Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Lunch Ride - Return of the Irishman
Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/42372230
Attendees: Shannon, Vince, Vin, Adrian, Jeremy, Mitchell, Jaffe, Hiroshi, Jaffe, Paul B. and me.
So I'm sitting in the locker getting change and lo and behold, the great Shannon McGee walked into the locker room and has opted come out of his road bike hiatus and join us once again. Sweet! The irony here is as we're all happy to see him back, that will probably change soon after due to the pain he tends to dole out. In any case, welcome back, bud!
Paul B. also opted to join us as he does so on occasion. Always a pleasure to have more people come out to the rides. With today's turnout of 11, it was definitely a good day to represent.
Unfortunately, my head just wasn't in the game today and I was even uncertain as to whether I would be riding. I had already mentioned to Shannon how I didn't plan to do much/any work today given I just wanted to sit in the back and deal with my "anxiety" issues. The absence of clarity in my mind definitely didn't want me to lead others into a dangerous situation that I would otherwise be more aware of given normal circumstances. I know this probably bothered some that I wasn't doing my share of the work, but I did do some gap closing when I could. That's better than nothing, right?
Anyway, back to the ride....
Despite the numbers today, the group stayed together for the most part throughout the ride. On Back Bay, everyone was doing their share of the work (except me). there were a couple instances where some had fallen off the paceline, but I did pull a few guys back in when I could.
While no one sprinted to the San Joaquin sprint point, Vince, Shannon and Adrian did break away some for the final stretch. Vince even started to gap, but he missed the turn to the trailer park bike trail and had to fall back in line with the rest of us shmucks.
On the climb up Jamboree, Vince was holding a good pace going up when Adrian came by and decided he wanted to show off his recent training (he did 90 miles last week after all, which I think he even mentioned to people in passing cars who were willing to listen. I helped to close the gap on him, but once we got to the top I relegated myself back to the end of the line.
The ride through CDM was pretty uneventful and everyone stayed together throughout. Once we got on PCH again though, Vince, Shannon, Adrian and Mitchell started to gap the others. I waited for others to see if they can close it, but I eventually offered to help. We never got on to the rear wheel of the pack ahead of us, but we got close enough.
On the NPC climb, Hiroshi led everyone up and was doing great to keep the pace. When we got on Pelican, I think Shannon, Mitchell and Vince started to gap the rest of us. I opted to try and help close the gap and took the front with others (Jeremy and Hiroshi or Vin?) just behind me. As we started going up the last rise, Adrian pulled a Verm and passed me with bad intentions (how do I know? He said "F'in pansies" as he passed). We all know how this ends though, right folks? That's right...kabooom! I kept my pace steady and made my way past him. I think Shannon heard me coming though, so he turned it up and started to pull away from the rest of us. He's baaaaacck!
We all regrouped after the light on NPC, and once we got going again, Vince Shannon and Adrian took off down the other side. Since no one seemed too interested in closing, I gave chase slowly closing but running out of juice by the time I got to the 73 underpass. My handy dandy wingman Mitchell came around at that point, and took over for the chase. We all were able to regroup at the light before Bonita Canyon.
On Bonita Canyon, I was still in draft mode but everyone was doing well to keep the pace up. I decided since we were close to finishing that I'd try to make my way to the front, but that idea was eventually squashed at one of the lights.
Once we got onto Ford, however, I offered Shannon (and whoever else willing to latch on) a wheel to draft behind for the climb up the condo. Shannon was hesitant at first, but eventually took my wheel. We caught the green at the intersection making for an ideal turn in onto Jamboree, but as I started climbing I think I hit a stick and something else where both flew up but thankfully didn't make me crash or damage my bike. This didn't slow the pace down though, and we just kept on going. As we started to near the crest, I hear Shannon making his move to pass with authority as he stayed off the seat doing so, and fortunately I was just able to latch on as he passed. While we didn't PR the climb, we did pretty good nonetheless especially considering the traffic at the Bison intersection.
After regrouping at the light on McArthur, I was watching to see who would make a sprint out of it. Sure enough, Vin launched the intial assault and while it looked like the 2nd light would be a good place to catch him, it turned greeen again where it didn't seem to slow him down much. Vince, Adrian and I started to give chase but I knew I didn't have the legs to catch Vin. Adrian had other ideas though and after passing me made his way up to Vin and turned into California ahead of him. Nice work! Don't let it get to your head though, Adrian, as you still have a LOOOONNNNGGGG way to go. AHA
Great training ride today, gents. I'll hopefully be back in good spirits for Thursday's ride. I just need to take a big bite of #5 before then. Thanks!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Lunch Ride - NPC Double BB (Chase the Rabbit)
Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/41770443
Attendees: Vin, Todd, Adrian, Jaffe, Hiroshi, Mitchell and Jeremy
It's been awhile since we've done a rabbit chase-type ride, but it seems like a great way to fire up people for some intense training. Volunteers to be the rabbit are far and few, however, so once again I opted to be the hunted. I was hoping to get a 3 minute head start since there is a decent climb on the route (NPC), but after some "negotiations" I only took 2. Todd only wanted to give me 1, so we met in the middle. They caught me with a 2 minute head start in the past on a Portola OAB ride, so I was thinking it would happen sooner on this route. The difference, however, was today I took my TT bike. Hell, if I'm going to ride alone for a good portion of the ride, I may as well have some fun.
When I took off, I was trying to watch the clock just to see where I would be when I hit the 2 minute mark. I thought that put me only as far as Anteater, but after playing back my Garmin data on their website, I realized I hadn't even reached Anteater yet when 2 minutes hit. I'm sure more panic would have set in had I known this during the ride.
When I got to NPC, I wanted to keep a good pace going up but didn't want to blow out my legs trying to do so. I did end up dropping down to the small ring up front halfway through just to make sure I'd have enough at the top to work on trying to extend the gap again. However, this strategy proved to be flawed only because by the time I got to the top and tried to shift back to the big ring, my chain dropped! Damn! I was trying to get it back on the ring while pedaling (it works sometimes) but no luck. I had to get off the bike just to be able to get it back on, and the whole time I was doing it I was also watching to see if/when someone would come around. I was surprised no one was there yet by the time I got it back on and got going again, but then what happens: I hit the first light (where it turns right into the horseshoe). As I started to go again, I turned around and saw the almighty Todd Jacobs fast approaching, so I hightailed it up and over the rollers and down the other side.
