Be Careful What You Wish For

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/228519715

It's been a while since I've ridden with Shannon and I've really missed it.  However, the description by others of the pain he doles out when he makes it out for a lunch ride is pretty accurate.  While he states he hadn't ridden in two weeks and that I shouldn't make excuses, my big fat belly begs to differ.  And of all days, I chose a hillier route...on a windy day...and with no other real support to help bridge the gap.  Okay, so Vin came out, but he's got a little Adrian-esque action going on with how he likes to burst up certain areas, but just like Adrian, the bursts are short-lived and overall ineffective.  HA HA

On top of being the monster that Shannon is, he also spent time warming up in the spin room.  To me, that would be like spinning up your tires to get heat in them ready for a drag race and racing a little girl on a tricycle after.  Vin would be that little girl.  I'd be the fat kid by the ice cream truck watching....

Anyway, I could give the play-by-play for the entire route, but here's the abbreviated version due to time constraints:

• I led us out (big mistake, Indy)
• Vin took over on Anteater and I dropped
• Shannon dropped both of us before Bonita Canyon
• We were fairly far apart on Bonita Canyon heading toward Spyglass
• I caught Vin at light while Shannon seemingly soft pedaled ahead of us
• We made the turn onto Spyglass just behind Shannon, but he left us again at will
• I passed Vin going up despite the substantial weight difference between us
• Vin passed me at the light going onto San Joaquin while Shannon was sitting waiting for the green that had just turned upon our approached
• I passed Vin but Vin passed me back as did Shannon as expected
• I stayed off the back while Shannon got away from Vin on NPC
• I was too far behind to see which way Shannon went, but he did the same route as us and was just gone before Vin and I could descend
• Vin led down NPC, but he fell behind on Pelican x1
• I made the first and 2nd loop not seeing anyone ahead of behind me after that
• I got on NPC and saw Shannon waiting as I neared San Joaquin.  I let him know I had to get back and kept going as he waited for Vin
• It was fun heading down NPC with a tail wind, but I got stopped under the 73 and at the bottom.  
• Vin and Shannon both passed me at the light, but I was able to latch on to Shannon while Vin surged again
• We were all together as we made our way to Bison
• I think everyone was getting ready for a final sprint, but we all got caught at the 2nd light over the 73.  
• I tried taking off and just when I started to feel confident in my sprint, Shannon squashed all sense of manliness I had and passed me like I was standing still.  

Great ride today, gents.  While we didn't ride together too much, it was nice being out there with all of us representing BRCM black.  Thanks for coming out!

BRCM Lunch - A Good Reminder of What Pain Feels Like

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/227915284

Attendees:  Vince, Todd, Mitchell, Vin and me.  There was a sudden rise in blood pressure when we saw Shannon, but he came in to spin and opted to torture us another day.

I know I said I would blog more, but it's been really difficult putting a ride together.  I never seem to know when I'm going to get out, and everyone else is doing their own thing.  I was going to write about my solo adventures, but who wants to read about how slow I am, right?

I didn't announce that I was going to ride until just today, but I also didn't let anyone know I brought my TT bike in.  1) I didn't want to be casted out of the lunch ride and 2) I figured I'd save people from saying I'm cheating until the locker room.  Now, no one actually said I was cheating, but Todd did grumble a little bit.  The irony of it was that the ride wasn't exactly flat and that my real intention for bringing it was that it's the only bike I've been riding given no one ever takes me up when I propose a weekend ride.

I don't know what's up with Strava, but 16.1 mph was not the average speed on the S-Gary Peltason segment.  From the get go, Vince and Todd appeared to have some bad intentions and was lighting up that segment.  I let Vin go ahead of me as I was already struggling a little going up E. Peltason, but we managed to arrive pretty close together to Bonita Canyon.

Todd and Vince continued to lead up Shady toward Sunnyhill and I just hung on for my life as did Mitchell and Vin behind them.  As we made the left turn onto Sunnyhill, Mitchell hit a bump on the road and started to get squirly but looked like he was going to save it.  However, he got a little too close to the sidewalk and ended up rolling off his bike as a result.  Vin and I slowed and called out to Todd and Vince but they barely slowed down to look back (talk about focus).  Fortunately, they turned around eventually and we were able to resume after Mitchell picked himself up and made sure his bike was okay.  It wasn't long after making the right on Turtle Rock, however, that Mitchell had a problem with his tire.  We offered to wait, but he wanted us to keep going.  I think from there he was able to just get his bike going again and went back to BRCM.  Hope you're okay, Mitchell.

As the 4 of us got going on Turtle Rock, I finally ended up taking a pull as did Vin, but we both stayed behind Todd and Vince as we made our way up the other side.  I was really struggling to stay on with them before the stop sign, but I was able to just get back behind them as we made our way back toward Sunnyhill.

Going up the bike path on Shady, it was more of the same where vince and Todd were taking turns working us.  When we got close to the top, I was just a little off the back and hoping to catch back up to them on the other side.  I was never really able to do so, however, and they extended the gap even further going through the S-turns of getting off and on the bike paths before the 405.

When I rounded the corner and was able to see them again, I saw Vin had popped off while Todd and vince were working together to increase the gap.  Since it was fairly flat, I took advantage of the aero bars and made my way up to Vin calling out for him to join me as I tried to get closer to the two ahead.  He was done.

Although I felt I made some progress trying to catch the two, it was short-lived.  They got through the light at Strawberry Farms and kept pulling away as they got on Ridgeline.  By the time I started the climb, I couldn't even see them anymore.  Bummer.

I made it up the hill just barely being able to stay on my big ring (a sign of my softness), and still couldn't see them as I descended down Turtle Rock toward Campus.  When I got on Campus, I saw them crossing the crosswalk probably because they couldn't get anyone to trigger the lef turn light.  I was able to go left not too far behind them, but I was pretty winded making the climb up Bonita Canyon difficult where catching them just didn't seem likely.  By chance, however, I was able to roll up on them at the Shady stop light.  Luck!

Given they've been working so hard, I decided to spend some time up front and helped in the rotation as we made our way toward McArthur.  It was windy, so the aero bars definitely helped me with keeping the pace up.  Okay, so yes this was cheating, but these guys are animals!

We opted to go up the condo despite me being prepared to head back by way of McArthur.  I was trying to catch my breath as we headed toward the condo with Todd leading the way.  I figured I'd try and charge the condo like old times and see how far up I got.  When we arrived at the corner, however, an SUV turning right pretty much prevented us from having any kind of momentum going up the hill.  On a TT bike, this is tragic.  Todd and Vince left me for dead as expected, and I was only able to catch them due to a light on McArthur holding them back.

There was no funny business on the landing strip, and I'm rather happy about that.  I hadn't ridden with such intensity for a while now, so I was well beyond spent by that time.

Thanks again for all the tows, Todd and Vince.  I dread how the ride would have gone if I brought a road bike.  For laughs, I may just do that on Thursday if I can make it out.  

The Conditioning Continues....week 1!

