Wrapping up 2013 for Team BRCM

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/103062355

It's been a while since I've blogged about the team, but that's mostly because I've been doing mostly solo rides during the last 2 weeks of the year.  Who wants to read about my solo rides, right?  I did get out with Adrian on the 12-21 where we did an 80 miler together going down to Carlsbad and back, but other than that it's been mostly solo rides.

My ride down to Carlsbad and back with Adrian was rather interesting.  Adrian came along for the ride while I got some TT training in, so the plan was that he was going to stay behind me for most if not all of the ride.  I was perfectly fine with it given I was on my TT bike while he was on his road bike albeit with aero bars installed.  My plan was to manage my power so that I can translate that to when I work with the team for our race in January.  I figure if I don't drop Adrian at any point given I'm on my TT bike, I'm doing okay. This worked out great to the half way point where we stayed together and managed a 20.8 average on the way down.  This was despite some headwind we experienced on the way.   On the way back, I felt the tail wind behind us, so I knew it was going to be a fast return trip.  We did stop to get Adrian some Coke at a gas station some where in Oceanside, but after that it was just a straight shot home.  He managed to stay on for most of the way back, which was no easy feat since we were likely doing 23+ mph average on the way back.  He only dropped a couple times but not by much, and in the end we finished the 80 miler with a 22 mph avg (21.9 if you want to believe Strava).   I thought it was rather impressive of Adrian to stay as long as he did at that pace, but I assured him that given that he was, he's definitely set for the Stagecoach in January. 

I did get some solo rides out after that, but the notable one was my solo TT down to San Diego and back for a makeshift century trainer.  I had two guys latch on and stay in my draft for a bit ask me what I was training for, so I told them about the TTT in Ocotillo.  They were rather impressed at the pace I was holding and wished me luck, but what they didn't notice was how I was a little uneasy about saying I'm training for a TTT whereas I didn't know what to say if they had asked where the rest of the team was given I was solo.  Thankfully, that never came up and they just enjoyed sitting in the draft behind me.  One guy pulled ahead from a stop light that we were sitting in only to experience the ridiculous headwind that I was pushing through on the way back.  It didn't take long before I caught and passed him only to have him jump back on my draft.  It was definitely a wicked headwind, so I got pretty beat up where I had to do a lot more active recovery than I wanted just to get back.  I was hoping to do a solo sub-5 elapsed time century, but there were too many lights and too much wind to make that possible.  In the end, I only managed a 20.4 mph average with a move time a few minutes under 5.  Good enough I guess.

While I touched on the subject of solo TT training for a TTT race in January, I will say that I'm sure the other guys are doing what they need to do to get the job done.  It reminds me of a management class I took where they gave us a personality test and showed that despite different approaches to a common goal, people still get it done.  I think with the mentality of the guys on the team, I have no doubt that we'll put in a good showing at the race.  I just need to worry about myself and make sure I'm able to contribute as much as I can to the team.  So there you have it. 

Looking back at 2013, I will say I don't think we've done as many events as we've done in the past, but that's probably mostly my fault given I wasn't able to participate as much.  I hope that changes for 2014, but I do think I need to find a way to excite the others to want to do more on the bike to represent the team.  For me, it has and will always be about the team.  I wear my BRCM jerseys pretty much of the time (unless Lisa falls behind in laundry - ahem) because they mean something to me.  They show that you can take some guys who like to ride and turn them into ones people recognize as legit riders.  Isn't that what it's all about? 

Happy New Year, and here's to hoping for more to come in 2014!

TTTraining with Todd - Centurus Interruptus

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/100203879

With a couple days on the spin bike followed by 3 good days of riding (Friday was supposed to be a spinner but there were some sprint sections we hit that I felt going into this ride), I admittedly was a little worried about training with Todd on our planned century-ish ride.  Knowing he had backed off on Friday opting to skip the lunch ride, even more so.  With only two of us, there wouldn't be as much time in the draft as opposed to riding with three or four, but I guess in the grand scheme of things, it's best to train under less than optimal conditions since we live in an unperfect world.  We'll only get stronger from it.

Arriving at The Ranch in Ladera Ranch just after 6:30 a.m., the less desirable conditions continued.  Not only was it only 41 degrees upon my arrival, but the winds were blowing pretty good too.  You could see the branches on the trees going sideways, so I knew we would be in for a challenging day.  Arm warmers, compression long sleeves, shoe covers, and my hydration pack base layer all accompanied the kit, as I figured it would be better to start warm vs. cold...especially since Todd was riding over from his house where he would likely already be warmed up upon his arrival.  When he arrived, he was similarly prepared for the cold temps.  Little did we both know it would warm up pretty good only a quarter of the route out.

When we started off, I immediately noticed I wasn't getting any power readings, so I called out to Todd to stop since this has now become an invaluable tool during these rides.  I had set my Garmin to my BMC on Friday's ride, so I had to set it back to my Felt in order to get the power readings (the Power Tap is only associated with that bike).  Once I got this changed, I hit reset and we were off.

When riding with Todd only, we typically have the rotations be more intuitive than timed as this has worked so well for us in the past.  Of course, this wouldn't be the case during the race but it works great to stay together for the whole ride and also keep a great overall pace.  Plus, Todd is a master at setting up the pace up the steeper hills that it doesn't make sense to not take advantage of this while I offer my contributions elsewhere.  Believe me when I say though, that letting Todd lead up the hill doesn't really make it any easier for me.  His pace usually has me gasping at the top, so to think I could push up and help during the climb would likely only cause us to get separated.

We worked together going up Antonio, and I led us onto the initial climb up Live Oak.  However, once Todd took the front, I told him I would hold him out for the rest, and he was more than agreeable to it.  It was all I could do to stay with him, and when it pitched up near the top, he had gapped me a little only for me to latch back on by the bottom just before the climb to Cooks.

Todd led us up that hill too, but I was better able to stay on his wheel for that climb.  Once we got to the top of the second crest, I took the front to lead us through the canyon.  The problem, however, was that the winds really kicked up once we got in the canyons so the descent was pretty hairy making it dangerous to be wheel-to-wheel.  As Todd gave me space, I'd sit up to let him ride back up to me once the winds settled so I can offer him some wind protection and let him recover more from the climbs.  Todd still pushed up during some point during the descent, but I passed him and asked him to save it for the climbs, which he was agreeable to as well.

We had a pretty good pace going through the canyon, and I was able to find a good rhythm when I would hold the front.  The winds were blowing us all over the road though, so it was quite unnerving to be on the aeros and have the bike shift suddenly due to the heavy gusts.  This did cause us to check up at some places, but better safe than sorry.  Todd led us up Dump to finish up the canyons and I led us down to Jamboree where I believe we were at a ~21 average by then despite the Antonio, Live Oak, Cook's and Dump climbs .  We were definitely on track for a good overall pace for the day.

Since Vince was going to try and meet us at the end of Back Bay to tag along for a bit, our pace would have gotten us there within the two hours from our start time given it was about 40 miles away.  Our route was suppose to take us over Jamboree and then onto the bike trail from Portola.  However, as we got on the bike trail and began descending, we were met with a young lady who was waving her arms to stop us at a coned off section.  It turns out there was some sort of running event going on, which reserved the entire bike trail and required us to go back up and find a different way down to PCH.  I didn't mind telling the volunteer, however, that it would have been nice had they posted a sign at the top of the bike trail to let people know.

With the winds blowing pretty good still and debris all over the road, Todd and I talked about how we wanted to get to Back Bay.  We also decided that going back through the canyons would probably not be the safest thing given all the trouble we had keeping the bikes on the shoulder.  At this point, we opted to take Portola to Portola Springs, head down toward Irvine Boulevard, and ultimately take Alton and Barranca back to the bike trail heading over to BB.  We would consider revising the route further as needed based on mileage, but we would likely find a different way back to the finish bypassing the canyon.

When we were on Alton and Barranca, we seemed to hit just about every stop light, which was incredibly annoying.  We would get a good pace going and then have to stop and start over and over where I kept thinking we'll never make it down to Back Bay on time as a result.  While the plan was to go all the way to the Harvard bike trail opening from Barranca, we had enough stopping and starting and opted to jump on the bike trail at Laguna Canyon instead.  The only thing that would slow us up at that point would be the wet pavement here and there and the occasional pedestrian traffic, but it was definitely better than hitting all the stop lights.

On the bike trail after Jeffrey heading toward BB,  I started having some trouble shifting when I was behind Todd.  I started to drop off as I tried desperately to be able to shift to a taller gear in the back and I called out to Todd, but he couldn't hear me.  Sometimes, the trick was to shift to a shorter gear first on my Vision shifters, and then it would shift down.  This, however, didn't work and finally had me where I was completely crossed up and stuck.  Todd had kept going, but eventually ended up turning around when he realized I wasn't behind him where we met at crossing on Creek Road just where the Del Taco is.  At this point, I knew my ride was done as my shifter just didn't work anymore. It turned out that a spring seemed to have come off, and there would not have been any way to remedy this on the road.  I think it's fortunately that it broke down in Irvine where Lisa was nearby.  I can't imagine what it would have been like if this happened during the race or a training ride out there.  Needless to say, I think it's time for a shifter upgrade.  The Shimano DA shifters are on order.

