Returning to a Lunch Ride - Careful What I Wish For

Strava:  https://www.strava.com/activities/70995768

Not having done a group lunch ride for awhile, I was really looking forward to getting out today.  However, that eagerness transformed to nervousness once I saw in the locker room who was coming out:  Shannon, Todd, Vince, Jeremy and Vin.  It's not the biggest group, but definitely some good firepower...especially for a somewhat hilly route.

Todd led us all out and at a good clip where there really was not much sense to relieve him right away.  Others started pulling up once we got in Anteater, but I was going to wait my turn while eating humble pie.  

Vince ended up launching the first attack and took off on the descent toward Campus.  He stayed ahead until Turtle Rock where he was relegated back into the rotation.  

The pace was pretty solid going up Turtle Rock, so Vin had dropped off at this point never to be seen again until back at the gym doing some weight training on his legs.  Okay....

Todd did a lot of the leading up Shady and had ended up pulling the rest of us over the crest.  Everyone was exercising a lot of self-restraint probably thinking the same thing I was:  save it for the rest of the ride and don't get dropped.  Or maybe it was just me.

The descent on the other side was fast, and being in the back as you go off and on the trails/sidewalks was tough.  The accordion effect is ridiculous.  It was work just to stay on and keep up, so I wasn't in any hurry to get up front again.

Jeremy seemed to try and breakaway for a sprint, but the chase group didn't panic and just held a pace that eventually reeled him back in.  Either that or he got bored waiting for a challenge.

We made our way to Ridgeline and Jeremy immediately picked the pace up and gapped the rest of us early on.  I heard Vince and Todd in front of me say how it was not a good idea to let Jeremy get too much of an early lead, so took off after him with me and Shannon also responding behind them.  Once caught, Jeremy stayed in front and led the rest of us at a good pace all the way past the two times it pitches up.  Strong effort!

Before getting to Turtle Rock, Todd took off with Vince following where it seemed as though they were trying to break away.  Shannon ended up picking up our slack, and towed me and Jeremy back up to them.

As we made our way back in Shady toward Bonita Canyon, the wind was pretty rough so everyone was doing what they could just to keep the pace up.  Although I didn't want to push the wind in a sprint to the bike trail, I was willing to lead anyone else who wanted to go for it.  I guess everyone else thought that the wind was enough of a deterrent for sprinting as well as it pretty much was uncontested.

When we made our way up Turtle Ridge, Todd and Jeremy started to gap right away.  I was #3 initially, but Shannon started asserting his climbing spirit and passed me I while still relatively early on in the climb.  I found some energy to reel the three in ahead of me during the first full flat, but they broke off again leaving me in the dust.  I'm not sure who made it to the top first since I was too far behind, but great climbs by the three of them for sure.

Vince helped tow me back to the base of Turtle Ridge where the three ahead of us were waiting at the light.  Once we got going, it was once again a fast pace especially with everyone rotating to keep it up.

We got stopped for a light on McArthur, but once it turned green, Todd immediately got us going again with Shannon taking over midway in preparation for leading us out on Jamboree.

We managed to get a good turn in onto Jamboree without any cars or pedestrians getting in the way.  I took the opportunity to break away in this climb but always worried about getting caught.  There were all sorts of safey cones over the crest, so I had to navigate around them to prevent being out on the road with the cars.  This was when I noticed my rear wheel sliding out a little and realized my tire pressure must be low.  I still made it to Bison ahead of everyone, but coasted to the McArthur intersection where I can inspect my tire.

With the pressure low upon my arrival and getting lower as we sat at the intersection, I decided to try and finish off the ride by putting some CO2 in just to get me back.  I failed with my first canister, but it was great to have Vince wait for me while the others took off at the green.  Fortunately, I got some CO2 in my tire and pretty much had enough for Vince to tow me the rest of the way back.  What a guy!  And some wonder why I love this team so much....

Despite the tire fiasco, a 21+ average for this route is pretty impressive.  There was definitely some super strong efforts out there and it's just humbling to ride with these guys.  The training is awesome though, so I hope to keep making it out for more of these.  Thanks, gents!!!

BRCM Team Trainer - Quality Over Quantity

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/70308055

For July's team event, I was hoping to host a ride that would get a lot of our team members out to represent the BRCM colors...much like our ride last month.  Unfortunately, life happens and a lot of people had things going on where it just didn't get as big as I had hoped.  Todd and Vince were able to make it out though, so I pretty much knew it was going to be a great training ride nonetheless given their caliber.  After all, Todd just won the GP TT and Vince is the undeniable Energizer bunny. 