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/221382625

I was really looking forward to riding with team members again, but I had to go solo due to a class I got in last minute that started at 1 PM.  You may be asking then why I'm blogging about a solo ride vs. a team one. 1)  Because I can, 2) because I want to and 3) because it lets the other guys on the team know I mean business.  The game is definitely on, so I'm hoping this encourages the rest of the team to train up to keep up or keep ahead.  Knowing how the guys are, these words will not be taken lightly.  Good!

So my purpose for getting out to ride was to get more seat time, especially on my TT bike, and starting bringing up that discipline again.  It is my favorite mostly because it's the easiest to work on given that it's more about tempo than high intensity.  I was hoping someone might come out and join me to push me even more, but no takers so solo it was.

One of the things I realized when riding was that my mind was equally in need of conditioning.  I felt less confident about pushing myself (fearing I may pop or cramp), I was more inhibited when it came to turning on the aeros and I really had to force my myself to focus on breathing, being smooth, etc.  I'm sure these also apply when I'm on my road bike, but it seems more relevant when solo given that the only company I keep are my thoughts.  This is definitely going to take some more seat time to overcome.

Despite the mental aspect, I was actually a little surprised I was able to average 200+ watts for the ride.  I did my non-stop pedaling route, but the stop light on California and a dog being walked on Back Bay without a leash made it less than ideal.  The weather was great though.

In the end, I was pleased with being able to average 22+ on the route.  I'm hoping I can hit 23-24 again eventually, but I'm just getting started (or restarted).

One encouraging thing to see was Vince's and Shannon's Strava posts showing they rode at lunch yesterday also.  I'm sure others probably rode with them, but like the saying goes...if it isn't on Strava, it didn't happen.  With the amount of riding these guys are doing compared to the others, you can tell they're only going to keep pushing the bar higher and higher.  I'm fine with it as it gives me something to shoot for.  It's great when team mates push one another.  I'm hoping these damn blogs will help push others as well.  If at least one is encouraged by them, then it's all worth the while.

Morning BAM Resurrection Ride

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/220595165

It's easy to believe that Team Broadcom disbanded given the lack of participation in organized group rides, the absence of blogs, and just the smattering of Strava posts by team members. However, the BAM spirit has only been in hibernation during the last few months (although some still exhibited it more than others during that time).  Now the spirit has grown restless and is ready to start being a force to reckon with once again. Consider yourself warned.  A new chapter is starting, and its title is rightfully called "BAM...the Resurrection." 

This morning was the first ride of the next chapter.  It was an OG roundup for sure with Gary, Verm and Galen coming out for some good training.  It was great to ride with these folks again as it's been awhile since I've ridden with them.  They're good folks who appreciate riding as a team, which I desperately need given my apparent lack of conditioning.  

It was a rather cold start with the temperature being in the mid 40's when we started pedaling.  I was surprised to see Gary be ready to go but without any arm warmers on.  He conformed real quick though once I pointed out what the temperature was when I pulled up.  I made the mistake of only bringing shorty gloves vs. full-finger.  My hands were turning blue in the beginning and as we hit patches of shade on the 133.  Everyone wore shorts, which seemed adequate although doing so had Galen making fun of all the hair on my legs.

The pace was definitely more moderate than our lunch rides...something I really appreciated given the temperature (and my extra weight).  There were definitely moments of type A riding out there with Gary launching some Adrian-esque hill attacks and Galen and Verm breaking away seemingly at will.  There was even one hill I thought I'd charge right before El Moro, but Galen encouraged me to go faster as he easily dropped me before the top.  

We considering skipping NPC, but I'm glad we ended up doing it.  I'm sorely lacking in the hill training, so a nice constant climb was just what the doctor ordered.  Of course, the likes of Vista, Ridge, or any other steeper hill would be better, but baby steps for now....   The descent on the other side, however, was no fun with a lot of traffic due to the school.  Galen had taken off high on adrenalin after a guy in a silver Mercedes was messing with him.  After a couple bunny hops over the sewer openings, his chain came off mid air and caused him to unclip and land almost sideways.  Thankfully, he was able to keep it up right.

This was a great restart for me to ride with the crew this morning.  Except for a beer my wife gave me last night, I'm hoping to be on track once again and apparently have others who are equally interested.  It will definitely be a grueling journey, but one that will be worth the while.  If getting faster came too easily, then it wouldn't be as rewarding, right?  I'm looking forward to reading this in a few months and seeing how far we've come.  

Thanks for coming out, gents!

Lunch Ride - Oh The Pain

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/182590593

Attendees:  Vince, Mitchell, Hiroshi, Galen and me

Highlights:

• Nice to have Hiroshi and Galen back out with us on a lunch ride
• I feel fat
• Vince took off right away on California and continued breakaway leaving us at the light on University
• I am fat
• Galen accepted the challenge of trying to catch Vince and for the most part did 90% of the work doing so.  My 10 percent was where we didn't really gain on Vince but just gave Galen time to rest so he can continue reeling Vince in after.  It took just after the bridge to catch the bugger.
• Hiroshi and Mitchell suffered the fate of dropping off due to Galen's crazy power on the bike trail. 
• Worked together with Vince and Galen on the rest of the bike trail and on Laguna Canyon.
• Vince said he wouldn't attack up Pine Needles/Luminuous...but he did
• Galen passed me as well, but I tried to sneak by him with a sprint to the top...he laughed at my sneakiness and passed me after.
• Did I mention I'm a fatty?
• Vince and Galen broke away on Quail Hill after I got dropped at the top, but Mitchell (and the light before going up Shady) helped us regroup.
• Galen led up Shady, but Vince launched midway...again
• I waited a little later and tried to reel Vince in before the top just missing the pass at the crest
• Galen and Mitchell got back on after we tried to get away for a little...as expected
• Sprint to Shady bike trail was sketchy with Vince taking off early and Galen following.  I was working to catch them and pass before the bike trail but they checked up due to passing stopped vehicle.
• Mitchell led us on Bonita Canyon at first followed by the rest of us, but Galen amped it up again up the climb and I nearly pulled a Roberto Duran and was ready to exclaim "No mas!"  
• We cut the condo because Galen had to get back, and truthfully I was just done.
• There was a police car that had slowed down and appeared to be following us as we were getting on Bison, but no incidents...we were good.
• I tried to setup a sprint to the finish and drop Vince who jumped on my rear wheel, but he managed to sneak by at the end.

Moral of the story:  Mexico all-inclusive resorts are not conducive to being able to keep up on our lunch rides.  Oh...and being fat sucks.

2014 Summer TEAM Ride

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/171371863

I wasn't sure how many people were going to be able to make it out for the team ride, but we ended up having better numbers than I expected.  Galen, Todd and Vin confirmed early on but we were lucky to have both Vince and Hiroshi join us last minute also.  Woo hoo.

The plan was to meet at my house and depart for the ride around 8:30 a.m.  Galen was the first to arrive despite living the furthest away, and he was followed by Todd, Vince, Vin and Hiroshi (who ran into some traffic on the way down due to an accident).  We still managed to get going before 8:45 a.m. though even after taking some pics beforehand.

Is it weird Vin is always next to me in pics?  Pic courtesy of Vince who wore white.

