin ahead of him.  I did have to kick it up some just because they had gotten away pretty far and fortunately was able to get to the light on El Toro just behind them. 

They both still wanted to push the pace up El Toro, and I'm thinking to myself, we still have a lot of climbing to do.  The two of them actually got through 2 stop lights ahead of me, so they were pulling over just as I was coming up to Aliso Creek.  When I came by, I was going to work more on my standing climb, and I did start to get ahead of both of them.  Vin, however, midway up, found a good rhythm, and passed me where I abandoned the stand and started to spin up to his pace.  He was pushing pretty hard, so it took a lot just to be able to keep up with him.  I was jus able to pass him near the top, but it was not easy. 

We regrouped at the first light and the two of them STILL wanted to keep pushing the pace.  Animals.  I was fine trying to manage my pace in anticipation for doing more hills, but near the bottom, Gary realized we had done more miles than expected where doing the hills we intended was just not feasible time-wise. 

We ended up heading back via Alicia, Geronimo, El Toro and Trabuco/ Irvine Blvd, with Vin heading back home at Trabuco.  The winds were definitely not favorable on Irvine Blvd, but Gary and I pushed through and held a pretty decent pace despite.  We were working the whole way back, and toward the end, I thought to just keep the pace up and hopefully deter Gary from sprinting by at the end.  He did try to get by as we came closer to BJ's, but my plan worked.  :)  I was definitely in no mood to sprint after all that wind. 

It's awesome to see team members getting stronger through the canyon run and being able to work with them.  Both Vin and Gary were definitely looking strong today.  Great job, guys!