I think we were at a 21.5/21.6 mph average pace at that point, but it dropped down a tick or two based on the spinning I had to do when crossed up.  In the end, I had to abandon the ride at ~44 miles in.  I felt bad that I couldn't finish with Todd, but Todd's a trooper and got it done without me as expected.   I guess I'll have to settle for the shorter mileage this weekend and let the honey-dos supplement my training regimen instead.  Nice job out there, Todd.  We'll get a good one in next week for sure. 

TTTeam Escort to Las Pulgas En Route to San Diego

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/99338418

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get a ride in this morning, but opted to ride down to San Diego for my in-laws birthday.  As soon as I got up, I could tell it would be one helluva cold ride this morning feeling the coldness even within the confines of my home.  Stepping out into the garage to gather some things, it really hit me how cold it was and all I kept thinking of was that scene in Dumb & Dumber where they climbed up the mountains on a scooter with snots frozen snots where I wondered if I would look like that upon my arrival.

I had planned to ride down alone, but thankfully Todd and Shannon accommodated and created a route where they could get in some partial miles with me during their century TT trainer today.  They would start in Ladera and swing by my pad and then escort me down to Las Pulgas while we worked on rotations.  Sweet!  It's always more fun to suffer...I mean ride with team mates.

Promptly, Todd and Shannon arrived just in time for a 7 a.m. departure and I did my best to mask how I was freezing my ass off.  I had donned 3 layers on top (long sleeve compression base, hydration pack base, and my jersey) and opted to wear leg warmers rather than my compression pants underneath my bib (way more comfortable for the taint...yay).   Full gloves, shoe covers, and a head cover finished out the ensemble and I was good to go.  Todd and Shannon were also pretty geared up for the weather as well with Shannon even wearing a face cover.  With how my face felt on the first part of the ride, I was definitely wishing I had one too.  While it didn't take long to warm up, my hands stayed pretty frozen for half of the ride.

Working with Todd and Shannon, it was another outing where we once again got to work on our rotations.  I know I was doing my best to be mindful of power output (I'm REALLY becoming a fan of having a Power Tap) where I would try to hold a certain wattage during my pulls, but doing so is a little more difficult given the conditions.  Lack of wind or tail wind, hills, etc., made it hard to keep the group together, so I think I need to get better at figuring this out for sure if we're going to succeed in January.  The irony though is I sometimes think I'm not working hard enough despite the power readings, so this is something I'll have to overcome in the next few weeks.

It was great working with the guys all the way to Las Pulgas, so admittedly I was bummed to think that I was on my own after that.  I was bummed both because I wouldn't get the miles they were getting in plus I wouldn't get to hang with them after.  It's what I live for cycling-wise.

The good thing about being on my own after separating from the others was that I was now forced to work more and not have any more "breaks" within a rotation, which hopefully would keep me warm.  I had brought more fluids than I would normally take to San Diego on my solo rides down because I wanted the weight for the training, but it also came in handy as I had fluids/calories throughout the whole ride and never once even felt like popping.

I kept a pretty good clip as I made my way through North San Diego and had a few riders latch on for a little bit.  I was being very good about monitoring my power output on the way down, which was again...awesome, but as soon as someone latched on, I didn't mind kicking it up a bit just to test out their grit.  Unfortunately, the 3 who did latch on weren't too gritty.  I popped them off both on straights and up hills, so I didn't discriminate.  HA HA.  One guy passed me at one point right after the light going up into downtown Encinitas like he was trying to prove something, so I returned the favor just as soon as we got on the straight by Swamis.  BAM!

I still had a lot of fluids left in my hydration pack, so I took a big swig just before making my way up Mira Mesa Boulevard heading toward my in-laws house.  It sucked that I kept hitting light after light, but despite this was able to achieve PRs over times when I was on a road bike.  After getting through the lights where it flattened out some, I opened it up to let it all go before I arrived at my in-laws, which rendered me two top 10 hardware.  That was fun, but also a little scary as the roads up there definitely had some debris from the rain.

Looking at the other guys Strava, it looks like they had a good route and I hope a good ride too.  Thanks to Todd and Shannon for the "escort" down to Las Pulgas, and I'm already looking forward to the next trainer with them for sure.

Cheers!

FiTT 20K and Sunday TT Trainer with Shannon

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/97690829 (FiTT)

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/98195599 (TT Trainer with Shannon)

It was a surprise to wake up on Friday and see rain drops on our cars since the last forecast beforehand was 0% chance.  Lisa came with me to the race and was also surprised to see the rain start falling just before we were getting ready to go.  We chanced it anyway, and fortunately it ended up just holding off raining until just after the racing stopped.  The grounds were a little wet here and there, which made the race somewhat interesting, but I never really felt it was dangerous.

It was a tough race this time around where it was difficult to achieve the same speeds as the last time out.   There was some winds out there that was just really tough to cut through.  The last half of the course was fast the last time out, but this time it was hard to keep up the pace on it.  I was expecting it and thought I could push through on the first part of the course expecting the second half to be faster, so I was thrown off my pace after the first lap and struggled through the next two.  I had to keep reminding myself I was racing and just pushed on every bit I could, but by the end, my time was higher and thus had a lower average speed.  Ironically, my power output was higher, so it was that kind of day.

I ended up having the 7th best time overall, but I joined the 45+ class this time around where 3 of them got top 5 knocking me off for a podium spot.  Had I stuck to Cat4/5, I would have gotten 2nd.  That's what I get for jumping around in classes.  I'm happy with the outcome though since everyone else who raced was indicating that they had difficulty out there too.   Here are a couple pics:

Today's trainer was just Shannon and me and the plan was to do a hundred miles.  Shannon came up with the route and after I mapped it out, we altered it slightly since it came up short.  We thought we'd get a full 100, but in the end it came up to just 95 miles...95 miles of torturous misery.

I'm thankful Shannon was patient with me in the beginning because I just couldn't get any real rhythm down.  I was pretty much all over the place in terms of power, and I even ended up blowing myself up a little after one of the early climbs out of Mission Viejo.  It was ugly.  Shannon definitely managed his output better than me, but I finally found my tempo some time after Laguna Beach.  Up to that point though, I had recurring thoughts of just wanting to turn around and go home. 

We had a really good pace heading out to Long Beach and back toward SART.  No one would even latch on due to our pace, and we were even passing guys on TT bikes. 

When we got on SART, that's when things got ugly.  There was a solid headwind the WHOLE way up and it literally beat us down where we just couldn't wait to get off of it.  Carrying speeds over 20 was work, but we did what we could working together running 2 minute intervals as we had been doing all day. 

Getting on Taft, we expected the winds to let up, but they never really did.  In fact, even going through the canyon was a bear and if Shannon didn't thankfully wait for me after Dump where I couldn't hold his pace and dropped off, it would have been painful working the canyons alone.   We stayed together the rest of the way, and was just hauling ass after Cook's wanting to get back and be done.  We were both on the verge of cramping by the end, but we both just made it back to our cars without doing so. 

95 miles at a 21.8 mph pace for two guys in that wind...legit.  Definitely worthy of the Oggi's nourishment we sought after.  It was a tough day on the saddle but definitely one we hope to benefit from as we lead up to the race.  Shannon and I don't know of any other group who's training like this for the race, so it'll be interesting to see how we measure up in January.  Personally, I think we're gonna rock it. 

Thanks for inviting me out and for all the work, Shannon! 

Lunch Rides - Two For the Price of One

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/97078894 (Yesterday) http://app.strava.com/activities/97250138 (today)

I've been a little pressed for time lately where I often only get to write at night, but I'm probably going to be blogging less for a while so I can spend the evening enjoying the family.  I'll throw this one out there though and cover my ride from yesterday and today.  I'll try and make time to write about the weekend ones though.

Yesterday was a TT trainer with just Todd and me.  Todd wanted to get a little more hill training, so we ended up doing the full Turtle Rock ring along with a climb up NPC.  We saw Shannon at the gym, but he had his road bike and had planned to do his own thing (133 loop).

As you may know, it's rather challenging to ride with Todd on the TT bike.  He definitely does a lot of the work up front on the hills and willingly at that.  I try to do what I can to help, but it seems pointless at times where all I can do is return the favor on the flats and downhills.  I'll still take turns up front on some climbs, but the ratio is definitely not even.  We did well working with one another as we did the Ring and I tried to save enough to stay with him on NPC, but I broke off after a misshift and he just continued to increase the gap after that.  I was glad he waited for me around the corner on NPC.  From that point on, I was determined to do more work, so I worked my tail off after that.  He later gave me kudos for the pulls on San Joaquin and BB.  Yay.

