Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/85562996
When Todd mentioned wanting to do a triple Santiago Canyon OAB ride earlier this week, I was reminded of the suffering I endured during previous training rides on it. Not only is there a good amount of climbing but we also try to do it without any stopping to better simulate the TTT race in January. Thus, I knew we were in for some work. Maybe drinking the night before was not a good idea. HA HA
As always, we start from the Rock N Road Cyclery in Mission Viejo. I rolled up to the parking lot and was a little worried that the starting temp was in the low 50s. I knew it was going to be a warm day though (just didn't know how warm...ended in the 90s), but it actually wasn't too bad by the time Todd rolled up from having ridden from his house. Both of us were set for the long ride and warmer temp by having our hydration packs on, so we were off to take on the canyon soon after his arrival.
I always worry about taking off with Todd already warmed up since this has resulted some pretty quick starts in the past. However, Todd wasn't feeling it early on and was agreeable to tone it down a bit and let me ride his draft until I can get warmed up too. What a great guy! That's not to say our pace was slow as we headed to the canyon since we still did reel a couple guys in before Cooks.
Going up Cooks, or pretty much all of the significant climbs for the day, I thought it best to follow Todd's pace given he's so much better managing his power than I am. When we would be close to the crest or soon after going over it, I would try to pull up and start doing my share of the work. Todd was cool with this, so this pretty much was the game plan we followed.
On the first pass to Jamboree, we had a 22+ mph average, which was definitely a lot better than I expected. We were trying to manage our power with Todd wanting to keep the output at around 300 watts or less. I guess there were some sections that I was registering 400 watts on his PT, so he called me on it like he should have and I was able to make the adjustment. I appreciated this a lot because this helped me from blowing up sooner than I did. Even when one guy wanted to mix it up as we were climbing up Dump, Todd kept his cool and we kept our power under control letting the guy get to the top way ahead of us. We still managed to pull past him on the descent though, so....BAM!
Our return pass to Cooks was good, and Todd and I worked well together keeping the pace up and staying together the whole time. Todd continued to lead up the big climbs, and I'd work as much as I could in between them. We're still passing people the whole time, and no one latching on because of our pace.
The 2nd pass to Jamboree was almost as strong as our first pass, so the power management was working very well. We were able to pass even more people, including guys on TT bikes, and although there were some attempts to latch on, we were just passing too fast for them to do so successfully.
On the way back, this was where I started to really feel the miles and intensity. I don't know if it was due to having the hydration packs on, the intensity level, or all the climbing, but my lower back was really starting to become uncomfortable. I started having to sit up more just to try and loosen it back up, so this is really an area I need to improve on as we continue to train. It makes it hard to keep up when I'm sitting up as much as I was.
After the descent from Dump, there's a couple small climbs that I was able to stay with Todd on but after that he started to pull away a little. I was hoping I could close the gap as we continued, but I think Todd checked up after he noticed I wasn't on and let me latch back on where we were once again trading pulls. Of course, Todd did the bulk of the work, but I would do what I could when I could.
When we got to Cooks, I was definitely feeling worked, but I kept going as we started our way back up for our last OAB. Having ridden Todd's wheel as much as I did on the previous pass back, I was able to have some left for the climb and still managed to stay with Todd. Even on our TT bikes, we were passing people on the climbs and surprisingly still not getting passed. I was feeling guilty near the top, and I was pushing to the front to take over, but Todd told me to just chill in the back if I'm not feeling it...so I did.
I ended up pushing up on the way down and taking some pretty good pulls as we made our way to Jamboree. It was really tough, but knowing that this was our last OAB was definitely motivating given that I just wanted to get it done. I was running low on fluids though, and I think Todd was probably low too if not out at this point, but neither of us wanted to stop and made the U-turn at Jamboree to head back without even considering getting more water.
The climb up Dump was rough, and Todd started to pull away a little, but then I found a good rhythm that let me latch back on. I even took the front for a little, but Todd made his way past me again before the descent. We were descending together, but at the same place I started to fall off the last time, I started to do so again. My back was just worked and I couldn't stay on the aeros as long where at that point, all I could do was watch Todd pull away. I was even trying to find a rhythm, but I was purely on survival mode simply because my lower back was aching. Although Todd eventually ended up disappearing ahead of me, I was surprised no one came up on me to pass given I was just trying to get back.
At the top of the canyon and on the descent toward Cooks, I knew it was almost over and just threw caution to the wind and pushed on both on the aeros and while sitting up. I was totally out of fluids but this didn't matter anymore as the adrenalin would help me get back. By the time I got back, I was pleasantly surprised that my average for the ride was still 20.9. Todd was 21.2, so he definitely kept pushing on ahead of me. Todd had met me at the parking lot since he went to get water and saw me rolling up when he got out of the store. We were both aching and his lower back was definitely feeling the effects of the ride as well. I just am glad my ride was done whereas he still had 3+ miles left to get back home. After a couple of waters at my car, he was off. Stud!
The lasting effects of the ride was felt throughout the afternoon. It's been a while since my legs had tightened up as much as they had on this ride, so I was definitely not interested in doing a lot of walking. To add to that, my left foot had cramped up real bad after the ride and I couldn't even put any pressure on it. I still managed to watch my son's soccer game though, but I must have looked like a cripple as I hobbled around on the fields.
Now that it's Sunday while I write this, I guess the training ride did what it was supposed to do. I'm just hoping we can revisit this route with 4 or more people out with us rather than just us two, which should help provide even more recovery time. This might mean we'd have to throw in Live Oak too, so maybe I should be careful what I ask for.
Thanks for all the work, Todd! You rocked it!