Originally, the plan was to ride down the coast and do between 60-80 but with just the three of us, we changed our route to get some hills done in the beginning of the ride and then head down the coast and back...Todd's idea of course.  We still did almost 60 miles, but we increased the elevation gain to 2700+.  

Todd rode down from his house to mine, and it wasn't long before the three of us headed out and made our way to the bike trail.  From there, we went up Camino Del Avion to Golden Lantern and then made our way to do the Niguel and Pacific Island climbs.  During the climbs, Todd would lead us up originally but any attempt to pass him subsequently was always met with him returning the favor EVERY time.  HA HA.  Okay, so maybe Vince was right when he suspected my passes were more than just me being helpful, but I figured it wouldn't be a BAM ride otherwise.

I was hoping to get a breakaway on PI, but after a crappy shift to the small ring, Todd and Vince both left me in the dust and had to wait for me until I got to the top a few seconds behind them.  When I mis-shifted, Vince pointed out how I really need to get Shimano.  As far as front derailleurs go, I'm starting to believe it. 

When we got to PCH, it was good to be back on what I considered familiar grounds, and more so with guys who are able to work with me AND work me at the same time.  As  you would expect, everyone ahead of us became targets and cyclist after cyclists were getting reeled in and spit out the back.

It was only as we turned around at Las Pulgas when someone actually passed us during the climb up.  Of course, this was met with us reeling the sole rider in and having him latch on behind us.  At first, I was thinking he had latched on with the intent to ride behind us the whole time, but he actually pushed up as we neared the San Onofre State Beach parking lot.  We wanted to mix it up more through the parking lot, but Todd was completely out of water where we thought it better to refill. 

It was fun working with Vince and Todd on the way back, with everyone taking turns up front.  There wasn't anyone else who wanted to mix it up with us, although there was one guy who jumped ahead of us after a light only to make a right turn shortly after as we started to close on him.

On the bike trail beside the wash after Doheny, we had some race training with Todd launching attacks here and there.  Vince and I obliged and would give chase when he would, so there was definitely a lot of interval training going on.  Todd asked if the madness was over as we were nearing my house,  but I had one more attack just as soon as we made the right turn that had the straightaway behind my house.   Gotta love the competitive nature of this bunch for sure.

When we got back, my legs were spent and I actually am still feeling it a day later.  That, my friends, is what I'm talking about as far as a great workout.  I actually rode with my wife to the beach today hoping that spinning out my legs would make them feel better.  It helped a little.

Tiffany and Pam ended up coming over after the ride, as well as Noah and Sarah who stopped by to hang out,  so we ended up having some Mexican food, beers, margaritas, some of Pam's delicious blueberry cheesecake, etc.  A great ride followed by good food and beers along with great people on a beautiful Saturday afternoon...what more could you ask for?  Thanks for coming out, everyone!

P.S.  We need to buy Todd a DVD of Mean Girls, which seems to be his new favorite movie considering how many times it came out during the day.  Just sayin'. 

Todd Clinches 2013 GP TT Series for Cat 4/5!

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/69861979

Being the final TT race for the GP season, it was awesome to be able to make it out and represent with Todd...especially given that he ended up winning the whole series!  It was more of a formality to come out given he was ahead in points and seemed untouchable in the Cat 4/5 class.  This didn't stop both of us from getting yet another PR though.  It just goes to show that there's typically only two settings for guys who race on our team:  off or full throttle.

Upon our arrival, the winds were howling pretty good and it was obvious that some adjustments needed to be made to our strategy for the race:  don't blow up in the wind and take advantage of any tail wind.  This meant doing what you can on the bottom and front part of the course and making up time on the top and the back side.  I can't speak for Todd in this regard, but this was certainly how I played it.

The nice part of the race was how there were adequate people on the course for me to be able to reel in, and with Todd taking off just after I completed first lap, I was his target.  Scary.   I'm glad he never caught me, but he was definitely closing upon every lap given he finished 40+ seconds better than me.  

As of this writing, I still don't know what the final results were for the race but given we both got PRs and he won the series, does it really matter?  Getting 1-2 last week was nice, so hopefully we did the same tonight.