By luck, I was able to get through the light on Spyglass whereas it was turning yellow just as I had gone through. I figured this would buy me some time, but there were still a lot of lights to go as well. For every light I hit, I turned around and watched to see if Todd and the others were making their way toward me. I'm surprised I didn't kink my neck from turning around as much as I did.
Anyway, long story short is that the guys were not able to catch me today. I totally took advantage of being on the TT on the rollers and on BB, but I always believed that at some point I will get caught. Even on the light to go across University to go up California, I kept thinking they're coming. However, I got lucky and managed to keep the hunters from taking me down today.
I'm sure the rules will change for the next time, but then Shannon, Galen, Vince and others will probably show up and skew it in favor of the peloton vs. the rabbit. In any case, I hope the objective of getting a good training ride in was met. I know I got worked.
Thanks, gents!
Attendees: Vin, Todd, Adrian, Jaffe, Hiroshi, Mitchell and Jeremy
It's been awhile since we've done a rabbit chase-type ride, but it seems like a great way to fire up people for some intense training. Volunteers to be the rabbit are far and few, however, so once again I opted to be the hunted. I was hoping to get a 3 minute head start since there is a decent climb on the route (NPC), but after some "negotiations" I only took 2. Todd only wanted to give me 1, so we met in the middle. They caught me with a 2 minute head start in the past on a Portola OAB ride, so I was thinking it would happen sooner on this route. The difference, however, was today I took my TT bike. Hell, if I'm going to ride alone for a good portion of the ride, I may as well have some fun.
When I took off, I was trying to watch the clock just to see where I would be when I hit the 2 minute mark. I thought that put me only as far as Anteater, but after playing back my Garmin data on their website, I realized I hadn't even reached Anteater yet when 2 minutes hit. I'm sure more panic would have set in had I known this during the ride.
When I got to NPC, I wanted to keep a good pace going up but didn't want to blow out my legs trying to do so. I did end up dropping down to the small ring up front halfway through just to make sure I'd have enough at the top to work on trying to extend the gap again. However, this strategy proved to be flawed only because by the time I got to the top and tried to shift back to the big ring, my chain dropped! Damn! I was trying to get it back on the ring while pedaling (it works sometimes) but no luck. I had to get off the bike just to be able to get it back on, and the whole time I was doing it I was also watching to see if/when someone would come around. I was surprised no one was there yet by the time I got it back on and got going again, but then what happens: I hit the first light (where it turns right into the horseshoe). As I started to go again, I turned around and saw the almighty Todd Jacobs fast approaching, so I hightailed it up and over the rollers and down the other side.
By luck, I was able to get through the light on Spyglass whereas it was turning yellow just as I had gone through. I figured this would buy me some time, but there were still a lot of lights to go as well. For every light I hit, I turned around and watched to see if Todd and the others were making their way toward me. I'm surprised I didn't kink my neck from turning around as much as I did.
Anyway, long story short is that the guys were not able to catch me today. I totally took advantage of being on the TT on the rollers and on BB, but I always believed that at some point I will get caught. Even on the light to go across University to go up California, I kept thinking they're coming. However, I got lucky and managed to keep the hunters from taking me down today.
I'm sure the rules will change for the next time, but then Shannon, Galen, Vince and others will probably show up and skew it in favor of the peloton vs. the rabbit. In any case, I hope the objective of getting a good training ride in was met. I know I got worked.
Thanks, gents!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Weekend Trainer with THE Todd Jacobs
Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/41129213
After yesterday's lunch ride with Vince and Jaffe, I didn't really think my legs were going to be fully recovered enough to ride with Todd. Todd had come into my office after lunch to pick up his wheel and said that if I go, I can actually just sit on his rear wheel the whole time. Although I know that is STILL a tall order given Todd's power numbers, I didn't want to let him down since I had already said earlier in the week I should be able to make it. Thus, I came out this morning with the hope that I'd be able to stay with him for most if not the whole ride.
We decided to meet in Ladera Ranch since Todd said it is too cold to meet by my house, and boy was he right. I left my house where my car indicated 43 degrees outside temp just a little after 7 a.m. By the time I got up to Ladera Ranch where we would meet at The Ranch for a 7:30 a.m. departure, it was 59 degrees. Ridiculous. We would hit some pockets of cold temps during the ride as we rode in and out of a lot of long shadows, but overall it wasn't too bad. It warmed up to about 75 by the end of the ride, so it was good we finished when we did. While it looked like I wore my compression pants for warmth, it was actually just to make sure there was enough circulation in my legs just to keep up with Todd. I was able to wear just a jersey, bib and shorty gloves, which was perfect for the temps.
Mapping out the route Todd had in mind, it was about 70 miles, but by the end of the ride, it actually came out to almost 75. Rather than doing it the direction we planned originally, we went the opposite way to avoid the cold temperatures through the canyon. That meant a canyon finish, which to me meant finishing in Todd's training grounds. Oh boy.
True to his word, Todd pretty much led me through Mission Viejo, over to Laguna Hills, and Aliso Viejo. I may have taken the front on the downhill once or twice, but more so because of momentum than anything else. Todd would always come back around and take the front soon after, and never even complained once. In fact, quite the opposite. He was just glad to have company training, and I was too.
Going through Olympiad and Aliso Creek, I was worried that Todd would start to pull away from me, but I think all the drafting I did helped to let me hold his wheel. Aliso Creek was tough, but Todd held a good steady pace the whole time...one of his greatest strengths. He can set up a hill with just the right pace where he can hold it the whole time, so it helped a lot to be able to stay with him.
We did pick up a rider on PCH, dropped him at one point but caught back up at a light, and then drafted us all the way to Poppy. It was one of those types of rides where we wouldn't really try to drop anyone, so we had some people latch on here and there. Eventually, they would drop at some time after, but not because we were trying to do so.