We decided to climb up Jamboree to finish, and Todd had started a little ahead of me and led for a bit.  I ended up finding a good gear to be in along with a rhythm/cadence I can hold that allowed me to make my way back up to him.  When I saw that I still had more and opted to pass Todd, who I thought was topped out, he stood up and made his way past me where all I could do was watch.  Nice!

It was a good training ride where we managed a 22 average (Strava knocked me down a couple ticks), which isn't bad considering all the climbing involved.

For today's ride, we still had a fairly good-sized crew out for a holiday week that included me, Todd, Adrian, Jeremy, Mitchell and Vin.  Everyone represented BRCM jerseys, with two wearing the new black, 2 wearing the OG black, 1 in red, and one in yellow (this was a jersey Adrian got from our Marketing that has BRCM on it, but was left over from one of our customers).  Nice to see all BRCM though.

It was a good ride today where everyone was doing what they can when they could.   That's also about as nice to see as everyone representing BRCM.  All of us managed to stay together for at least half of the ride, which was cool.  On the climb up San Joaquin toward NPC was when there was some separation among us.

Jeremy was the first to break away and had gotten a pretty sizeable gap over the rest of us.  Everyone lined up behind Todd, including me, as he worked his way toward and past Jeremy about half way up.  At first, I thought everyone else had stayed with us as we kept climbing, but toward the top, I saw that only Mitchell was able to hang on.  I tried to make my way past Todd near the top, but you guys know Todd's sentiment would be "ain't nobody got time for that."  He  accelerated where I was relegated to #2 again (after I asked Mitchell to let me back in).

The 3 of us got on NPC, and I took turns with Todd as we descended toward Pelican.  We saw a guy from BRCM out there too, so he jumped on behind us after we made our way past him.

Todd got a little worked on the descent, but I coasted mostly in a tuck to keep at speed where after we rounded Pelican, I had momentum where I made my way past Todd on the climb and even gapped him.  However, I knew that would only be temporary, so I managed my pace to where I could latch on again once he passed me.  As we headed up the final climb, Todd had just a little gap on me, but I found that "rhythm" again where I was able to get by him again.  Can you say poke the bear?  Poke, Poke.  As before, Todd passed me again before the top and held the front to lead all the way up to the top of Vista.  The gap between us would shrink and grow the whole time, but ultimately Todd made it to the top a few seconds ahead of me.  What I probably failed to mention earlier though was how Todd rode already this morning, so I'm certain I'd have been left behind much further had that not been the case.

We waited to regroup at the top, and took off after Vin and Mitchell arrived seeing no one else with them.  Jeremy had to get back and opted to skip Vista and there was just no sign of Adrian.

The descent down Ridge Park was fun but there was a car that looked like it may make a left turn in front of us where that made some check up.  Thankfully, it didn't.

The descent down San Joaquin was fun as well where I thought Todd and I would do all the leading, but at one point as I was getting ready to jump behind Todd after rotating out, Vin was there followed by Mitchell, so they were game to help keep the pace up as well.  This was also seen on McArthur where both Mitchell and Vin took the front after Todd cranking away.  I followed Vin and led toward the Bonita Canyon intersection where Todd came by before to help us make the green light.  I had to dig really deep just to be able to latch on, but I noticed I was the only one as we made our way through the intersection.

We finished up on Bison with just the two of us broken away, but I did see Vin not too far away behind us.  I opted to pick up the pace at that point taking the front and giving Todd a lead out to finish first to California.

Good work out there, gents!  You've earned yourself a whole turkey leg after today's ride.   

TTT Trainer - Finally, a Full Team Trainer!

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/96716610

Admittedly, I was excited to find out last week that we were all finally going to make it out together as a team.  Despite having ridden with Todd previously as a 2 man team,  Shannon and Galen two weeks prior and Todd and Shannon last week, I thought those rides wouldn't be as significant as when we train all together...at least in terms of how we'll perform for January's race.  I've been saying all along how important seat time is, but for a TTT, time together is what it will take to find the right "chemistry" among us.  If you  believe that everyone just being trained up and strong will be enough to do so, you've got another thought coming.

We decided to do a route Todd did a couple weeks ago that started from his house, headed through Live Oak, went through the Canyon 1.5 times (2 out, 1 back), down to the BB via the bike trail, PCH to Laguna Beach, up the 133, and back via Alton. The route ended up being 108 miles or so, but as you'll see from my Strava, I had to cut it short because I wanted to get back to watch my daughter's final league soccer game.  It was definitely a lot of miles as well as a lot of climbing (more than the actual Stagecoach), so I knew I had essentially signed up to ride on the Team BRCM pain train. 

We weren't sure we were going to make it out given the wet weather at the end of the week, but early in the morning, we got an e-mail from Todd giving the all clear.  It ended up actually being drier than our ride down to Torrey Pines the week before, but it was also a bit colder.  Galen ran into a little traffic on the way down, which delayed our start time a little, but that allowed it to warm up a little from the 48 degrees that would have been the temp if we started at the planned 6:45 a.m.  We still all donned full pants and arm warmers or a long sleeve base layer, which proved to be perfect for the length of the ride.


Now I could talk about the whole ride mile per mile, I think I'll spare you of the details and only go over the highlights.  

We probably started out a little faster than we should have (think lunch ride-ish), especially since it was so hilly in the beginning, but it's just another learning point for us to correct on the next ride.

We had a couple riders try and mix it up with us, but it was nice to see that everyone pretty much stayed with the agenda of training as a team.  In fact, if anyone was out of line, it may have actually been me when riders were ahead of us.  Todd kept me in check though, which is what he or any of the other is supposed to do.

The crosswinds and headwinds were a little rough through the canyon even with four of us working together.

I don't think we covered how we were going to do rotations as a group from the beginning, so I think for about 3/4 of the ride I didn't really know what we were doing.  HAHA.  We pretty much did what we did, so this was something we'll be working on as well.

When we finished the 133, Shannon had gotten a flat so I opted at this point to separate and find the shortest way back to Todd's house.   I think I failed in that regard and ended up climbing more than I expected. 

The guys finished out the ride and had a couple beers after, which I definitely could have used given the spasms and cramping I was experiencing trying to watch my daughter's game.

Overall, I think this was good for us as it sets the baseline for what we can do as a team of four.  I expect we will continue to improve upon every outing since all of us are driven to do so.  We have the right tools to get the job done for sure, but we've got fine tuning to do along the way.  I'm already looking forward to the next one.  Go team BRCM!

Lunch Ride - A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/96066036

Weather-wise, you couldn't ask for a more perfect day to ride.  Cool temperature, moderate winds, overcast/cloudy...perfect. It's how I like it anyway.  I half expected to see more people come out, but today we had Shannon, Todd, Adrian, Vin, Mitchell and Jaffe come out along with John L., who decided to join us as he would do so on occasion.  He always makes the hills interesting when he does.

In today's route, I chose to start it off a little flatter to give people a better chance to hang on and not drop right away.  This doesn't necessarily guarantee that they will, mind you, but Todd and Shannon seemed to be playing nice today and not pushing max power from the start.  Todd even checked up at one point after gapping the group, so he definitely had his team player hat on today...especially with how often he would pull up to the front.  Kudos!

Now don't get me wrong, the pace was still pretty high as we headed toward Jeffrey where I heard Vin and Jaffe mention how they felt like dropping off despite not being in the front rotation.  John, Adrian and Mitchell rotated up to the front as well to help keep the pace up along with Todd, Shannon and me.  However, we all made it together to Laguna Canyon and up to Quail Hill.  Shannon did amp it up on the bike trail making it impossible for me to pass where I thought that may have caused some separation, but it didn't.

When we were approaching Knollcrest from Quail Hill, we saw another rider cross the street and start the climb ahead of us.  Todd led the climb and helped reel the guy in just after we got on Pine Needles.  Then, out of the blue, Vin decided he would charge up the hill and definitely had some good where I thought if he held it, he would do well.  However, he never managed to pass Todd, Shannon and John, and ended up not having anything left for Luminuous.  I was behind him and had exchanged places with the other rider on the climb, but on Luminuous, I took off past both of them coming in just behind Todd and Shannon.

We regrouped at the top and had Adrian turn around and join us as we were already descending.  Adrian ended up taking the lead as we headed down toward and onto Quail Hill.  It was a little hairy having that size group go through the turnabout, but we were fortunate and didn't encounter any traffic in the circle.