For our support, Todd had family and friends come out while Lisa came out with my youngest daughter.  It makes such a difference when they come out.  Noah also came out but wasn't able to make it out in time for the race.  Nevertheless, he was there to help us celebrate Todd's victory and support the team.  Woo hoo!  Thanks for all your support!

For his efforts, Todd won a Shimano C35 wheelset.  What a great prize!  We need to do more of thee and start getting in on some of this prize action, team.  Whatta ya say for next year?  :)

The champ!

Launched!

Keeping low

Turning and burning

Praying for a win

Asking each other why more don't race

The Shady 133 PCH BB Beatdown

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/69466015

Since I missed yesterday's lunch ride, which sounded like a doozy, I opted to get out this morning and extended an invite to anyone else wanting to come.  Galen answered the call and opted to come with me, and Vince warned me how it may not be a good idea to ride with Galen a day before a race.  I figured what the hell...I'll go anyway.  If you're an Indiana Jones fan, think "big mistake, Indy."

Galen promised to be nice (not that he's ever mean...unless IPAs are involved), and I figured I'd just hold draft behind him and maybe help out some after we get over the 133.  He didn't mind and even offered a warm-up pace in the beginning.  Awww.  Of course, once we crossed Bonita Canyon, it didn't seem like a warm-up pace AT ALL.

Going over Shady and through Quail Hill was no easy feat either despite being behind him the whole time.  I think I could hear him chuckling as I panted heavily behind him trying to keep up.  Once we started up the 133, then the madness really ensued.  Fortunately, saving the 30% of power being in the draft worked, and I was able to not get dropped as we made our ascent to the top.

On the descent, I started to rotate up front a couple times, but once we got near the 73, Galen took over and just made it impossible for me to get ahead of him.  He even took off up that little kicker hill that connects to PCH, and I was just barely able to latch back on at the top.

With us being on PCH, I thought I was good to go.  I thought wrong.  After getting out of Laguna Beach and going through the rollers, at one point I thought "This is not good" and just popped off.  There is just no way trying to keep up with him ('trying' being the operative word) would help me in my race tomorrow night.

I think he popped me off a couple (few) more times on the way back, even when a tall slender guy on a Pinarello teased at how Galen was being mean to me. He thought he was fast at one point, but Galen showed him otherwise for sure (with me in the draft for as long as I could stay).

Thankfully, there was no more popping off on Back Bay, University and California, but probably just because Galen was just being nice (or tired of hearing me crying).  Looking at the pace on my Garmin, Galen and I definitely agreed it was not one of our faster ones.  I think I even did a better average pace on my TT bike last week solo.  It was a helluva workout nonetheless, with Galen killing me on the interval type riding.  What sucked was how when we got back to the gym, I inspected my BMC, which I just put back my newly serviced Spinergy wheels on again, and saw that the left rear brake pad was sitting up against the wheel where I couldn't even spin it.  It spun freely last night after I installed and reset the brake, but I guess it moved after really getting on the brakes creating that rub.  Bummer!  It doesn't take anything away from Galen killing me on that route and making me wish I was on a TT bike, but I'm sure it didn't help either.  In the end though, the objective of getting a good training session in was met.  Let's hope I have some left for GP.

Thanks, Galen!

TT Training with Todd

Strava:  https://www.strava.com/activities/69055278

I had made plans to get another TT ride in for Thursday's race, and who better to ride with than the current CAT 4/5 points leader for the Great  Park time trials.   I didn't even plan to go out with anyone originally, so it was definitely nice to see Todd coming into the gym with his TT bike too.  

When I saw him, we originally were thinking about me playing rabbit again.  However, our plans changed at the corner with me deciding to ride with him instead.  And by ride with him, I meant behind him of course.  Actually, I really was going to try and ride outside the draft originally.  However, once he took off, he was in full sprint already where I didn't think I'd be able to hang.  That's right...I said it.

When we got down to University, I came up with a different plan all together.  Try and stick with Todd as long as possible and on the last pass back, if I was still with him, play rabbit then just to push him harder in the end.  It would be good for us both, but more for Todd to make sure he clinches next Thursday's race.  The sacrifices I make for the team....

In the first pass through BB, I would occasionally be out of the draft only to feel the wind pushing against us.  I was certain our speed was dropping but as I looked down after exiting BB, we were just under a 24 avg.  Yowza!

