2012 Tour De Poway - Team of One

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/23630293 (Epic failure - now I'm convinced I need a new one)

Having to do the ride solo (team-wise) today, I figured I'd work on my endurance riding not having ridden much over 60 miles for a while.  All the recent running I've been doing has definitely helped build up my conditioning, so I thought this would be a good ride to put it to the test.  I would also take advantage of other teams just, but after that got old, I was pretty much on my own some time after mile 40 (more on this later).

When I arrived there, I parked where we parked last year, which is just by the start of the ride.  It was nice given that the porta potties were right across the street as well.  Of course, my selection of the first porta potty was not ideal.  Who misses and craps on the seat?  Seriously.

It didn't take me long to get ready, so I lined up just before 7 somewhere in the vicinity of the Descenders.  I was hoping they would recognize me and allow me to ride their wheel.   Unfortunately, no one did and I just sat there and waited until they let us go with the motorcycle escort to Poway Drive.   I was shivering at the start with temps at around 64 degrees, but I stopped by the time I was on Poway Drive for a bit.

Bob Raibert, one of the Descenders, did recognize me as he was passing, but I wasn't sure who he was...so I asked.   He was cool and wanted to ride with me, but I told him I'm not planning to charge up the hill and would like to just draft the whole ride if I could.  HA HA.  I guess he had bigger plans and started to step it up whereas I...well...didn't.  Those who ride with me know I don't like starting out hard anyway, so this ride especially will never be where I expect to kill it on the Poway.   I'll leave that for the nuttier ones in our group.  There was still some mixing it up going up the hill, but only so I can have others to ride with at the top. 

At the top, I made it up with a few other Descenders and rode with them for a bit letting them dictate the pace.  We did pass a couple guys who latched on and then one of them rode up beside me as I was on the #3 spot and said, "man, you got some serious pistons!"  I hope he was talking about my legs.  Otherwise...awkward. 

Shortly after that, I decided to push up to the front and start to reel people in ahead of us.  While there was probably about 10 or so of us in the line originally at the top, after a while there were only 2 behind me.  As expected, I was held out for a while up front, but the guy who gave me kudos on my "pistons" eventually took the front while the guy between us held him out for a while.  That let the group that dropped off behind us reel us back in and we started working to catch a group of 6 just ahead of us.  Of course, when that wasn't happening fast enough, I pushed up from probably the #5 spot and closed the gap.  Yay!

Now those guys seemed like they weren't going too hard, but I waited patiently to rotate to the front again.  I did make it up to the front and ended up pushing the pace from 21 back up to 25 mph again.   I was relieved eventually, and at that point, I decided I'll just ride in the group and wait for the downhill section.

When we finally made our way to the downhill section, there were probably about 15-20 rider, but attrition lowered that down to 5.   I was wanting to jump to the front to get to the bottom first, but I opted to just ride with the other 4 for a while until the group behind caught back up. 

I was rotating in and doing my share of the work as we made our way to a pretty decent size hill.  Then I noticed that one guy fully kitted was starting to break away while others where trying to chase him down.  Being pretty warm at this point, I stood up and started to reel the guy in.   As I passed the guys chasing him, they jumped on my rear wheel and I sat down and began to spin up even faster making my way to and past the breakaway guy before the top of the hill (he was cool...he gave me props). 

On the other side was a downhill, so with my momentum, I ended up breaking away from the group all together and figured I'd try to find my way through the route on my own.  After I passed 2 older guys (I ended up waiting at a corner for them just to tell me which way to turn - HA HA).  I ended up thanking and passing them again and was on my own for a bit.  It was after that when I saw that they actually had orange markers on the ground to show the route.  Cool!

I had to make a left not too long after I passed them, so I got caught at the light for a while and some of the people I was riding with earlier caught back up to me.  However, when the light turned green and we went left, I went first but another guy with long hair passed me at a pretty good clip.  When I looked to see if anyone was going to chase him and saw no reaction, I stood up and chased him down towing the others behind me.  He looked a bit surprised when I got on his wheel, and I even took the front to relieve him after.   He ended up pushing up front again, and I rotated with him a couple more times even pushing up from the back when I'd see no one giving the guy any relief.   After taking a pretty good pull, he was passing me again and the guy behind him says to me "don't you know this guy's a professional?"  I responded by saying I was just trying to help, but decided if my non-professional help wasn't good enough, I'll just conform and ride with the group.   In my mind, however, I'm thinking professional what? 

After a few more miles of riding and being somewhere past 40, we arrived at a SAG station where EVERYONE stopped, including the "professional."  I slowed only to see if anyone else was going to keep going, and after realizing no one was put my head down and went into TT mode.  I still had 1 1/4 fluids, so there was really no reason for me to stop yet. 

Now there were some guys I knew that were still ahead of me from earlier on, including a few Descenders, but one guy in a Jetta kept driving by me thinking I was at the front.  In a way, it felt like it but that was just because the guys who were ahead of me had a pretty good gap and I ended up gapping the guys who stopped at the SAG pretty good. 

I was riding alone all the way to Coast Hwy and ended up passing regular riders on that road hoping that someone would want to work with me, but that didn't happen.  I got on La Costa and ended up hitting a light for the bridge to go over the 5 freeway.  I kept looking back beforehand and didn't see anyone at all, so when the light turned green, I decided to relieve myself of some methane only to look back and realize that someone was right behind me when I did.  It was hilarious!  Now he wasn't a part of the ride, but he did ride my draft for a while.  When we passed a Descender fixing a flat (I offered to help to which he declined...they must be experts on it given they have so many...lol), my passenger had dropped.  Of course, my immediate thought when I noticed was did he get tired or did the methane toxicity kick in?

I kept on riding on my own but hoped that the one Descender I passed would catch me at a light where we could work together.   That never happened, but I did see another Descender (Dave) after a while and reeled him in.  Once I passed, he did take my wheel and then took a pull subsequently as well until we hit a light...a nice exchange for about a mile.  He was saying he was tired and was just struggling to make it back home where he was saying I'd probably drop him on the hill.  I told him I didn't think I would, but once we turned left and as the road pitched up, he was right. 

From this point on, it was just me for the rest of the ride.  It was getting mad hot as I was going further inland, and I was finally low on fluids just to stay hydrated.  I made it to the 80 mile SAG though with no problems (i.e. cramps, dry mouth, etc.).  There wasn't really anyone there, so I asked if there were plenty ahead of me and the lady said there was only one who came in before me.  Cool.  After filling up 1 water bottle, I was gone. 

Now I did start seeing other cyclists as I made my way back, but they were all from the 60 mile route.  One guy had even stopped and asked me at a light if "we" were at the 50 mile mark.  I told him I was doing the century, so I was more like at 90.   Curiously, he didn't say anything after. 

Not even the 60 milers wanted to work with me, but it was fun just reeling them in one by one.  It was MAD hot when we got to Poway (around 96 degrees), so I was going through that water bottle pretty quick.  I didn't really slow down though and eventually made my way back to the finish. 

Although my Garmin failed on Coast Hwy (it was displaying the diagnostic screen), I think it did capture my total elapsed time for the ride 5 hrs 23 minutes.  Based on that, I think my actual average for the ride was around 20.1 to 20.2 based on a comparison for someone who had 5 hrs 26 min elapsed time.  It's not a scientific calculation, but good enough.  It was also 20 minutes less than last year's elapsed time.  Not too shabby.