On the Shady climb, Todd once again led the climb and John stayed beside him while I tried to maintain their pace seated on the climb.  It was only at the top when they accelerated toward the crest that I fell off and had Shannon pass me as well to join the two ahead of me.  When I crested, it took some effort to be able to catch them but I was able to do so just after the first bridge.  Rather than going by the gates, we took the long way and the four of us continued to exchange spots all the way to the top of Shady.

When we got to the top, I had rolled out and was surprised to see that everyone else had joined back up again.  Of course, Strava tells no lies where it seems they opted for the shortcut way by the gate to do so.  Todd offered the lead out for anyone wanting to sprint, so Shannon was the first to do so as I watched from the back.  Everyone else followed after but no one was able to catch Shannon.

On the climb up Turtle Ridge, I started the climb off mostly because Todd, and I believe Shannon too, were held up at the light since they had gone straight and were crossing from the crosswalk.  When we got to the left turn, Todd and John took the front and I was trailing them for a bit only to lose their pace about midway up.  Shannon had been behind me, but he turned it on and started to charge and ended up cresting with the two others ahead of me.  I tried turning it on toward the end, but just couldn't get enough steam to keep close to the others.  When I headed down, I made the right turn and saw that the light was green on Bonita Canyon where the three ahead started sprinting to make the light.  I tried to haul ass too, but fell short of making the light by probably no more than 1-2 seconds.  I probably could have gone through as the cars hadn't even started rolling yet, but better safe than sorry.

Mitchell had made a U-turn early on Summit and was able to roll up behind me followed by Vin.  We ended up having to sit through 2 cycles since no one hit the crosswalk light and no cars came to activate the green light.

Now with the three ahead of us gone and out of sight, I figured I would end up being held out at the front, but to my welcomed surprise, Mitchell took the front just after me allowing me to rotate to the back.  Vin, Jaffe and Adrian did some work here too, but at the top just before descending toward McArthur, we had to stop at the light.  I thought I'd lead us out over to the Condo, but at one point, Adrian passed me while on his aero bars with seemingly some bad intentions.  I was able to reel him in and latch on as he pulled as through the McArthur light and was seeing if he would continue pulling us all the way to the condo.  Can you say "wishful thinking?"

Of course, with him slowing down, I had no choice but to pass or go backwards on Ford.  We got slowed at the top, which allowed the rest to come up just behind us before hitting the Condo where I tried to encourage the others to go ahead...no takers.  Thus, when I hit the turn and started the climb, I took off up the hill.  I could see that someone was behind me for a portion of the hill, but when I checked again near the top, no one.

I stayed ahead of the guys on Bison and kept looking back hoping that they would try to launch a sneak attack for a sprint to California, but no one seemed interested and thus had a lonely finish.

I didn't map out this ride today, so I didn't realize it was a 23+ mile route (sorry, gents).  It was a good ride with a little bit of everything thrown in and just good teamwork overall.  Love it.  Thanks for coming out and the workout!

  

3TTT Trainer to Torrey and Back - On Your Left!

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/95488643

I was a little worried that we weren't going to be able to get out today to train given the chance of rain.  When I got up, I saw that the roads were wet with some puddles here and there but there were patches of dryness too.  I was checking my phone pretty regularly as I got ready just to see if I'd receive an e-mail indicating we were cancelling because of the weather, but never got one.  When I saw that Shannon and Todd were outside just after 6:30, I was glad that they were all in despite the initial conditions.  Galen would have joined us as well, but he got bit by the flu bug and had to sit this one out.  One of these days, we'll get all four of us out, but the weird thing is, we're still killing it with three similar to last week's outing.

For today's route, the plan was to head down to the top of Torrey Pines and back from my pad, which is not as much elevation gain as Stagecoach, but 7+ miles longer.  Seriously though, who "trains" for such a long distance?  I gotta say though that it's quite humbling to ride with those who are willing to put themselves through that kind of torture not just for the sake of competing but also to represent the team. 

We all donned the sexy new black kit today, and it was definitely bad ass.   We looked just as fast as we rode, and the logos just popped.  I wasn't sure the internal hydration pack I wear would fit or feel good inside, but it was fine and didn't feel at all uncomfortable.  It was a little chilly at the start, so we all wore arm warmers or a long sleeve base layer with it.  When people would see us, it seemed they knew we meant business out there as only one guy jumped on for as long as long as he could hang on (two blocks).  There were some legit looking riders out there too, but I guess the rate we passed them plus the fact that we looked bad ass probably deterred most from latching on.  

The training was just that...training, so we got to work on some things as a team.  I think we're definitely making improvements in every outing in terms of smoothness, communication and overall efficiency.  The only challenge was hitting as many lights and stops as we did.  There were definitely more stops today than there was last week, so the constant stopping affected our transitions and momentum a lot.  We worked through it though very well, but it does make us actually look forward to the constant pedaling during January's race.

One funny thing about our ride was that it was just as cerebral as it was physical.  While concentrating on stroke, smoothness, and just paying attention to where we were going, we also were challenged to do math to monitor how long it would be before we would rotate to the front.  I'm sure if anyone looking at me might see a puzzled look at my face at some points during the ride as I tried to figure out when 90 seconds would end  up on my timer.  There was even one point I had apologized to Shannon as I passed to take the front only because I lost track of time and didn't know if I was early or late, which neither is a good thing.  

The weather on the route was a pretty good emulation of what we might expect from Stagecoach based on our prior outings.  Heading south, we hit headwinds most of the way down, but I think we did great in managing our pace and output through it.  On the way back, the tailwind was sweet!  There were times I'd be up front pulling in top gear on a flat going 30 or more with power numbers just barely hitting 200W.  Zoom!

Unlike last week, we opted to just ride nonstop (i.e. with no breaks) although it might have been good to know this before the ride.  Thus, there was only a 24 minute difference between our move time and the actual elapsed time.  Again, this was from all the stop lights, stop signs, having to show ID at Camp Pendleton both directions, me dropping my ID at the guard station on the way out since my left hand was numb at the time we stopped, etc.  

As you can see from our Strava, the hardware bling acquired showed what good teamwork can do.  At the end of the ride, my Garmin showed a move average of 22.8, so considering the extra mileage and elevation gain, I'm thinking its fair to say we killed it...again.  The question that beckons to be asked once again is what would a fourth person have done for this ride?  Stay tuned....

Great job out there, gents, and more importantly, great teamwork.  

Lunch Ride - Bucking the Trend

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/94752711

Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but sometimes I really don't get our lunch rides.  If we gather to ride together, then why would anyone from the onset want to break away?  I understand that it makes for good training, but then wouldn't leaving 5 minutes before or after everyone else or choose an all together different route result in the same thing?   This seems to becoming more and more of the pattern on our rides, and in all honesty, it's a disturbing trend that I don't think I'll be highlighting anymore on my write-ups.  It just seems to encourage the behavior, so I suppose I'll take some responsibility here.

One thing I will highlight was that it was nice to see Jeremy wearing a BRCM jersey again today.  It would have been good to ride with him if he didn't have a change in plans and do the puke route instead.  I can't really say I blame the guy.

After getting separated from Todd and Vince at the Anteater/Bonita Canyon intersection, the rest of the guys regrouped at the light that included me, Mitchell, Vin, Adrian and Jaffe.  With all hopes of riding with the two ahead of us gone at that point, I was set to just get a good ride in and get in as much work as possible.  It was a good day weather-wise, so I didn't mind working the front and doing what I can to keep up a good pace.

Adrian only went mountain biking last week, so it was nice to see him on the road bike again.  He helped out on the Culver descent toward Campus, but I think fell off sometime during the TR climb.  See what one week off can do?  Sorry, bud.

One surprise for the day was Vin taking the front as often as he did.  Hell, I thought Mitchell would be rolling past me more often, but just about every time someone passed me, it was Vin.  Now he may have a different interpretation of his passes than I do, but let me share with you my perspective.  Except for a couple times on a climb where he passed more gradually, the other times seemed like there was some intent behind them based on how fast he'd gap me...especially after I've been pulling for a while.   Now, I'm not going to say for sure he wanted to drop me, but it sure seemed that way.  However, rather than saying this was a bad thing, I'll actually give the kid props for trying.  It definitely made the ride more interesting...for me anyways.  The fact that he took chances definitely deserved some kudos, but it would be nice if they weren't after being towed for a while when he'd take them.  Kudos anyway as I got a great workout as a result.

Despite the hills and everything on today's route, the 4 of us stayed together throughout where I really didn't mind pulling for a good portion of the ride.  In fact, I didn't think anything of it until Jaffe thanked me in the locker room after for all the work.  Yeah, I'm thinking that may be a good trend to start moving forward.  I'm still going to bring in my TT bike to train some days during the week where it is what it is, but if I'm on my road bike, let's ride.

Thanks for the workout today, gents!  