After just a little slowing going up Jamboree to PCH, we went through the Mobilehome park and back through BB A LOT FASTER with the average well above 24.  Keep in mind this was still ALL Todd!

As we climbed up Jamboree toward Bison, I had visions of glory where I wondered could I break away at this point?  Then my female genitalia relegated me to stay back still and wait for a more opportune time.  This worked out well because we caught a few lights on Jamboree anyway.  I figured I'll try after we hit BB again.  

Todd was still moving every chance he could, so staying with him was not that easy.  It was for this reason that I didn't (or couldn't) pass him until after we passed San Joaquin.  

When I finally decided to play rabbit, I let Todd know as I passed him the rabbit was on.  I dropped the hammer at that point knowing full well that I had a madman chasing me.  It was where I knew not to go too hard and blow up but  not slow down enough to get caught.  "Stay in the zone!," I kept yelling inside..."Stay in the zone!!!"

I did manage to give Todd a steady target all the way to California and even hit the button just in time for him to come up and not have to stop as he started his ascent up California.  Of course, I latched back on as he did and tried to push him harder near the top as I passed from behind him.  Again...the things I do.

Helluva pace for Todd to be doing completely on his own.  I'm not sure being on a road bike would have allowed me keep up.  Let's just say I wouldn't want to find out.  Good job out there in the heat, TJ!  Killed it!

Great Park TT with Todd

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/68153835

Boy it's been awhile since I blogged, but that doesn't mean we haven't been riding.  It's just been hard to get a ride in with the guys, so when I had the opportunity to race with Todd tonight at Great Park, I took it.  I was also considering riding at lunch with the guys, but based on what I saw, it looks like Shannon was out to punish where I chose to suffer for only 10 miles vs. the 20 during our lunch rides.

And suffer I did.  The weather was pretty warm upon my arrival and seemingly during the warm up laps, but it didn't seem to be too much of a factor during the race.  Although it seemed windy, that also didn't seem to play too much of a factor during the race...or at least not to the point where it seemed detrimental to our efforts.

We didn't have too much time to warm up, but we were able to squeeze in a couple laps.  I rode with Todd who was obviously pulling back, but it's funny how the average for the two laps was still 23.5 mph.

When we started, I ended up lining up before Todd did, but I suppose being that he's the point leader, he can go last.  I lined up behind two ladies where they offered to let me cut in front of them.  However, the guy doing the times had already wrote them down in preparation for their timing, so I had to go back behind them.  The lady I was behind was out there doing a TT for the first time.  She was rather freaked out with the whole process of clipping in while the guy behind her holds up her bike.  Needless to say, she had a less than optimal start and actually ate into some of my time to get ready.  Upon lining up, I was told I only had 15 seconds left to go.  No worries though...I was ready after 5.

I rolled out with no problem, so my first agenda was to reel in and pass the two ladies who were let go ahead of me.   I was actually able to reel in the first one after the first turn at the top, and the 2nd by the long stretch on the back.  Cool.

I felt okay for my first lap, but seemingly on my second lap, I felt like my heart rate spiked some and had to pull back just a little.  I felt better on the 3rd lap, but then looking at my stats for each lap, it seemed I actually did a little better on my 2nd lap.  Go figure. 

During the first three laps, I looked for opportunities to reel other people in and I believe I was able to reel in two more.  I did get passed by one guy where I just couldn't hold his pace, but that's okay.  I wasn't going to blow my wad trying.  My strategy was just to be consistent with a goal of bettering my previous time.

On the last lap, I saw one guy on the back stretch and made up my mind that I was going to reel him before the finish.  I passed one guy on the beginning of the back stretch, and then worked to just make my way up to him closing on every turn.  When we got to the last stretch, he was just ahead of me so I did what I could to try and pass him before the finish.  Check.  I guess they were wondering how it was going to workout given the timing line is pretty narrow, but I just dropped the hammer and got passed him safely and well ahead of the finish line.

After rolling off and cooling down off the track, it wasn't too long before Todd entered the same area after the race.  He killed it as they reported that he beat his best time from before based on what Pam and Lisa overheard.  What a monster!

While I don't know the official results, I think we represented very well with Todd likely taking top honors again for our class.  I was happy to beat my last time with a 26.3 mph average whereas Todd dominated being in the 27s again.  I'll update the blog with the official results once posted.

