June 29: Tour Begins >> You Must Ride

My re-cap of today’s ride, the unabridged version, reading it is certainly optional!

 

Today, had a lot of things going for it as far as expectations of ride quality go.  The last Saturday of the month the TwoHubs crew rides, Food Park was one, and finally the Tour De France was starting.  With all that to look forward to why bother worrying about things like the weather….

 

Around 7:15 I rolled into the TwoHubs lot figuring I was a bit early.  This wasn’t the last time I’d be thinking, “Do I have the right time?”   Anyway, by 8am I realized something was off and I had better roll for Food Park. I’d be the only one representing TwoHubstoday, which by the way, means a nice BLACK jersey.

 

During the 15miles to the Coffee Bean (where FP starts) I kept wondering, “Do they really start at 8:45?”  I must have read that wrong?  Vince was pretty amazed too, but luckily it is true.  Although, if you aren’t in the pro pelaton, starting at almost 9am means you probably aren’t itching to crush it. 

 

We got rolling on time.  The pace picked up nicely.  And, it was just nice to be in the peloton moving at near 30mph, my how the bikes were whistling J

 

The course went to Sand Canyon then towards Quail Hill, which means a round-about.  We collided with another crew there but got through, as they circled and circled.  At the first light the lead group got broke away and the rest of us could do nothing but watch.  Vince looked back for me, from the front row, and I knew what that meant. 

 

It seemed like we could regroup by the crest of the incline, but after another light we were not closing.  Vince and I were trying though, and it was getting pretty painful.  I believe Jaffe wasn’t too far back, he was with us by the time we got back to Alton.

 

Somewhere about this time Vince and I got separated, he was up front and made a turn, I was mid pack and not in position to go with. The lead group somewhere ahead.

 

After the turn onto Irvine Center quite a bit of yelling ensued do to some of the guys running the lights due to the intersections being vacant.  Yeah, I suppose that is a bit of a problem.  As I watched the lead group disappear into the horizon and the vocal folks turning into conversationalists I knew I had a bit of a problem, particularly with Vince out of sight also.

 

Jaffe and I were working the front with some of the strong guys I recognized from the Coffee Crew, particularly the Ferrari guys, who really move.  On the climb from Lake Forest to El Toro we tried to regroup with the front runners via a bike path short cut. Unfortunately, as I found out later, Jaffe had dropped his water and so we got separated. But, my move nearly worked, they were in sight, but then, another light, Doh!

 

Luckily, another rider started working with me on the Laguna Cyn.  If the heat wasn’t a complete punch in the face, it was blatantly obvious by the cars backed up to El Toro en route to the beach.

 

I didn’t know where Vince came from but we regrouped just past NPC and started rotating with some others through CDM.  Near Jamboree I was Vince harnessed his inner Galen and took the lead.   Nice!  The group dissipated at SART, Vince led Jaffe and us to a detour entrance, near his house, and the two of us headed for the hills.

 

On the entire 22 miles of SART we worked together with exactly zero people.  At the usual Circle K we refueled and then made our way to the Imperial climb.  The temps were really rising by this point, my garminseemed inflated, but was showing about 100.

 

So it started to get a bit more interesting when we rolled up on the Jamboree/Santiago Chevron.  I wanted to get more water in case we had any trouble in the Canyon, which was looking likely given the traffic going into it was backed up to nearly where we were standing.  The gas station was reminding me of a Laughlin River Run, I’ve never seen a photo shoot for Low Rider magazine, but they may have been happening?  What was definitely happening was folks icing down six packs in their saddle bags and gearing up for what appeared to be the rest of the day.

 

The climb up Dump Hill started out nicely, we were making our way past the parked cars. Eventually, people started jumping out their cars.  By this point it was HOT and refreshments or something was in order.  I may have been hallucinating, there appeared to be a guy with a full set of drums playing there in the gravel. 

 

Soon enough Jaffe and I had an entire line of Harley Davidsons following us in the bike lane.  I thought they wanted to go by, but when the leader was yelling, “No, it’s cool, come on!”  I guessed he was okay with my pace.  It was getting hairy though due to broken down cars, and cars now following in the bike lane.  Finally, past Irvine lake the Born Free contingent made their exit.

 

Jaffe and I got past Silverado and came up on another rider.  Any Christians please pardon me, but the guy was wearing a pink sweatshirt that proudly said he got his power from Jesus Christ, and full gloves, or mittens. When we went around he proudly stated he would ride beside us.  That was fine, but kind of strange.  Once it started seeming really strange I upshifted and tried to get away.  I don’t get beaten down in the canyon that often, but I was side by side with this guy for about three miles.  I didn’t know if I should back off so he didn’t stroke out or what, but after a while I had no choice as it was 106 degrees and this guy wasn’t even breathing hard.  There was something divine going on out there, the dude was possibly 70 years old, full beard, and certainly holding his own. If only Jaffe hadn’t seen it I could have written it off as a delusion.

 

Somehow Jaffe persevered and I see he made it home, I turned off just past Glen Ranch.  Nice work Jaffe!

 

Shannon

Lunch Ride - Hot, Windy, and Just Downright Painful

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/63271069

Given Velominati rule #5, it's pretty much considered taboo to suggest that one is tired when coming out for our lunch training rides.  Additionally, most of the guys on the team are training night and day in some form or another as well, so it's hard to justify this as an excuse for poor performance...even when it's HOT and windy.  Oh well...I was tired coming out, was hot as all hell, got beat up by the wind, and just plain sucked on the ride today.  So sue me.

In all seriousness, Andy came out and joined us (Vince, Jeremy, Jaffe and Vin) for today's ride despite having crashed on a mountain bike race on Tuesday.  I really need to shut the hell up about being tired.  He was going to make the best of it despite what he described as feeling like his shoulder was dislocated.  Adrian also crashed mountain biking not too long ago, or so he said, but I didn't mention his injury on the blog because it was likely that his wife just beat him up again for not calling her after riding with us.

As far as today's ride's concerned (because I'm sure that's why you read these silly blogs),  it was the Vince and Jeremy show.  They were putting on the hurt as much as possible despite the heat while the rest of us tried to keep up.  

What's funny is that people thought I hung back on Back Bay to tow Andy back into the group.  Uh...no.  I just couldn't keep up and opted to ride with someone willing to keep a reasonable pace on such a hot day.

We were fortunate to be able to regroup at the Jamboree and PCH intersection, but I think I fell off 2-3 more times during the ride.  I did take some pulls when I could, but mostly to prevent Vince from giving me crap in the locker room.  And he would too.

Speaking of Vince, he decided to play rabbit starting from Ocean and did whatever it took to keep us chasing him.  Since he was on his own, he was only responsible for his own safety and thus should be commended for giving us a target.  Perspective.

Jeremy, on the other hand, while leading the rest of us was very safety oriented and obeyed all the traffic signals.  Kudos!  Despite this, he was still able to help reel in those who didn't.  And even then, I'd pop off the back.