BRCM Lunch - TT Spin Turned to TT Burn

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/94571737

As usual, Monday is TT training day but I got called up to visit a customer at 11 a.m.  Usually, this would bother me, but I was actually looking forward to some solo miles given the Saturday hammerfest.  When I finished up at 11:45 and started heading to the gym, I was certain anyone who came out to ride would have left already.  To my surprise, I saw Jaffe just arriving at the corner and he told me Todd was still getting ready.  Upon my arrival, Vince was also just finishing up getting ready, and in the end we decided we were all going to ride together.  So much for a solo recovery spin.

Todd chose today's route and he was interested in climbing up NPC as part of the route, so I knew he was out to cause pain.  This was further evident when we took off from the corner, and he was off like a bat out of hell and with Vince in tow.  If it wasn't for a car slowing them up for the right turn to E. Peltason, they may have gotten away.  I was trying to rally Jaffe to keep up when we got on Bison, but after Todd and Vince made the right turn, they were hauling ass up the hill requiring me to sprint just to latch on 3/4 of the way up.  At that point, I knew the heat was just too much for Steve.  Sorry, bud.

Todd was still hauling ass as we made our way to Anteater, and never stopped to slow down where his efforts resulted in a KOM on the S-Gary segment.  I ended up actually getting it probably because I got on E. Peltason behind them, but it was definitely all Todd after that.  He didn't even slow down much on Bonita Canyon and led all the way to NPC. 

While we stopped to make the left, we took off before another guy ahead of us and very shortly after passed him as we started the climb.  Vince had let me get behind Todd for the climb, but Todd turned the heat on more and ultimately had me popping off waving Vince on to latch on to Todd.  Sorry, Vince.  All I could do at that point was just slow down to a pace I can manage and watch the two guys pull away from me. 

They had a pretty sizeable gap up the hill, but I was able to close in after they slowed or stop at a light at the top.  I never was able to get close enough though, so they continued to maintain their gap ahead of me and was near the top of the Pelican climb just as I was making my right turn onto it.  I started to jam at that point, but at the bottom a black SUV opted to pull out just in front of me and the man driving it seemed to slow intentionally as though he wanted me to run into him.  I shared some choice words with him as a result. 

As I started the climb, I didn't see Todd and Vince anymore and actually didn't see them until I made the right turn on PCH.  I hunkered down and worked to close the gap on them as we were heading toward CDM.  I was lucky I was able to come up just behind them as they hit the light before entering into downtown.

When we got going again, it was a little hairy going through downtown CDM opting to skip the Poppy/Ocean detour.  As we were coming up on McArthur, I took the front (finally!) and started to offer Vince and Todd some wind protection.  Todd eventually took the front again after the light before Jamboree and turned it up again where all we could do was sit behind him as he led us down and all the way through the mobile home bike trail.  I was thinking to try and help out once we got on Back Bay, but he kept the heat up making it pointless to even try to get ahead let alone difficult just to keep up.  It took almost 3/4 of the way through Back Bay before I could push up to the front to give the final lead out to the top of Back Bay where the two abused me on the climb with a sprint pass to the sidewalk.

I tried to catch them on the bike trail and it was only because they caught the light on California that I was able to come up on them again.  When we got going up California, Todd led originally, but I thought I'd offer the final lead out up California and got around Todd to take the pace up.  As with the top of Back Bay, they both passed me near the top as a result of my leadout.  By the time we finished, our average was just over 23 mph.  Yup...that hurt.  Damn these guys!

Thanks for the punishment, gents!  We've come a long way on this route for sure.  Here's the results of a comparable ride in 2009:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/14212319.  20.8 average was blazing back in the day.  I think guys are doing that solo nowadays.  Go team BRCM!

2013 Palm Desert Century - Blazing Through the Desert

Strava:  https://www.strava.com/activities/94255064

As far as century routes go, I think Jim Knight found another great route. Although there were lights and stop signs in the route, there seemed to be a lot of long stretches making for some good pedaling to be done and perfect for some team time trial training.  Although we were missing one, we showed up and represented in true Team Broadcom fashion in what has to have been the fastest century (move time-wise) we've ever done.

We arrived in Palm Desert Friday afternoon and stayed at the Hampton Suites where it was less than a mile away from the start/finish.  Shannon picked up his packet before Galen and me, so we went there after and got ours.  We saw Jim and told him how we were out there to have fun but we were getting the timing chip.  He began to talk about how his guys were there and then the conversation turned to the Stagecoach where he immediately went into how he's going to make sure everyone reads the rules.  Galen walked away at that point and I stood there feeling awkward as I'd rather avoid the topic all together.  I did say, however, that we're going out and planning to compete against ourselves as we usually do and expect to have a good time regardless.

Dinner the night before was interesting.  Shannon mentioned there was a nearby Italian food place we can go in lieu of one that we reserved a table for.  It was actually a great restaurant, but we'll need to look up what across the street means given our little trek there.  At first, we all were trying to be good and abstain from drinking but I opted to order a small beer to accompany my eats.  Galen followed suit but chose a small IPA.  When Shannon ordered a large 25 ouncer, however, Galen and I looked at each other and changed our order immediately opting for having what Shannon ordered. If we go down as a result, we'll go down as a team.  Lol.  Mmmmm...beer!

Okay, so let's talk about the ride now, shall we?  The boys were up early and ready to go in time for the first wave, since we figured it would be safer than having to dodge riders throughout the course. We arrived about 5-10 minutes before the start and it was a little chilly where at one point, even my ass cheeks were shivering.  I hate that.  We had all donned arm warmers only though as we knew the weather would warm up and that we would find warmth soon enough once we got going.

When they finally let us go, we didn't take off right away and sat in the middle of the group we were in until we got to where we could see it was clear to take the front safely and with a long stretch of pedaling.  We were probably still within the first mile or so when we decided to take over taking the front as a team of three.  

Of course, we brought the pace up to a respectable level and as a result had picked up some people to ride behind us.  The cool thing was we were pretty left to work the front, which was ideal for our training, as others would let us rotate in front of them.  There was only one point when another guy pulled up to the front on a TT bike, but he was relieved shortly after and relegated to one of the drafters behind us from then on.

Shannon, Galen and I had pretty good rhythm and worked well with one another to keep the pace up.  That's not to say there was no room for improvements as there definitely was, but we would talk and make adjustments as needed, which worked out pretty good.  It definitely helped us stay together throughout and finish with a ridiculous move time average , which was exactly what we set out to do.

During one point on the way out, Shannon thought he flatted, so Galen and I stopped, letting those who were still in our draft (which thinned out to about 6-7 after awhile) go ahead.  Understandably, some were hesitant since they were enjoying the pace we were affording them.  Lol.  When Shannon found out he was okay, it wasn't long before we were going again. Additionally, it also wasn't long before we caught up to the guys we let go ahead of us.  

At first, Shannon was indicating that we should let them do some work, but it wasn't long after that I got us back to the front again.  Well, I thought us meant all three, but when we started rotating, it was just Galen and I so we thought maybe Shannon just wasn't feeling good.  We ended up pulling into the SAG just before the timed section climbing up box canyon.  Shannon rolled in just a little behind us, so we were both hoping he was okay.  

After a quick break, we started off with the group that came in with us and I took the front first thinking we would maintain a good tempo.  When Shannon pulled to the front, however, the pace picked up significantly where at that point, I realized he slowed up before the last SAG specifically for this purpose.  Doh!  Fear set in for me at this point and I began to wonder if I'd have enough to be able to keep Shannon's pace.  It didn't take that long to see that everyone else behind us dropped off.  I was thinking that with all the drafting that they had done that someone would be able to keep up, especially considering we were on TT bikes weighed down with hydration packs to boot.  Galen had tried to pass a couple times to help Shannon, but helping Shannon on a climb is like helping a bird fly or a fish swim.  It took a few attempts, but Galen was finally able to get up front.  I was worried that doing so may upset the tempo Shannon had set, but he wasn't up for too long and Shannon's rhythm would eventually have him passing Galen not too long after.  I was just staying on as best as I could and was hoping for a flatter area where I thought I'd be able to contribute again.  I think there were 2, but even then I was getting passed by Shannon again to do about 90 percent of the leading up the hill.  As we neared the end of the time trial section, I heard Shannon call out "Go!  Go!"  I didn't really think I had anything left but I had to try for the team. I sprinted at that point and went over the timing mat ahead of the others hoping that any additional time I could get us would help get us a good result for the TT incidentally since that wasn't really what we were there for.   If it was, we would have brought road bikes, carried up less fluids, and pulled back a lot sooner.  Looking at those who bettered out time that day, they averaged over 2 mph slower overall for the length of the ride, so....  Through our efforts though, Shannon and I got 2nd in our age class and Galen first in his.  BAM!

We took a break at the top to refuel and prepare for the ride back.  We didn't want to bypass the stops we paid for, so it was not going to be a non-stop trainer, which we all were good with.  