As with previous rides, the highlight is just hanging out after and tossing a couple back with the ladies.  Obviously this would be more fun when more show up, but it was nice to just be able to get out again and show what Team BRCM can do.  Great night of racing for sure....

Some photos:

 

Lunch Ride - The Hot and Muggy Puke Route in the Wind

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/64314049

With the upcoming holiday weekend, I wasn't figuring on seeing a big crew for today's lunch ride.  To add to it, Vince had called for the Puke route, so I thought that may discourage those not wanting to do a ton of climbing on such a hot, muggy day like today.  However, we actually had a pretty decent sized crew consisting of Todd, Vince, Jeremy, Vin, Adrian Andy and Mr. Funny Guy himself, Marc Rabin.  It's probably been over a year since Marc has ridden with us, so welcome back!

One of the conditions Vince set for the ride is that if you're in the front group, you must do extra credit unless you're more than 15 feet behind the lead guy, who we expected would be Todd.  For me, the plan was to just stay behind Todd as much as possible and see how that goes.  I think everyone was thinking the same thing at the start, so no one wanted to leave until he did.  However, he wasn't interested in leading right away, so Jeremy and Vince took off and ended up pulling away from the rest of us.  Of course, everyone else lined up behind Todd as part of the chase group.  HA HA

While Vince and Jeremy worked together to keep ahead of us, we let Todd lead us out all the way to Anteater.  While Vin would have been complacent to continue to hold Todd out even longer, I finally decided to take a turn up front and offer him some relief as well as help try to close in on the two guys ahead.  Adrian took a turn as well on Bonita Canyon, but we were not able to close in on Vince and Jeremy before they made the left on NPC.

When the rest of us got to the left turn lane to start the climb, the anxiety was too much resulting in some giving chase to the two guys ahead.  I ended up going through the intersection last while Todd and Adrian gave chase with the rest between us.  I knew Todd was going to find the right pace to do so, especially given the horrible wind conditions (headwind on the climb), so I made my way past the others and latched onto Adrian's wheel as he was latched on to Todd's.

Todd was holding a good pace on the climb as we started to pull away from those behind us, and to my surprise I couldn't believe Adrian was hanging on for as long as he did.  He stayed with Todd until the 73 underpass, and then I saw him start to pop off.  I made my way around him to latch onto Todd's wheel as he made his way to reeling Jeremy in.  Once we passed, Jeremy latched on and it seemed we were getting close to having Vince meet the same fate.  However, Vince continued to be a slippery fish who got the jump ahead of us on Park, so I was going to just try and hang on to Todd's wheel some more as we climbed up that beast of a hill.

For a while, I was doing okay and stayed with Todd up through and around the bend.  Jeremy had fallen a little off, but I kept thinking he's probably just playing possum.  As Todd started ascending on the last part before the stop sign, he started to pull away from me.  Wouldn't you know it, once he crossed Vista, I was just far back enough to where I was not required to do the extra credit according to Vince's pre-ride clause (wink wink).  Oh darn!

As Todd went straight giving chase to Vince, who had also done the extra credit given he was in the lead, I made the right turn on Vista accordingly. I figured I'd give them someone to chase and hoped that someone else would roll up on me so that I'd be able to work with them to keep ahead.

When I got stopped at the left to NPC, I kept looking back and no one.  I got stopped at the first Pelican light and looked back...no one.  After climbing Pelican and getting stopped at that light on NPC I looked back.  You got it...no one.  I pulled back just a notch as I started climbing Vista and still didn't see anyone behind me upon reaching the false flat.  I could have just chilled at that point, but there's always this nagging suspicion that someone's going to blow past me where I kept my power level just a little under threshold as I finished the rest of the climb up Vista.

I contemplated on doing extra credit knowing I was up front, but I'd rather not get separated from the group and ended up waiting across the street to regroup just after the stop sign.  Yeah, that's it. That's the ticket.  When I saw someone cresting Vista, I thought it was Todd and was certain he would pull over with me and wait for the rest.  When I looked up again and realized it was Vince, all I saw after was him going by me as he started the descent.  HA HA...nice.

I couldn't resist and gave chase once I realized what happened, but chasing Vince on a descent is not really productive...especially with a compact crank.  I know the guy can descend, so my strategy was just to not let him pull away and just hold the distance until he gets caught at a light or if not, try and reel him in on Bonita Canyon if possible.  That strategy spit on my face as Vince slipped through the green light after the 73 underpass and having it turn yellow and red to catch me behind it.