When we got to El Moro, we were getting close to Vince who had to endure the wind by himself, but a light held us back from being able to do so.  Jeremy and I were making some ground on him on NPC, but just couldn't close enough where regrouping at the top with the others seemed more fun (less painful).  That was the last we saw of Vince on the road. One thing worth noting was that as Jeremy and I waited for the others at the top, we see Andy and Jaffe riding up together in what was obviously a conversational pace given that they were chatting it up. They're lucky Todd wasn't there (he left and did his own thing due to a meeting) or the truth would have set them free.

Jeremy led us at the top of Bonita Canyon onto McArthur and Bison, and I saw Vin looming around looking like he was setting up a sprint.  I took off just before the 2nd light on the 73, and still no response from the kid.  Sigh.

Thanks for coming out even on this hot windy day, gents.  Sorry I sucked, and if you've read this far, sorry I wrote about sucking.  

Lunch Ride - Dodged A Bullet So Time to Ride

Strava:  I hit start on replacement Garmin and nada.  (BOO!)

On Wednesday last week, I secured a different position at BRCM and as a result, I get to stay on the team!  I'll spare the details, but I sure am glad the drama is over and we can resume team activities as usual.  Go Team BRCM!!!

For today, we had a pretty good-sized outing with Vince, Todd, Shannon, Vin, Jaffe, Jeremy and Noah coming out and joining me for the Dodged a bullet ride.  The route was through Anteater, up san Miguel, Spyglass, San Joaquin, down NPC, Pelican, hit PCH, go through CDM via Ocean, and back toward BB and Jamboree.  There were two predetermined regroup points (top of NPC and on Poppy) to help keep everyone together, so it was a "team" ride in this regard.  Almost everyone represented BRCM colors but given Tiff is pregnant (who else will do the laundry, right? - just kidding), we'll give Vince the pass for today.

Jeremy led us out again (I already gave him kudos previously), and in typical fashion, broke away from the bunch of us by the time we started going up E. Peltason.  I tried to pick up the group to latch them on but it didn't seem like anyone was interested right away.  Thus, I was going to hold Jeremy out until they caught up.  Yeah...that's it.  That's the ticket.

After the group caught up, I tried to take the front only to have Todd pass me right away so....  Then, Shannon started to spin up and all I could do was latch on and stay on his wheel all the way up to Bonita Canyon.  I took the front after but was relieved by Vince, Jaffe and Vin subsequently followed by a Noah sprint to the light.  Nice.

Going up San Miguel, Todd led initially but Shannon pulled the rest of the way up to and onto Spyglass.  Todd tried to take the front, but I jumped ahead to see what kind of pace I can hold.  I almost got to the very top ahead of everyone, but once Todd and shannon passed just before the crest, I was already going into recovery mode in preparation for the San Joaquin climb.  I know...weak, right?  Vince and Jeremy came by also, but we were all caught at the light to make the left.

Once the light turned green, I went ahead and took the front again on the climb to keep things interesting, but of course, I didn't have enough to latch on when Shannon and Todd made their way past me.  Jeremy also made his way past me toward the 2nd section that pitched up.  Vince made his way past when it flattened out at the top.  Thankfully, there was that regroup point on NPC.  Then again, maybe that was the plan.  Muahaha.

After we ALL regrouped where I got verbally abused...even threatened for doing so (damned if we do, damned if we don't), we were off.  Gotta love this team, I tell ya.  Shannon and Todd were again on the attack and set up for a breakaway once we got on Pelican.  The rest of us were in chase mode up the hill, but I was hanging back a little trying to setup the climb after hitting the bottom.  Vince and Jeremy were just ahead of me at that point, so I used them to slingshot my way up to Todd and Shannon on the climb.  Once we reached the top, I saw someone passing to my left half expecting it to be either Shannon or Todd, but lo and behold...it was the Jaffe-nator (who Todd also refers to as the "gapper").  Nice, Steve.

The breakaway attempts continued on PCH with Vince being the primary instigator, but he and Noah got caught at the light just before we got into CDM.  When we got onto Poppy, there was no need to regroup as we were all together at that point.  Noah opted to go straight and be the rabbit to chase on BB, but the rest of us went through CDM.

On the left turn to Poppy, Jeremy was expressing how he was glad I was back on the ride since he enjoys a little sprinkle of Rich on his glasses.  Better that than on his chin I guess (wink wink).

CDM was pretty incident free, but Shannon once again broke away through the neighborhood seemingly having taken notes from Vince's cycling rule book.  Fortunately, we were all together again for the left turn back onto PCH.

We missed Galen not being out with us for the final stretch of PCH leading up to Jamboree, but when Vince pointed this out, what he didn't realize was he basically was saying my pull during that section pretty much sucked.  HAHAHAHA...damn.

When we got on Back Bay drive after using the crosswalk, I guess the guys were a little tentative so Jaffe manned up and took the lead initially.  It's rare he gets kudos, so....  Shannon took over eventually bringing the pace up just before we passed the gate, and the rotations resumed.  I was originally ahead of Vin, but even he stepped up and jumped ahead of me in the rotation.  This is either a testament to the ongoing improvements with the team, or I should expect pigs to fly in the very near future.

Toward the tail end of Back Bay, there was still no sign of Noah, and Shannon did the final pull leading up to the hill at the end.  Vince broke away for a sprint to the top with Jeremy and Todd not far behind, then Jeremy broke away on Eastbluff with Todd giving chase up Jamboree.  Noah was just ahead of the two as they crested at the top, but Jeremy and Todd opted to keep their breakaway and made the left turn at the light.  I tried to give chase on the Jamboree climb, but my legs and lungs lost interest half-way up.

I was hoping to make the light on McArthur after we were heading down Bison, but the stupid light before it had everyone at the intersection stopped (including us) with no on going through.  This was where we watched Todd and Jeremy take off at the green on McArthur, and understandbly so.  After all, climbers don't sprint, right?

When we finally got to McArthur, I was wondering if Vin (who keeps calling me out offline to sprint on Bison) was going to get some.  Noah had gotten ahead of us right away, but I setup the sprint just before the 2nd light over the 73.  Once I saw it turned green, I took off probably startling Noah in the process.  The young guy didn't pass me for that sprint, so I guess we'll just have to wait another day for him to make good on his promise.

Good right today, folks.  I'm definitely glad to be a part of it as there's no better way to turn myself inside out during lunch than riding with this crew. Thanks! 

Lunch Ride - NPC Pelican PCH CDM Bayside BB CA Loop

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/61528067

Much like the theme to many M. Night Shyamalan movies, most things in life seem to happen for one reason or another.  Take today's lunch ride for example.  If I weren't leaving my position in the Controller QA group, maybe Noah would have never come out for another lunch ride again...especially through Back Bay.  Maybe Jeremy would have coaxed people once again to do the Puke route today rather than what Vince had prefaced as being "nice and easy" (I'll come back to this).  Maybe Jaffe wouldn't ever see his name in a blog again despite whether he rode or not.   Who knows?  The possibilities are endless!  Fortunately, my fate was sealed and tomorrow is my last day in that group so let's just focus on the "what is" vs. the "what may have been,"  shall we?