In customary fashion, I did have a Peroni after the ride and got my free beer (Stone Pale Ale) from the event.  While it's more fun to drink with someone after, drinking alone was still fun.  Cheers!

Shannon's Mt. Whitney Ride Report

White Mtn, ugh, in the bag!

http://app.strava.com/activities/23636429  (Garmin date issue, rode it 9/29)

We were on the trail at 4:30, with a bit of lighting.  The day before we dropped 3 SAGs across the mountain so were rolling pretty light and fast.

The first up is 6k of climbing, about half of it unrideable.  We finished that a little before 9.

Once we had regrouped, we knew we had to really get moving, we were way behind schedule.  The next section had some climbing, but was mainly just wide open fireroad, so I started going about as fast as I figured I could maintain.

A little before noon I regrouped again with Danno (our other member Marcus had turned back).  It was clear to me that he, Danno, wasn't feeling well, having eaten about 1/10 the calories he needed.  But, we kept pressing on and made it to our 3rd SAG without issue.  We watered up and headed for Barcroft, which is at 12.5k.

I kept the pace up, figuring Danno would be pushing hard and fast if he could, and if he couldn't (stomach issues) there wasn't anything I could do.  We lost contact soon after.  I last saw him at 13.2k.

White Mtn is immensely vast, and there is no way to describe how daunting it is.  I looked across at it from 6 or so miles out and felt like it was on a different planet.  Plus, I was walking, barely, due to the air being so thin, and due to the steeps.

Across one hill, then some rolling stuff, then dropped a long chunky section (pretty much a worthless down, since I still had 1k of climbing to go).

Finally I was to the switchbacks: (attached, the shack is a dot at the top).

It took well over an hour to crawl my way up them.  I stumbled around at the top, very light headed, tried to get on the roof of the shack up there, but thought better.  Fell asleep, it got past 3pm (our turnaround time), so had some caffeine and headed out.

After the second switch back, or so, slashed my rear tire bad enough the Stans wouldn't seal it, tried CO2, no luck.  Had to tube it.  At this point I was in a very chunky section and had a long way to go, White Mtn is deserted, and the guys were way way off. 

With no pump, half a CO2, and a ripped tire I had to ride as gingerly as I could.  At our 2nd SAG there was another tube, once I got that I went as fast as I could for the next ten miles and found Danno at the top of the final drop, Silver Cyn.

We ripped that off as fast as we could until the brakes overheated and then had to back off a bit.  It was getting dark though so we kept on at a good clip, blasting through water crossings.

Once we were a little ways away from the mountain the moon was on us, we could see our shadows and the white of the road, and that was it, done.

Morning Trainer with Galen - Standard Loop with Shortcut due to Flat

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/23298129

Anyone want to get a hold of me by phone, please see Galen as he definitely had my number today.  He was saying early on in the ride he wasn't feeling it, so I did throw caution to the wind and pushed up front more often than I would before the 133.   I know how hard he pushes up that damn hill, but I took the bait anyway just for the sake of good training.  My word to the naive and mortal...don't do it.  A select few in our group can get away with it, but I did say "mortal," didn't I?

Our time going up Anteater and Shady were nothing to brag about, but that is probably more reason to expect that Galen is going to punish you.  I was up front on the way to Laguna Canyon, but he took the front just before we got on it and already started to make that section hurt.  I wasn't about to take the front anytime after that, but it didn't matter.  Once we got on the 133, I stayed on his wheel for about a little halfway up, but then he just started to kill it.  Watching him pull away was quite impressive (and humbling), but it was one of those things where you can see it happening but you just can't do anything about it.  He did get his PR going up that hill, so lesson for today would be to tire him out just a little more before going up that hill.  He LOVES that hill.

Over the crest, I was thinking I was riding on my own since he gapped me pretty good, but he did ended up turning out to wait for me, but I didn't realize it until after I passed him.  Slowing down to wait for him, he rolls up and immediately takes the front and off we went.  I was barely hanging on, but I did manage to push up front just after the 73.  He took over after a while, and again I was just hanging on for my life.  I did manage to finally pass closer to the bottom just before the kicker hill that leads to PCH, but he did resume pulling once we were on PCH.

I was really feeling worked as we went through Laguna Beach, but I hung on and even took a pull for a bit.  Once we started climbing before the drop by the beach though, Galen got up front and I was just doing all I could to stay on.  When we did start to descend, he started to pull away from me a bit, but my bike felt like it was vibrating more than usual.  As he pulled away on the climb after, I stopped at the bottom to find that I had gotten a flat on my rear tire.  Now some may sigh after getting a flat on a ride, but inside I was jumping with joy.  I figured Galen was gone and I can ride a normal pace after fixing my tire and not feel so close to death.  Lo and behold, Galen had realized I was off the back and came back to help fix my flat.  Damn!  HAHA.  Actually, it worked out well because my first attempt to fix it failed so I needed to use his spare and CO2 dispenser (mine broke!!!) to get it done.

Due to the delay, we opted to cut the ride short and take McArthur back vs. NPC or Back Bay.   I was still taking turns despite just feeling beaten up, but once we got to the top of McArthur just before the San Joaquin intersection, Galen asked me if I was ready to have some fun.  "Fun" he says.  His version of fun was dropping me like a bad habit there as well.  Nice work!

The rest of the ride was uneventful, but nonstop work nonetheless.  Not as long as usual, but intensity once again made up for distance today.  Now I'm actually contemplating skipping any training at lunch and calling my wife to take me out.  It's definitely how I felt right after the ride, but that tide may slowly be shifting back. I have yet to call her.

Thanks for the training, Galen.  Amazing power out there, bud!

Lunch Ride - Turtle Rock Ring Loop

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/23132513

So I go into the shower after the ride and upon entering felt like I needed to burp...nope, burps aren't solid.  Nothing like swallowing vomit before going back to the office.  This pretty much sums up today's ride for me.

Today's group consisted of Todd, Galen, Jeremy, Vince, Vin, Hiroshi and Jaffe.  While we stayed together for the most part up through Anteater to Bonita Canyon, the pace got hot going up the first Shady rise with Galen, Todd, Jeremy and Vince up front.  When it started to string out behind them, I had to work just to be able to keep the 4 guys just ahead of me but outside of a draft.  I was hoping Vin, Jaffe or Hiroshi would come around but looking back, they had dropped off on the rise and was never to be seen again for the rest of the ride.

On Turtle Rock, I was still not willing to rotate up just because I actually was afraid I would cause anyone behind me to be split off from the rest.  I let Jeremy rotate in front of me only to hear him sound like a disgruntled postal worker for me not willing to help.  These guys were pushing a good pace though without me, and it wasn't like I was on someone's wheel the whole time.  I'd drop a little and have to work every so often just to close the gap.  It wasn't until we started climbing on the other side that I was able to latch back on.  Going up, the 5 of us pretty much stayed together all the way to Ridgeline with maybe a couple individual efforts for a last second charge beforehand.  When a person across from us was suppose to turn left but just sat there...and sat there...and sat there, I decided to push ahead past the stop sign ahead of the guys but not for very long.  Galen came by, smiling as he usually does, and the rest of them passed me as well.