We took it easy as we rode through ocean admiring the scenery, and the same on Back Bay. The bike trail was also difficult to go fast on since there were a lot of people, so we pretty much cruised all the way to where we took a break at the park just before reaching Harvard. It was nice to take a break on a ride...something we didn't do much when training for Stagecoach.
When we got going, it was still Todd leading us, although I was trying to help a little more since it seemed like Todd was tiring. I still worried that he'd be in his element in the canyon, so I opted to stay behind him as we rode up to Portola and up Jamboree.
We were still passing riders on Jamboree, but as we descended toward Santiago, one guy who we passed came by us and passed before making the right into the canyon. Todd didn't give chase at the time, and while I offered to reel him in, Todd indicated he was interested in saving some for the canyon. I figured that was fine since Todd would likely reel him in once we're in the canyon. Another guy also passed as we were climbing toward dump and still no reaction from Todd, but sure enough, we were able to make our way to both of them by the time we crested or on our way down the other side.
After passing them both, Todd and I were taking turns through the canyons and no one was rotating up front with us. I was afraid we would be used and abused, and sure enough, the 2nd guy who passed us on the hill up Dump was now passing and at a good pace. Todd had gotten on his rear wheel while I held Todd's. Todd was starting to drop off a little though, so I decided to close the gap. Being about 55 miles in already and having held the front most of the time, Todd wasn't up for staying with us at that point. I didn't want this guy to think he broke us off, however, so I opted to just hold him out and hope that he'd slow enough to have Todd regroup. I also thought if I passed him, he may play me and drop me on the climb toward Cook's. I hate when that happens, so I just stayed on his wheel the whole time. It was only as we neared the top of the first crest that I started to pass him hoping he would want to chase me to the 2nd crest, but I guess he'd had enough as well. Plus, he was only carrying one water bottle, so he may not have been riding as far.
Todd and I regrouped across the street from Cook's, and I was ready to do more work now just to do my 5% of the work for the day, but Todd being Todd still took the front when he could and rotated like the trooper that he was all the way to when we split off on Olympiad and Jeronimo. He even offered to have a beer at his house if I wanted, but I wanted to get back since I told Lisa I'd be home before noon. If anything, I owe him a beer (or pitcher of beer) for all the work he did today.
Like a fine restaurant where you can't wait to tell others about it, I say riding with Todd and letting him tow you around the whole time is equally a great experience. He puts down a lot of power, but his application of it is super smooth. I lost connection to my Power Tap during the ride, so I accidentally sync'd with his and got to actually watch the numbers he was putting down. Nutty!
Thanks for the great trainer today, Todd. I'll need to do more work the next time out to make it more enjoyable, but I don't know if we can do much better than how we did considering all the climbing for the day. I was definitely beat by the time I got back. Cheers!
Friday, February 15, 2013
BRCM Lunch Ride - Shady 133 PCH BB CA Loop
Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/41003265
Attendees: Vince, Jaffe and me. Todd was in the gym working out. Yes!
Since I missed yesterday's ride to join my wife for lunch and celebrate Valentines day, Vince saw to it to call me out and see if I would be interested in riding a longish lunch ride today. It's not really my style to turn down a ride invitation, so I accepted under the premise Vince set that it will be a "no drop" ride and that we are out to enjoy the weather. As I mentioned to the guys though, for Vince to lure people out for a ride under those premises would be like Jeffrey Dahmer inviting you to lunch for a salad...neither seem very plausible.
In any case, the temps were ideal but what the hell was going on with the wind conditions out there? It was one of those days where head winds were coming from various directions. I can only remember a couple instances of feeling the wind behind us, but for the most part, it was in our faces and just no fun.
We started the ride off with me trying to set a good pace for the ride, but Vince thought I may have been moving too fast in the beginning. He was probably right given that by the time we got to the light on Bonita Canyon, I was a bit more winded than I expected to be by that point. I had to hang back and recover as Vince and Jaffe led us up the Shady rise. I eventually took a turn near the top, but Vince took over after that (thank, God!).
When we got on the bike trail, I knew at that point I wasn't feeling good at all, but I was doing my best to try and stick with the guys and do a pull if/when possible. On the steep section after the first bridge, they both started pulling away from me and I felt inclined at that point just to turn around and go back. The funny thing about that is I just couldn't do it given I know how brutal this group can be about pulling a stunt like that.
Thankfully, I was able to regroup with them just before the top, but the rest of the ride was just like that. I would pop off, they would get ahead, and at some point I would recover and make my way back or closer to them. They did have to wait for me at the top of Laguna Beach, but Vince said they just soft pedaled for a little bit to let me catch up. I tried to tell them to just leave me, but Vince was true to his word today and never left me too far behind.
Jaffe did great today given he was taking turns up front, definitely more than what we're accustomed to, and even helped to create/keep gaps or chase someone down if someone (cough, Vince, cough) was getting a little too far ahead. Even when I thought that Vince and I were going to gap him at the beginning of Back Bay, he reeled us both in no problem. Wha?
Of course, Vince spent the most time up front today and I'm sure took it easy on us just to honor his original ride premise. As he continues to increase his long distance base, the worse it's going to get for the rest of us. Watch.
Thanks for the training, gents!
Attendees: Vince, Jaffe and me. Todd was in the gym working out. Yes!
Since I missed yesterday's ride to join my wife for lunch and celebrate Valentines day, Vince saw to it to call me out and see if I would be interested in riding a longish lunch ride today. It's not really my style to turn down a ride invitation, so I accepted under the premise Vince set that it will be a "no drop" ride and that we are out to enjoy the weather. As I mentioned to the guys though, for Vince to lure people out for a ride under those premises would be like Jeffrey Dahmer inviting you to lunch for a salad...neither seem very plausible.
In any case, the temps were ideal but what the hell was going on with the wind conditions out there? It was one of those days where head winds were coming from various directions. I can only remember a couple instances of feeling the wind behind us, but for the most part, it was in our faces and just no fun.
