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!
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