The weather was already pretty warm when we got going and we wondered how this was going to affect us during our ride.  Fortunately for us, there was a lot of overcast by the ocean where it kept it from being a lot cooler than what we expected.  Stopping on the way back allowed us to feel the warmth, but overall it wasn't bad at all.  The winds weren't that bad either and the headwinds were mostly on the way down. 

With Hiroshi still in recovery mode and Galen not having ridden too much lately, we definitely started out a lot more mellow than usual.  Everyone did a great job keeping the pace moderate so that we don't have anyone falling off early on.  I would do my sweeping duties to make sure no one was dropping, but after I saw how solid everyone was riding, I pushed up to help up front as much as I could.  It was a "team" ride after all.

When we got on PCH, someone pushed the pace up a little higher (I think it was Galen from the rumblings after we got to San Clemente), but everyone did great nonetheless and there wasn't really any fallout as a result.  In fact, I think that there wasn't one time on the way down that we weren't riding tightly as a team. 

We held a great pace all the way down and reeled in groups and individuals all the way down.  We did have some people jump on behind us here and there, but none of us minded.  I think Galen must have said hi to everyone on the way down AND back, but that's good BRCM cycling ambassadorship.

Todd and Vince were doing a lot of the work up front as expected to keep the pace up, while Galen did his thing trying to provide Hiroshi a solid draft since Hiroshi was still in recovery mode from his surgery a few weeks back.  Hiroshi did fantastic considering that he just started riding again recently, and definitely exceeded my expectations for the day.  Vin was participating in the rotation when he could, but he seemed to favor pushing up and creating a gap after sitting in the draft for a while where it appeared to be the end of Strava segments from what I could see.  Ha ha...typical. 

Although we didn't have any mechanical incidents, we did stop/slow a couple times thinking someone had a flat.  Fortunately, they were both false alarms.  There was no bonking during the ride, but we did have to regroup a couple times on the way back when gaps would form.  Everyone did the team thing and waited for others when needed, so overall you couldn't ask for better team work than what I saw yesterday. 

We had a good break at McDonald's and in the end had a ride time under 3 hours, with just 25 minutes of extra time elapsed for the break.  Todd, Vince and I were definitely trading off the pulls on the way back and helped to get us back in a great time.  I know I was just thinking about getting to the cold beers waiting for us, so I would push when I could.  I'm sure the other guys were thinking the same thing.

Chillin' with the crew

 We got back and chilled out in my garage for a little to get a little hydration, but that eventually moved to my back yard where the beer fest began.  Everyone brought different kinds of beer where we had the following samplings to choose from:

Negra Modelo
Kona Castaway IPA
Black Butte Porter
Shock Top Belgian White
Peroni
Lagunitas Fractional IPA
Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin'
Chimay Grand Reserve
Delirium Nocturnum
La Fin Du Mond
Allagash Curieux
Magic Hat Not Quite Pale Ale

Along with the above, the ladies had some margaritas with Grand Marnier and triple sec (Cadillac).  I didn't really eat enough Mexican food to buffer the alcohol intake, especially after draining my bottles for the ride, but at least I didn't fall asleep this time.  As always, it was definitely a great time hanging with the fellas both during and after the ride and in all honesty, is why I love being on this team.  As always, let me extend my apologies should I have offended anyone after the ride, but hey...at least I kept my clothes on this time. 

Great times with great peeps.  Thanks for making it out, gents!

Riding with MC McGee Equals PAIN

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/170506230

Temperature:  HOT

Attendees:  Shannon, Vince and Vin

Highlights:

• When Shannon comes out for a ride, the anxiety level among the others rises significantly...self included.  It didn't help that he stated "maximize the pain" in the body of the sentence from his invite.
• Todd just missed the ride since he had to get back early...lucky him.
• Everyone wore black as Shannon asked...except me.  That's why I ride a small yellow bus to work.
• Vin took off during the beginning of the ride and immediately this guy came to mind:
• There was an early jump on the bike path from Vin and Vince, but it wasn't long before we were all together with Shannon towing the group
• I tried to help when I can, but it seemed that others were a little tentative initially
• When we got on Back Bay though, everyone was working and doing their share in the rotation.
• There was a little sprint to the end of the gate that had Shannon and Vince going for it.  I couldn't breathe.
• We all made our way onto PCH eventually and continued to keep the pace up.  We rolled up and passed one guy who I thought may join, but he didn't.
• Riding through Ocean and onto Poppy was pretty uneventful except we did have to stop before we got back on PCH due to a van blocking the road.  I paid the driver later for letting me rest.
• On PCH, Shannon lit it up pretty good and I can honestly say that being in the draft offers little reprieve when trying to keep up.
• The climb up PCH had Vince and Vin take off ahead initially, but we all ended up together after hitting some lights.  Shannon ended up taking the front and Vin did a great job staying with him while Vince and I slowed up some toward the end.  Vince was further back than me, but he caught and passed me before the light.  The things I do for the team.  ;)
• We had a good run through Pelican and down NPC and on PCH and although some gaps formed early on, everyone managed to get back together.
• As we made our way onto BB after a good run on PCH, the rotations began again.
• Shannon took a mean ass pull at one point with me behind me, and trying to pass him to take a turn is almost impossible.  
• Vince took off at one point to attempt a breakaway, but it was neutralized by Shannon who ended up taking the final pull on BB.  
• Vince took off up the hill and I just managed to latch on behind me.  We worked together on the bike trail and eventually up to California with no funny business.
• I took the lead up California expecting everyone would be behind me, but I think they probably just sat back and laughed as I struggled to keep a 17 mph avg up the damn thing.  

All in all, it was a great training day.  More miles than usual, but with my lack of mile this week, it was definitely warranted.  Thanks for the invite, Shannon, and thanks to all for the great workout!

BRCM Lunch - Now THAT'S What I Call A Team Ride

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/167708324

Highlights:

• Although we got a late start given Todd and Vince being in a meeting, I'm glad I waited as it was definitely a lot better than riding alone.
• Vince got his new steed, a sexy black R3 with Di2 and some carbon Shimano wheels.  Can you say "uh oh?"  
• We decided to do the bike trail, Knollcrest, and Ridgeline for today's route, but pull back to about 80% to save up for the weekend.  We did exactly that.  
• It was great teamwork throughout with everyone taking turns up front, no breakaway antics, and just good solid riding/rotating.  My average heart rate was only 144 and I never even entered Z5 once.  Cool!
• We even got to talk about Vince's new bike during the ride.  I think this is what Hiroshi would refer to as a conversational pace.  
• 20.5 mph average (20.7 per my Garmin) for this route further substantiates the mellowness.
• Can every ride be like this?  HA HA.  Actually, we need the madness for the training, but these types of rides are definitely fun to do with the team.  

Thanks for coming out, Vince and Todd.  You guys rock!

BRCM Lunch - Nice to Ride with Others Again

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/167316688

Attendees:  Todd, Vince, Vin and Mitchell

It's been a while since my last blog, but I thought I'd throw this one out there to show that we're still riding.  It's not because I've lost interest in the team (or the guys on the team for that matter), but sometimes life just gets in the way.  I feel bad that I haven't been able to coordinate rides and motivate others to keep riding, which is evident with David Liu having been on top of our team leaderboard in Strava miles-wise for the better part of this week (no offense, David), but some restructuring in my personal life was warranted where time was just not available for me to do so.  It's still not, but I'll do what I can.