We started the ride off with me trying to set a good pace for the ride, but Vince thought I may have been moving too fast in the beginning. He was probably right given that by the time we got to the light on Bonita Canyon, I was a bit more winded than I expected to be by that point. I had to hang back and recover as Vince and Jaffe led us up the Shady rise. I eventually took a turn near the top, but Vince took over after that (thank, God!).
When we got on the bike trail, I knew at that point I wasn't feeling good at all, but I was doing my best to try and stick with the guys and do a pull if/when possible. On the steep section after the first bridge, they both started pulling away from me and I felt inclined at that point just to turn around and go back. The funny thing about that is I just couldn't do it given I know how brutal this group can be about pulling a stunt like that.
Thankfully, I was able to regroup with them just before the top, but the rest of the ride was just like that. I would pop off, they would get ahead, and at some point I would recover and make my way back or closer to them. They did have to wait for me at the top of Laguna Beach, but Vince said they just soft pedaled for a little bit to let me catch up. I tried to tell them to just leave me, but Vince was true to his word today and never left me too far behind.
Jaffe did great today given he was taking turns up front, definitely more than what we're accustomed to, and even helped to create/keep gaps or chase someone down if someone (cough, Vince, cough) was getting a little too far ahead. Even when I thought that Vince and I were going to gap him at the beginning of Back Bay, he reeled us both in no problem. Wha?
Of course, Vince spent the most time up front today and I'm sure took it easy on us just to honor his original ride premise. As he continues to increase his long distance base, the worse it's going to get for the rest of us. Watch.
Thanks for the training, gents!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Lunch Ride - Turtle Rock Starcrest Shady Summit Condo Route
Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/40691163
Attendees: Vin, Vince, Todd, Jaffe, Hiroshi and Adrian
One would think that riding a 21 mph average century would be a great boost to the ego, but then you follow it up with one of our lunch rides and humility sets in once again...quickly. Sigh.
The ride started out with the other guys starting off ahead of us with Adrian even breaking away for a bit until we caught him on Anteater. I took the front on E. Peltason to help with the chase, but then Todd took over and kept the front all the way to Bonita Canyon/Culver.
On Culver, others including myself worked to keep the pace up all the way to Campus, but once we hit Turtle Rock, everyone opted to let Todd set the pace and lined up behind him accordingly. Hiroshi launched an attack on Starcrest early on, but Todd and Vince made their way past him to lead the climb. Todd was taunting Vince by trying to shake him off his rear wheel as they climbed, but Vince was going to ride him out so both were sidewinding up the hill doing so. I started making my way toward them, so they stopped that business and started charging up the hill. Todd finished ahead with Vince just behind him. Although I was behind them and came up third, the others rolled up shortly after as we regrouped at the top.
When we started rolling again, Adrian, Vince, Jaffe and Todd took off down Ridgeline and had a pretty good gap on us, but Vin and I worked together to close in on them by the bottom at the University bike trail. They still tried to keep the pace up once on the bike trail making it hard to recover from the chase, but we all managed to stay together despite this.
Todd still continued to do most of the work, and we let him lead us up Shady Canyon. Todd, Vince and I had gapped the others on the climb, and I was hoping to stay with them all the way up. However, near the top both stood up and started sprinting to the crest leaving me wondering where the hell that came from. I was hoping to catch them on the other side, but the two got together and I was just never able to close.
Going up the rise toward Bonita Canyon, they were still just ahead of me, but once they hit the crest, the gap increased significantly where I was only able to catch up to them at the light to Bonita Canyon. Jaffe, Vin and Hiroshi rolled up shortly after as well.
When we went up Turtle Ridge, Todd was leaading everyone up again, but I thought I found a tempo that I could hold pulling up in front of everyone and holding the front until Summit. On Summit, I stayed up front hoping I could continue with this tempo, but despite feeling strong, Todd passed me in even a better tempo making me realize the futility of my efforts. It wasn't long after when both Vince and Vin passed me, but with Hiroshi trailing behind making his way up to me, I figured enough was enough and finished just ahead of him.
As we made our way to the condo all together, I was thinking I would get my chance at taking one of the hills. Todd and Vince led us onto the hill, but once I rounded I began hammering. When I made my way past Vince, he called out to warn Todd (WTF? HA HA) but I didn't think it mattered since I had momentum. After climbing at a good pace, I noticed that someone had latched on behind me but wasn't sure who it was. I thought if I just kept the pace up high enough, whoever it was wouldn't try to pass me before we got to Bison. However, the next thing you know, Todd passes me shoving that bite of humility pie even further down my throat. Nice work!
Okay, so I couldn't contest any hills today, but for sure I thought I'd give the sprint on Bison to California a pretty good go. However, once we got on the 73 overpass, Vin launched a good sprint and just couldn't be caught by anyone (including me). Good job!
I think we're going to have start calling these lunch ride the Todd show. Vince is also right there challenging on all the hills and showing his continued progression back to the top. Vin, Hiroshi and Jaffe also continue to get stronger and stronger, so I think I may take up running again instead. Yup...I may just need to do that.
Thanks for the training, gents!
Attendees: Vin, Vince, Todd, Jaffe, Hiroshi and Adrian
One would think that riding a 21 mph average century would be a great boost to the ego, but then you follow it up with one of our lunch rides and humility sets in once again...quickly. Sigh.
The ride started out with the other guys starting off ahead of us with Adrian even breaking away for a bit until we caught him on Anteater. I took the front on E. Peltason to help with the chase, but then Todd took over and kept the front all the way to Bonita Canyon/Culver.
On Culver, others including myself worked to keep the pace up all the way to Campus, but once we hit Turtle Rock, everyone opted to let Todd set the pace and lined up behind him accordingly. Hiroshi launched an attack on Starcrest early on, but Todd and Vince made their way past him to lead the climb. Todd was taunting Vince by trying to shake him off his rear wheel as they climbed, but Vince was going to ride him out so both were sidewinding up the hill doing so. I started making my way toward them, so they stopped that business and started charging up the hill. Todd finished ahead with Vince just behind him. Although I was behind them and came up third, the others rolled up shortly after as we regrouped at the top.
