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!
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