I missed the regular Tuesday ride, so I announced late yesterday my plans to get one in at lunch today.  Unfortunately, my late notice prevented some from being able to make it out (sorry) but Adrian, Vince, Jaffe, Jeremy and Noah came out for the rather impromptu ride.  Yes...Noah.  The last minute route choice for Vince's "nice and easy" ride was to go up NPC, down Pelican, PCH, CDM, BB and CA loop.  Easy enough, right?

It started off easy enough with Jeremy leading out the group (something he's been stepping up to do a lot lately - kudos).  Jaffe was comfortable enough to pull to the front on Anteater, which wouldn't normally be the case under faster starts.  I took the front after and tried to lead the group to a slightly livelier pace but nothing too crazy, but doing so always seems to get others in a frenzy.  Once we got on NPC, you could pretty much chuck "nice and easy" out the window. 

Jeremy and Vince broke away early, and the rest of us followed together for a while but eventually broke into two chase groups.  Noah and I weren't too far behind, and Adrian and Jaffe were just behind us where we were fortunately able to regroup at the intersection of Ridge Park and NPC. 

We started off together again but continuing on the livelier pace all the way to Pelican.  Once we made the right turn to Pelican, Vince and Adrian started to break away with Jeremy leading the chase group behind them.  We never lost sight of Vince and Adrian, but they definitely weren't out ahead of us being "nice."  As karma would have it, they ended up having to slow for a car who pulled out from a side street not yielding them the right of way.  This gave me the opportunity to close in on them some after a charge up the hill after at the bottom.  However, they weren't interested in the company so they kept going.  According to Vince, Adrian had coaxed him into wanting to break away from me for what he believed would be his last chance, so they were working to do so both on the rest of the NPC downhill and on PCH.  Nice.

Fortunately for me, I was able to latch onto Adrian's rear wheel on PCH, which upon doing so got him to give me kudos.  I still helped pull on the way to Poppy only to have Vince tell me once we got there how I only caught them because of that car on Pelican.  I did remind him of his "nice and easy" disclaimer before the ride, and we both chuckled accordingly after. 

We regrouped and rode through CDM and did adhere to taking it easy there just so we can soak up some scenery (ahem).   That only lasted up until we got back on PCH and then the intensity/madness ensued.  Everyone was still together though as Adrian and Jaffe led us through Bayside and the bike trail beside the trailer park.

Once we got on Back Bay, we started as a group with Noah leading us out initially despite his resistance to turning.  We kept going from there with others taking the front and taking turns despite cars being in the way.  Toward the end of Back Bay, I knew taking the front was going to get me setup and sure enough, I started up the hill only to be passed by both Vince and Adrian to the sidewalk.

The three of us broke away from the others at this point and Vince led us originally to be followed by Adrian subsequently.  I didn't take the front this time since I knew I'd meet the same fate, so we held Adrian out enough for Vince to start his sprint but inadvertently lead me out past him just before California.  Thus, the setup-er becomes the setup-ee.

Going up California, we hoped to regroup but Noah mistook this as an opportunity to break away.  BAM lives within him as well.  I was able to catch and work with him on the up, but that was only because he felt bad about my work situation; something he clarified after the ride.  Thanks, bud!

If these guys didn't make it out today, I wouldn't have gotten an excellent workout once again.  Things do happen for a reason, and all I can say is riding with this team is truly why I'm passionate about the sport and even more so the people with whom I ride.  Thanks, guy!

 

Team Double Canyon Pass Ride - The Finale

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/60628893

With my separation date of 6-20-13 fast approaching, I had setup this finale ride weeks back in order to get one last ride in with the team while I still work at Broadcom.  I wasn't sure who'll be able to make it, but Shannon, Todd, Noah, Mitchell, Vin, Galen, Adrian, Andy, Jeremy, Verm and Hiroshi showed up in BRCM white to represent on the bike.  Eddie and James came by after to hang out at Noah's and Sarah's, who graciously offered to host the post-ride festivities.  Pam, Heather and Nicole showed up after as well making for another memorable event for the books.

The objectives for this ride were simple:  1) go out as a team, 2) no one drops, 3) enjoy the company and 4) represent.  Of course, in true fashion it wouldn't be a team ride absent of a little BAM here and there.  

Todd offered to have Pam give me a ride home, but this entailed riding to his house in the morning and riding to Noah's picking up Vin on the way.  This 22 mile commute was easy enough despite some climbs here and there, and we still were able to drop some guy on a TT bike who tried to pass us on Irvine Blvd.  

Upon arriving at Noah's, almost everyone was there already with the rest arriving shortly after.  I must say I was a little overwhelmed to see such a great turnout, but sorry there's just no crying in cycling.  Rule #5 strikes again.  I also saw Shanon had his tubulars on, so I knew he'd be doing his share and more of the work out there as usual.   It's how he rolls.

After everyone was set to go and after some pictures, which I hope the others will forward to me, we were off.  It wasn't long before we were on Irvine Blvd where initially I stayed toward the back just taking it all in how cool we looked going out representing in such good numbers.  When we saw Noah pedaling away from the group in a frantic pace, however, I thought it would help alleviate some of the emotions brewing inside by giving chase.  Todd accompanied me for the chase only to find out upon getting to Noah that he had pedaled away hoping to resync his PowerTap.  It didn't help that Todd and I both had PowerTaps too.  Haha.  We backed off and joined the group, but then Jeremy did what we had just done.  With Jeremy having a standard rear hub though, he didn't receive the same disapproving look upon getting to Noah as we did. 

Eventually, we were all rolling together again and despite it being a no drop ride, the guys were still rolling toward El Toro at a respectable pace.  We reeled in a pretty decent sized group who cheered us on as we passed.  My excitement got the best of me and I actually joined them in the cheering.  "Woo hoo...Team Broadcom!"  Seriously a dork moment there, folks.

The pace going up El Toro was moderate (compared to the manic pace I've experienced on the Como Street ride), but as we neared Cook's, it definitely seemed Como-esque.  I took to the back to play sweeper thinking that the charge up to the top would result in guys popping off early on.  I even backed off the group a bit to still get some good hill training in thinking I would be able to pass a couple guys before the 2nd crest (first designated regroup point).  When I saw them pulling away in a pretty tight pack, however, I literally thought to myself "Oh shit!"  Fortunately, I was just able to get to the 2nd crest behind a couple of the guys, but I knew at that point there'll be no more underestimating during the rest of the ride.  These guys are legit!

On the descent, BAM was still in full effect and the guys were hauling.  Todd somehow had gotten behind me on the descent early on, and he was calling me Jaffe since I had left a gap between myself and the rest.  We still managed to close the gap, so I waved Todd on to resume my sweeper duties.  

The guys were all rotating in a fairly orderly fashion with some getting back in the paceline right away rather than rolling all the way to the back.  For those who would roll all the way to the back, they did so willingly just in front of me after I called to them.    Needless to say, this kept the pace up through the canyon.  There were some moments when I thought someone wasn't going to be able to latch on, but latch on they did.  Again...legit.

