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!
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!
I think people say let's go out nice and easy to make them think that maybe this ride won't be so tough. It makes them feel more at ease. Then, of course, everything goes crazy and the ride is just as tough as always. So, when the ride is actually nice and easy which is rare, it is a shock to the system.
ReplyDeleteIt's like bait and switch. Thus, if it sounds to good to be true....
Delete