Going up the bike path on Shady, I was a little off the back as we were navigating through the sidewalk to the actual bike trail.  I tried to catch up here and there, but the 4 guys had gotten too far ahead where all I could do was watch as they stayed together while I rode alone (insert crying sounds here).  By the time I crested Shady, I could see that they were already at the bottom working their way through the other bike trails, so I was definitely on my own for the 405 section. I did peek back just in case the other guys were catching up, but I couldn't see anyone so it was just me.  The 405 trail was windy, but I managed a decent pace as I worked my way toward Ridgeline where I would run into the 4 guys who were caught at the light.

Going up Ridgeline, I was riding with the guys for a little bit, but Todd and Galen had broken away a bit and Jeremy was just behind them.  Vince was ahead of me, and I just couldn't reel him in and could only watch as he rounded to Turtle Rock ahead of me where I knew catching him on the downhill would be impossible.  I kept sight of him though for the whole way down, and fortunately again, was able to catch the 4 guys at the light to turn left onto Culver.

Going up Culver, Galen took the lead and that pretty much caused me to be off the back again with Vince just behind me.  As we climbed, a black Suburban nearly grazed every single one of us as we climbed up the hill (a hole in one minus "in one").  I was lucky to catch them on the first light, but then Todd took over and split me off again.  They got caught at the light at Shady/Anteater where Vince and I were able to roll up on them again.  Crossing onto Shady from Anteater, who do we see but Mike Z. back in action representing the BRCM white jersey.  Woo hoo!

As we proceeded to Bonita Canyon, I think I did take my one pull to relieve Todd at one point where I felt like the pace could go up a little bit.  I was relieved by Vince after and then we all made our way to the light on McArthur where we got caught along with another cyclist who looked like he was going straight.  Once the light turned green though, he decided to cut across and make a left turn at the light.   We do tend to have that effect on people.

Going on Ford, the pace was definitely a little hotter than what I like before going up the condo...but I followed.  The turn onto the condo pretty much sucked given that the cars crossing Ford/Eastbluff on Jamboree had just gotten the green making for a timid turn onto Jamboree for all of us.  Todd and Vince started charging up the hill while Galen and Jeremy stayed together, so I decided to do what I can to accommodate Todd/Vince in my home.  I was making ground on the two and was hoping to pass before we got to Bison, but they were able to stay just ahead of me.  Strava showed their pace as 20.4 compared to my 20.8.  I tried.

On Bison, everyone was taking off after the Condo, so I was glad that we all got caught at the light on McArthur.  I would have ridden the rest back by myself again.  HA HA. I had a little sprint in me at the end, and so when I decided to make my move past the others, I set it up just enough to get by Todd, Jeremy and Galen right after the last light over the 73.  Lo and behold, Vince had some game as well and went zooming by to my left catching me totally offguard and as he would call it "making me his son."  Nice.  We did give Todd props for the leadout though...he gets angry otherwise.

Tough ride today, and I can't make excuses since Irish people tend to object when I do.  HA HA. I will say I did set all sorts of PRs today...for my run this morning that is.  :)   Thanks for making me vomit, gents!  Now that's good training!

Morning Ride with Galen - Shady 133 BB Loop

Strava - http://app.strava.com/rides/22683725 (Galen's since my refurbed 500 won't connect to computer now)

Before I talk about the ride, have you ever noticed that the functionality, or lack thereof, of your Garmin can absolutely have an effect on how good or bad your day is going?  This last 500 they sent me is just absolutely horrible.  It may be time to consider other options, but must we only be limited to Garmin as the means to track GPS data (aside from our phones)?

Anyway, it was just Galen and I today and this is possibly due to some big training sessions planned for this weekend.  I know Todd's doing Baldy and I believe I heard Shannon talk about plans to do the sisters with his mountain bike buds.  With Galen having missed two ride plans yesterday though, it would prove to be painful enough to go out with him alone.

Rather than starting off fast though, we actually help a respectable warm-up pace up through Anteater.  When we crossed Bonita Canyon, we still didn't pick it up too much, but when Galen did, I just hung back and held on.  It took cresting before I was able to get up front and start to offer pulls.  I even started us off on the bike trail for a bit, but Galen finished us off where it was already starting to get painful trying to keep up.

We hit Quail hill with him up front, but I did take a pull as we were climbing up the last part of the hill.  After he passed, I thought the best thing to do here is just tire him out a little or 133 will be absolutely nutty.  He was down with it, and my plan worked...barely.  Galen still blazed up the 133 climb, but it was a bear just to stay on his wheel the whole time.  I didn't take the front until after we got past the last crest (I think) and even then, it took a while to get past the guy.

We took turns going down the hill (him probably more than me), but I did what I could when I could.  I remember being on the tallest gear at one point thinking I hope I can keep this up, and fortunately today, I did.  When we hit the little sprinter hill at the bottom that leads to PCH, he had been pulling us at a mad pace for a bit, so that allowed me to get a little jump where I could rest until he could latch on.  When he approached, however, he just past me and took the lead instead.  Gotta love that.

We kept the pace up taking turns through the rollers and staying together the whole time.  He gave me kudos for the climb just before the school at El Moro where I led, but little did he know I was cooked after.  HA HA.

We continued to alternate and had opted to go to Back Bay vs. NPC.  My thoughts on it are that riding with Galen to BB keeps the intensity that much higher given his pulling power, whereas NPC would be more individual based dependent on how each of us wanted to go up the hill.  Plus, I was already in the red just working to keep up with him on the 133 descent that I thought it was the only way we could both continue to push each other.

While we rotated heading to CDM, Galen decided going through downtown CDM would be better if we matched the pace of the cars.  It seemed safer in that regard, but man oh man I was getting turned inside out just trying to keep him within reach.  We slowed a little for McArthur and the following light, but he kicked it back up after and was just lighting it up on PCH.  Had we not caught the light before Jamboree, I'm sure records may have been broken for that stretch.

I opted to take the front after the light and with Galen pushing and cheering me on, we were climbing and going toward Jamboree at around 29-31 mph.  Would I have enough for Back Bay though?  Fortunately, we got to rest at the light to cross over to BB drive, so when we took off, I was ready...mostly.

Back Bay was fast, but I think we were both feeling it from the earlier parts of the ride where the average was not record setting.  When we got to the end, Galen had just taken a final pull so I was able to make it up  to the top ahead of him.  However, he was behind me in no time as we headed toward Jamboree and ultimately toward California Ave.  Once we got past the bridge, Galen took over and he was just moving.  All I could do was just hang on at that point as he pulled us all the way to the base of California.  Super pull!

Going up California, I led us up since Galen did so much work earlier in the ride.  It wasn't fast or anything, but it was a decent pace while Galen got to spin it out behind me.  Overall, it was a great training ride.  It would have been more fun with other people as well, but I'm just glad I finished it.  Thanks, Galen!