When we got going again, I didn't realize I had inadvertently stopped my Garmin.  As a result, I lost 9 miles of data, which was the downhill section that Galen and I worked together on to give Shannon rest for his efforts up the hill.  We had others who were with us for a free draft again, but despite it being downhill never tried pushing up to the front.  When I finally realized my Garmin shut off, I turned it on and was lucky it was able to sync up again.  It did jack up my stats in the end though, and I guess Shannon had GPS problems too, so Galen's stats most accurately reflect our team effort.

When we got to the bottom, Shannon rejoined the rotations and we were all working together again.  We still had some rotation kinks we had to work out, but we worked through them.  It was important to do so, especially through the windier sections.  We had 2 drafters, which dwindled to just one after awhile.  He was barely hanging on though and at one light commented something to the effect that it sucked that we were on TT bikes.  To this I responded with "most people just say thank you" considering how much we towed him.  He dropped off shortly after.  

We hit one more SAG for a quick break, and left with no one wanting to ride with us at that point.  We stayed together rotating and pushing through where ultimately we were close to being back.  Galen decided to pull a lunch ride move and amp it up just before finishing without letting anyone know, but Shannon and I were fine letting him get away at that point.  I did try and chase h down for fun at the last stretch, but we'll definitely not be doing that for the Stagecoach.  It'll be all about the team for the actual race, so all "we" efforts and no "me" efforts for sure.

In the end, we finished with a move time of ~4:15 minutes with 30 minutes of break and stop light times resulting in an elapsed time still way under 5 hours.  Needless to say, there were no other century finishers there with us in the end. With a move average of ~23.5 mph, I don't think anyone was even close to finishing behind us.

It was definitely a great day of riding and more importantly, a great training ride for the 3 of us.  We came, we rode, we represented big time.  I'm so glad to have made it out with Shannon and Galen.  These guys kicked ass and showed their BAM spirit in so many aspects that I was just glad to be a part of it.  We'll definitely consider doing this ride again next year and hopefully with Todd too making for an actual 4 man team. Dare I say 24 mph average?  

Next stop:  Stagecoach.  Woohoo!!!

Lunch Ride - Portola OAB Taper Run with a 23.1 Average...What?

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/93773802

It was a rather small group today with only 5 of us out (Shannon, Jeremy, Jaffe, Vin and me).  The course selection for today was Portola OAB mostly because I was looking forward to a light spin to taper in preparation for this weekend's ride.  I didn't have my TT bike today (wha?), but that's mostly because it was already undergoing day 1 preparations.  Day 2 will be this evening.  Shannon, however, wanted to get a last run in on his TT bike to shake out the bugs before this weekend,  as well as test out his new hydration system on his bike.  Given this, I wasn't sure whether a light spin would actually take place.  Maybe if I stayed in the back the whole time, it'll be okay.   Not!

Once we got going on the bike trail, Shannon started to light it up so it was either hang on or drop off.  He ended up pulling for most of the way to Harvard, with Jeremy offering a couple pulls and Vin taking a turn up front.  I'm not sure if Jaffe made it up front, but at the pace we were going, I suppose it was understandable.

When we got to Harvard, I thought the light was red, but Shannon immediately jumped into the intersection and started to hammer.  Jeremy and Vin were with him, but I got caught sleeping as did Jaffe who was behind me.  I literally had to sprint for a good distance just to be able to latch back on to the group, but Jaffe wasn't as fortunate.

With Shannon seemingly needing a break, Jeremy took the front and led us to a stop light at one of the intersections.  I had rolled up to the front not really planning to take a pull, but since I was there I started pedaling and trying to get us back to the pace they were holding.  When I looked back just before the bike trail opening though, I noticed no one was behind me.  Oops!  I checked up at the bike trail and got back in line with Shannon leading the charge once again.

Jeremy and I took some pulls, but it was definitely Shannon doing a bulk of the work.  When we got to the top, we ended up getting a real good time from CA to Portola because of his efforts.  I got to the top first finishing the final pull to the top, so I turned around expecting we were going to continue on.  I noticed no one was behind me for a bit, so I checked up and waited to regroup with the others.  When I saw Jeremy eventually roll up and finally passed me, I looked back and didn't see Shannon.  I saw Vin still making his way up, as he had fallen off, so I figured he would run into Shannon in case Shannon had something happen.  Jeremy then told me eventually that Shannon had stopped at the top to rest.  Since I had to get back, Jeremy and I continued to alternate picking up Jaffe on the way back.

The wind was a little rough heading back, but we held a pretty good pace with Jeremy taking some real strong pulls.  I really wasn't digging having to work, but looking at the time on my Garmin, I had to get back due to an appointment I had scheduled just before lunch.

Jaffe was sitting in the draft for most of the way back, but decided to pull up just as we were coming up on two other riders in kits.  He tried to pass on the inside of one of the tighter turns and got an earful from one of the riders, but we let them know we were sorry and it was cool.  Jeremy relieved him after that and we took turns all the way back to California.  Jeremy and I went up to get back, but Jaffe continued on to finish the route I called out originally, which was to finish up Jamboree.

I hear Shannon ended up giving Vin a chance to get a head start on the way back, but reeled him in despite this...as expected.  I hope they had a good run back considering the wind was no fun, and I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to stay together.  Thanks for the pulls today, gents!  Hopefully, I'll be able to be recovered enough for this weekend.

Lunch Ride - The TTTodd Jacobs Show

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/93595951

Although Todd tried to see if I'd be available for an earlier TT ride than normal, I didn't think I could make it out in time and had pretty much believed in my mind I'd be riding alone.  As luck would have it (not sure if it's good luck or bad), Todd ended up in the locker room around the same time I did and Mitchell arrived shortly after to join in the festivities.  We didn't plan to do a long ride since we had commitments we had to return early for, so we opted for a Bike Trail, Laguna Canyon, Shady, Condo loop.  Todd mentioned early on to not punish him (probably referring to our Monday outing), but little did he know that he'd be the one doing all the punishing today.  

It started off easy enough as we headed down California where I even pushed past Todd to take the front toward the bottom of the hill.  When we got on the bike trail, we stopped for a moment since Todd had a problem with his glasses.  Once we got going again, Todd and I started taking turns and pushing the pace pretty early on.  We both took turns pretty evenly early on, but then I thought it started to shift where Todd was taking some longer pulls while I did what I could to just stay with him.  By the time we got to the bridge before Harvard, I looked back and I guess the speed was just too much for Mitchell as he was no longer behind us at this point. 

Once Todd exited the bridge ahead of me, he started to pull away again and I thought it would be a matter of just reeling him back in again and then taking a turn after I recover.  Well this was a bad call on my part and it became a matter of just trying to not let Todd get too far ahead of me or worse yet...drop me all together.  I think if it wasn't for the street crossings and other areas where we had to slow down, he'd have dropped me for sure. 

When we got on the bike trail on Jeffrey, I was thinking I should do better here but Todd pulled away early and stayed ahead where all I could do again was just stay off the back and hope the gap doesn't continue to grow.  Thus, it was mostly two separate efforts vs. one that's combined making for no reprieve from the winds at all.   Fortunately, I was just able to come up behind him just as we got on Laguna Canyon.

I really wanted to do my share of work, but Todd kept pulling away from me every time we'd start off.  I told him at the light on Alton to go ahead without me if I dropped, so I'm sure this motivated him to try and drop me even more.  HAHA.  There were certainly times when I felt like saying "no mas" but it wouldn't be a good work out if I did. 

I think I finally got to take the front for a little as we descended on Quail Hill towards Shady, but even then it wasn't too long.  Todd got ahead of me on the turnabout where an Escalade had gotten between us, and panic set in for me at that point given I did not want to let Todd get a head start on the hill.  That would not be good.  I was able to push and make my way close to him by the time we entered the bike trail, but he pulled away for a bit early on.  I had to dig real deep to just be able to get back up to him, and ended up sitting on his rear wheel all the way to the top. 

Todd descended and gapped me again early on making for some serious interval training for me.  I definitely did what I could to not get too far back, and I was fortunate to get back up to him after one of the little small climbs.  This yo-yo effect continued all the way down to Bonita Canyon, so I was getting so worked that I felt like I was going to die. 

We had a long light at Bonita Canyon, which let me recover some, where when we got going, I was able to stay with Todd and actually help and take a pull again.  Todd and I were able to take turns as we made our way to the Condo.  I started us up the climb but didn't have the same momentum as I had on Monday mostly because of a bus that was sitting after the turn to Jamboree that just pulled out in front of us.  I still gave it a go and led for a good portion of the hill, but Todd came by on the inside and was able to once again gap me.  I had to once again turn it up just to be able to make my way back up to him before the turn to Bison, but the cars making a right also helped to slow him down...thank God!

