Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/86701949
In preparation for this weekend's century ride that Todd and I are doing in Poway, I thought it would be a good idea to taper off this week as we normally do before a big ride. I proposed an easy route today just to hopefully keep the masses together, but threw in a couple Strava challenges just to keep it interesting for the restless. Here's what I wrote:
Let’s do a bike trail Laguna Canyon Shady Bonita Canyon Ford East bluff CA loop tomorrow. For those who want some “extra” training, we can have two KOM sections. The way it’ll work isn’t so much the first one to the top, but the best Strava time for the day on them. This means you can be off the back and STILL get the best time if you save it and charge up the hill faster than the others.
Shady - http://app.strava.com/segments/612732
30 pts – first place
20 pts – 2nd place
10 pts – 3rd place
California (after Academy) - http://app.strava.com/segments/776717
30 pts – first place
20 pts – 2nd place
10 pts – 3rd place
Winner gets a buck from everyone. I’ll have my dollar ready.
Simple enough, right?
Vince, Todd, Jeremy, Vin and Steve came out for the ride, so I figured there would be plenty to challenge for the Strava segments if that was what they wanted to do. I wasn't really planning to go for it, which should have been obvious based on my indication that I'd have my dollar ready, but with this group, who knows what's real and what isn't anymore. Hell, I called out a regroup point for the ride, but no one wants to listen anymore, so I'm wondering what the point is.
Anyway, the gist of the ride was where I was hoping to relax in the back, even out of the draft, but that's just never going to happen anymore it seems. I was hardly in the draft minding but just pacing the group, when Vince decided to roll out from the front and ride behind me instead. Fine by me. I'm not going to go through any extra effort as a result, but I'll just maintain a steady pace and get some training in. Eventually, I ended up pulling us onto the group before we got to the bridge near Harvard.
After the bridge, Vince passed and latched onto the front group again and I was once again just doing my thing. At one point, Vin rolled out from the front and started making his way toward the back when I decided I'll just ride behind him. As I did, I started to watch the other guys pull away and thought...hmmm, I guess I better come around and do my thing and if Vin wanted to latch on, he could. I looked back some time after, however, and found that he wasn't there...so I just kept going.
Up ahead, I can still see the guys, but then I see Jaffe pop off the back of the group. It was weird because it wasn't like they were flying, but maybe the hellacious wind out there got to him. As I made my way up to him, I called out to have him latch on, and sure enough...he did.
My plan was to try not to let the guys ahead of us get too far, so I kept a steady pace just to get us up to the others by the time we got to Laguna Canyon. Steve got to recover and took a couple pulls as well helping in the cause.
As we were on Laguna Canyon, I was content in maintaining Todd's pace, which was "comfortable" at best. Jeremy and Vince ended up gapping the rest of us and ultimately broke away after a couple of lights we got caught up on. Todd and I had traded pulls at this point, but at our pace, it wasn't like we were dying...although just getting out of that wicked wind was kinda nice.
As we were descending on Quail Hill, Todd was suggesting we worked together on Shady as he figured Vince and Jeremy would do the same. Now I didn't really know what working together on a climb would be like given 1) it's Todd Jacobs and 2) I'm better at following his pace, so I suggested that I just lead him up the hill to help him get the Strava segment. Of course, he took it and ended up getting the best time amongst us all. I popped about half way up, but I didn't really care.
I caught up to Todd on the descent since he was just cruising, and started to lead him up over Shady after the gate (where there was no one waiting to regroup). Todd took the front on the descent, and we maintained a good pace all the way down to the light at Bonita Canyon. Jaffe wasn't far behind though, so he was able to make the green light with us.
For his "reward," which was to give him a pass on paying Todd IF Todd won (I got it there too), Jaffe was suppose to lead us back so we can save it for California. However, he seemed like he needed some help before we even got to the 73, so I pushed up front and started to help as did Todd. With Todd already having gotten a better time than both of us, I figured I'd keep up front and just try to get us back offering him as much wind protection as possible. This way, should he get California too, my buck can stay in my pocket for sure. At this point, we didn't know how Vince and Jeremy were doing since they were just gone, so it seemed like a good strategy for us.
With the wind behind us on East Bluff, I was pushing the pace a little more simply because it was just too easy. I ended up gapping the two behind me unintentionally, but Jaffe made his way past me before California and Todd was content at his own pace shortly behind.