Lunch Ride - What We Lack in Miles, We Make Up for In Intensity

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/22618413

Attendees:  Shannon, Vince, Todd, Jeremy, Vin, Jaffe and me

As the title states, we didn't do our typical ~20 mile distance during the ride, and it definitely wasn't because there was a ton of elevation gain, but nevertheless, the intensity was still there.  Although Galen didn't make it out having sent out an e-mail indicating he couldn't make it (to which everyone breathed a sigh of relief), the pain was definitely still there.  In fact, it may even be due to his absence given that more people had to work that made it so painful.  It's a toss up really...it hurts both ways...especially when Shannon, Todd, Vince, Jeremy and others are out for punishment.

Weather-wise, it was fairly warm in the beginning, but once we headed toward the coast, the weather did cool down a little making it more tolerable.  That didn't keep me from sweating a bunch, but then again, nothing does.

In typical fashion, the pace was fast heading out through Anteater all the way to Bonita Canyon.  Gaps form even that early, so you just have to go with the flow I guess.  Despite this, everyone was still together by the time we started up NPC.

I was still "warming up" at that point, but my goal was just to let Shannon set my pace.  Jeremy and Todd had their own intentions, with Jeremy breaking away early on.  Shannon did pull me past others as we made our way up, but his pace got too hot for me where I opted out before we got to the light before the 73 underpass.  I saw him make his way to Todd where the two of them chased Jeremy down.  Jeremy had indicated that his Garmin was not started, so there was no point in trying to keep the pace up and stay ahead of Todd and Shannon.  Not sure why he didn't jump on with them though (wink wink).  I did make my way closer to Jeremy by the top, and Vince and Vin also caught us at San Joaquin.  We caught Shannon and Todd and the subsequent light.

In order to follow rule #5, I did opt to start helping with the rotations after that light and would do my fair share of pulls.  Hopefully, the others agree, but I wouldn't hold my breath.  On Pelican, I did pull up to the front as we started to near the crest for the first downhill.  Then, everyone was swarming as we headed down to the bottom for the climb up the other side.  We all pretty much stayed together climbing up and then making our way down the other side.  Vin was even leading at one point.  Wha?  J/K.

As we rounded PCH from NPC, Todd and Vince were looking like they were going for a little breakaway and had a fairly good gap on the rest of us.  We were, however, able to close that gap and make it to CDM pretty  much together (despite the cluster that downtown CDM traffic has to offer).

Going through the Ocean way was rather uneventful, so let's put you back in the action by talking about getting back on PCH from Avocado.  The pace was pretty amped as we headed toward Jamboree, and after being caught a light, was even more so right after.  I think Shannon was up front doing what he does...causing pain.

When we got to Back Bay, it was definitely nutty.  Jeremy led us off and everyone took their turn to keep the pace up...way up.  It was no surprise to me that Todd was able to move up on the Strava ladder to 4th based on today's pace.  Being that segment leader (ahem), it was my 3rd best time.  Considering that it didn't feel like we had any type of massive tailwind or anything to achieve this, pretty damn fast if you ask me.

It was a little race to the top between Jeremy, Todd and I, and after that run, that was no small feat.  I think Jeremy may have nosed me out but I was on the inside closest to the sidewalk, so I got on it first.  I was in recovery mode at that point and tried to keep the pace up, but Todd jumped ahead and started cranking once again.  I was on his wheel as we made the left onto Jamboree, but got a little snapped off after going under the Jamboree underpass.  Jeremy came around from behind me at that point and started to close on Todd and eventually took the front.   Todd was rotating off the front, and I was still not close enough where I called out to let him know to jump in behind Jeremy.  They were moving, so I had to dig deep just to be able to make my way up to Todd's wheel again.  When Todd started to pass Jeremy, all I could do was hang on until we got to California.  At the light, there was a lady who was on a bike that had arrived there before us, and it was a little embarrassing to look like I was having an asthma attack right in front of her.  Thanks, guys.

When the light turned green, Todd and Jeremy took off and I wasn't even sure I'd be able to hang on at that point given the madness on BB.  I'm still not sure how Todd described that section in an e-mail as the "easy part."  Anyway, the two got caught at the first light and this was just enough for me to be able to recover more.  When it turned green, Todd took off with Jeremy in tow, but I had latched on along with Vin behind me.

Todd had a good pace climbing California, so we all sat comfortably in his draft as he towed us up the hill.  In typical BAM fashion though, I decided to amp it up a notched at the last little climb to see if anyone would follow.  Kinda cheesy, but we do what we do during these lunch rides, am I right fellas?  Fellas?  Hello?

Definitely another intense ride today.   Thanks for coming out, gents!

BRCM Lunch - Starcrest Shady Summit Condo Loop (loaded!)

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/22417806

Attendees:  Shannon, Galen, Vince, Todd, Adrian, Jeremy, Vin, Hiroshi and me

In the locker room, I had indicated I was running later and hiding in the back for the ride.  Shannon expressed his disappointment with me...again.  Sorry, big guy!

Got new shoes and cleats where my left foot had my toe in too much during the ride.  Not really relevant, but I'm writing the blog so....

Jeremy led us out pretty much all the way out to Bonita Canyon/Campus.   Damn, kid, that was NOT a warm-up pace.  Todd, being the gracious man that he is, did thank him for the tow.

On Culver, the pace was pretty fast where I was already off the back early on.  Vince went by and closed the gap that was created and we both just hung out in back while we watched Galen and Adrian go for that segment.   Way too windy though.  In fact, it was pretty windy throughout.

We all were together again as we made our way onto Campus and up Turtle Rock.  Okay, so most of us were together, but Todd broke away early and pretty much stayed ahead all the way to the top of Starcrest.
I started to make my way up Starcrest and was just behind Galen and Jeremy when Shannon passed us all.  I was trying to downshift to spin up, and failed after a few attempts, but got on it just after I stood back up again.  This helped me get by Jeremy, who hates this hill, and come up with Galen to the regroup point at the top.  Jeremy, Vin, Hiroshi and Adrian made their way up and we were all off and together again.

Going down Ridgeline, I was able to get some momentum just after the Turtle Rock stop sign and was able to make my way just behind Galen.  I tried to pass at one point, but this guy isn't easy to pass, so I fell back in line behind him.  Adrian, with his standard crank, started to jam past us, but Galen was able to reel him back in just before we got to the light at the bottom.

We got on the bike path and already the pace started to pick up right away.  I was toward the back again and I felt like I was just always struggling to close on the guy in front of me.  Vince had even come around at one point, but even staying on his wheel was a chore.  I think I did start to drop at one point and hoped that Adrian, who was behind me, would help close that gap.  When Adrian passed me, I was like "Yes!"  Then without any notification, he slowed down taking me with him off of their wheel.  Thanks?

Vince was conserving his power, and rightfully so in this group especially after having to pass me and close the gap that I left, so he was having other people rotate in front of him.  When he tried to let Jeremy rotate after taking his pull in front of him, the pace picked up just at that time, and Jeremy pulled a Roberto Duran and proclaimed "no mas."  Vince was able to respond just in time and get back on the pain train.

Now I know I wasn't going to catch the pain train, so I was fine just trying to manage my pace.  Jeremy was a bit behind me, but he made his way back up to me as we were getting ready to go up Shady.  He did pass me, but I jumped on and then worked my way beside him as we climbed.  I was certain he'd pull ahead again, but then I started to pass and pull away.  Wha?  I thought he was on my wheel, but when I looked back, he wasn't.