When we got on Bison, I had no more fight in me and Todd continued to push all the way to California where all I could do at that point was just barely hang on just behind him.  I was so glad it was over when we got there as my lungs were on fire, my eyes were burning, and I again felt like I was going to die.  This feeling lasted for a good hour after the ride as well, so I guess you can say it was a good training ride.  After all, that was about as close to death as I'd want to be, so I'm figuring having escaped it means I'm going to be stronger, right?  We'll see.  Thanks for handing me my ass today, Mr. J!  It was definitely all you.  

BRCM Lunch - Hill Trainer with the Crew

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/93420120

Attendees:  Vince, Todd, Hiroshi, Jeremy, Mitchell and Vin

In the locker room, I overheard Vince and Todd talking about how I brought the cheater bike in today again.  I'm really finding it difficult to understand how exactly it would be considered cheating when 1) a TT bike is NOT made for climbing and today was full of hills, 2) I'm pushing up to the front to pull as much as I can no questions asked and 3) it's a lunch ride...not a race, people.  When surrounded by type A guys, I guess any advantage, whether it's actual or simply a delusion, can render such a conclusion.  The reality is this is the bike I'm racing with, so this is the bike I'm trying to get adequate seat time on.  Hello?  I've mentioned this probably on my last couple blogs already. 

The weather was a little warmer than yesterday and the winds were also more noticeable, so this was indeed going to be a challenge.  I thought at first that maybe I'll try and save some energy for the hills just so I don't drop that bad, but dropping really isn't such a bad thing.  In fact, sometimes it's nice to fall off and set up my own pace but try not to let the group get away too far.  Hopefully, as the grade flattens out, opportunities can be had to close the gap then.  It ended up being a lot more challenging than I thought. 

When we started out, I threw caution to the wind and decided I'll just try and get the best workout I can.  I took the front right away to take the lead and started to push not really minding the speed and/or who's behind me, but just trying to get into a rhythm but at a respectable pace.  I held the front all the way up to Anteater until Vince came around and passed me.  He actually gapped me initially, but I was able to make my way back up to him after the last stop sign before Bonita Canyon.  I thought there were others behind us, but it turned out we had gotten separated from the others.  Todd was leading the rest of the pack, but he pointed out later on how everyone else just stayed behind him the whole time.  Jeremy may have been more willing to help, but he had run over a pipe or something cylindrical upon making the turn on Bison and was probably worried more about his bike than the ride (speculation).   Vince and I would have kept the breakaway had the light stayed green for us, but we ended up getting caught at the light where the others caught us.

When the light turned green, Todd took the front early on, but I wanted to push the pace again and jumped to the front as soon as I could.  I led for a good portion of the climb up Shady, but after Todd and the others came around, I actually found myself a little winded and unable to latch on as the whole crew passed me and began to break away.  I was certain I'd catch them on the descent and/or on Sunnyhill or Turtle Rock, but whoever was working the front definitely kept me at bay.   All I could do was keep an eye on them and hope that sometime after Starcrest, I can somehow manage to close the gap again at least on some of them.

As I climb up Turtle Rock and Starcrest, I could see that there was already some separation among the front group.  Despite this, I was still not able to close the gap enough to where I ended up the last one up Starcrest.  No surprise there though.  I pretty much was certain they would continue on and not wait, but lo and behold, everyone except Vince was sitting in the cul-de-sac waiting for me.  Yay!

As I approached, I told the group let's go on and Todd immediately took the lead down Ridgeline.  Once we got on Turtle Rock though, I thought to take the front as pay back for them waiting for me and did my best to help try to see if we can reel Vince in.  Todd had also been helping, but as we tried, we just missed the light at Bonita Canyon where we saw Vince go through on the green ahead of us. 

Todd took the lead after the light turned green, and I thought I'd take the front again and realized that we were heading up NPC shortly.  I took a bite of humble pie and sat back to try and recover so that I don't get dropped too badly on the climb.  Todd had gotten into chase mode knowing Vince was ahead of us and almost forgot to make the right on NPC.  After we called out to him to let him know, he quickly changed routes and made the turn.  Now the light wasn't exactly green yet, ahem, but I'm just as guilty and decided to follow while the traffic was clear.  I believe the rest followed behind me as well as they were just off the back of my bike when I looked back.  Todd had gotten a lead on the NPC climb, and that pretty much meant there would be no chance to try to have him tow me/us up the hill behind him...at least for as long as I could hang on.  He must have seen Vince ahead of us and at one point began to increase the gap further and further.  I stayed ahead of the others behind me for a little bit, but Jeremy passed me before we got to the 73 underpass.  I managed to latch on when he did, and I guess Mitchell had jumped behind me after being towed by Jeremy. 

Jeremy was holding a good pace, so I did what I could to stay on his wheel.  As it flattened out a little, I still stayed behind but to recover a little hoping that at one point I can again take the front.   I may have held Jeremy out a little longer than I wanted, so when I passed to take the front it may have been too much to try and latch on.  I heard him tell Mitchell to go ahead, so maybe because he didn't, neither were able to latch on after I took the front.  I was on my aeros at the time and tried to just keep the power constant for the rest of the climb.  I expected to see both of them behind me as I approached San Joaquin, but I was surprised to see I was alone by then.

I pushed on not seeing Todd or Vince but hoping that I'd be able to make ground on them now that it's cheater bike territory.  However, I was only able to match Todd's speed through the horseshoe where he was able to reel Vince in by the end (so I was told). 

When I came out of the horseshoe, I made my way to Spyglass and charged up the hill after spotting he and Todd as they were nearing the top.  On the descent, I managed to get lucky where I was able to make the right turn on a green not long after the 3 ahead of me.  I guess Mitchell missed the horseshoe.  Now I could have probably pushed really hard to make my way up to them as we climbed San Miguel, but I tried to moderate the rate of closing the gap just so I don't blow myself up.  Plus, I figured I'd have a good chance to really catch them on McArthur.  This proved to be my downfall as the gap between us was big enough to catch me at a light just prior to getting back on San Joaquin.  Bummer. 

I didn't stay at the intersection too long, but the three ahead had good momentum and increased the gap enough where I was just able to see them make the right turn onto McArthur just as I was getting onto San Joaquin.  I turned it on as soon as I made the right turn, but the three ahead of me were also moving pretty fast.  I may have been closing some on them but then I saw that the light on Bonita Canyon/Ford was going to stay green for them after it was green for a while.  Just as they made their way through the intersection, the light turned yellow and I knew my chase was over.  It was fun while it lasted though, but the guys ahead were just moving too fast.

I never saw anyone else, but Jeremy was back in the gym as well when I returned so I guess he opted for a shorter way back.  He was inspecting his bike in the gym, so I hope it didn't get damaged by the pipe he ran over. 

It was a tough ride for sure, but definitely another good trainer.  I'll probably be riding one more time this week on the TT, so maybe I'll get on another bike for Thursday's ride and spin before this weekend.  I definitely should not have underestimated this crew on the descents and flats since their pace on road bikes is no joke.  That's what makes training with them so awesome.  Good job, folks!

Lunch TT Trainer with Todd - Bike Route Laguna Canyon Ridgeline Condo Route

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/93244734

While I was in Sacramento over the weekend, I monitored Strava as I would normally and saw people getting a lot of good riding and/or training in.  Needless to say, I was jealous.  To boot, I also hadn't ridden since last Tuesday (spun Wed and Thur only and flattened my ass on a stationary bike on Saturday), so I really wanted to get back on a real bike again.  However, wanting to get back on a bike again and doing so while riding with others on the team comes with mixed feelings...mixed because it's good to be back on the bike but riding with team mates means you'll be punished if you're not on your 'A' game. 

Todd ended up coming in to the locker room after me ready to get some more miles in.  He's definitely logging the most weekly miles than everyone else according to Strava, so it's rather intimidating to think after he put in ~135 miles over the weekend, he was out for more.  Crazy. 

We saw Steve in the gym as well and invited him to come, but he made plans to ride with Hiroshi instead.  Shannon rolled up as we were just finishing getting ready, and we asked him to come out with us too.  However, he had other training plans and didn't want to ride with who he referred to as "crazy guys."  I hope this changes before January.  Haha.

 Not sure how I was going to feel initially given my hiatus, I was glad to realize once we started heading down California that being back on the aero bars felt "familiar."  This is a good thing.  I was able to feel comfortable and manage my power/pace right off the bat.   I was definitely ready to get it done.  In contrast, Todd was feeling the miles from the weekend and despite wanting to push his cardio, his legs didn't want to cooperate.  I can definitely empathize knowing how long miles over the weekend can effect my Monday efforts. 

Despite Todd not running at full capacity, he was still pushing the pace taking turns to keep the pace up on the bike trail.  He had no problem negotiating turns making for a lot of work to close the gap should I find myself going through it behind him. 