When we started rolling again, Adrian, Vince, Jaffe and Todd took off down Ridgeline and had a pretty good gap on us, but Vin and I worked together to close in on them by the bottom at the University bike trail. They still tried to keep the pace up once on the bike trail making it hard to recover from the chase, but we all managed to stay together despite this.
Todd still continued to do most of the work, and we let him lead us up Shady Canyon. Todd, Vince and I had gapped the others on the climb, and I was hoping to stay with them all the way up. However, near the top both stood up and started sprinting to the crest leaving me wondering where the hell that came from. I was hoping to catch them on the other side, but the two got together and I was just never able to close.
Going up the rise toward Bonita Canyon, they were still just ahead of me, but once they hit the crest, the gap increased significantly where I was only able to catch up to them at the light to Bonita Canyon. Jaffe, Vin and Hiroshi rolled up shortly after as well.
When we went up Turtle Ridge, Todd was leaading everyone up again, but I thought I found a tempo that I could hold pulling up in front of everyone and holding the front until Summit. On Summit, I stayed up front hoping I could continue with this tempo, but despite feeling strong, Todd passed me in even a better tempo making me realize the futility of my efforts. It wasn't long after when both Vince and Vin passed me, but with Hiroshi trailing behind making his way up to me, I figured enough was enough and finished just ahead of him.
As we made our way to the condo all together, I was thinking I would get my chance at taking one of the hills. Todd and Vince led us onto the hill, but once I rounded I began hammering. When I made my way past Vince, he called out to warn Todd (WTF? HA HA) but I didn't think it mattered since I had momentum. After climbing at a good pace, I noticed that someone had latched on behind me but wasn't sure who it was. I thought if I just kept the pace up high enough, whoever it was wouldn't try to pass me before we got to Bison. However, the next thing you know, Todd passes me shoving that bite of humility pie even further down my throat. Nice work!
Okay, so I couldn't contest any hills today, but for sure I thought I'd give the sprint on Bison to California a pretty good go. However, once we got on the 73 overpass, Vin launched a good sprint and just couldn't be caught by anyone (including me). Good job!
I think we're going to have start calling these lunch ride the Todd show. Vince is also right there challenging on all the hills and showing his continued progression back to the top. Vin, Hiroshi and Jaffe also continue to get stronger and stronger, so I think I may take up running again instead. Yup...I may just need to do that.
Thanks for the training, gents!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
2013 Tour De Palm Springs - The Weekend
Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/40492296
What an incredible weekend! Who would have thought the ride would have been what it was given the weather conditions from the day before? There was rain, hail, heavy winds and snow on the way out and temperatures were down in the 40s when we arrived to pick up our wristbands. Nevertheless, it was probably one of the best outings with the team ever.
Rather than going out the night before, riding a century and going home on the same day, Todd and Vin were both in on making a complete weekend of it. What made it even better was that our significant others (Lisa, Heather and Pam) were also up for coming along and had signed up for the 25 mile ride as well. Having them there definitely made it a lot more interesting, and considering that Palm Springs is known for their "alternative lifestyle" predominance, staying a weekend with the boys may have been a little awkward.
We stayed at the Saguaro hotel, which from the outside may be questionable in terms of the patrons they cater to, but it was a great choice based on the big rooms, amenities, price, and location. Thanks to Vin for finding it for us. Even Todd thought it was a great place and unlike his original expectations, the colorful decor did not give him the headache he feared originally. The only thing we could do without was the marching band that appeared to have been staying above our rooms.
Having just raced last month in Ocotillo, Todd set the premise that we would not doing a race pace this year. He wanted to have fun and enjoy the weekend and company, so this meant we were drinking even the night before. We started off with some beers at the hotel, and continued on at the restaurant (Nina's Pita and Pizza) with Vin accepting the role of designated driver. Yelp definitely screwed us over with the 4.5 star rating for the restaurant, but with good company we were able to overcome it...that and the Peronis. By the way, we would have met up with Shawn, who came out to do the 55 miler, but we just didn't get out soon enough with the beers flowing in the rooms. Sorry, Shawn!
Had I known it would have been a sub-40 start, I definitely would have brought more clothes (or shall I say have Lisa pack more clothes for me). I still managed to have my legs and arms covered along with inserts I planned to wear at night underneath my shorty gloves, but my ears were freezing. Todd seemed to have dressed accordingly, but Vin came out with no base layer and shorts only. He was hating it early on for sure.
We were staying about 3 miles from the start when we left at 6:30 a.m., so we had to ride there making for a good way to warm up early on. When we arrived close to the start, we didn't bother listening to the announcements since there were already people rolling. We just got on E. Palm Canyon and joined the masses.
In typical BAM fashion, our supposed "non-race" pace had us passing people like crazy. We saw Team Velosport rocking their new RockForm kits where I said hi to Sol as we passed. We also saw a few Descenders riding together, but there were no greetings exchanged when we passed by them. Hmm....
Todd was doing most of the leading, of course, so we let him set the pace while Vin and I basically hung on. When we made the left into the headwind on Garnet, it was reminiscent of last year where it was tough to cut through. It was worse last year, but it was no walk in the park this year. There was one group of guys who passed us on that section, and while we thought we would jump on, the guy in the back wearing a kit indicating he was a 2012 NCA champion made us think twice as to whether it would be worth it. I think considering all the beers we had the night before, it was a good call that we didn't.
When we started climbing up after the bridge, the wind continued to be a struggle and at one point, we were all essentially riding at an 80 degree angle leaning our shoulder into the wind or risk being blown across the road. We were climbing at a pretty good pace, so we still couldn't get any takers to latch on and come with us.
As we neared the right turn, one thing the organizers did right this year is get rid of that ridiculous SAG that used to have riders strewn across the road making for a hazardous situation. Thus, we were able to hit that downhill with some momentum. When Todd rounded the turn, he was up off his seat hammering it breaking away from Vin and I who were certain Todd said we would take it easy. Nonetheless, once we realized Todd was going for it, we both took off as well. We were all pretty close by the time we got to the bottom.