When Todd mentioned wanting to do a triple Santiago Canyon OAB ride earlier this week, I was reminded of the suffering I endured during previous training rides on it. Not only is there a good amount of climbing but we also try to do it without any stopping to better simulate the TTT race in January. Thus, I knew we were in for some work. Maybe drinking the night before was not a good idea. HA HA
As always, we start from the Rock N Road Cyclery in Mission Viejo. I rolled up to the parking lot and was a little worried that the starting temp was in the low 50s. I knew it was going to be a warm day though (just didn't know how warm...ended in the 90s), but it actually wasn't too bad by the time Todd rolled up from having ridden from his house. Both of us were set for the long ride and warmer temp by having our hydration packs on, so we were off to take on the canyon soon after his arrival.
I always worry about taking off with Todd already warmed up since this has resulted some pretty quick starts in the past. However, Todd wasn't feeling it early on and was agreeable to tone it down a bit and let me ride his draft until I can get warmed up too. What a great guy! That's not to say our pace was slow as we headed to the canyon since we still did reel a couple guys in before Cooks.
Going up Cooks, or pretty much all of the significant climbs for the day, I thought it best to follow Todd's pace given he's so much better managing his power than I am. When we would be close to the crest or soon after going over it, I would try to pull up and start doing my share of the work. Todd was cool with this, so this pretty much was the game plan we followed.
On the first pass to Jamboree, we had a 22+ mph average, which was definitely a lot better than I expected. We were trying to manage our power with Todd wanting to keep the output at around 300 watts or less. I guess there were some sections that I was registering 400 watts on his PT, so he called me on it like he should have and I was able to make the adjustment. I appreciated this a lot because this helped me from blowing up sooner than I did. Even when one guy wanted to mix it up as we were climbing up Dump, Todd kept his cool and we kept our power under control letting the guy get to the top way ahead of us. We still managed to pull past him on the descent though, so....BAM!
Our return pass to Cooks was good, and Todd and I worked well together keeping the pace up and staying together the whole time. Todd continued to lead up the big climbs, and I'd work as much as I could in between them. We're still passing people the whole time, and no one latching on because of our pace.
The 2nd pass to Jamboree was almost as strong as our first pass, so the power management was working very well. We were able to pass even more people, including guys on TT bikes, and although there were some attempts to latch on, we were just passing too fast for them to do so successfully.
On the way back, this was where I started to really feel the miles and intensity. I don't know if it was due to having the hydration packs on, the intensity level, or all the climbing, but my lower back was really starting to become uncomfortable. I started having to sit up more just to try and loosen it back up, so this is really an area I need to improve on as we continue to train. It makes it hard to keep up when I'm sitting up as much as I was.
After the descent from Dump, there's a couple small climbs that I was able to stay with Todd on but after that he started to pull away a little. I was hoping I could close the gap as we continued, but I think Todd checked up after he noticed I wasn't on and let me latch back on where we were once again trading pulls. Of course, Todd did the bulk of the work, but I would do what I could when I could.
When we got to Cooks, I was definitely feeling worked, but I kept going as we started our way back up for our last OAB. Having ridden Todd's wheel as much as I did on the previous pass back, I was able to have some left for the climb and still managed to stay with Todd. Even on our TT bikes, we were passing people on the climbs and surprisingly still not getting passed. I was feeling guilty near the top, and I was pushing to the front to take over, but Todd told me to just chill in the back if I'm not feeling it...so I did.
I ended up pushing up on the way down and taking some pretty good pulls as we made our way to Jamboree. It was really tough, but knowing that this was our last OAB was definitely motivating given that I just wanted to get it done. I was running low on fluids though, and I think Todd was probably low too if not out at this point, but neither of us wanted to stop and made the U-turn at Jamboree to head back without even considering getting more water.
The climb up Dump was rough, and Todd started to pull away a little, but then I found a good rhythm that let me latch back on. I even took the front for a little, but Todd made his way past me again before the descent. We were descending together, but at the same place I started to fall off the last time, I started to do so again. My back was just worked and I couldn't stay on the aeros as long where at that point, all I could do was watch Todd pull away. I was even trying to find a rhythm, but I was purely on survival mode simply because my lower back was aching. Although Todd eventually ended up disappearing ahead of me, I was surprised no one came up on me to pass given I was just trying to get back.
At the top of the canyon and on the descent toward Cooks, I knew it was almost over and just threw caution to the wind and pushed on both on the aeros and while sitting up. I was totally out of fluids but this didn't matter anymore as the adrenalin would help me get back. By the time I got back, I was pleasantly surprised that my average for the ride was still 20.9. Todd was 21.2, so he definitely kept pushing on ahead of me. Todd had met me at the parking lot since he went to get water and saw me rolling up when he got out of the store. We were both aching and his lower back was definitely feeling the effects of the ride as well. I just am glad my ride was done whereas he still had 3+ miles left to get back home. After a couple of waters at my car, he was off. Stud!
The lasting effects of the ride was felt throughout the afternoon. It's been a while since my legs had tightened up as much as they had on this ride, so I was definitely not interested in doing a lot of walking. To add to that, my left foot had cramped up real bad after the ride and I couldn't even put any pressure on it. I still managed to watch my son's soccer game though, but I must have looked like a cripple as I hobbled around on the fields.
Now that it's Sunday while I write this, I guess the training ride did what it was supposed to do. I'm just hoping we can revisit this route with 4 or more people out with us rather than just us two, which should help provide even more recovery time. This might mean we'd have to throw in Live Oak too, so maybe I should be careful what I ask for.
Thanks for all the work, Todd! You rocked it!
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