I thought he was closing in at one point on the descent, but once I got back on the road, I didn't see him until I got to the light at Bonita Canyon.  I saw the other guys make the left turn in front of me, but got caught on the red light.  There, Jeremy caught me and he did not look too happy. I think I tried talking to him a little bit, but he seemed more interested in catching the other guys at the time.

When we took off, I knew he had some pent up energy so I rode behind him at first on Bonita Canyon.  However, as we climbed up Turtle Ridge, I led us up to Summit where I know he likes that hill.  Given his youthful enthusiasm, I thought a good goal would just be to set the pace up the hill.  Another good goal was to pass at the last section as deemed protocol for BRCM lunch rides.  Check and check.  Thanks again, Jer!

We regrouped some at the top of Summit as planned, and more so by the time we got on Bonita Canyon, even bringing Hiroshi and Vin back into the bunch.  Then we were off again.  I was a little more willing to take pulls at this point, so I did.  I even got some instant kudos from Galen at one point when I jumped back up in front of Todd on the 2nd to the last climb before McArthur.  That got the group riled up though, and everyone went whizzing by after.   Thank the Lord the light was red at that point.

Once we took off from the light, the group kept a fairly mellow pace in anticipation of the condo climb.  After hitting the light up top, Vince decided to be the first to bring the pace up and broke away for a bit with others giving chase.  I rounded the turn just behind Vin, so it was perfect for me given I had plenty of targets to aim for.  After all, it is still my condo, right?

Being in the right gear and having saved just enough, I found a rhythm that allowed me to close in and pass the group that was climbing together at a pretty good clip.  I was feeling good but Galen was a pretty good distance away from me.  He crested ahead of me, but I had momentum where I was able to pass him just before Bison.  That just goes to show that anyone can live in my condo, but in the end, I can still clean the house.  HA HA.  I'm sure I'll pay for saying that.

I think the guys were setting up a sprint to California on Bison, but I just wanted to make it back at that point after the Condo run.  Not sure who took it, but it looked like Adrian, Vin and Galen were giving that last section a go.  I was too far back to see.

Good training today, gents!  Thanks!

BRCM Morning Trainer - Hot Potato Ride

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/21925746

Attendees:  Galen and Shannon

I think the title of this blog is fitting given the objective for this morning's trainer (at least that's what I indicated the night before) was for Galen to drop me (playing spud boy wheelsucker).  If I was able to stay on for the length of the ride, I'd try to do the same as we go up California.  Of course, once I found out Jeremy, Vince and Shannon were coming out, I had second thoughts (i.e. doubt), but I thought I'd change up our training a little to keep it interesting.  We have had rides where we chase the rabbit, so this was something new and different to try.  Unfortunately (fortunately for me), Vince didn't make it out, and Jeremy opted to rest to ride tomorrow instead (getting a #5 reference from Galen as a result...haha).  That still left me having to keep up with Galen and Shannon, so this was definitely going to not be a small feat.

The weather was pretty cool starting off and remained rather pleasant throughout, but there was one pocket of warm air we hit on Shady that instantly fogged up my glasses.  Either that or Galen or Shannon squeezed out a warm one.

Now starting off, I like to warm up, but I think the two guys knew this and seemed to immediately amp up the pace early on.  However, it was one of those days where miraculously, I didn't seem to have too much trouble getting oxygen in, but I wouldn't let the two guys know or they may actually force me to work and bypass what I originally set as the objective.  What fun would that be?

Both guys seemed to be crushing it all the way up through Shady and over to Laguna Canyon.  I stayed low and hung on letting them rotate in front of me always trying to stay prepared for a coordinated attack.  They could both work together to do so, or one can conspire to help the other break away.  In any case, I was going to be ready.

Once on the 133, Galen launched an assault on the climb and started to gap the both of us where in my mind, I had to respond or be dropped.  I started to pass Shannon, who I called out to latch on, and then started making my way off the seat to Galen who was just throwing down some power.  As I started making my way toward him, he looked back and seemed to have decided to wait.  Cool for me.

After regrouping past the crest and heading down the other side, I decided I would take some chances and take some pulls here and there but not so often or so long where I wouldn't be able to respond to their combined coordinated power.  If you think this was a rule #5 violation, you try riding with these guys.  HA.

On the bottom of the 133 on the little sprinter hill that leads to PCH, Galen decided to sprint from the bottom.  Having saved it, I responded with a sprint of my own and somewhat caught him off guard as I made my way past him before the 2nd stop sign.  Of course, doing so blew me the hell up but I wasn't about to lead on that it was a good time to attack.  Instead, I just latched back on once both guys passed me and rode it out behind them through most of the rollers as we made our way toward NPC.  After we had passed one guy on a TT bike, I thought I could help out and keep the gap away from him and pushed the pace from the front a little as we were climbing the last hill before NPC.

I also ended up taking the first pull after the light on NPC as a token of sportsmanship (haha) but the boys took over through CDM and most of the way after McArthur.  I did take the last pull that led us to Jamboree, but wondered if that was a mistake as we headed over to Back Bay.  Fortunately, we caught a light on the left turn to Back Bay drive and this allowed me some time to recover.

Back Bay was as you would expect...nutty.  I did get in the rotation more and took some pulls trying to keep our pace up along with the others since I figured I've saved enough where I thought it would be more difficult to drop me through here.  However, everytime they passed me, I felt like I had to sprint just to latch back on.  I was getting scared.

When we reached the end of Back Bay though, I was able to push up to the front on the final hill just before jumping onto the sidewalk.  I stayed up front for a while, but as we made the left at the corner of Jamboree, I was spooked by a rider that was coming from the opposite direction and was relegated to the back.  Shannon took the front and led us to the bridge, and Galen decided to open it up there and blaze the path to California.  I just ducked in real low and sat behind him holding on, but near the end, I rolled by and told him how impressive that pull was.

Now once the light turned green to cross and head up California, I'm not sure if the guys remembered the premise I set earlier, but I didn't take any chances.  I just stood up and took off up the hill and regularly peaking over my shoulder to make sure they weren't coming after me.  Neither had latched on, so maybe they just didn't know.  Either that or they just didn't care.  HA HA.  In any case, I was totally worked by the time I got to the light on Bison.

We'll have to try this out again with more people next time.  I say this now because it's fun to stay in the back for a good portion of the ride.  Maybe the next time, I won't even have to pull.  Oh yeah.  The only thing is we definitely had enough to be able to beat our last time out on this route, but with me not contributing as much, it didn't work out to where we beat our last time.  I'm sure this will not be the case in our next outing.