The pace was relentless as we made our way by the lake, so it did eventually take its toll.  After Hiroshi rolled out from the front, he just wasn't able to latch on and started to drop off.  I jumped in front of him and pointed at my rear wheel, so he latched on as we tried to get him back to the group.  We actually closed a little, but  he needed to recover just a little more where I checked up again to give him some wind protection to the base of Dump Hill.  There was suppose to be a regroup point at the top, so I took off once we got there.

I had rolled up to Shannon at the top where he heeded the next designated regroup point while the others got into mixing it up with someone who tried to challenge them on the climb up Dump.  Hiroshi wasn't far behind, so we regrouped and rode down to the rest at Jamboree.  Except for Noah, those waiting at the bottom had turned around already expecting to go through the canyon again.  However, that would have taken away a significant number of miles from the actual route planned where we were going to turn around somewhere on Irvine Blvd.  Thus, we got everyone straightened out and were headed up Jamboree subsequently.

Just to spice up the ride a little bit, I thought I'd lay down an attack on the Jamboree climb and see when (not if) it would take the rest to catch back up to me.  It seemed I did catch those up front sleeping, so I was able to get a gap immediately after sprinting by.  Upon reach the top, I was hoping the descent would allow me to hold the gap even more but it wasn't too long before I looked back and saw Galen leading the group coming fast behind me.  I tried a final sprint effort as they closed on me, but that probably only gave me an extra second, if that, before they closed and began to pass. We still mixed it up some as we headed to Portola, with Noah even getting in the mix.  On a downhill?  Wha?

Shannon opted to take a bio break somewhere at the Portola intersection, so I looked for more opportunities to take another attack or two.  Noah was still game and was also launching attacks, so the trading back and forth was reminiscent of a Como ride for sure.  Fun times!

Rather than turning around at Culver on Irvine Blvd, it seemed best to just make a u-turn and head back up Jamboree toward the canyons for the 2nd pass.  We passed Irvine Regional Park and apparently, Madison saw us in our BRCM kits during her Saturday run. See that?  People notice.

After Shannon jumped back on, we started up the Jamboree climb toward Santiago, and as always it became another contest to the top.  Nice.  Andy seemed to have dropped off a little, so I was trying to work to bring him back to the group albeit we were only going to stop at the Chevron for a refueling.  He was telling me he was thinking about turning back around at some point during the canyon should he fall off again and just head back home to get ready for the afternoon festivities.  Despite my attempt to help, he was still pulling past me at some points, then ended up leading the group up Dump for the most part, and actually ended up finishing out the ride staying in the group for the rest of the ride.  That's some OG BAM right there.

When we were heading up Dump, we started passing a lot of riders who apparently had come out for the Big Ring Century, which goes through the canyon the same direction.  It was pretty cool to pass all sorts of people with the size of our group, so truly Team Broadcom was out and in effect representing.  There were some who chose to get in our line, including a rider from Veloviet, but there weren't too many who stayed on for too long.  The pace was actually getting a little too hot for a couple of our own riders as we neared Modjeska, but I jumped ahead of them and we were successfully able to re-attach back to the group before the final climb up towards Cooks. 

As we were climbing up, we were bunched up originally and some other riders, including one in a Rockform kit, had gotten behind us.  I started to push up to see if I could shake him off, but once we got close to the first crest, he started spinning up by me.  Of course, I returned the favor and beat him to the crest.  I had gotten by the others at this point except for Todd, who had broken away on the climb.  I prepared for the 2nd crest by charging after Todd to make sure I can avoid any other attacks, and was able to keep the other guy at bay for the final crest too.  Todd was a little startled upon our approach, but I'm sure would have participated in the fun had he known sooner.

Once we regrouped again at the top, Verm had rolled up indicating he had a problem with his chain and told us to go ahead.  I didn't realize he hadn't come with us on the descent, but looking at his stats saw that he opted to go up Glenn Ranch instead and held a very respectable average for the rest of his way back solo.  Kudos!

Adrian was trying to recruit for a breakaway on the descent to Cooks, but that would have been contradictory to the ride objectives...so I didn't go with him.  As we headed toward Trabuco, some ladies tried to ride with us but our pace was just a little too hot.  Vin ended up popping off the line after a pull and didn't seem to want anymore, but after I convinced him to jump on my rear wheel, we were back with the rest again.

There was a little separation at one of the lights on Irvine Blvd, but we were all regrouped by Alton.  The pace was fast but everyone stayed tight where it looked like everyone was set for the rest of the ride to stay together.  When Jeremy decided to ride to the right of some pylons passing the rest of us in a line seemingly in a TT position, I pulled to the front and collected everyone behind me to have us all jump behind Jeremy.  I thought I'd help us finish the ride strong and did more pulls toward the end, although with some others STILL willing to take a turn.  In the end, we made good time on Irvine Blvd all the way to Culver.  Vin sprinted by once on Culver, but no one cared since we were all in cool down mode being so close to Noah's.  HA HA.

All in all, this was probably one of the best team outings we've ever had in terms of riding and staying as a group for the entire time.  I tried to explain the chaos theory and the butterfly effect to the others afterwards indicating how one small change to the dynamics of our ride could have had a substantial impact to the outcome.  I think I failed miserably in this attempt.  In any case, I'm glad everything worked out as planned and everyone had a great ride. 

As for the post ride festivities, Mitchell and Noah had skipped the 2nd loop so that they could have everything ready for us once we arrived.  How awesome was that?  Mitchell had brought some food to barbecue, so he and Eddie were finishing up the grilling upon our arrival.  Thanks, guys.  The food was excellent and accompanied the libations perfectly.  The antics were nutty as always, maybe even over the top at times, but all-in-all just some good natured alcohol induced fun.

At one point, the guys presented me with a poster that contained pictures of several past events Vince and Noah put together for the guys to sign, and I was just speechless.  That's right...I said I was speechless.  I'm not sure I'm worthy of such an honor and in all honesty, I feel I should be giving them something for all the things they've done for me.  However, I'm truly grateful for it and all the sentiments as well.  It was the perfect touch to accompany a perfect day of riding, laughing, working together and building life-long relationships.  Thanks again to everyone who came and/or contributed to the the post ride festivities, especially to Noah and Sarah for putting up with us for more than 8 hours, Mitchell for the barbecue, and Todd and Pam for getting me home safe and sound.

Seriously, I love you all of you guys, and I hope at a minimum we can still continue to ride together on the weekends.  We'll just have to see what the future holds.  

Pics courtesy of Hiroshi and Sarah/Noah:

Pre-ride sans Noah and Todd (who were probably taking dumps at the time)

Two ominous figures in the background (insert Jaws music here)

So Mitch, is it amateur to carry juice in a carton on the ride?

Picture was candid.  We were all just siting this way.

Looking down at the crazy bunch

Note Andy's position originally....

Note Andy's new position.  HA HA

Noah doing the honors

Mitchell beyond messed up.  Someone get him a burger.

The only lines on Jeremy's stomach are from his tattoo.