Anyways....

It was nice to see Mitchell back on the bike again.  In the gym, he mentioned how he missed me and that he never even misses his own boss.  I'm not sure what the correlation there was, but I'm sure it was a good thing.  Needless to say, I let him know I missed him too.  Get a room, right?

Vince and Vin came out, and Todd showed up late where we all decided it was best to wait for him.  After all, he's the least to complain about sitting on his rear wheel the whole time.  5 riders all together is probably the biggest group I've ridden with in over a month.

I called out the route on an e-mail yesterday, but we threw in a horseshoe variation to the NPC double-back bay route at the corner just before taking off.  I also didn't remember how the route finished, so we determined we would go up California in the end.  I guess I can see how it's more fun for the others to have the route totally laid out for them beforehand. This led to 3 different variations of the route, but needless to say we all got a great workout nonetheless.

Todd started out ahead of everyone right away, but the rest of us managed to get up on his wheel before the stop sign at the top of Eastbluff (no thanks to the others who didn't help close the gap...ha ha).  I tried to help Todd with a pull or two, but I was feeling like a big fatty after not being able to exercise yesterday (plus the nightly beer drinking - just 1 or 2).

My fattiness was also seen climbing up NPC, where I ended up not being able to hang on after we passed the 73.  Todd had been leading the whole way at a good pace, but when Vince finally decided to take the front, my stomach chub was too heavy for me to stay on.  Fortunately, I had my wingman, Mitchell, with me since Vin dropped.  He helped after we got to the top and we worked together on San Joaquin and the horseshoe.  We did see Vince ahead of us on San Joaquin having skipped the horseshoe, but we thought he was alone and that Todd had turned.  Mitchell wanted to follow him, but I said we're doing the horseshoe because I'm a stickler for following the designated route.  I always think someone's going to give me crap in the locker room for doing a route other than what we discussed.  It's the self-imposed burden I carry....

When we came out of the horseshoe and didn't see either Vince or Todd, we pretty much expected it would be a tough chase unless we totally get lucky with the lights and they didn't.  Well, I think the opposite occurred as we hit long light after long light.  We did roll up to Vin at McArthur (I think) since he skipped the horseshoe to catch up.

The 3 of us worked together hoping to catch a glimpse of Vince and Todd, but when we hit the light at Jamboree and didn't see them, we figured we were on our own.  Both Mitchell and Vin were taking good pulls (surprise surprise...haha) with no antics.  Vin even led us up Jamboree after going through Back Bay on the first pass.

The 3 of us were stopped at the light on Ford/Eastbluff heading toward the 2nd BB pass.  Once the light turned green, two guys buzzed us on bikes having had momentum on their descent and making the green light perfectly.  Of course, I entered chase mode immediately after they did only to realize it was Vince and Todd!   They had extended their route by going by the trailer park bike trail. They definitely didn't slow down to wait for us, so we had to book just to get back up to them.  We were all together at the stop light on San Joaquin given the red light though.

From here, we all worked together as we made our 2nd pass through Back Bay with everyone carrying their fair of the load up front.  Vince and I had gotten a little ahead at the top of Back Bay as we made our way to University.  We exchanged pulls after Vince gave me the arm wave to pass as he was rubbing down a cramp he was starting to get.  When he relieved me as we got passed the bridge, you can see the other guys looming behind us.  The next thing you know, Vin had passed and was going for it (or seemed like it) as we made our way toward California.  I took the opportunity to get on his rear wheel and have him lead us close enough for a pass just before.  It's how we do....  Nice pull.  :)

When we started heading up California, Vin started off a little aggressive again, so the rest of us latched on.  I took the next pull, and Todd the one after that.  I saw Vin looking like he was getting ready to go, but he never went.  I went to pass as we neared the top, and Todd and I just started pedaling our asses off side-by-side as we made our way to the stop light.  Intense!

Thanks for the workout today, gents!  I hope we can start getting others to join us more.  While I can't say I'll blog every ride, I'll do so on occasion when I can.  

SCNCA State iTT Championship - The Report

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/145065407

About Palmdale: if you ever decide to stay up here for any reason, definitely stay on the WEST side of the 14.  I stayed on the EAST side and never felt confident that my car would still be outside my hotel room in the morning.  I didn't even want to leave my bike in my room as there were guys walking around like they were just scoping the place out.  There was even two guys who parked just outside my room and sat in the car and looked at me as I unloaded.  Thankfully, I'm from the hood too, so maybe they recognized one of their own.  HA HA.

About the course: I drove up on Friday and had every plan to just go straight to my hotel and settle in.  However, I opted to have lunch with the wife first, and she had asked whether I was going to check out the course beforehand.  What a novel idea?  It never even dawned on me to do so, but I think doing so would definitely ease some of my anxiety of racing on an course I'm not familiar with.  It took a whingle to get there as it was an extra 25 minutes away from my hotel, but I'm glad I got to see it.  There were some guys there riding the course likely preparing for the race.  I never stopped since it also looked like a place where they filmed Boyz-in-the-Hood.  I drove around the whole thing to check out the road conditions, width, and the varying (albeit slight) elevation change.  The first 6 miles had an average grade of 1%, which made me wonder how the hell people were doing 36 mph averages on it last year.  However, given how hard the wind was blowing in the afternoon, I don't think one even had to pedal to get up to that speed.  The right turn to 240th street led you to a slight downhill, which I figured would provide some reprieve from the slight climb before it.  It didn't take that long to get down it...in a car.  Then there was the right turn to Palmdale where the road was actually finally smooth where the roads before definitely seemedb like they could use some repaving here and there.  It wasn't smooth the whole time as it got rough again after a little pitch up, but it was nowhere near as bad as the last part of the Stagecoach.  On the last road, it was similar to the first two but seemed pretty flat throughout.  For the race, the course would not be closed to cars but it would controlled at the intersections and there was very little traffic in the morning other than support cars driving around.

About the weather:  As I mentioned above, the winds were definitely howling on Friday and I could just see setting some mean KOMs with that wind behind you.  I actually died down some the next morning, but it would be best described as going from a category 4 tornado to a category 3...i.e. it was still a tornado.  It definitely had me wondering how the race was going to be on the course and how to ride through it, but I didn't actually get to see what it would be like until I actually raced it.  I warmed up on my trainer, so I really wasn't sure what to expect except I knew I definitely wasn't looking forward to heading into it. As it turned out, you did have a tail wind on the first stretch, a head wind on 240th, more head wind on Palm, and it behind you once again on 180th and on Avenue O.

About me:  I parked on 180th as most had and warmed up on my trainer as most everyone else seemed to also.  I saw Kim Nida there, possibly Tracy, Rose and Peter before the race but other than that, I just did my own thing.  My own thing included chugging down a bunch of coconut water and some water with electrolytes just before the race.  I tried to put away my trainer and get to the porta potties for a last minute piss given all the fluids I drank in the morning given I had planned on not taking any fluids with me.  However, by the time I got to the porta potties, the line was too long and my time to line up was coming up too fast.  I decided I'd just without taking one and make the best of it.
 