As we hit California, the light just turned green so Jaffe started ahead of me while Todd was just coming up behind us. I knew the segment didn't start until after Academy, so I kept looking back and pointing at my wheel trying to motion Todd to latch on. As we approached the Academy intersection with a green light, I just had to go and hoped that Todd would come up behind me at some point. I passed Jaffe just after the intersection and started hammering off the seat. Did I mentioned the wind sucked yet? I kept looking back and seeing Todd's ominous black jersey closing every time, so I knew it was just a matter of time before he'd be making his way past me. Once he did, I latched on but only to get beside him again calling out for him to push faster and faster just to make sure he clinched this segment too.
In the end, the final results for today's makeshift points ride is as follows:
Shady - http://app.strava.com/segments/612732
30 pts – first place (Todd – 2:38, 16.8 mph avg)
20 pts – 2nd place (Vince – 3:00, 14.8 mph avg)
10 pts – 3rd place (Jeremy – 3:01, 14.7 mph avg)
California (after Academy) - http://app.strava.com/segments/776717
30 pts – first place (Todd – 1:47, 21.3 mph avg)
20 pts – 2nd place (me – 1:58, 19.4 mph avg)
10 pts – 3rd place (Vince – 2:09, 17.7 mph avg)
Overall – Todd (60 pts - winner), Vince (30 pts), me (20 pts) and Jeremy (10 pts).
While we didn't make it back nearly as quickly as Jeremy and Vince did, Todd still won the challenge. Should what we did be considered sandbagging, or were we just playing the game? Hmmm. I just wonder how well Jeremy and Vince could have done if they were willing to work with us on the hills vs. doing their own thing, but I guess we'll just have to see for ourselves the next time. They did have a kick ass overall average in the high 21s, so kudos.
We don't really know what happened to Vin, who had a new (demo) Blue Competition bike with Di2, but paraphrasing Jeremy and Todd, I guess he just got the Di2 Blues. He did end up making it back though, and Jaffe did too, but neither posted up their Strava results and thus weren't included in the calculations above.
Thanks for the training, gents! It's just what the doctor ordered for this weekend's century. Go Team BRCM!
In preparation for this weekend's century ride that Todd and I are doing in Poway, I thought it would be a good idea to taper off this week as we normally do before a big ride. I proposed an easy route today just to hopefully keep the masses together, but threw in a couple Strava challenges just to keep it interesting for the restless. Here's what I wrote:
Let’s do a bike trail Laguna Canyon Shady Bonita Canyon Ford East bluff CA loop tomorrow. For those who want some “extra” training, we can have two KOM sections. The way it’ll work isn’t so much the first one to the top, but the best Strava time for the day on them. This means you can be off the back and STILL get the best time if you save it and charge up the hill faster than the others.
Shady - http://app.strava.com/segments/612732
30 pts – first place
20 pts – 2nd place
10 pts – 3rd place
California (after Academy) - http://app.strava.com/segments/776717
30 pts – first place
20 pts – 2nd place
10 pts – 3rd place
Winner gets a buck from everyone. I’ll have my dollar ready.
Simple enough, right?
Vince, Todd, Jeremy, Vin and Steve came out for the ride, so I figured there would be plenty to challenge for the Strava segments if that was what they wanted to do. I wasn't really planning to go for it, which should have been obvious based on my indication that I'd have my dollar ready, but with this group, who knows what's real and what isn't anymore. Hell, I called out a regroup point for the ride, but no one wants to listen anymore, so I'm wondering what the point is.
Anyway, the gist of the ride was where I was hoping to relax in the back, even out of the draft, but that's just never going to happen anymore it seems. I was hardly in the draft minding but just pacing the group, when Vince decided to roll out from the front and ride behind me instead. Fine by me. I'm not going to go through any extra effort as a result, but I'll just maintain a steady pace and get some training in. Eventually, I ended up pulling us onto the group before we got to the bridge near Harvard.
After the bridge, Vince passed and latched onto the front group again and I was once again just doing my thing. At one point, Vin rolled out from the front and started making his way toward the back when I decided I'll just ride behind him. As I did, I started to watch the other guys pull away and thought...hmmm, I guess I better come around and do my thing and if Vin wanted to latch on, he could. I looked back some time after, however, and found that he wasn't there...so I just kept going.