More pictures can be found here (parental guidance is suggested):  http://www.flickr.com/photos/90709873@N02/sets/72157634206797418/

Lunch Ride - Made Like an Egg in Chinese Soup and Got Dropped

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/60164194

Attendees:  Vince, Todd, Jeremy, Mitchell, Vin, Jaffe, Andy and me

Summary:

•  Boy, it was warm today in the black jersey.
• Jeremy starts the ride off and breaks off from everyone from the beginning.
• We latched on some time after the stop sign at the top of E Peltason only to have Todd breakaway on Anteater.  Fortunately, he was stopped by the light on Culver.
• Vince and Andy took some good pulls on Culver as we made our way to Campus.
• Attrition occurred on Turtle Rock after some good rotations with Vince, Todd and Jeremy.
• Jeremy led us again onto the bike trail and up past the first bridge.  
• I relieved him for a little bit, but Todd took over after.  
• Vince attempted a breakaway before the 2nd bridge, but Todd latched on and pulled the rest of us with him.  
• Todd went for the breakaway near the top, but I was just able to close the gap after we crested.
• Jeremy received the mandate to stay on the bike trail.  He wasn't happy.
• Todd would drop the hammer after getting on each bike trail making it nutty for the rest of us (me, Vince, Jeremy and Mitchell)
• There was some rotations on the bike trail beside the 405, but it was windy.  No one sprinted to the bridge (at least from what I could see from the back)
• Mitchell pulled to the front after the bridge and led us toward University.  :)
• Jeremy led us up Ridgeline followed by Vince, Todd, me and Mitchell
• I stayed behind Todd, who seemed to have fallen behind a little after the first crest, so I had 2 choices:  1) close the gap or 2) know he will and stay behind.  I chose 1 (wrong answer!)
• Vince tried to pass Jeremy after 2nd crest and I was on his outside wondering what to do, but Jeremy accelerated again causing Vince and I to get back behind him.
• Todd goes by and takes Jeremy and Vince with him.  I said "Screw this."
• I waited for my wingman, Mitchell, on TR where he thanked me as he passed 3x my current speed.  HA HA
• With the 3 guys ahead out of sight, I wasn't as eager to give chase as Mitchell.  Sorry I didn't stay on going up Shady toward Bonita Canyon, bud.
• We caught the light on Bonita Canyon and subsequently on Turtle Ridge.  
• I led up Turtle Ridge but I didn't realize Mitchell wasn't behind me by the time we hit the first light.  
• I half expected Mitchell to catch me on Summit, but he never did.  
• When I saw where he was after heading back down, I opted to just continue hoping he'd catch me on the light and maybe where I'll see the others. 
• I got the light on Bonita Canyon and ended up riding toward the Condo in that wind alone not seeing the 3 guys ahead of me.   I kept looking back at the light on McArthur but no one.
• I picked it up on the Condo, so I did manage to get a glimpse of the 3 guys after making it onto Bison.  They were crossing McArthur already though.
• I rolled up to the McArthur intersection only to watch them going over the 73. 
• No one came up behind me and I finished the ride alone.   I liked it.  

 Great training ride, gents.  Excellent effort for the three breakaway-ers. 

Team Trainer up Baldy - Fun?!?

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/59086823

Todd threw out the idea of doing a Baldy training ride a couple weeks ago, and I didn't really think he would convince anyone to come out...including me.   I knew going with Todd alone would pretty  much mean I'd ride solo for the entire time.  Plus, with Todd indicating his plan to do double switchbacks, I REALLY wasn't on board to give that feat a try.  It's crazy!  Shannon chimed in and indicating he was going, so I ended up deciding to go since 1) he was only doing a single pass up to the ski lifts, and 2) I owed him a ride since he drove us the last time.  Galen and Jeremy also decided to come out and do some hill training with this being Galen's first time.  With how these guys climb, I pretty much expected to ride alone. 

As a last minute addition, S-Gary decided to join us also!  Talk about BAM.  Here, I was talking about how hard it is to get people to come out and do this ride, yet Gary came out despite his ongoing hip recovery and still not getting the same base miles that he used to.  Gary wasn't planning to ride up all the way to the ski lifts but just wanted to get some hill training in again, so his plan was to just see where it takes him once he starts.  He would then help provide SAG after he returned.  He still climbed all the way up to East Fork and a little past (BAM!), and then got back and as promised drove up to see if we needed any support and taking pictures when he could.  Kudos!  So for those still not coming out with us to train on this hill, what's your excuse now?

All smiles before the ride

 We all started off from the Starbucks off of Foothill, so it wasn't long before we got to GMR to start the climb.  Todd immediately started to pull away with Jeremy in tow while the rest of us decided to find our own tempo as we made our way to the first gate.  I wasn't too far behind Todd and Jeremy, and Galen and Shannon were not far behind me.  Once Todd and Jeremy got up to some other guys also making the trek up today, they seemed to have increased their pace even more.  Galen made his way past me some time after and gave chase to Todd and Jeremy ultimately catching them.   Shannon stayed behind me, and was just holding a pace to enjoy the ride.

I wasn't doing too bad where I was able to reel in some people ahead of me and not getting passed in the process...at least not by someone else not on our team.  I was working on my hill tempo, crank stroke, off- and on-the-seat climbing positions, etc., so I took advantage of the continuous climbing today to do so.  I totally lost sight of the other guys in front of me, but Shannon pretty much stayed close behind.  I did lose sight of Shannon for a little bit on GRR, so I stopped shortly to make sure he was back there (something he's done for me countless times) and it was only a few seconds when I saw him making his way toward me.  We stayed fairly close together the rest of the way on GRR and down to Baldy Village. For the record, it's always a scary thing when Shannon pulls back. 

As we made our way past the ranger station, Jeremy was sitting on his bike waiting for Galen to come out from the restroom.  Shannon and I continued on making our way toward the ice house. I started working on finding my rhythm again and actually made my way past Shannon, but I knew it would only be temporary.  I looked back at one point expecting to see Shannon behind me, but instead Jeremy had caught up to me from the ranger station.   Nice.  I expected he was going to be passing me where I was going to let him pass, but he said he was fine just staying with me.  He dropped a little bit probably from that effort from the ranger station, but never far back enough not to lose sight of me.   Stud.

Shannon made his way past Jeremy and had caught up to me and rode behind me for a bit.  I kept thinking I was getting in his way where it's not exactly easy to pass people on the switchbacks, but he eventually made his way past me before the lodge.  It was as we were making our way up toward the wall that we saw Todd heading back down the opposite way.  Shannon had increased the gap substantially, and I went into survival mode just as I was getting ready to start the wall climb.  While I was feeling hungry (forgot to eat on the way up), I really got worried when my right arm started to cramp during the climb.  Thus, I did the unthinkable and did a couple small paperboys just to get some reprieve from the intensity.  Of course, with Jeremy seeing this while behind me, he couldn't wait to let the others know.  HAHA. 

I arrived at the food trailer with Shannon's bike already propped up against it, and Jeremy came up just after me.  Galen was not far behind, but he was feeling the efforts from earlier on given he misunderstood what the plan was today.  Now that he knows the route though, I'm sure our next outing up will be a lot different for him.  Then again, he's crazy too, so who knows.