About the race:  I changed my plan this race (last minute) and decided I'd focus more on my power (3s average and overall average) and actually opted not to look at speed at all.  I had speed on my display, but on the very bottom just under distance.  I don't really know if this worked well for me as I ended up feeling like I was always behind the eight ball the whole race, but that's what I get for making changes on the day of the race.  When I finally got going, I was monitoring my power and couldn't figure out why I just couldn't hit the numbers I was hoping for.  I had a decent warm-up being on the trainer for about 20 or so minutes and actually sweating, but I never did push very hard and if anything, probably pushed too little to really get a lot of blood flowing through my legs.  Thus, monitoring my power was definitely making me feel like I just wasn't ever working hard enough.  While my numbers were low, I still did 28+ mph avg on the first stretch.  It wasn't enough though as the guy who started after me was already passed me probably 3/4 of theo way of the stretch.  Sigh.  When I came up on the first right turn, it felt like running into a wall.  You can see it was downhill, but the winds were pushing so hard that I really had a hard time getting through that section at a reasonable speed.  When I got on Palm, I still didn't feel that connection with my bike but pushed through anyway hoping to just get the damn race over with.  After getting passed again, I got a little bit more motivated and finally found my rhythm half way through Palmdale Ave.  I tried to keep the guy who passed me not too far away and succeeded in doing so.  I did end up passing a couple guys in the process as well.  When we hit 180th, I finally felt the wind let up and thought to myself, now it's on.  I tried to chase the guy down and was even pedaling at the top gear throughout, but still I wasn't closing like I'd hoped.  I passed a couple other guys but I don't know if there were in my category or not.  When I rounded the final turn and headed for the finish another 6 miles away, I was really pushing hard and almost held the top gear throughout the entire distance.  I started to run out of steam at the end having pushed so hard, but I managed to average 29.4 on the last stretch.  I was definitely done after that and did not even know how I'd make it back 6 miles where my car is...and against the wind to boot!

About the results:  Having moved up to Cat 4, my expectations were definitely not as high as had I raced 5 as originally planned.  I catted up though after seeing only 4 other people signed up for CAT 5 (there were 20 all together in Cat 4) where it just didn't seem worth racing if only against that little.  One guy didn't even show up, so actually there were only 3 in the end.  For Cat 4, I just missed the 10th spot by ~1 second.  Of course, I wish I could have hit the turns harder but I never really felt comfortable since they weren't too wide, there could be cars, and it didn't seem clean enough where I didn't want to wash the front.  I don't know if it would have mattered or not, but whatever.  In the end, my time was 53:35 with an average speed of 25.8 mph.  This is a far cry from what they did on the course last year, but the conditions were definitely more challenging as others were off their time previously by at least a couple minutes.

About next time:  We'll see if this is a race I'd do again.  I may just to see if I can top my time from this year, but a 23 mile TT is definitely not the same av ~10 mile TT.  I'll have to see what the conditions will be like next year, but I'm definitely not looking forward to 9 miles of serious headwind again anytime soon.  Ridiculous.  

GP Crit Series 2 Race 2 - Live and Learn

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/144497016

Arriving at the crit, it looked like the conditions were pretty ideal with cool temps based on some cloud cover and what appeared to be a little wind only.  It was actually even a little nippy when changing to get ready where I couldn't wait to get on the bike to warm up.  The first lap was definitely cool, but what was surprising was how windy it was on the back side of the track.  We were expecting more headwind on the bottom of the track, but that actually ended up not being the case. While it's been worse, it definitely was not  "ideal."

Now Shannon and I had discussed some strategies before today's race, but we had discussed some last minute changes based on what we thought was going to be a rather small group.  When we were called to line up to race, however, it was a lot bigger than we thought and with even some new faces here and there.  There were some of the usual riders there too and seemingly with more team mates with them, so Shannon and I ended up having to figure things out as we went.  Then again, isn't that always the case.

Due to the size of the group, it didn't seem like anyone would try any breakaways, but on the 2nd lap, last year's point leader up until the last race broke away and ended up being joined by another younger rider.  No one seemed to do much, so I decided to sneak up and then break off to join them.  We had a pretty sizable gap where we kept away for a good lap and a half or so.  However, no one wanted to join and eventually the peleton opted to chase us down as a whole instead.

There were a couple other attempts for breakaways, but none that really stuck.  It seems like the races have been more about no one wanting to really work to weed out the slower guys from the faster ones.  It's going to be an interesting series if this way of racing continues given that it becomes a big sprint session at the end where almost anything goes.

Shannon and I had gotten together on the last lap as we had hoped and we were definitely going to give the final sprint a go.  At first I thought I was going to lead him out, but when I called out to him on the opposite side of the peleton, he crossed over and got in front of me where I figured I'd go ahead and give the sprint a shot from his slipstream.  We definitely made progress before the 2nd to the last turn as we made our way closer to the front.  This was even after some people were rolling out just in front of us where it took some negotiating just to be able to keep momentum.

When we got on the stretch before the final turn, Shannon was definitely moving and I was just hoping we could keep his momentum through the turn to contest the sprint to the finish.  We didn't get close enough to the front, however, to be able to take control of the corner where this guy (I won't mention team names or describe him since others read this) cut the corner from the outside (something he seemed to be doing the whole race) and ended up pinching us out of the turn.  The whole race was like this as I had to cut through the weeds in one corner a couple times.  Anyhow, once we had to check up for that turn, we lost a lot of momentum and was no longer able to contend for the final sprint.  I tried to whip around Shannon just after coming out of the turn but those who had an outside line had better luck and ended up finishing ahead of us.

Of course neither of us were happy with the results, but that's only because we're competitive.  There's always the possibility that we could have tried something else, but that would be more of a case of woulda, shoulda, coulda.  I know I wish I did some things differently toward the finish of the race, but that's like crying over spilled milk, right?  In the end, at least we  managed to apply one of our planned strategies (which hardly ever happens), but it just didn't work out to our advantage this evening.  Oh well, live and learn.  We'll be back....  Great racing with you nonetheless, Shannon!

Lunch Ride - Failed Sprint Training, 80% Headwinds, Still the Best Workout Available

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/143617108

Attendees:  Vince, Shannon, Todd, Vin, Jaffe, Mitchell, Terry and me

Today was supposed to be a sprint training ride with the following sections defined as the sprint points:  405 bike trail to the bridge, Shady toward Bonita Canyon to the bike trail, the condo, and Bison to the corner of California.  I chose a slightly hilly route so there would be a good mix of climbing and flats.   Since I had dropped off on Turtle Rock (more on this later), I didn't get to contest any of them.  Thus, let me outline who crossed the line first according to what Vince shared with me in the locker room:

405 bike trail - Vince (broke away on Shady)
Shady to bile trail - looking at top speed according to Strava, likely Shannon (unconfirmed)
Condo - Todd missed Summit so according to Vince (DQ'd). Top honors go to Shannon.
Bison - Probably Shannon too.

Looking at the above,  no wonder there was a collective gasp when we saw Shannon come into the gym after everyone else to get ready.  Ha ha.