Up ahead, I can still see the guys, but then I see Jaffe pop off the back of the group. It was weird because it wasn't like they were flying, but maybe the hellacious wind out there got to him. As I made my way up to him, I called out to have him latch on, and sure enough...he did.
My plan was to try not to let the guys ahead of us get too far, so I kept a steady pace just to get us up to the others by the time we got to Laguna Canyon. Steve got to recover and took a couple pulls as well helping in the cause.
As we were on Laguna Canyon, I was content in maintaining Todd's pace, which was "comfortable" at best. Jeremy and Vince ended up gapping the rest of us and ultimately broke away after a couple of lights we got caught up on. Todd and I had traded pulls at this point, but at our pace, it wasn't like we were dying...although just getting out of that wicked wind was kinda nice.
As we were descending on Quail Hill, Todd was suggesting we worked together on Shady as he figured Vince and Jeremy would do the same. Now I didn't really know what working together on a climb would be like given 1) it's Todd Jacobs and 2) I'm better at following his pace, so I suggested that I just lead him up the hill to help him get the Strava segment. Of course, he took it and ended up getting the best time amongst us all. I popped about half way up, but I didn't really care.
I caught up to Todd on the descent since he was just cruising, and started to lead him up over Shady after the gate (where there was no one waiting to regroup). Todd took the front on the descent, and we maintained a good pace all the way down to the light at Bonita Canyon. Jaffe wasn't far behind though, so he was able to make the green light with us.
For his "reward," which was to give him a pass on paying Todd IF Todd won (I got it there too), Jaffe was suppose to lead us back so we can save it for California. However, he seemed like he needed some help before we even got to the 73, so I pushed up front and started to help as did Todd. With Todd already having gotten a better time than both of us, I figured I'd keep up front and just try to get us back offering him as much wind protection as possible. This way, should he get California too, my buck can stay in my pocket for sure. At this point, we didn't know how Vince and Jeremy were doing since they were just gone, so it seemed like a good strategy for us.
With the wind behind us on East Bluff, I was pushing the pace a little more simply because it was just too easy. I ended up gapping the two behind me unintentionally, but Jaffe made his way past me before California and Todd was content at his own pace shortly behind.
As we hit California, the light just turned green so Jaffe started ahead of me while Todd was just coming up behind us. I knew the segment didn't start until after Academy, so I kept looking back and pointing at my wheel trying to motion Todd to latch on. As we approached the Academy intersection with a green light, I just had to go and hoped that Todd would come up behind me at some point. I passed Jaffe just after the intersection and started hammering off the seat. Did I mentioned the wind sucked yet? I kept looking back and seeing Todd's ominous black jersey closing every time, so I knew it was just a matter of time before he'd be making his way past me. Once he did, I latched on but only to get beside him again calling out for him to push faster and faster just to make sure he clinched this segment too.
In the end, the final results for today's makeshift points ride is as follows:
Shady - http://app.strava.com/segments/612732
30 pts – first place (Todd – 2:38, 16.8 mph avg)
20 pts – 2nd place (Vince – 3:00, 14.8 mph avg)
10 pts – 3rd place (Jeremy – 3:01, 14.7 mph avg)
California (after Academy) - http://app.strava.com/segments/776717
30 pts – first place (Todd – 1:47, 21.3 mph avg)
20 pts – 2nd place (me – 1:58, 19.4 mph avg)
10 pts – 3rd place (Vince – 2:09, 17.7 mph avg)
Overall – Todd (60 pts - winner), Vince (30 pts), me (20 pts) and Jeremy (10 pts).
While we didn't make it back nearly as quickly as Jeremy and Vince did, Todd still won the challenge. Should what we did be considered sandbagging, or were we just playing the game? Hmmm. I just wonder how well Jeremy and Vince could have done if they were willing to work with us on the hills vs. doing their own thing, but I guess we'll just have to see for ourselves the next time. They did have a kick ass overall average in the high 21s, so kudos.
We don't really know what happened to Vin, who had a new (demo) Blue Competition bike with Di2, but paraphrasing Jeremy and Todd, I guess he just got the Di2 Blues. He did end up making it back though, and Jaffe did too, but neither posted up their Strava results and thus weren't included in the calculations above.
Thanks for the training, gents! It's just what the doctor ordered for this weekend's century. Go Team BRCM!
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