After a little break and refilling our bottles (thanks for the water, Jeremy!), we started the descent on the switchbacks.  I didn't want to lead down since I didn't want to hold the others back in case they wanted to jam down.  Jeremy led the descent, with Galen, me and Shannon behind him.  Galen was trying to videotape, so at one point Jeremy waved us on and I took the opportunity to lead.  While not a fan of descending on the switchbacks, I love to just tuck in and jam down after.   I got behind a Mercedes and was pretty much staying with it as we made our way toward the village with Galen behind me. We did see Todd making his way back up again where he asked if we were doing it too.  I wonder if he heard my "Hell no!" response.

As I started back up the climb on GRR, I started to pull away a bit but that's mostly because I like to use the adrenalin from the descent when climbing up.  I opted to spin up after awhile to see if the others would come up to me and we can go through GRR together.  Unfortunately, Shannon had gotten a flat on his descent down the switchbacks, but I didn't know until after the ride.  He and Galen were back as a result, but Jeremy made his way up to me and we were able to ride through GRR together.   We had fun!  We saw Gary on GRR and posed for some pictures as we made our way past where he parked.  You probably won't see Jeremy in the pictures though because of my big head covering his big head.

Jeremy, please keep your eyes ahead

Nothing keeps this guy from smiling.  Nothing.

Shannon giving chase after his flat

We wanted to regroup with Shannon and Galen, so the plan was to stop at East Fork.  Just before arriving there though, we passed one guy on a Trek and although he looked familiar, it was only after he called out to me when I realized it was Edward Mitoma (the guy who put us up for the Death Ride).   It turned out he was down for a wedding and decided to get some training in, so he was up there with a buddy getting it done.  We chatted some as we waited at East Fork, but once Jeremy took off after not wanting to cool down too much as well as avoid bugs, I started up GMR after him.

Shannon and one other guy was just behind me as I made my way up to where Jeremy was waiting at the top just before the descent down GMR.  Galen was just behind them, so once we got going, we were all together again.  Jeremy led us down initially and eventually waved me on, so I took the front and was really enjoying the turns with Galen just behind me.  We had some motorcycles go by, so that's always a little hairy for me, but otherwise, I love the sweeping turns on GMR. 

After coming out of one turn near the bottom, my front tire hit a rock and ended up flatting.  Thankfully, I wasn't going too fast at the time and was able to stop without any problems.  Galen, Shannon and Jeremy waited for me to get my tire fixed, but we were on our way shortly after.  Gary just missed rolling up behind us at that time as it would have been cool to borrow his front wheel for a faster fix, but he was behind us as we got on the straight descent headed back toward  the base of GMR.

Working efficiently toward the base

Teamwork!

Team BRCM racing a Corvette

Parking lot sexiness

Okay, but only because you guys asked

How many times did this cowboy go up the switchbacks?

Aside from the flats, it was a great training ride for all of us.  The best part as always is the post ride refreshments as well as the company, and it was nice to have a good-sized group to hang out with.  Todd rolled up not too long after doing his double switchbacks and was able to join us for the refreshments as well.  Stud.

Super efforts for all today on such a "ridiculous" training route, and overall a success.  Looking forward to next week's less intense training ride with this crew.  I love these guys.  Thanks for coming out!

Thanks to Gary for taking all the pictures above.  More pictures can be found here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114303683088857890912/Baldy?authkey=Gv1sRgCLTU7Jfnqv2xfg

Lunch Ride - So Much for Chillin'

Strava (Garmin acting up - forgot to encase in plastic, so not connecting)

Attendees:  Shannon, Andy, Mitchell, Vin, Vince, Adrian and Jeremy

First of all, let me talk about the weather.  I think the conditions  today were nearly perfect for a very fast pace ride.  Low winds, overcast, mild temperature...what more can you ask for?  If it continues through the afternoon, I'm expecting Todd will easily be setting his best time for his TT race this evening.  For the rest of us, however, we planned to pull it back today given the upcoming training on Saturday up Mt. Baldy where we didn't really get to take full advantage of it.  I'm just not sure who'll buy that a 20.7 mph average for today's BB > PCH > CDM > NPC loop is considered pulling back.  

It started out easy enough although Vin seemed to be on a mission early on to get to the bottom of California.  There must have been a sale down on University or something.  Vince, aka the instigator, attempted to recruit Vin for a breakaway once we were on the bike trail, but I believe Vin kept having chain problems so the rest of us were able to roll up on Vince by the time we got on Back Bay.  It was nice that no one in the chase group panicked to give chase, so we just kept the pace nice and steady as we eventually made our way to him.

Going through Back Bay, everyone seemed to be taking turns in the rotation.  Some were longer and stronger than others as usual, but at least people were pulling up to the front.  Okay, so there were the occasional "hold outs" from what I could see, but I suppose some people gots to do what they gots to do.  Just sayin'.  

Toward the end of Back Bay, Adrian, Vince and Shannon gave the ol' sprint to the gate a run.  I hung back and couldn't really see who took it, so I won't speculate.  I will say, however, that the effort up front through Back Bay leading up to the sprint were not comparable among the three (cough, Adrian was less, cough), but do we really need to factor that in?  HA.

Shannon and Vince kept their pace up and the rest of us slowly made our way up to them by the time we got to Bayside.  Thankfully, the light to go on PCH was red.  

When we started up PCH, at first I was content to stay in the back during the climb but I saw Jeremy up front selflessly pulling the rest of us behind him.  I started making my way up to work with him (since that's what I do), but it seems he may have taken that as a sign of aggression.  He started to pick up the pace where it made it difficult to pass, so I dropped in behind him, clicked down a couple gears, and THEN spun my way past him.  

The group came around after my pull and actually had a pretty aggressive pace that I just didn't want to have anything to do with at that point.  I was lucky though as I was able to get behind them just after they started making their way through the CDM neighborhood after Avocado. 

There was a little separation on Ocean with Vin seemingly wanting to break away on his own and others charging the hill beforehand, but all-in-all, we were all back together by the time we got back on PCH after Poppy.  

On PCH, Vince managed to breakaway with Vin again but kept the breakaway while Shannon led the charge.  The interesting part was when Shannon seemingly would pull to the right to let someone pass and take a pull, everyone behind him would pull to the right behind him.  Goodness.  When I saw Adrian in front of me stop pedaling a couple times, I finally called out "if you're not pedaling, get to the front!"  Immediately, Adrian started making his way to the front and actually started to earn his keep taking a guilt pull all the way to NPC.  You go, boy.

Vince had gotten the left turn light to NPC ahead of us, so with the light having turned red we all opted to cross via the crosswalk.  We couldn't really see Vince once we started climbing, but Shannon thought he saw that Vince had gone straight rather than turning left on Pelican.  We slowed just before Pelican to contemplate what to do but ultimately decided to go up NPC and give chase.  The good news is we caught who were chasing.  The bad news is it wasn't Vince.  HA HA.  Shannon dropped the hammer going up NPC, so the rest of us did what we could to make our way up behind him.  