Lunch Ride - San Miguel Spyglass San Joaq NPC Pelican PCH CDM BB Loop

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/21651345

Attendees:  Jeremy, Shannon, Vince, Todd, Galen, Adrian, Vin, Jaffe, Paul B., and Hiroshi

Highlights:

• Jeremy called out for a big group today and the BAMMERs responded.  Not always a good thing.
• It was a wet ride today starting with a little drizzle from the beginning and turning into a wet drizzly mess up NPC.  We were fortunate to not have any incidents given the slick grounds.
• I know we ALL train a lot, but I opted to sit in back for the ride since I didn't want to get worked with all the firepower we had on today's ride.  
• We actually stayed together for the most part all the way to San Miguel, but Vince, Todd and Jeremy rushed up Spyglass like there was a party up top.  Shannon and Galen were close behind.  I was behind them but everyone was just behind me it seemed. 
• We all got on San Joaquin together, and although it was a little strung out, the group was still fairly close together. 
• We regrouped on NPC after Todd and Galen did their little extra credit and it was down Pelican.  
• Adrian took off on Pelican, and Galen gave chase, while the rest of us tried to set up the hill at the bottom.  I got by Galen and Jeremy rolled past me near the top just as we were coming up on Adrian but stopped at the light.
• Despite the wet grounds, we all pretty much handled it very well and still made the turn onto NPC and subsequently PCH at a good speed even with wet tires.
• Galen and Shannon, the two worst people you want to try and chase down, broke away together, so I thought I'd go ahead and work to try and reel them in.  I was doing okay and was still willing to try, but I heard Todd and/or Adrian saying something behind me where I wasn't sure what it was.  I decided to give up the chase and slow only to have Todd go zooming by still trying to chase the two guys down.  It turns out Todd was telling Adrian to relieve me, but he couldn't.  HA HA.
• We regrouped once again on Poppy and made it through CDM together.  I had a feeling though that getting back on PCH was going to be nutty...and it was.
• The pace picked up really fast as expected, and all I could do was tuck down and jump on Jeremy's rear wheel.  
• We did get stopped at one of the lights, but the guys got nutty again right after.  I believe Shannon and/or Galen were up there trying to make everyone hurt.   I did have visions of grandeur with thoughts of coming around and passing before we hit Jamboree, but that would have been cycling suicide.
• When we made our way to Back Bay drive, we got a little separated due to the light situation, where we were all planning to wait to regroup.  Vince and Adrian had another idea, so they took off together while we rolled to see if Galen would roll up on us.  When we hit the gates, however, it was full speed ahead with 2 rabbits to chase.
• Jeremy, Shannon, Todd and I were rotating and keeping the pace up trying to chase Vince and Adrian down, and it took about 2/3 of the way for us to do so.  Adrian was the first one to be passed with Todd calling out BAM! as we passed.  
• Vince had a little more game and tried to sprint away as we started to gain on him, but there was just too many of us and we had momentum.  
• Todd and Jeremy got to the top of Back Bay first and got across the street ahead of Shannon and I, but that probably wouldn't have made a difference (for me anyway) on Jamboree.  I was cooked.
• When Shannon and I got near the top, Galen had made his way up to us and made the left turn light with Todd and Jeremy.  I'm sure he was just trying to avoid a final sprint to California with me.  Yeah, that's it. 
• Vince, Adrian, Hiroshi (who did great considering he was on his TT bike), Vin and Shannon crossed Jamboree with me as we made our way down to McArthur.  
• Vin and Hiroshi broke away early on, but I was watching Adrian to see what he was going to do sprint-wise.  After I saw that we were going to make the green on the 2nd light, I started to pick it up only to make my way onto Adrian's wheel as we chased Hiroshi and Vin down.  Hiroshi, we got, but Vin kept ahead of us and I was never able to pass Adrian before California.  Next time.  HA HA

It was nice to see such a good turnout today, and it was even nicer that we rode more as a group than usual. Hopefully, both will persist.  Thanks, gents!

Humbling Sunday Hill Trainer

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/21456096

Attendees:  Shannon, Galen and Jeremy

I think my endurance has been coming again, which is nice to see, but today was to test and see how well that translates to climbing hills.  With Shannon, Galen and Jeremy coming out, I knew I was going to have to work.  I know in the tempo zone, I can ride at a great pace and hold it, but today these guys definitely tested how I'd do in the threshold and anaerobic zones.  As expected, I still have a long way to go.

It was a fairly mild morning temperature-wise, but I think when we got to Barranca, I could already feel the heat.  Wind-wise wasn't too bad, so I won't complain about that too much today, but the heat....  I'm surprised, however, that by the end of the ride, I didn't experience any cramps despite the exorbitant amount of sweat that trailed behind me.

While they said they were going to take it easy in the beginning, that never is what I understand it to be.   All three of them were working here and there, and I'm thinking "doesn't anyone want to save it for the climbs?"  Galen mentioned that we should, but getting behind him when he pulled was so contradictory to this.  HA HA.  Now I would have loved to stay in the back the whole time, but I did start taking some turns (not a lot but with some decent effort) on our way out to Bake.

When we started climbing up Bake, Galen led most of the way up and that was pretty rough.  He started to gap at some points, but I was able to close (or he let me) as needed.  Jeremy had led up originally, but went to the back eventually.

When we started climbing up Glenn Ranch, we pretty  much stayed together, but once we got on Saddleback, Jeremy decided it was time to launch an attack.  Shannon responded (i.e. the giant was awakened) and he went blasting up the hill like a mad man.  Galen had stayed a little ahead of me and kept a pace that didn't let me fall behind too much.  Thanks!

Going up the hill after Cooks, I was still feeling the climb, but I managed to stay with the others for the most part until we hit Modjeska.  At the base, the guys took off and I just couldn't hold their pace.  The last time I climbed up that hill, I had a little trouble so all I wanted to do was make it.  Sad.  By the time I got to the top, the other guys had already gotten off their bikes to take a BIO break and/or wait for me.  However, as I crested, I was in no mood to stop and didn't want to be the one to slow the guys down...so I kept going.

It's nice to play rabbit, but I knew it would just be a matter of time before they caught me.  They did roll up on me a little bit before we got to Silverado, so I jumped on once they passed and was set to just try and hang on for the whole climb up.

Shannon and Galen were trading long pulls while I just stayed with them as best as I can.  I wasn't doing too bad, but when I looked down and saw that my HR had been pegged for a while, I finally decided to drop off.  Jeremy had joined the two, and although I had fallen off still kept them pretty  much in my sight.  There was a team training up the hill as well, and a few guys passed me and made their way up toward the other guys.  Once a girl from the team passed, though, I had to draw the line and jumped on and passed here before the end.  HA HA.

When I got to the top, the guys were again off their bike and while I stopped for a little bit, I opted to start ahead of them.  Shannon was talking about getting water at the bottom, but as I still had about a bottle and a half left, I was just going to keep going until they caught me again.

I made it all the way down to Santiago Canyon on my own, but would look behind on occasion just to see if they were coming.  When I saw they weren't, I continued and decided to pick off riders that appear to have fallen off from the Como Street ride.  I was hoping someone would jump on and work with me to keep ahead, but no luck.

When I got to the top of Dump, I saw some Sho-Air people pulling back onto the road from the top and I thought I'd have a little fun.  I chased them down and slowly but surely made my way to the front where they latched on all the way to the Jamboree intersection.  They ended up turning right, however, but Jeremy and Galen rolled up on me at the light.  Shannon had slowed down some because of a cramp, but eventually regrouped at the gas station with us.  There, we also so Vin and some of his buddies where they, too, decided to go to the gas station.

Jeremy had decided he was going to ride with Vin and I thought I'd go ahead as well just so I can get back in time for my son's soccer game.  Shannon was refueling, and I thought Galen was going to ride with him originally, but Galen also ended up coming with us when we took off.  Shannon did say he was going to find some others to work with from Como as he made his way back to Broadcom, but after I left felt bad and should have just stayed.  The guy waits for me ALL the time.  Never again.  Sorry, buddy!