We still couldn't find any takers on the downhill, but after making the right turn to head towards the residential area, we did get in a group who was moving at a pretty good clip for that stretch. We thought that the group would stay together for a while, but as soon as we started climbing, that group thinned out to just 4...Todd, Vin, me and one other guy.
We descended down a following hill with Todd laying it down again and me behind him. Vin was off the back a little as was the case on the first hill, so we didn't think anything of it. It turned out, however, that he had gotten a flat with his tire blowing out where we wouldn't see him anymore until after the ride. He did manage to get it fixed with the old dollar trick to cover the hole, and fortunately was able to make it back and still at a good clip. We waited for him at the 50 and texted him after seeing his text letting us know about his tire situation, but we were never able to connect to find out if he was going on or getting a ride back from a roving SAG.
Todd and I were with the one guy who climbed with us, but that guy took off through a red light while we waited to cross safely. We were able to pick him up after, and actually picked up a pretty good sized group as we made our way to the 50 with both of us taking turns to keep the pace up. While we had several people trailing us at that point, there weren't any who were too willing to push up to the front. There were some "attack" like passes by a couple guys near the bottom, but we would barely start to chase them down when they would check up right away making us wonder if they were just poor rotation attempts instead. By the time we got to the 50 mile SAG, we were at a 22 mph average. Ummm...so much for non-race pace.
After waiting for Vin at the 50 SAG and not seeing he was coming, we rolled off together and without anyone with us. We did pick up some riders early on, but I guess it wasn't enough for Todd to ride with them. While I sat content with the group, one guy opted to try and break off so Todd went with him and they started to pull away from us pretty fast. I had just rotated toward the back, so I was thinking I'll let the rest of the guys work to reel them in since we had the numbers to do so. As I watched Todd and the other guy continue to pull away, however, I realized this group was just not going to get it done. I came around from the back and as I was passing the front guys, I asked them to pick it up and latch on behind me. After passing them, however, none of them responded at all so I continued to pull away hoping that at some point, I'll run into Todd.
I was moving at a pretty decent clip on my own passing other riders with no one latching on to help, but then I saw a group of guys coming up behind me. When I realized they were reeling me in, I decided it would be better to just latch on. It turns out the guy up front was on a TT bike, and he was pretty strong where the 5-6 guys behind him just held him out up front the whole time. When I latched on, that made for 6-7. HA HA. On his own, however, he did manage to reel in Todd and the other guy just as we neared the 75 mile SAG. Of course, I thanked him for the strong pull and was glad I was up with Todd again.
Todd and I took a quick stop at the 75 mile SAG for a refill, and we were off. There was some climbing to be done after that SAG, so the group that latched on behind us dwindled down to just one other guy. It was a beautiful neighborhood we rode through, but it was definitely not well-marked. It was hard to keep a real strong pace through it as we kept checking up looking for the arrow markers. When we finally arrived at one arrow marker, it pointed to go back toward the same direction from which we came. The 3rd guy who was with us was sure it was the right way, so he opted then to just take off. Todd and I timidly rode on but realized it couldn't possibly be the right way. As we headed back to the arrow, someone was fixing it as it had fallen pointing to the right instead of going straight. That cost us some time and an additional 2 miles of travel.
As we rode on, we got into a pretty good group and were moving at a pretty good clip. When we thought they would slow, however, we'd get back up to the front to bring the pace up. There were some breakaways that would occur, but we were always able to pull the breakaway group back in. That was fun. Despite all the traffic with the other riders from the shorter distances as is historically the case with this ride, we still managed to get to the finish with a 21 mph average...best pace for me to date.
We were expecting the ladies to be finished, but they were still working to get back once we arrived. Despite finishing after us, they opted to pick us up some lunch from across the hotel before coming back. How awesome was that? Vin, Todd and I were already in the pool area showered and downing some beers, so they joined us for the post ride celebration. Hitting the hot tub and some good Mexican food after was the topper.
A great ride with a great team made for a great weekend event for sure. I don't know why we don't do more rides like this. I'm hoping next year, we'll have even more out hear representing both BAM and LOB (Ladies of BAM). Thanks for making it out, all!
What an incredible weekend! Who would have thought the ride would have been what it was given the weather conditions from the day before? There was rain, hail, heavy winds and snow on the way out and temperatures were down in the 40s when we arrived to pick up our wristbands. Nevertheless, it was probably one of the best outings with the team ever.
Rather than going out the night before, riding a century and going home on the same day, Todd and Vin were both in on making a complete weekend of it. What made it even better was that our significant others (Lisa, Heather and Pam) were also up for coming along and had signed up for the 25 mile ride as well. Having them there definitely made it a lot more interesting, and considering that Palm Springs is known for their "alternative lifestyle" predominance, staying a weekend with the boys may have been a little awkward.
We stayed at the Saguaro hotel, which from the outside may be questionable in terms of the patrons they cater to, but it was a great choice based on the big rooms, amenities, price, and location. Thanks to Vin for finding it for us. Even Todd thought it was a great place and unlike his original expectations, the colorful decor did not give him the headache he feared originally. The only thing we could do without was the marching band that appeared to have been staying above our rooms.
Having just raced last month in Ocotillo, Todd set the premise that we would not doing a race pace this year. He wanted to have fun and enjoy the weekend and company, so this meant we were drinking even the night before. We started off with some beers at the hotel, and continued on at the restaurant (Nina's Pita and Pizza) with Vin accepting the role of designated driver. Yelp definitely screwed us over with the 4.5 star rating for the restaurant, but with good company we were able to overcome it...that and the Peronis. By the way, we would have met up with Shawn, who came out to do the 55 miler, but we just didn't get out soon enough with the beers flowing in the rooms. Sorry, Shawn!
Had I known it would have been a sub-40 start, I definitely would have brought more clothes (or shall I say have Lisa pack more clothes for me). I still managed to have my legs and arms covered along with inserts I planned to wear at night underneath my shorty gloves, but my ears were freezing. Todd seemed to have dressed accordingly, but Vin came out with no base layer and shorts only. He was hating it early on for sure.
We were staying about 3 miles from the start when we left at 6:30 a.m., so we had to ride there making for a good way to warm up early on. When we arrived close to the start, we didn't bother listening to the announcements since there were already people rolling. We just got on E. Palm Canyon and joined the masses.
