Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/93595951
Although Todd tried to see if I'd be available for an earlier TT ride than normal, I didn't think I could make it out in time and had pretty much believed in my mind I'd be riding alone. As luck would have it (not sure if it's good luck or bad), Todd ended up in the locker room around the same time I did and Mitchell arrived shortly after to join in the festivities. We didn't plan to do a long ride since we had commitments we had to return early for, so we opted for a Bike Trail, Laguna Canyon, Shady, Condo loop. Todd mentioned early on to not punish him (probably referring to our Monday outing), but little did he know that he'd be the one doing all the punishing today.
It started off easy enough as we headed down California where I even pushed past Todd to take the front toward the bottom of the hill. When we got on the bike trail, we stopped for a moment since Todd had a problem with his glasses. Once we got going again, Todd and I started taking turns and pushing the pace pretty early on. We both took turns pretty evenly early on, but then I thought it started to shift where Todd was taking some longer pulls while I did what I could to just stay with him. By the time we got to the bridge before Harvard, I looked back and I guess the speed was just too much for Mitchell as he was no longer behind us at this point.
Once Todd exited the bridge ahead of me, he started to pull away again and I thought it would be a matter of just reeling him back in again and then taking a turn after I recover. Well this was a bad call on my part and it became a matter of just trying to not let Todd get too far ahead of me or worse yet...drop me all together. I think if it wasn't for the street crossings and other areas where we had to slow down, he'd have dropped me for sure.
When we got on the bike trail on Jeffrey, I was thinking I should do better here but Todd pulled away early and stayed ahead where all I could do again was just stay off the back and hope the gap doesn't continue to grow. Thus, it was mostly two separate efforts vs. one that's combined making for no reprieve from the winds at all. Fortunately, I was just able to come up behind him just as we got on Laguna Canyon.
I really wanted to do my share of work, but Todd kept pulling away from me every time we'd start off. I told him at the light on Alton to go ahead without me if I dropped, so I'm sure this motivated him to try and drop me even more. HAHA. There were certainly times when I felt like saying "no mas" but it wouldn't be a good work out if I did.
I think I finally got to take the front for a little as we descended on Quail Hill towards Shady, but even then it wasn't too long. Todd got ahead of me on the turnabout where an Escalade had gotten between us, and panic set in for me at that point given I did not want to let Todd get a head start on the hill. That would not be good. I was able to push and make my way close to him by the time we entered the bike trail, but he pulled away for a bit early on. I had to dig real deep to just be able to get back up to him, and ended up sitting on his rear wheel all the way to the top.
Todd descended and gapped me again early on making for some serious interval training for me. I definitely did what I could to not get too far back, and I was fortunate to get back up to him after one of the little small climbs. This yo-yo effect continued all the way down to Bonita Canyon, so I was getting so worked that I felt like I was going to die.
We had a long light at Bonita Canyon, which let me recover some, where when we got going, I was able to stay with Todd and actually help and take a pull again. Todd and I were able to take turns as we made our way to the Condo. I started us up the climb but didn't have the same momentum as I had on Monday mostly because of a bus that was sitting after the turn to Jamboree that just pulled out in front of us. I still gave it a go and led for a good portion of the hill, but Todd came by on the inside and was able to once again gap me. I had to once again turn it up just to be able to make my way back up to him before the turn to Bison, but the cars making a right also helped to slow him down...thank God!
When we got on Bison, I had no more fight in me and Todd continued to push all the way to California where all I could do at that point was just barely hang on just behind him. I was so glad it was over when we got there as my lungs were on fire, my eyes were burning, and I again felt like I was going to die. This feeling lasted for a good hour after the ride as well, so I guess you can say it was a good training ride. After all, that was about as close to death as I'd want to be, so I'm figuring having escaped it means I'm going to be stronger, right? We'll see. Thanks for handing me my ass today, Mr. J! It was definitely all you.
Although Todd tried to see if I'd be available for an earlier TT ride than normal, I didn't think I could make it out in time and had pretty much believed in my mind I'd be riding alone. As luck would have it (not sure if it's good luck or bad), Todd ended up in the locker room around the same time I did and Mitchell arrived shortly after to join in the festivities. We didn't plan to do a long ride since we had commitments we had to return early for, so we opted for a Bike Trail, Laguna Canyon, Shady, Condo loop. Todd mentioned early on to not punish him (probably referring to our Monday outing), but little did he know that he'd be the one doing all the punishing today.
It started off easy enough as we headed down California where I even pushed past Todd to take the front toward the bottom of the hill. When we got on the bike trail, we stopped for a moment since Todd had a problem with his glasses. Once we got going again, Todd and I started taking turns and pushing the pace pretty early on. We both took turns pretty evenly early on, but then I thought it started to shift where Todd was taking some longer pulls while I did what I could to just stay with him. By the time we got to the bridge before Harvard, I looked back and I guess the speed was just too much for Mitchell as he was no longer behind us at this point.
Once Todd exited the bridge ahead of me, he started to pull away again and I thought it would be a matter of just reeling him back in again and then taking a turn after I recover. Well this was a bad call on my part and it became a matter of just trying to not let Todd get too far ahead of me or worse yet...drop me all together. I think if it wasn't for the street crossings and other areas where we had to slow down, he'd have dropped me for sure.
When we got on the bike trail on Jeffrey, I was thinking I should do better here but Todd pulled away early and stayed ahead where all I could do again was just stay off the back and hope the gap doesn't continue to grow. Thus, it was mostly two separate efforts vs. one that's combined making for no reprieve from the winds at all. Fortunately, I was just able to come up behind him just as we got on Laguna Canyon.
I really wanted to do my share of work, but Todd kept pulling away from me every time we'd start off. I told him at the light on Alton to go ahead without me if I dropped, so I'm sure this motivated him to try and drop me even more. HAHA. There were certainly times when I felt like saying "no mas" but it wouldn't be a good work out if I did.
I think I finally got to take the front for a little as we descended on Quail Hill towards Shady, but even then it wasn't too long. Todd got ahead of me on the turnabout where an Escalade had gotten between us, and panic set in for me at that point given I did not want to let Todd get a head start on the hill. That would not be good. I was able to push and make my way close to him by the time we entered the bike trail, but he pulled away for a bit early on. I had to dig real deep to just be able to get back up to him, and ended up sitting on his rear wheel all the way to the top.
Todd descended and gapped me again early on making for some serious interval training for me. I definitely did what I could to not get too far back, and I was fortunate to get back up to him after one of the little small climbs. This yo-yo effect continued all the way down to Bonita Canyon, so I was getting so worked that I felt like I was going to die.
We had a long light at Bonita Canyon, which let me recover some, where when we got going, I was able to stay with Todd and actually help and take a pull again. Todd and I were able to take turns as we made our way to the Condo. I started us up the climb but didn't have the same momentum as I had on Monday mostly because of a bus that was sitting after the turn to Jamboree that just pulled out in front of us. I still gave it a go and led for a good portion of the hill, but Todd came by on the inside and was able to once again gap me. I had to once again turn it up just to be able to make my way back up to him before the turn to Bison, but the cars making a right also helped to slow him down...thank God!
When we got on Bison, I had no more fight in me and Todd continued to push all the way to California where all I could do at that point was just barely hang on just behind him. I was so glad it was over when we got there as my lungs were on fire, my eyes were burning, and I again felt like I was going to die. This feeling lasted for a good hour after the ride as well, so I guess you can say it was a good training ride. After all, that was about as close to death as I'd want to be, so I'm figuring having escaped it means I'm going to be stronger, right? We'll see. Thanks for handing me my ass today, Mr. J! It was definitely all you.
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