Taking off from the gas station, Jeremy and Galen were moving already and I think already dropped Vin and his friends just going up the driveway back onto Jamboree.  I stayed with them and decided I'd do more work here just to burn off all the food I ate from the night before.  Jeremy had dropped off since he was planning to still do some sister and do a hundred miles for the day (insanity), so Galen and I were alone.  As I was feeling good, Galen let me work and had me lead until I needed him.  He did relieve me a couple times, the 2nd time being for a fair distance, but for the most part I had fun going back into a tempo pace.

Overall, the ride was nutty for me, but what else can I expect when I hang around with nutty guys?  I think I'll hang around the donut shops or senior citizen centers so I can recruit new people to ride with.  Otherwise, I think my heart will start to leave an imprint on my chest from beating so damn hard.  167 bpm average HR?  Really?!?  smh

Thanks for the training, gents!

BRCM Morning Trainer - Shady 133 PCH NPC Loop

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/21147733

Contemplated riding to work this morning, but since Vince solicited a morning ride with Galen and Jeremy going, I figured I may as well since there's nothing like being turned inside out to start my day.  Although Vince had selected a couple route options, one which included an out and back to Modjeska, we opted for the traditional Shady 133 PCH route but with an NPC finish vs. Back Bay.  Have I mentioned I hate NPC? Have I further mentioned I hate NPC while riding with the BRCM crew?

We all met up at 6:15 ready to go, but after inspecting Galen's rear tire, it was decided he should probably address a sidewall issue with a patch rather than take a chance on being unsafe.  While Jeremy helped him with this, Vince decided he wanted to "pull an Eddie" and get a head start with a more realistic warm-up.  It didn't take much convincing for me to do the same, and off we went together.  Vince and I kept a decent pace heading out to Bonita Canyon, and we thought we'd still have plenty of time to catch up.  However, as we were coming up on the Bonita Canyon intersection, Vince pointed out how the two were coming up behind us.  Of course, Jeremy wasn't too happy with the pace they had to use for starters, but I assured him it was good training.  HA HA

Now I was hoping to not have to work again until the dreaded 133 death zone, but I did a couple rotations after we crested Shady and through the Quail Hill area.  Vince was willing to do more work, but he and Jeremy also knew better where we all let Galen finish out Laguna Canyon and lead us up 133.  Jeremy did take the front early on the 133, but the Galen pain train was on shortly after and we all just tucked in and worked to stay on the guy's wheel for the rest of the hill.  23.7 mph average going up that thing is pretty crazy, don't you think?

Vince took the front and I, too, finally got back in the rotation and the 4 of us were just pushing the pace down the hill after.  Admittedly, I was struggling to stay on at the pace they were going and with all the surging taking place, so I may have skipped a pull just trying to not get dropped.  Vince took one mean pull but ended up paying for it after getting relieved from being up front and fell off a bit.   Honestly, I don't know how I stayed on especially after Galen really cranked it up a notch near the bottom.

When we regrouped on PCH, I decided it would not be a good strategic decision to keep rotating with the guys.   With NPC looming, humility was the best strategy here, so I was either behind Galen or Jeremy as we made our way through there.  Galen had started to break away at one point, but Vince stepped up and offered to close that gap.  You gotta love the guy for doing that despite the pending climb.

We all pretty much came up on NPC together, and Galen and Jeremy led the way early on.  I decided to get off the seat and climb which did eventually push me up front.  However, we hit the first Pelican light where I lost my cadence and decided to sit/spin from there.  I held the front and tried to just keep the pace steady for the climb up the hill.  I got some kudos from Galen for my pace, which was encouraging, but when he and Jeremy passed me, I wondered if I'd have enough left to stay with them.  Fortunately, I did, but there was definitely a lot of inner dialog going on with the conversation going like this:  Rest and drop off!  No, keep pedaling and man up!  No, your heart is going to stop!  Nuh-uh, I think I can even pass them again!  Oh, now you're just being dumb.

We regrouped at the top and got going to head down the other side.  Jeremy, the overachiever (oh to be young), needed to get more climbing in and opted for a Vista detour, so after passing that street it was just the 3 of us left.  Galen must have been feeling pretty good, as he was already turning the screw up even before we got past San Joaquin creating a little gap early on.  Fortunately, we were both able to roll up on him and start working the downhill.  The sucky part about going down this side at this time of the year is that it's almost guaranteed that we'll stop given that school is back in session.  Once we got past the lights, however, we picked it up and it was work just trying to keep up since these guys descend so fast.  Having a compact crank, despite Galen having the same, is not ideal for descending with these guys.

As we reached the bottom, Galen mentioned something about how we have 7 minutes to beat his PR for this route.  He started us out after the light, and I'm thinking okay maybe he'll be interested in beating his record so I'll just ride behind him and try to hang on.  When we went under the 73, I decided we can go a little faster and took the front and turned it up a notch.  I guess I did okay, since the guys let me stay up there all the way until we got around to Bison.   Galen passed me and led but I got up beside him just after the last light over the 73.  That's when he decided to drop the hammer.  I tried to react but ended up on a bigger gear where I thought I'd just try to muscle through it.  Bad idea as he started to pull past me and that's pretty much all I have to say about that...except for maybe "nice job, Galen!"

Another morning trainer done...yes!  TGIFF!

Morning Training Loop with Galen and Jeremy

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/21045223

Last night, Galen solicited a training ride for this morning, so I thought I'd take a beating early and get it over with.  After meeting up with him in bldg 11, we found out Jeremy was coming too.  Oh boy, I'm glad I brought my iPod as Jeremy has a way of riling up the others (reasons unbeknownst to this author - wink, wink), so I'm figuring I'll probably get dropped early on.  I made my plan clear to Galen, who by the way is loving his new frame and this is not a good thing for us, that I was going to just stay in the back early on and if I don't get dropped will take some turns once we get over the 133 (his kill zone).  Jeremy was cool with it too.

So the plan was to warm up in the beginning although I told Galen to just do what he does when he's by himself, and he was totally agreeable to doing so.  However, his warm-up pace was about a 20 mph average just to get us to Bonita Canyon.  Jeremy took turns up front with him to get us up to that pace too.  Thanks?

Galen kept the pace up as we climbed up and over Shady, Quail Hill and Laguna Canyon with Jeremy taking turns to help out while I shamelessly sat in the back and let them rotate in front of me.  Galen had mentioned that the 133 was where he was going to hammer, so I knew I had to save a lot for that section.  After the guys took a swig of water just before hitting the 133, Galen dropped the hammer.

Jeremy was in the #2 spot, and either because he wanted to save it for the lunch ride or his commute home later, at one point waved me on as Galen started to gap the both of us.  My strategy paid off here though since I was able to sprint onto Galen's wheel and have him tow us up and over the hill at a maddening pace where he allowed me to obtain PRs for that segment.  I thought about relieving him at one point, but the guy wasn't slowing down much and just hanging onto his wheel was a bear.

After we crested, Galen saw that Jeremy was way off the back, so we decided to slow down and let him latch back on as we make our way down toward PCH.  At this point, I figured I need to start doing my share of the work and started to alternate with the two as we made our way down to PCH.  I did have the "privilege," if that's what you want to call it, of riding behind Galen who you pretty much have to ask to roll off or he'll never slow down to allow you to do some work.   He's a semi-truck with no brakes, that guy.