Terry was out for his second time with the group, and his goal was to stay with us longer than his first.   That's the spirit.  The start was pretty fast as usual with Todd mostly at the helm and Vince helping to push the pace (Jaffe tried to trade pulls with Todd but Vin thought that was funny more than anything else).  I helped get us to the light after Jaffe's less than successful pull attempt.   I think Terry was able to regroup with us at the light, but things may have gotten a little too manic after that.

When we got on Culver, Vince set the pace early taking the front, and I relieved him followed by Todd and Shannon.  There was some more rotating as we headed over and onto Turtle Rock, but I remember at one point I ended up behind Shannon just before he was getting ready to take a pull.  While everyone was working to keep the pace up, I felt it pick up more as soon as Shannon took the front.  I noticed his cadence is faster now, and this worried me a lot since it seemed like he's generating even more power than before.  Thus, I was in no hurry to try and relieve him.  Instead, I was just trying to hang on and wait until he got a little tired before taking a pull.  Before it got to that point, however, Todd called out to me that my saddle bag was falling off.  I could have left it as is and kept riding, but I didn't want to fall off and possibly have someone run into it and crash.  I waved everyone on and decided I'll just deal with it and then hope I can get lucky and catch some others at a light.

After re-attaching it to my saddle, I started to go and Jaffe went by and passed me hardly skipping a beat.  Thus, he served as my first target where it took up to Sunnyhill before I was able to reel him in and pick him up in my slipstream.

I was pushing on Shady hoping to catch a glimpse of front group, but I only ended up seeing Vin more than mid way up.  I was able to pull away from Jaffe up the climb chasing Vin, but Jaffe was back in my slip stream on the 2nd sidewalk entrance that lead to the 405.  We were still behind Vin, so we gave chase  (we meaning me with Jaffe in tow...LOL).

The headwind on the 405 bike trail was ridonkulous.  I got as low as I could and I think this helped to reel in Vin and pick up another passenger after passing him.  I was wondering if they were going to try and sprint to the Bridge to spite me, but neither of them did.

We got to the stop light at the Strawberry farm intersection where I noticed once again that my saddle bag was unlatched again from under the seat rails.  I detached it all together at that point and decided I would just carry it in my back pocket.  When the light turned green, Vin and Jaffe took off leaving me behind.   HA HA

Fortunately, they were caught at the light at Ridgeline, so I was able to regroup with them there.  When we were finally able to cross, Vin led us up with Jaffe in tow, and I decided a little payback would be nice.  After Vin led all the way to where it pitched up with Jaffe offering him no relief, I decided I'd kick it up at that point and passed where neither were able to latch on.  What? It's good training for them.

I broke away and had to ride all the way to Bonita Canyon on my own against that wicked wind.   I was stopped at the light after just missing the green, so Vin was able to catch up and join me there.  Vin's a trooper since he opted to lead us over to Turtle Ridge, but after I took the front once we started climbing, he was off again.  I was still pushing to try and see if I can get lucky and catch others.   It wasn't too far away from the turn around point on Summit when I saw Shannon and I think Vince heading the opposite way.  I tried to push harder when I saw them, but it wasn't enough where I didn't see them at the Bonita Canyon intersection.  Here, Vin would catch me again.

Vin and I traded pulls on Bonita Canyon where the headwind again was just insane.  When we crossed McArthur, he took the front first but I pulled ahead during the little rise and would almost lead us out to Jamboree.  Since Vin was just behind me though, I waved him on to start Jamboree first hoping 1) he'll give me a target and 2) he won't make me nervous making the turn.

Climbing up Jamboree, Vin took off right away and I guess I didn't give him enough credit where I expected to be passed him shortly after.  Instead, he was in full sprint mode on the climb where he held it for a while making me realize I better kick it up a notch or he'll get up over it before me.  It literally took me just before it flattened out to get by him.  I even had to keep looking back to make sure he wasn't going to sneak by now that he had my respect for the sprint.  Fortunately, he didn't.  I thought I had a pretty good effort climbing up Jamboree, but then I saw Shannon's time on Strava where he killed it matching his best time ever.   Nice.

Vin was able to catch me at the intersection on McArthur as it just turned green as I was rolling up on it.  He took the lead immediately and I thought okay, let's see how the kid does defending the sprint.  I wasn't going to go until he went though to make things interesting...and so I can recover from the condo effort as well.  When he took off just before the last light over the 73, I stood up and expected I would be able to pass him before the intersection.  I came up beside him but unlike the past, he never slowed and kept going making me work the whole time.  I think we hit the intersection together, so I did get some sprint training in today after all.   Thanks, Vin.

It's nice to be back with the crew, and with Shannon coming out too, this would be the ultimate training environment for racing in my humble opinion.  I'm bummed I missed out most of the ride with the crew, but there's always next week.  Is it too early to be excited about it?

As always, thanks for the workout, gents!

BRCM Lunch - Be Careful What You Wish For Ride

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/140774679

Attendees:  Todd, Vince, Vin, Jeremy and Jaffe
Special Guest:  Jeff Barrett (UCI Professor and GP Critter)

Highlights:

• It never fails to amaze me how in typical BAM fashion, guests bring out the best (or worst depending on how you look at it) in the team.  Not only was there virtually no warm-up (which I suppose is typical), but the pace throughout was bordering on absolute ridiculousness...especially considering the weather.  The trophies achieved pretty much sums it up.
• Speaking of the weather, the coastal route hardly provided any reprieve from the heat with the average temperature at 99 degrees.  According to Garmin Connect, the peak temperature reached 107.6 degrees.   And while the wind may not have been as bad as predicted, it was still pretty noticeable and definitely had us moving around here and there.  All around, I'd say "hellacious" would accurately describe today's conditions.
• Todd was saying as we were getting ready how he was going to pull back given the heat.  That lasted for all of a mile or so.
• Vince, Jeremy, Vin and I think even Jaffe also contributed to the maddening pace taking turns on Back Bay.  I may have taken some pulls here and there as well.  
• Jeff may not been ready to push up right away holding Vince out for a bit on Back Bay.  Then again, Vince held Todd out just before sprinting to the gate near the end.  Karma?
• I chased Vince and believe I passed him before the gate.  He still got KOM.  Karma?
• We all regrouped for the left turn to PCH, and I'm pretty sure Vince heard me miss clipping into my pedal when the light turned green.  He took off along with Todd to punish me.  Fortunately, we were able to catch up to them after a while.
• We rolled through the neighborhood all together from Avocado, but we lost the professor on the climb up Fernleaf.  
• Todd lead us all the way through Ocean and Poppy, but he got tied up behind some cars while others had gotten on the sidewalk and took off on PCH.  That's gratitude for you.  HA HA.  Todd was able to reel them in (with me and one other in tow).  
• Todd is forever the workhorse and pushed up to lead on PCH seemingly without any sign of interest from the group to relieve him.  Maybe that was just how I saw it from being hot and cranky.  I ended up pushing up to help get us to NPC where we all sat to cross together (no one took the left turn this time...nice).
• The climb up NPC was absolutely horrible.  The winds were in our face and moving my bike all around and the heat...oh the heat...had us cooking on the way up.   The pack started out all together, but it dwindled down to Todd, Jeremy, Vince and me.  Todd and Jeremy were side by side originally with me and Vince behind them, but Jeremy opted to get behind Todd first and then had me pass him seemingly like he was throwing in the towel.  He didn't, however, and the 4 of us stayed together all the way up.  I guess everyone was afraid to ride alone up that hill on this day.   I know that's what motivated me.
• We regrouped at the top with Jeff bringing up the back.  I'm just glad no one passed out in this weather.
• We made our way to San Joaquin and eventually the horseshoe, where Vince, Todd and Jeremy started pushing after making the turn.  I was behind Jaffe, who worked to close the gap, and I pushed up passed him and to the front to start working with the others to keep the pace up.  I was the last one to take a pull, or so I thought, and started pushing as hard as I could to see if we can PR or KOM the segment.  I didn't realize no one was on my wheel after a while, but I guess others had either checked up due to a car or as Todd pointed out in the locker room, Jaffe had detonated in front of him (Adrian-style) and broke up the group.  
• I rounded the corner to San Joaquin but shortly after was passed by Vince, Todd and I maybe Jeremy?  Vin was right behind me, so I made sure to let him know not to take me out on the turn.   I knew there was still Spyglass to climb, so my tactic for it is similar to the condo.  Save it on the downhill and hit it on the climb.  
•  When we made the right turn, Vince took off so Todd gave chase and I lost track of where Jeremy was at this point.  I started to sprint up the hill with the momentum and made my way past the guys.  At first, I thought I was thinking of staying on Todd's wheel, but I had momentum and kept going as a result.  I had a pretty decent gap and similar to the horseshoe, I checked up and waited for the guys.  When Vince and Todd passed me, they took off down the hill and I had to give chase knowing that if opportunity presented itself, they would leave me at the intersection.  HA HA.
• Since there was a car there, the light didn't take long to turn green and the 3 of us starting to go on San Miguel.  The next thing you know, Jeremy rounds the turn at full speed and starts to break away from us.  Nice!  I guess that's his payback for sucking down everyone else's water bottle having forgotten his.  HA HA.
• Todd started to give chase, and I thought Vince was going to be behind him, but I ended up jumping on Todd's rear wheel to help.  It was by chance that I did since Vince had gotten a flat behind us somewhere on San Miguel.  Fortunately, Vin was still behind us and stayed with Vince for the rest of their ride.  
• It took about a third of the way on McArthur after San Joaquin before we finally were able to reel Jeremy in.  Jeremy had enough of the wind on his own, and McArthur was definitely pushing some good headwind against us, so Todd and I took over for the rest of the stretch before Bonita Canyon.
• Jeremy started us off after that intersection, and lead until Bison.  I took over after and tried to make it interesting for a sprint over the 73 but Todd made his way past me no problem.  I pulled a Roberto Duran at that point and just thought "no mas."  

As part of The Weather Channel app heat advisory, it warned that people should use caution if doing strenuous activities outdoors.  So much for that with this group.  And here I really missed riding with them after almost a 3 week hiatus on lunch rides.  I guess I do need to be careful of what I wish for when it comes to this group.  They're brutal...but I love the training!  Thanks, gents!

GP TT and Crit (Series 2 first race) Report

Strava
TT:   http://www.strava.com/activities/139073596
Crit:  http://www.strava.com/activities/139073594

First things first...I'm really bummed I haven't been able to get out for our lunch rides for the last two weeks.   My last outing was 3 weeks ago and only with Vin, so technically, that's 3 weeks of not riding with the crew and getting the intense training that I value from our lunch rides.  Hopefully, I'll be out next week.  I did wonder on the way to the crit how this lack of intensity training would play out for today's races, but I couldn't let that mentally affect my efforts. 

Todd got to GP just after me, and of course I proceeded to tell him about my bio issues and how my stomach was bubbling after a less than successful attempt for a #2 prior to leaving work.  I did warn him how riding behind me probably wouldn't be a good idea, so at least I I was considerate enough to do so. 

During the warm-ups, there was obviously some windy sections and mostly as you hit the bottom of the course, but that seemed to die down some before the race.  The temperature was definitely more ideal compared to last week, so it would just be the wind that we'd have to contend with on the TT.  If you haven't read it enough already, having a power meter is absolutely invaluable for racing in these types of conditions. 

Todd and I warmed up separately, so when I lined up, he was still warming up.  Knowing that TJ would be behind me definitely raised the anxiety level for the race.  He's got such a fast lap, that I always have to prepare myself in the event he passed me.  Of course, I would also use that thought to push as hard as I could as long as I could, so it was definitely helpful to have him out there. 

This was an usual TT where I didn't end up getting passed at all.  I always expect a 1/2/3 to pass me, but that never happened and I did all the passing.  I ended up passing Rose, a friend we met who races a lot of TTs, and startled her inadvertently as she didn't hear me call out that I was on her left.  It was on my 3rd lap and at the bottom of the track going into the 2nd turn of the double apex where I dove into it just ahead of her.  I had to alter my line a little bit just so I can get by her on the outside, but I didn't want to lose too much time by going too wide, so I passed her at speed just before getting through that turn.  She was upset originally, but she forgave me after. 

I knew I had a good first lap as I saw my time was ahead of my last time out by about 6 seconds, but I also thought I was feeling it more for doing so by the 3rd lap.  However, I seemed to have recovered enough for the last lap and managed to finish just getting under 23 minutes...which was my goal.  Strava shows me as having done it in 22:54, but my Garmin said 22:58 (27.2/3 mph avg).  We'll see what the official time says.  Todd felt he had a good run too where he bested his previous, but then wasn't sure after a while, so we'll see as well.  Hopefully, we managed to get the top 2 spots again as we did 2 weeks ago.  We'll see....

After the TT, we saw Shannon and John L. as we got ready for the crit.  I sucked down as much coconut water as possible hoping not to meet the same cramping fate as last week and got a little warm-up in as well.  We all met up after and talked to other people who were out for the race.  Here, Todd and I noticed how everyone seemed to know Shannon (celebrity status) and rightfully so.   I'm sure everyone realizes that he's definitely a force out there (and everywhere else), so it's no wonder that everyone wants to be on his good side.  One guy who wasn't even riding even fixed Shannon's number expecting he might be in a breakaway where he didn't want it to impede him from doing so.  It's obvious that people are coming to terms with what we've known all along...he's a beast!

When we lined up for the race, we saw some new faces, some returned faces who weren't there toward the end of the last series, and some familiar faces as well.  The size of the group wasn't as big as it's been before,  but it was definitely respectable.  Given it's the first race of the series, I wondered who was going to be pushing the pace and what the dynamics were going to be for the race.  Most importantly, I wondered if I was going to be able to keep up. 

Shannon pushed up to the front of the line upon the start, but I wasn't too far behind and Todd just behind me.   It was a big group ride in the beginning, but Shannon and one other broke away n the 2nd lap pretty much without much of a response from the peleton.  I pushed up closer to the front on the back side of the track when I saw this and contemplated on joining them.  However, I was hesitant to do so given I wasn't sure I wouldn't tow the group behind me.  Ultimately, I decided I would just watch to see if others would be drawn to help where should the breakaway grow, I would also try and jump in...try being the operative word.

