Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/83106146
Attendees: Shannon, Todd, Vince, Jeremy, Jaffe, Mitchell and Vin
Were the brakes rubbing today for me? Nope. Did I get enough sleep last night? Yup. Was there any legitimate excuse I can use based on how I did in today's ride? Nope. Well then, I guess the truth is out...I AM a wuss. Okay, so it was a windy day out there and the jersey I wore was 2 sizes big (I accidentally grabbed a spare red jersey from my drawer), but I'll save that excuse if I were only a couple seconds behind the guys in a sprint. That was definitely NOT the case today. The guys who came out today were definitely legit, but I didn't expect to drop off as early as I did. If it weren't for Mitchell fulfilling his ultimate wingman status, I'd probably still be out there trying to make my way back. It was definitely a rough day in the saddle.
Shannon wanted to get some climbing in, so the route planned was a hybrid of what Shannon proposed and how Todd wanted to finish. I sent a map out before the ride just to make sure everyone was on board, but there must have been some disconnect ultimately since a couple guys skipped out on the Vista climb. The total route was 2K work of climbing in 20 miles, which is vertically comparable to our dreaded "puke" route. Speaking of puke route, its creator rode 3.5K of vert just yesterday in 20 miles by doing Park in Laguna Beach 4x, so I seriously need to man up.
It started out simple enough, and I wasn't really eager to get up front early on given the pace Shannon started us on. I thought Vin and Jaffe fell off early on, but they managed to latch back on before we got to Anteater. Jeremy, Vince and Todd rotated up front to keep the pace up, and I took a subsequent pull before we got to Bonita Canyon.
Jeremy and Todd had gapped us a little on Bonita Canyon, but I was able to slowly reel them back in with the crew in tow just before NPC. When we got on NPC, Todd and Jeremy had brought the pace up right away, and Shannon and I had to make our way up to Vince who was directly behind them. Jaffe and Vin were the first casualties on this climb, but when Shannon started to make his way to the front, it wasn't long before I, too, thought "No mas!" and did the unthinkable...I backed off. We hadn't even reached the 2nd or 3rd light yet, but I just ran out of steam early. I apologized to Mitchell, who was behind me, for falling off. I was hoping he would pass and latch on for a free ride with the 4 guys ahead, but he stayed with me instead and played my wingman throughout the rest of the ride. Did I mention that Vince did Park 4X the day before? God, I'm a wuss.
For the rest of the ride, it was just Mitchell and me making our way up the climbs together. Mitchell never even faltered throughout, took the front on some of the climbs, and even gapped me a little on Vista early on, so he was definitely very helpful in keeping the pace up. We didn't see anyone in front or behind us for the rest of the ride, so we were definitely left to fend for ourselves. I did sprint up the last climb on Vista gapping Mitchell and kept him off only for him to come up behind me just before we made the left to San Joaquin. He even took some strong pulls down San Joaquin and on McArthur, keeping our pace pretty respectable. Again, thanks, Mitchell!
Shannon, Jeremy, Vince and Todd were already at the gym when we got back, and Vin and Jaffe came in not too long after Mitchell and I did. For the most part, it looked like today's ride was basically split in groups of two. I guess that's how it goes sometimes. In any case, what matters is that we got a great workout, right? I only wonder how tomorrow's TT training will go. I better start eating some humble pie this evening.
Thanks for the training, gents!
Attendees: Shannon, Todd, Vince, Jeremy, Jaffe, Mitchell and Vin
Were the brakes rubbing today for me? Nope. Did I get enough sleep last night? Yup. Was there any legitimate excuse I can use based on how I did in today's ride? Nope. Well then, I guess the truth is out...I AM a wuss. Okay, so it was a windy day out there and the jersey I wore was 2 sizes big (I accidentally grabbed a spare red jersey from my drawer), but I'll save that excuse if I were only a couple seconds behind the guys in a sprint. That was definitely NOT the case today. The guys who came out today were definitely legit, but I didn't expect to drop off as early as I did. If it weren't for Mitchell fulfilling his ultimate wingman status, I'd probably still be out there trying to make my way back. It was definitely a rough day in the saddle.
Shannon wanted to get some climbing in, so the route planned was a hybrid of what Shannon proposed and how Todd wanted to finish. I sent a map out before the ride just to make sure everyone was on board, but there must have been some disconnect ultimately since a couple guys skipped out on the Vista climb. The total route was 2K work of climbing in 20 miles, which is vertically comparable to our dreaded "puke" route. Speaking of puke route, its creator rode 3.5K of vert just yesterday in 20 miles by doing Park in Laguna Beach 4x, so I seriously need to man up.
It started out simple enough, and I wasn't really eager to get up front early on given the pace Shannon started us on. I thought Vin and Jaffe fell off early on, but they managed to latch back on before we got to Anteater. Jeremy, Vince and Todd rotated up front to keep the pace up, and I took a subsequent pull before we got to Bonita Canyon.
Jeremy and Todd had gapped us a little on Bonita Canyon, but I was able to slowly reel them back in with the crew in tow just before NPC. When we got on NPC, Todd and Jeremy had brought the pace up right away, and Shannon and I had to make our way up to Vince who was directly behind them. Jaffe and Vin were the first casualties on this climb, but when Shannon started to make his way to the front, it wasn't long before I, too, thought "No mas!" and did the unthinkable...I backed off. We hadn't even reached the 2nd or 3rd light yet, but I just ran out of steam early. I apologized to Mitchell, who was behind me, for falling off. I was hoping he would pass and latch on for a free ride with the 4 guys ahead, but he stayed with me instead and played my wingman throughout the rest of the ride. Did I mention that Vince did Park 4X the day before? God, I'm a wuss.
For the rest of the ride, it was just Mitchell and me making our way up the climbs together. Mitchell never even faltered throughout, took the front on some of the climbs, and even gapped me a little on Vista early on, so he was definitely very helpful in keeping the pace up. We didn't see anyone in front or behind us for the rest of the ride, so we were definitely left to fend for ourselves. I did sprint up the last climb on Vista gapping Mitchell and kept him off only for him to come up behind me just before we made the left to San Joaquin. He even took some strong pulls down San Joaquin and on McArthur, keeping our pace pretty respectable. Again, thanks, Mitchell!
Shannon, Jeremy, Vince and Todd were already at the gym when we got back, and Vin and Jaffe came in not too long after Mitchell and I did. For the most part, it looked like today's ride was basically split in groups of two. I guess that's how it goes sometimes. In any case, what matters is that we got a great workout, right? I only wonder how tomorrow's TT training will go. I better start eating some humble pie this evening.
Thanks for the training, gents!
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