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!
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