In typical BAM fashion, our supposed "non-race" pace had us passing people like crazy. We saw Team Velosport rocking their new RockForm kits where I said hi to Sol as we passed. We also saw a few Descenders riding together, but there were no greetings exchanged when we passed by them. Hmm....
Todd was doing most of the leading, of course, so we let him set the pace while Vin and I basically hung on. When we made the left into the headwind on Garnet, it was reminiscent of last year where it was tough to cut through. It was worse last year, but it was no walk in the park this year. There was one group of guys who passed us on that section, and while we thought we would jump on, the guy in the back wearing a kit indicating he was a 2012 NCA champion made us think twice as to whether it would be worth it. I think considering all the beers we had the night before, it was a good call that we didn't.
When we started climbing up after the bridge, the wind continued to be a struggle and at one point, we were all essentially riding at an 80 degree angle leaning our shoulder into the wind or risk being blown across the road. We were climbing at a pretty good pace, so we still couldn't get any takers to latch on and come with us.
As we neared the right turn, one thing the organizers did right this year is get rid of that ridiculous SAG that used to have riders strewn across the road making for a hazardous situation. Thus, we were able to hit that downhill with some momentum. When Todd rounded the turn, he was up off his seat hammering it breaking away from Vin and I who were certain Todd said we would take it easy. Nonetheless, once we realized Todd was going for it, we both took off as well. We were all pretty close by the time we got to the bottom.
We still couldn't find any takers on the downhill, but after making the right turn to head towards the residential area, we did get in a group who was moving at a pretty good clip for that stretch. We thought that the group would stay together for a while, but as soon as we started climbing, that group thinned out to just 4...Todd, Vin, me and one other guy.
We descended down a following hill with Todd laying it down again and me behind him. Vin was off the back a little as was the case on the first hill, so we didn't think anything of it. It turned out, however, that he had gotten a flat with his tire blowing out where we wouldn't see him anymore until after the ride. He did manage to get it fixed with the old dollar trick to cover the hole, and fortunately was able to make it back and still at a good clip. We waited for him at the 50 and texted him after seeing his text letting us know about his tire situation, but we were never able to connect to find out if he was going on or getting a ride back from a roving SAG.
Todd and I were with the one guy who climbed with us, but that guy took off through a red light while we waited to cross safely. We were able to pick him up after, and actually picked up a pretty good sized group as we made our way to the 50 with both of us taking turns to keep the pace up. While we had several people trailing us at that point, there weren't any who were too willing to push up to the front. There were some "attack" like passes by a couple guys near the bottom, but we would barely start to chase them down when they would check up right away making us wonder if they were just poor rotation attempts instead. By the time we got to the 50 mile SAG, we were at a 22 mph average. Ummm...so much for non-race pace.
After waiting for Vin at the 50 SAG and not seeing he was coming, we rolled off together and without anyone with us. We did pick up some riders early on, but I guess it wasn't enough for Todd to ride with them. While I sat content with the group, one guy opted to try and break off so Todd went with him and they started to pull away from us pretty fast. I had just rotated toward the back, so I was thinking I'll let the rest of the guys work to reel them in since we had the numbers to do so. As I watched Todd and the other guy continue to pull away, however, I realized this group was just not going to get it done. I came around from the back and as I was passing the front guys, I asked them to pick it up and latch on behind me. After passing them, however, none of them responded at all so I continued to pull away hoping that at some point, I'll run into Todd.
I was moving at a pretty decent clip on my own passing other riders with no one latching on to help, but then I saw a group of guys coming up behind me. When I realized they were reeling me in, I decided it would be better to just latch on. It turns out the guy up front was on a TT bike, and he was pretty strong where the 5-6 guys behind him just held him out up front the whole time. When I latched on, that made for 6-7. HA HA. On his own, however, he did manage to reel in Todd and the other guy just as we neared the 75 mile SAG. Of course, I thanked him for the strong pull and was glad I was up with Todd again.
Todd and I took a quick stop at the 75 mile SAG for a refill, and we were off. There was some climbing to be done after that SAG, so the group that latched on behind us dwindled down to just one other guy. It was a beautiful neighborhood we rode through, but it was definitely not well-marked. It was hard to keep a real strong pace through it as we kept checking up looking for the arrow markers. When we finally arrived at one arrow marker, it pointed to go back toward the same direction from which we came. The 3rd guy who was with us was sure it was the right way, so he opted then to just take off. Todd and I timidly rode on but realized it couldn't possibly be the right way. As we headed back to the arrow, someone was fixing it as it had fallen pointing to the right instead of going straight. That cost us some time and an additional 2 miles of travel.
As we rode on, we got into a pretty good group and were moving at a pretty good clip. When we thought they would slow, however, we'd get back up to the front to bring the pace up. There were some breakaways that would occur, but we were always able to pull the breakaway group back in. That was fun. Despite all the traffic with the other riders from the shorter distances as is historically the case with this ride, we still managed to get to the finish with a 21 mph average...best pace for me to date.
We were expecting the ladies to be finished, but they were still working to get back once we arrived. Despite finishing after us, they opted to pick us up some lunch from across the hotel before coming back. How awesome was that? Vin, Todd and I were already in the pool area showered and downing some beers, so they joined us for the post ride celebration. Hitting the hot tub and some good Mexican food after was the topper.
A great ride with a great team made for a great weekend event for sure. I don't know why we don't do more rides like this. I'm hoping next year, we'll have even more out hear representing both BAM and LOB (Ladies of BAM). Thanks for making it out, all!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Lunch Ride - NPC Double Back Bay Sprint Trainer
Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/39891281
Attendees: Mitchell, Vin, Jaffe, Adrian, Jeremy and S-Gary (Welcome Back!!!)
First and foremost, it was great to see Gary out again for the ride today. It was his first lunch ride in a long time, so we had to welcome back BAM style. I thought without some of the heavy hitters, it wouldn't be too crazy but he knew told me that taking it easy just isn't in this group's blood. Of course, he was right.