We regrouped at the top after waiting for Vince to come out of Pelican. Vince made it clear to the other guys not going to Baldy this weekend that he was dissatisfied with their decision not to train up Pelican.  Too funny!  We continued on NPC toward Bonita Canyon, and while I had the front, Vince (doing what Vince does) started to sprint by me as we were getting ready to descend.  I was game and closed the gap he created but with a lot of effort.  Shannon and Adrian were up for mixing it up on the downhill as well, so they all took off while I had the rest of my posse behind me.  It's how I roll.

The Bonita Canyon paceline was pretty solid with people taking turns to keep the pace up.  After crossing McArthur, I found myself in the same predicament again where Vince went sprinting by me while at the front.  When I looked back and saw no one else followed, however, I thought a breakaway at that point would be perfect.  Unfortunately for us, we got caught at the light to cross Jamboree onto Eastbluff.  Apparently, it was fortunate for the others that we did since they still thought we were going up the Condo.  For the record, the condo WAS a part of the original route but we changed it because we skipped Pelican.  I did announce it...twice.  HA HA

Vin got it in him to do some pulling on Eastbluff, so he and Shannon led the rest of us toward the bike trail heading back to CA.  Once we got on the sidewalk, however, Vince yet again stood up and started to break away.  I was working to close the gap, but he was just a little ahead of me as we made our way under the Jamboree underpass.  Shannon and Adrian sprinted by subsequently and Vince got on where the three of them started making their way to the sprint point dropping me in the process.  I dropped voluntarily anyway as I didn't have anything for them.  Not sure who won that sprint but it seems Vince was definitely going for it given he had passed California and had to come back to the intersection after.

Going up California, I was wanting to work on my standing climb in preparation for this weekend.  Jeremy had decided to amp it up on the climb, so I managed to make my way up to his wheel as he towed me up the hill.  I took the front subsequently and near the top (maybe a little too late?), but I guess he was ready for cool down mode at that point.  I wasn't really trying to race up it (wink wink).  

Good solid team ride today again and thanks to Vince, I'm going to CHILL tomorrow for sure.  Great job out there everyone.  

Team Lunch Ride - That's What I'm Talking About

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/58223782

Boy's reppin' the sexy black jersey

Typically, the title of the ride starts with just lunch ride, but today I saw it fitting to include "team."  For the most part, we even looked like a team today with most of the boys wearing the black BRCM jersey.    I was commenting just outside the gym how it was awesome that everyone wore black today as we were gathering, and Jaffe walked out wearing white having left his black jersey in his car.  While this would typically warrant an online flogging, he took the cool picture above and rightfully gets a free pass.  Adrian, on the other hand wearing a Stagecoach jersey, does not.  I'll try to type slower for him and use words with single syllables only on my next e-mail ride announcement.  For the record, "black" IS a single syllable word.

Anyway, back to the team ride....  It was a good-sized group today absent of just a few people, but quite intimidating nonetheless.  Paul B. just missed our ride by 5 minutes, but hopefully we can get him out with us next time.  Vince, Andy, PV, Verm, Gary, Mike Z., Noah, Eddie, etc., we missed you guys!

Adrian was the last to arrive for the ride, but once he did, it didn't seem like anyone wanted to roll out right away.  I guess I wasn't the only one intimidated.  HA.  It was actually Mitchell who started the ride out and even gapped the rest of us early on all the way to near the top of East Peltason.  It took a lot of effort for me just to be able to latch onto him, but I wasn't about to take the next pull given the firepower behind me.  I may look dumb, but....

Todd stepped it up just before we got on Anteater and led the group up all the way to the Bonita Canyon intersection.   Once the light turned green, the pace got maddening as we climbed toward Sunnyhill.  Galen actually gapped us upon taking the front early on, but ended up back in the rotation eventually with multiple people working the front to reel him in.

As we approached Sunnyhill, it was good to see that almost everyone managed to negotiate the turn in a safe and courteous manner given there were cars that arrived at the intersection with us.  There was this guy in an orange jersey (with a logo on it that rhymes with cockroach) though that opted to make the left turn ahead of everyone from the right of the car that was going straight, but I won't mention his name since he got enough flogging up above.

I believe we were all still pretty much intact by the time we got on Sunnyhill and ultimately onto Turtle Rock.  There were some good pulls from the likes of what I'll just classify as those we've grown accustomed to taking the front.  Everyone else just hung on, which was okay.  I think at some point, I was too.

As we approached the climb after Campus, I think Galen saw this again as another opportunity to gap, but Todd started to close that immediately and I think I took the lead just before we made our way by him.  I was trying to hold a good pace on the climb while others stayed close behind me.  As we neared Starcrest, Jeremy and Galen opted to have a conversation while behind Todd and I about mascara, getting mani/pedis, or something just as insignificant (HAHA) to show that they just weren't working too hard back there.  Todd took the opportunity to chime in and let them know that if they can have a conversation, then they should pull to the front.  Even as I was short of breath, I was still able to chuckle a bit after hearing that.  We may have to rename Todd "the truth."

Once on Starcrest, I led for a bit longer, but as it started to pitch up more, Galen, Todd, Jeremy and Adrian (wha?) started to make their way past me.  BAM!  I think Galen made it to the top first followed by Todd, but the rest of us weren't too far behind.  I was just able to get passed Adrian and Jeremy (who hates that hill) but he was on my heels the whole time as was Shannon was on his (I believe) since he was in the circle too.  Everyone else made it up, with some just making the cutoff for the timed regroup point.

On the descent on Ridgeline, we were all together right before Turtle Rock, but as fate would have it, my chain dropped just as we hit the intersection.  Mitchell and Galen waited for me (thanks!), with Mitchell even helping me get my chain back on, so once I did we were in hot pursuit.  Galen was going to take the first pull, but Mitchell had momentum and jammed past the both of us with us latching on once he did.  Galen took over after that and managed to latch us onto the group ahead of us by the bottom of the hill.  Excellent effort on both of these guys.  I wanted to help, but I kept spinning out every time I'd try to pass.

As we all made our way onto the bike trail, Jeremy opted to take the road instead (similarly to last Thursday's ride), but this time went alone.  We may need to go over the route with him a little more closely beforehand next time, but thankfully Todd led us to the bike trail leading to the 405 where we were able to latch on to Jeremy at that point.  Todd even took the front eventually.  What a nice guy.

The pace up onto the bridge and over to Jeffrey was led by Todd and was still high, but he and Jeremy were very mindful of the others behind them as we made our way to the bike trail opening leading back to work.  Todd seemed to almost want to take off after making that tight right turn before going under the tunnel, but checked up accordingly until everyone cleared the turn.  Nice.

There were some good pulls on the bike trail, but I think I was feeling a little bit worked at that point where I think I didn't take the front as early as I should at one point.  This was when Galen followed by Shannon took the opportunity to launch a breakaway attack.  Unfortunately for them, it was probably less than 500 feet until the next intersection crossing where you have to stop and check for cross-traffic beforehand...not exactly the ideal spot to breakaway.