Going through Laguna Beach was fast and the following rollers were equally taxing.  At points where it seemed Jeremy was dropping off a bit, he'd manage to latch back on again and resume with rotating in.   Nice.  He did attack the one hill right before the school entrance, but he did go a little too early where Galen and I were able to get by him 3/4 of the way up.

Jeremy was asking about whether we were going up NPC, but Galen had agreed to go to Back Bay at the beginning of the ride.  Thank you!  I know I could use the hill training, but my training yesterday would have made this just ridiculously ugly.  Next time....

Going through CDM, we did run into a little traffic and at one point had to come to a pretty abrupt stop.  Galen called it out as best as he could given the situation, and Jeremy and I did manage to slow/stop in time to avoid cars...but at the time I wasn't sure we would.  Nice adrenalin shot right there though.

I did start us off from there, but Galen must have felt the adrenalin and once again resumed taking the front.  He led us on PCH toward Jamboree at his typical insane pace where I knew to let him do his thing given that he loved that section.  He only started to slow a little (fractionally), so I did take the front and finish the rest of PCH off until we got to Jamboree.

When we got on Back Bay, we all were working and taking turns pulling and even picked up a straggler at one point.  The three of us continued rotating and taking pulls, and Jeremy led the last pull before the final hill where I broke off for a little after charging up it.

I looked back for a bit waiting for the guys to latch back on, and once they did we were off toward University.  Galen jumped ahead after the bridge and finished out the rest of the stretch before California.

Going up California, we did hit the first light after, which took forever, but we maintained a pretty good cool down pace going up it.  I only took the front eventually just to keep our average up for the loop.  Overall, that was one race pace training ride for sure.  Thanks, gents!

Labor Day Weekend Riding with S-G

Sunday:  http://app.strava.com/rides/20644258

Monday:  http://app.strava.com/rides/20747228

Given the long holiday weekend, I figured everyone would have other plans where I would be training solo.  Lo and behold on Saturday, Gary said he would be able to make it out not just on Sunday but today also.  Given that I haven't ridden with the guy too much lately, it was nice to be able to finally do so again.

On Saturday, Gary rode down from his house to pick me up to head down to the base.  We didn't have too much time, so we decided we would try and make it to Las Pulgas and back in a couple hours.  It was 43 miles, so why not?

When we took off, Gary didn't abuse me too much and we actually had a pretty good warm-up pace early on.   We picked up the pace once we got to Camino Capistrano and then got into a good steady pace from there.   I was telling Gary that I've been riding a lot in "TT" mode given my work commuting where I wasn't overly exerting myself at any given point and just maintaining a good solid pace for the whole length of the ride.  He was game and opted to let me manage our pace.  Sweet!

We rode all the way to San Onofre state beach not going too hard, but still managing to keep an average over 20 miles per hour.  Gary was doing great despite not having ridden that much lately, but he let me break off where he would catch me on my way back.  Given he still had to ride from my house to his up Antonio, I was like...cool.  I dropped down and picked up the pace a little bit more and was almost at a 21 mph average by Las Pulgas.

Now we passed people here and there on the way down, but no one was really around to mix it up with.  However, on my way back, I saw a big peloton heading the opposite way and was hoping they would turn around and give chase.  When I got back together with Gary just before going under the 5 underpass, we kept the pace up and Gary was feeling good.  He wanted to work more after we got back on the parking lot, but I told him to save it.  Sure enough, we came upon one rider who was game and willing to mix it up.   Here we go....

We saw him ahead and started to reel him in slowly, but it seemed once we got close, he kicked it up a notch and even tried to draft a truck who had come out from a parking space in front of us.  That didn't help him and we still eventually reeled him in and latched on.  Once the truck pulled away, we started to make our way past him and he latched on.  We all started trading pulls, and I was trying to think of where we can actually try to break him off.  As we traded pulls, I was hoping he would go past the guard gate since I thought the long stretch by the power plant or the following climb would be a good place, but he was a no-go.  Gary had rolled off around the time he did, but I was still wanting to nail that section.   By the time I got to Trestles, the average was 21.4.

I regrouped with Gary from there and we rode back and made our way back to my house in TT mode and despite the lights, still managed to keep the pace up to 20.5.  Garmin connect showed our move average as 21.1.  Not too shabby but the killer part is we still had legs to ride today.  BAM!  Love that mode.

For today's ride, I wasn't sure how I'd do not because of the ride from Sunday but more from all the liquor the night before.  HA HA.  Gary was gracious enough to let us start out with a mellow pace, and instead of the canyons opted to keep the TT pace going but for a longer distance (60 miles).  Admittedly, I was struggling up through Back Bay but Gary was a trooper and kept the pace up when I couldn't hold a decent one.  Thanks!

Once we got to PCH, however, I was FINALLY feeling better.  Ironically, Gary's hip started to bother him so I offered to tow us until he felt better.  He was game and stayed with me while we reeled rider after rider in.  Unfortunately, most of the riders were going the opposite direction, so we were both looking forward to turning around and heading back.

I was doing okay up front keeping a decent pace, but at one point the headwind was starting to wear me down.  Sure enough, without even a cue, Gary came around and gave me the necessary relief from the wind to recover.  Perfect.  We were about 25 miles out at the time, so after a break, I took the front again and felt good enough to bring the pace up to 25-ish mph.  Gary was game too and was latched on while the few who tried just didn't last.

Then the unfortunate happened:  After crossing one of the intersections, I heard a commotion behind me and turned around to see Gary had crashed.  I busted a U-turn and made my way back to find Gary on the ground with his bottles and bike on the street.   Apparently, he had hit a pothole on the road that I never even saw, and this caused his front wheel to bounce up where he lost control and ended up rolling onto the pavement.

Since Gary was alert and awake, although rashed up and with a sore hip, I wasn't sure how to assess the situation except to let him tell me what he needed.  Other bystanders offered some first aid, but Gary didn't feel the immediate need to have anyone tend to him.  However, he was convinced his hip was hurt to the point where he would not be able to ride anymore.  Since Leslie was not available, I got Lisa to come out and pick him up where I received the constant assurance from Gary he was fine.  He's a stud, so why would I think otherwise.  Knowing that both our bikes may not fit in Lisa's car, Gary told me to just go ahead and he'll wait out Lisa to pick him up.  Although hesitant, I figured he'd be okay and made my way back.

It was only after I got back when I found out he was too hurt to be able to get in Lisa's car where at that point, he finally allowed Lisa to call the ambulance.  Ultimately, he ended up going to Hoag and will be getting treatment for his hip.  I paid him a visit after to see how he was, and he was still in good spirits and not needing anything.  Such a stud and even looking forward to possibly getting some additional "bling."  I'm sure he'll be out with us again in no time. 

After, I'm reminded how we may take it for granted that we're able to do what we do, but as Gary put it, we all should know that it's not a matter of "if" as far as going down, it's a matter of "when."  I know this all too well, and I'm just thankful it wasn't worse than it was.  I really wish I could have done more so he could have avoided it, so I'll be thinking about this for a while.  Get well soon, S-G!