Jeremy started us off on this cold sub 60 degree temp ride at a pretty good clip on Anteater, and I took the front wondering if I was going to be abused in preparation for the sprints on Back Bay and after. To my surprise, Adrian took the front after and pulled Mitchell, Vin, Jeremy and I think Jaffe away from me. I think others took the front with him and rotated where they had a pretty good gap by the time they reached Bonita Canyon.
I was hoping to roll up on them seeing that the light was red to turn left on NPC, but Adrian opted to not let that happen leading the guys behind him up on the climb. Not wanting to give up too much, I ended up following as well. Jeremy was on a loaner bike, so I'm not sure if he wasn't feeling it but he pulled back a little bit and was the first one I rolled up on. Adrian, Mitchell and Vin were ahead of me, and they looked like they were going to mix it up with another guy who tried to break away for a bit was eventually reeled back in by Vin and Mitchell.
I made my way past Adrian to join the guys and Vin led us past the 73 offramp where we eventually popped blue butt off. Good pace going up, Vin. I finished the tail end of the hill with the guys in tow, and we rotated once we got on San Joaquin hoping to keep our breakaway. Adrian and Jaffe rolled up on us on McArthur though after we got caught at that light and one before it. Nice work.
As we made our way to Back Bay, I did remind the others about how the first pass through Back Bay should be a no sprint zone given we wanted to make sure not to have another gate incident. I don't think Adrian liked that very much, but se la vie. We still held a pretty good pace going through it, but everyone adhered to the no-sprint pass.
We were all pretty much together by the top of Back Bay, including Gary who was up at the top when we got there, so we headed over to Jamboree as a group. I was thinking that I'd keep a good pace going up Jamboree, but I guess others had other ideas. Jaffe launched an serious attack early on but it was one of those attacks you see and think...nah he can't hold it. Keeping my pace, we were able to reel him about half way up or so. Vin launched the following attack, and he'll probably deny that he did, but he held it and kept Mitchell and I off him until after we passed Bison. If only it was one of the sprint zones.
The three of us had gotten away from the others, so I was interested to see if/how that would play out through the BB sprint zones I had designated before the ride. I didn't get overly eager to break away because they guys can suck wheel like no other, so I just had to amp it up from the front during the final pulls toward each one and neither opted to try and pass me at any of them. I call this the Galen/Shannon/Todd method...take their legs out from under them early where they won't want to contest a sprint. It worked on San Joaquin, the top of Back Bay, and the sprint on University. I did try to break away from the two after gapping them on the climb up to the top of Back Bay, but they reeled me in just as I was making my way through the underpass.
For the final sprint section (up California), I opted to give Vin a little taste of his own medicine that he doled out on Jamboree. I held him out as we made our way up the climb, and on the final grade sprinted past him. He didn't seem happy. Once again...se la vie.
Great pace today, gents, making for a great workout as well. Thanks for coming out!
Attendees: Mitchell, Vin, Jaffe, Adrian, Jeremy and S-Gary (Welcome Back!!!)
First and foremost, it was great to see Gary out again for the ride today. It was his first lunch ride in a long time, so we had to welcome back BAM style. I thought without some of the heavy hitters, it wouldn't be too crazy but he knew told me that taking it easy just isn't in this group's blood. Of course, he was right.
Jeremy started us off on this cold sub 60 degree temp ride at a pretty good clip on Anteater, and I took the front wondering if I was going to be abused in preparation for the sprints on Back Bay and after. To my surprise, Adrian took the front after and pulled Mitchell, Vin, Jeremy and I think Jaffe away from me. I think others took the front with him and rotated where they had a pretty good gap by the time they reached Bonita Canyon.
I was hoping to roll up on them seeing that the light was red to turn left on NPC, but Adrian opted to not let that happen leading the guys behind him up on the climb. Not wanting to give up too much, I ended up following as well. Jeremy was on a loaner bike, so I'm not sure if he wasn't feeling it but he pulled back a little bit and was the first one I rolled up on. Adrian, Mitchell and Vin were ahead of me, and they looked like they were going to mix it up with another guy who tried to break away for a bit was eventually reeled back in by Vin and Mitchell.
I made my way past Adrian to join the guys and Vin led us past the 73 offramp where we eventually popped blue butt off. Good pace going up, Vin. I finished the tail end of the hill with the guys in tow, and we rotated once we got on San Joaquin hoping to keep our breakaway. Adrian and Jaffe rolled up on us on McArthur though after we got caught at that light and one before it. Nice work.
As we made our way to Back Bay, I did remind the others about how the first pass through Back Bay should be a no sprint zone given we wanted to make sure not to have another gate incident. I don't think Adrian liked that very much, but se la vie. We still held a pretty good pace going through it, but everyone adhered to the no-sprint pass.
We were all pretty much together by the top of Back Bay, including Gary who was up at the top when we got there, so we headed over to Jamboree as a group. I was thinking that I'd keep a good pace going up Jamboree, but I guess others had other ideas. Jaffe launched an serious attack early on but it was one of those attacks you see and think...nah he can't hold it. Keeping my pace, we were able to reel him about half way up or so. Vin launched the following attack, and he'll probably deny that he did, but he held it and kept Mitchell and I off him until after we passed Bison. If only it was one of the sprint zones.
The three of us had gotten away from the others, so I was interested to see if/how that would play out through the BB sprint zones I had designated before the ride. I didn't get overly eager to break away because they guys can suck wheel like no other, so I just had to amp it up from the front during the final pulls toward each one and neither opted to try and pass me at any of them. I call this the Galen/Shannon/Todd method...take their legs out from under them early where they won't want to contest a sprint. It worked on San Joaquin, the top of Back Bay, and the sprint on University. I did try to break away from the two after gapping them on the climb up to the top of Back Bay, but they reeled me in just as I was making my way through the underpass.
For the final sprint section (up California), I opted to give Vin a little taste of his own medicine that he doled out on Jamboree. I held him out as we made our way up the climb, and on the final grade sprinted past him. He didn't seem happy. Once again...se la vie.
Great pace today, gents, making for a great workout as well. Thanks for coming out!
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