There was no real breakaway attempts after that, and even crossing the bridge was controlled not causing too much of an accordion effect for those on the tail end.  Everyone started taking turns again in the rotation, some more than others, but every contribution is still worthy of props.

As we were nearing the section that leads up to California, I wasn't sure if anyone would be up for a sprint given the headwinds on the trail and the upcoming climb on Jamboree.  Galen had taken the front just as we got out from the last underpass and was leading us at a great pace with me just behind him.  I was waiting for an ideal time to sprint by hoping someone else would come up from behind first to start it off.  When I thought no one was going to do so, I pulled out only to bump into Shannon who, along with Adrian, were going to give the sprint a go.  Now I don't know what that looked like from anyone else's perspective, but from mine, it was just a brief contact with my handlebar and him.  I immediately pulled back in after feeling the contact and never really felt like I was on the verge of losing control.  In fact, my only concern at that point was to make sure to apologize to Shannon for bumping into him.  I hope and don't think he was mad at me in the end as he kept going past me and continued to pull away while Adrian was preparing to stop thinking it ended up California.  I did roll up on him further down and apologize, so I think we're good or else I'm sure he'd let me know.

For the final climb up Jamboree, we all got a little bunched up as we were trying to cross University but managed to start the climb pretty much together.  I believe Adrian launched another attack only to meet the same fate as on Starcrest, but Jeremy got going too and pulled ahead a bit.  I was just able to get behind Todd as he reeled Jeremy in and as Todd passed, I swung out and started to pass them both hoping that my wicked witch of the west impersonation would let me breakaway.  Todd was ready for me though and latched on unbeknownst to me, and then started accelerating past where all I could do was watch.  He was able to catch the left turn light to Bison with me just behind him, and I checked to make sure the guys behind me (Jeremy and Galen) cleared it too before it turned red.

When we got to the McArthur intersection, I was hoping to contest the sprint to California but after clipping in on my 3rd attempt, the guys were gone.  Snooze, you lose.  Of course, all the lights ahead were green so all I could see was Galen followed by Todd and Jeremy arriving at California ahead of me.  Nice work, gents!

Overall, I think today was one of our better team rides since we stayed together as a group most of the time and everyone had a great workout.  Great pulls and even better, great looking out for one another too.  Who knows?  We may be onto something here and let this set a trend for future rides.  Who knows?

Lunch Ride - 3X BB on the TTs

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/58007281

Weather conditions for today's ride

I like to get on my TT bike at least once a week since the riding position is so different from the road bikes.  I didn't have a chance to over the weekend, so I didn't hesitate when Shannon prompted me to see if we wanted to take them out for a lunch ride today.  A solo TT is fun (for me anyway), but a team TT is even more of a blast.  Todd brought out his TT bike as well, but despite a weekend of drinking he was still wanting to hit the winds free from any wind protection (i.e. no drafting).  Thus, he started out far enough behind us to do so.  Jeremy and Jaffe also came out, and Jeremy proclaimed he was not taking the front at all before the ride being he was on his road bike.  He did anyway.  Stud.  

Shannon and I immediately started alternating once we got on the bike trail at the base of California.  Despite being on the TT bikes, the headwind on the way to and as we headed through Back Bay was pretty steady.  Nonetheless, we managed to average a very respectable 26 mph against the 8 mph winds thanks to some superman pulls by Shannon.  Todd, being on his own, could only watch as we pulled away since we worked together, but still averaged 24.2 on his own.  Stud.

The pace through Back Bay was tough, but I didn't let up after the gate and kept the pace up as I led our way to Jamboree and PCH.  As I realized that we got a little disconnected, Jeremy and I stopped at Bayside to regroup with Shannon who was just slightly behind us.  I believe he mentioned not to wait as he passed, so Jeremy and I latched on and Shannon led us through the bike trail beside the trailer park.  It's a difficult and probably dangerous place to pass, so all I could do at that point is just wait it out until we were back on Back Bay drive.  Jaffe had come from the opposite direction and was able to turn around after we passed him and latch back on.  Kudos to him for that as I didn't think it would be easy or even possible given that Shannon had a good pace going through that section.  

I took the front as soon as I could once we got on Back Bay drive and led us after the gate for the 2nd pass through.  During this pass, Jeremy was up for getting in the rotation and was leading us toward San Joaquin.  Thankfully, he was able to see and call out early enough to warn us about a car that backing up and sitting across both lanes of traffic just after San Joaquin.  When we thought we could go behind her, she continued to back up.  Gents, the keyword in that last sentence was "she."  Just kidding.  After having to almost come to a complete stop, we managed to squeeze in front of her car and continue on.  Unfortunately, the acceleration at this point proved to much for Jaffe to stay latched on.

Shannon, Jeremy and I continued to work our way to the top of Back Bay together alternating in the rotation.  27.5 mph average during that pass by the time we got to the gate, and the three of us were all able to get across Eastbluff and start the Jamboree climb together. I had the front on the climb, so I thought I'd settle into a good pace.  However, looking behind me at one point, I realized I was alone.  What to do...what to do.  

I decided I'd keep going given Shannon's directive on Bayside, so I continued on and hoped to maintain the breakaway as an incentive for the others behind me.  Unfortunately (or fortunately for me), I got caught at the light on Eastbluff and turning around, I saw two guys coming up behind me where I knew they would have momentum as the approached the intersection.  Once the light turned green, I started slowly and sure enough, Todd followed by Jeremy passed me.  I was prepared for it though, so I managed to latch on as they did.

Once we started climbing toward San Joaquin, I pulled out and started making my way past them and breaking away slightly as we made our way past the intersection.  This, again, was to respect Todd's wishes to not have a draft, and I figured it would give him some incentive to give chase...which he did.  One thing I know I shouldn't do but probably did 3x or more was to look back to see where they were.  This is not aero-advantageous with a TT helmet. 

I did managed to keep the breakaway all the way down PCH to Bayside, but Todd and Jeremy were right behind me at the intersection.  Once Todd passed, I figured I'd take advantage of his training goals and dropped in behind him for a super solid tow through the trailer park and through most of the way back on our 3rd pass through Back Bay.  Once we cleared all the sharper turns, I opted to give him a target once again and broke away.  I could see them giving chase and almost catching me on the climb to the top of Back Bay, but I managed to keep them off after all the way to California...barely.

Todd mentioned how we were 24+ mph average at the light, so I thought it would be cool to hold that for the whole ride.  Todd took the front early on the climb up California, but I dropped down on the aero bars after the first light and pushed all the way to the top.  I think I nearly passed out as I could see the light on Bison was green, but I pushed on anyway getting a respectable 24.1 avg (based on my Garmin data) by the time I crossed.  Strava knocked it down a tick and shows 24.  Good enough. 

Super effort from all the guys who came out today, and Jeremy is definitely back on something again.  HA HA.  Just kidding, bud...kudos.  I'm not really looking forward to lunch rides averaging more than this since it's bordering on insanity, but I'm thinking it will continue to get even faster from here.   I hope I'll be around to appreciate it. 

Thanks, gents!