Maybe there was still a chance to catch him at an intersection, but after hitting the next 2-3 lights consecutively, I figured I was on my own.  It really sucked to be on my own on Bonita Canyon too.  The wind on that section just blew (literally and figuratively).  I did keep looking back, half expecting someone to roll up on me, but ended up finishing the rest of the ride like a Heart song...Alone.  Vince was already at the gym upon my arrival, and the rest of the guys trickled in just behind me.  From what I heard, traffic lights were not good to them either.  I guess we all met that fate today.

After 2000 feet of climbing in ~18 miles, I'd say I'm ready for this long 4th of July weekend.  Then again, anyone want to ride tomorrow?  :)

Thanks for coming out, gents!

Lunch TT Trainer with Todd and Andy

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/64099132

After a weekend solo outing on the TT bike having fun chasing people down, which by the way is one way BAM represents, today it was my turn to get chased.  Thus, the huntER becomes the huntED.  And when you're being chased by the the current GP TT first place holder, THE Todd Jacobs, it's quite unnerving to say the least.  Even with a head start, I was convinced it would just be a matter of time when he would catch and pass me.  That doesn't mean I wouldn't make him work for it though....

Andy also came out for some TT action, but he was set on doing his own thing given he is still recovering from last week's spill.  We weren't sure what time he was going to make it out as he mentioned possibly taking off early, but he ended up coming out just after Todd left.  I figured I'd see him in front of us, but it was only as I was heading back toward Back Bay that we crossed paths.  Sorry for the disconnect, but it looks like you had a solid solo outing according to Strava.

When I took off, I was hoping to have about a 4 minute head start from Todd given it was already 11:41 and Todd was planning on taking off just at 11:45.  Of course, I hit the light on Bison and end up sitting there until 11:43.   By the time I got down to the light after University, which was red, it was already 11:45 so I knew Todd was on his way.  With no cars making a left turn, I was certain Todd would be rolling up on me soon.  Miraculously, it finally turned green and I took off.  I didn't look back since I figured doing so and seeing Todd would just spike my heart rate, so I just settled in hoping to keep him off as long as I could.

Going through Back Bay (out) was pretty windy, so I knew it would not be a record setting pace.  Looking at my speed (ranging between 21-24 mph), I was thinking should I try to go faster and risk the possibility of blowing up or just try to hold this speed to make it out of the wind.  I chose the latter, but doing so always gave me that eerie feeling that Todd was just behind me.  Still, I wouldn't look back for the same reason as earlier.

Going onto Jamboree and up to PCH, I was still just trying to stay at threshold knowing I can recover a little going down on PCH toward Bayside.  I think I did peek a little as I approached Bayside just to see if Todd was behind me, and no sign of him yet.  I was not going to slow down though as I know Todd never stops pedaling. He's a machine on his TT bike.

On my way through Back Bay (in), I was feeling a little better so I was able to crank it up a bit.  Looking at Todd's stats, he also had cranked it up as well and was reeling me in little by little as he had through other segments.  However, I was able to make it out of Back Bay alone.

When I got on Jamboree, my goal was to try to keep the power steady and hope Todd doesn't catch me on the climb.  I know it's getting a little repetitious how I keep thinking Todd's right there, but that is seriously how my ride went.  From this point on, know that the rest of the ride went pretty much like that too.

I was fortunate that I didn't have any long stops on Jamboree to PCH, but it looks like Todd did according to Strava.  He lost over a minute on that segment to me, but his move speed overall was faster where it was obvious he had caught some red lights.  I think it was due to this that he was not able to see me for the rest of the ride.  I'm sure he never stopped chasing just as much as I never stopped trying to run away.

On the final pass through Back Bay, there was more traffic and people, and Todd had gained some ground on me in that segment as well.  When I got to California and waited for the light to change, I was peering around the bush on the trail expecting to see his front tire roll up.  A girl or a cruiser bike had rolled up to that light as well and was probably wondering what the hell I was staring at behind us.

In the end, we both got 23+ mph average with Todd besting me (as expected) by .3 to .4 mph.  I think him chasing me and me being chased pushed us both resulting in some great times despite the wind.  I know I was worked by the time I got to the gym.  Thanks, beast!