We took turns pulling through Laguna Canyon, but Todd was feeling the weekend more as we got on Quail Hill heading to the bike trail again.  He had gotten ahead just as we got onto the circle almost getting barreled by a car who opted not to yield the right of way as she pulled into it, so I was thinking that would kick up his adrenalin making for a fast pass on the bike trail by the 405.  He was definitely moving as he went through the turns, but I took the front after we cleared the last bend and led us over to Ridgeline at a pretty good clip.

Going up Ridgeline, Todd led us up the whole way once again finding the perfect pace for us to make it up together.  I took over once we got on Turtle Rock and got us over to the Bonita Canyon intersection.  Todd took the front immediately after we got on Bonita Canyon, but I still had legs and momentum and ended up taking us through the rolling hills up to the McArthur light. 

When it turned green, I was eager to see if I could find a better way to climb up the Condo on my bike, so I immediately started pushing the pace on Ford.  Once I made the turn onto Jamboree, I just dumped the clutch and took off up the hill.  I had a pretty good run up, and Todd gave me kudos for it after believing it could have been a record pace.  It didn't end up being the case, but it felt good.  :)

We finished the ride making for another great workout and one where I know Todd will be motivated to do better on his next outing.  He's funny this way since anyone else who did the mileage he did would be happy just to be on the bike let alone push as strong as he did.  I may have to skip tomorrow's ride as a result.  HA HA.   Thanks for coming out, bud!

Lunch Ride - Hill Training with the BRCM Crew

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/92050547

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

This was another good-sized group today.  I guess the cooler temperatures are making for better conditions to get the fair-weather riders (cough, Mitchell, cough) to come out more regularly.  For some, it actually allows them to do two rides as seen with Hiroshi's Strava where he did the coffee crew this morning followed by our lunch ride.  Nice.

I brought my TT bike wanting to get more seat time on it due to my limited riding schedule this week, but it was definitely not the ideal for today's route that included over 1700 ft of climbing.  I chose the route since 1) no one can say I'm on a cheater bike given all the climbing (although Todd still did despite telling me Saturday to do what I need to do...haha) and 2) I really wanted to get some hill training on the TT bike.  I knew I'd be dropping off given the strength of the group, but my goal was just to find a rhythm and work on getting more comfortable climbing.

When we started off, Todd must have been eager to test out his newly installed crank-based power meter as he darted down California like he was raring to breakaway.  I know I was working early on just to not let him get too far away.  Fortunately, we all caught a light at the bottom, so he didn't get to take off and play rabbit too early.

On the bike trail, Todd and Shannon were taking turns up front, but I pushed up as soon as I could to help as well given that I was on a cheater bike.  I thought I'd be doing most of the work up and into Back Bay, but Todd, Shannon and Jeremy were all pushing up and wanting in on the rotation too.  It's odd to rotate with guys on road bikes though as this never happens elsewhere.  Nice.  It was a little windy on the way out to Back Bay, so the rotations made it more tolerable.   Plus, I didn't want to kill it on Back Bay knowing full well that the more I did, the more it will set me back on the climbs starting at San Joaquin.  Despite this, everyone mad passed me once we got onto San Joaquin as we climbed our way up to Jamboree.  Hell, even my wingman seemed to leave me for dead.  HAHA.  It was fortunate that they all got caught at the light.

Speaking of light, I think we hit almost every single red light as we were heading up toward NPC.  From each light, it felt like the guys would take off and gap me immediately where I would never be able to ride up to them until they hit the next light.  By the time we got past Spyglass, however, that gap grew big fast.  I was able to pick up Jaffe near the bottom to get him up to where it flattened out, but I broke away from him and started to give chase to Vince and Hiroshi who I could see ahead of me.

Vince and Hiroshi caught up to Mitchell and Vin on NPC just ahead of me and got caught at a light.  As Vince saw I was approaching, he tore off from the light hoping to inspire the rest of the guys to rotate with him and keep me at bay.  Unfortunately for Vince, no one seemed to want to sign up for that as he led all the way down and kept the gap as he climbed up Pelican.  I was off the back given they were going at a pretty good pace, but after rounding the turn to Pelican I passed Hiroshi and Vin shortly after.  Mitchell had latched on as I passed (now he wants to be my wingman) as I slowly tried making my way to Vince.  I could never catch Vince on the first few climbs, but got some momentum on the last climb and made my way past him about a quarter of the way up.  At this point, I found a tempo for the gear I was in that I could hold and let me pull away on the climb.

When I got to the light,  it was red but it turned green just as I was about to come to a stop.  Once I got going again, Vince and Hiroshi passed me and seemed to be working together as they pulled away on NPC and headed to Vista.  Mitchell and Vin lined up behind me though, so I led them onto Vista for the climb.  Once again, I was able to find a gear and tempo that allowed me to keep a pretty consistent pace that allowed me to push past Vince and Hiroshi.  As before, the pace was good enough to create a gap behind me.  I was able to hold the gap all the way to the top, but I think Vince and the others were closing at the last part of the hill.

I didn't see Todd, Jeremy or Shannon, who had pretty much been broken away the whole time, and I  knew no one was going to stop behind me, so I kept going once I got on Park Ridge.  I saw Vince just behind me as I started the descent, so I knew he wouldn't be far behind.  I was a little nervous descending on the aero bars given that my rear brakes were pretty loose and I didn't want to cook my wheels should someone pull out from the side street.  I checked up as a result, and about midway down, Vince went zooming by past me.  We both had to check up as we headed onto NPC due to a truck waiting at the corner, and Vince had a gap on me when he entered where I expected that I'd need to give chase on the NPC descent to try and reel him in.  I called out to go straight, but I think Vince took that as he was suppose to go straight on Park Ridge to ultimately end up on San Joaquin.  Thus, he made an abrupt left turn to make the green left turn light onto San Joaquin and I race to do the same barely making it across just in case the others ahead of us had done the same.  It turned out they didn't, but at least I could ride with Vince.

We saw some guys ahead of us, so I called out to Vince to latch on as I passed to work and reel them in.  We were able to do so just as it started to Descend toward Spyglass with Vince taking another turn as we approached the street to keep the pace up.  One guy did give chase to us as we passed, and eventually caught us at the light on Marguerite.  His buddies also showed up, so I thought I'd give them a nice pull as we made our way to McArthur.   They ended up going straight as we made the right turn onto McArthur, but I was hoping they would follow since I really wanted to open it up on this descent.  Vince tucked in behind me, but I had ended up breaking away since I was in full steam ahead mode.  I also got a green light on Bonita Canyon, so I was able to set my PR for that descent as a result. 

I didn't slow down much and made my way onto Bison where I saw Shannon ahead of me.  I was still shooting for a 20 mph avg since it was showing 19.9 on my Garmin after I rounded the Bison corner, so I kept pushing all the way to California and got to see it go up to 20.0 mph even just as I made the turn.  Wouldn't you know it though...Strava knocked it back down to 19.9.  Sigh. 

We arrived at the gym, and for the most part, everyone came in shortly after our arrival.  Todd and Jeremy did some extra credit after Vista, so I guess we were able to get by them or we had a faster run to Bison with the path we took.  We may need to separate these two, and Shannon too, if we want to have a more cohesive hilly ride since they keep breaking away on the hills.  Don't hold your breath though.

Good job out there, gents, and thanks for not giving me too hard of a time with my TT bike.  Unfortunately, I'll be riding this primarily in preparation for the upcoming Palm Desert TT and the Fiesta Island TT, but this just means free tows on the flatter sections.  Cool, right? 

Thanks for coming out!

Shannon's version:

So, I just got a call from Rich.  He asked me to blog about the ride, as he is still on course.

 

Given the hills and his TT rig it is understandable… I mean if you can’t count to 5.

 

I have no idea why someone would select a route with hills and then bring a TT bike, but then again, I am not even going to think about it.  More power to them (and I use the term ‘power’ figuratively’).

 

Anyway….

 

On the way out we caught the light from CA to the BB, sweet. 

 

There seemed to be some apprehension on the Back Bay, with folks debating whether or not they owned a pair.  Rich got hung out quite a bit.  I mean, he deserves it showing up on that bike, but eventually it was just Richdiculous, and we started rotating through.    

 

San Joaq could have been ugly if the lights worked at all in our favor.  But, they did not.  So Todd couldn’t decimate us. Eventually we got to the climbing.  Mitch made a good move and held Todd and Jeremy’s wheel for a while, nice.  About ¾ of the way up things broke apart and the group splintered for what appeared to be the rest of the ride.

 

Todd and I had words about taking the circuitous route to NPC, and thanks to a red light he agreed to take the shortcut. The hammer-fest in the lead group was brutal, I was happy to trail him from a distance, eventually getting Jeremy back to the point where he could latch on and I could bail out.

 

Looks like the group took a different route back, which was a good idea given the lights. 

 

These hour 1:10 rides are tough for working folks, I will re-align my priorities.