Ultimately, no one pushed to breakaway with Shannon and the other guy, so they were relegated back into joining the pack eventually.   There were a couple other small breakaway attempts, but none that seemed too threatening.  When it got to the prime lap, I was actually thinking of going for it just to see if I could get some extra points, but I knew doing so would mean I probably wouldn't have enough for the end.  When I stood up for a sprint to end the prime just before the last turn, I wasn't really in a good position and realized that it was just good to sprint enough to stay with those who took off so as to not have to put too much effort into bridging any gaps.  That worked out and I was able to manage my output accordingly.

While the 3 of us were separated early on in the race, I did find my way to be close to Shannon around the last 2-3 laps of the race.  There were still a couple riders between us, but I would try to keep close to him in case we can work together during the finish.   There was a crash that had occurred during the bottom part of the track (due to flat I think), and some took the opportunity to amp it up at that point.  Fortunately, all of us were able to make our way past that unscathed.  Additionally we also were able to stay with those who tried to take advantage of the opportunity.  It's one of those things that comes naturally nowadays where you know those who are just ahead of the crash will likely take off.   I guess you can call that racing experience.

There were a couple more surges on the last couple laps with some pretty good ones on the last.  It's just that attacks at that point were short-lived where they would end up being pulled in by the rest of the peloton.  After rounding the bottom of the track, I was beside a guy we met who was a professor at UCI (Jeff) and he swerved toward me from reacting to someone on his other side.  I asked him to hold his line just to make sure we were both safe because I didn't see the guy who caused him to react, but the exchange in dialog caused me to lose sight of Shannon.  Thus, I just had to keep working to get in position for a sprint and see what I could do.  The surges beforehand took some toll, but no guts no glory, right?

As we were on the straight just before the final turn, the speed started picking up and I couldn't tell who was around given the sun was directly in front of us.  Everyone was basically just a shadow at that point, but I did see the two guys who rounded the corner first.  All I focused on at that point was being able to round as fast as I could and hopefully be in a position to have a good sprint.  One guy had passed me beforehand, so I tried to use his slipstream, but I ended being out in the open just going for it after the turn.

I didn't think I was in the best gear for a sprint after rounding the turn, but I also thought switching might cause enough of a stutter where I would even lose more position.  I did manage to make my way past some people and chasing down the two guys up front, but I ran out of steam close to the end and ended up hopefully in 4th place (unofficially).   Shannon wasn't far behind me as I had passed him unknowingly where I didn't get a chance to call him out and give him a lead out for the sprint (or vice versa).  Todd was also in the pack during the finish, but the chaos within our group kept him from getting into a good position for a final sprint. 

Not a bad night of racing for team BRCM.   John L. had gotten a flat and wasn't able to finish with the pack, but at least it didn't result in a crash.  I think there were a couple during our race. 

Although Shannon had to tend to some things after the race where he couldn't stick around long after, he did give Todd and I a bomber of his tasty brew.  Hell, that's better than winning!  I'm going to save it for this weekend, so I can drink and enjoy it responsibly.  Thanks, Shannon.

Todd and I hung out after for a bit and talked about the racing.  One of the things that people may not understand is that while we're all competitive, we also do what we can to push one another and help each other improve.  Todd and I were exchanging tips and strategies for TT, so this definitely epitomizes the teamwork and sportsmanship that I hope more people get to know about us.  Who better to talk this over with than last year's GP TT winner.  No matter what, we're going to continue doing what we can to represent the team and help each other to do so.  I already know Shannon is the same way, so who can ask for better teammates, right? 

Go team BRCM!

GP Crit 8 - Series 1 Finale with Team BRCM on Podium!

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/136403092

Before the race, there were some e-mail exchanges among the "critters" where I indicated it would be nice leading into the next series by finishing this one on top or on the podium.  Shannon obviously took this to heart, but more on this later....

The weather conditions were pretty horrible with strong winds (not as bad as Tuesday or Wednesday mind you) coming from the NW making the bottom of the course pretty rough.  On top of that, it was friggin' hot.  It's hard to transition from racing in cooler weather to when it's as hot it was given fluid requirements change drastically.  As much as I thought I was prepared for it, I was cramping 2-3 laps out from the finish of the race.

Thankfully, the laps weren't as long as they are usually where they had a slightly modified short course due to some event that seemed to have taken place there recently.   It was slightly longer than their tradition short course though, so it was interesting to race in some new terrain.

I had arrived there earlier than Shannon, so I was almost ready to go and warm-up just after he finished registering.  Beforehand, he introduced me to Carlos, the points leader, and as part of our discussion, he mentioned how he was going for it early in the race.  He hadn't been feeling good earlier in the week though, but he wanted to see if taking off early would get him favorable results.  Shannon and I took that to be on guard early on, but Shannon (and I by default) would do what we could to help.  It may also be our chance to take part in a solid break, so....

When the race finally started, it didn't seem to be as big of a crew out there and definitely lacking the Rockform participation we were accustomed to early on.  It's ironic given that the Carlos races for that team, so you'd think he'd have some support in the race.  Then again, there are only 2 or 3 of us who come and race here wearing BRCM, so welcome to the club.

On the first race, and just as he indicated, Carlos made a break before the first turn and Shannon and I watched at first to see how others would respond.  I was going to stay with Shannon as I normally do, but you can tell it was going to be a fast one early on.  When the #2 guy gave chase, we saw that he closed in on the group ahead where Carlos checked up and started falling back toward the pack.  We were still toward the front of the chase pack at the time, so at some point I remember pushing up to help provide Shannon some coverage.  The lead pack wasn't far ahead and at the time didn't seem like there was a lot of concern given Carlos was with us...or so I thought.

After getting pulled back in on the chase group, I remember seeing Shannon starting to make his way ahead to the lead group.  I thought about this when I saw it and didn't think the chase group wouldn't respond.  I figured if Shannon stayed in the lead group, pushing up would also mean possibly bridging the gap inadvertently and ruining their chances to keep the break.  So in the pack I sat....

As we continued to race on, it was obvious the chase group wasn't ever going to get organized so I took a few pulls, one of which was more than half way around the course mind you, just to make it worth my while.  Shannon's group had splintered some with people popping off reducing the breakaway group down from 12 to about 5, so the opportunity for a possible top 10 finish still existed.

After having taken some pulls and feeling the onset of cramping on my left calf, we neared the 2nd to the last lap where I was up pulling at the front part of the course.  One guy went passing by pretty close to me, actually startling me as he did, and took off with no one responding.  After we rounded the top of the course, I sprinted away from the chase group and caught the guy (Evan as we would later meet) and tried to encourage a breakaway together.  I relieved him after a caught my breath, but he never came around to relieve me where we finally were caught again by the chase group at the bottom of the course.  It was worth a shot, right?

On the last lap, you couldn't even see where Shannon and his group were anymore, so it was just a matter of seeing what will happen within the chase group for the final sprint.  My calf was increasingly threatening me at this point, but I figured I'd man up and just do what I could anyway.  Now, I hadn't seen Carlos at all for the few laps we rounded after he got reeled in, but he appeared on the last lap and I thought I'd see how he manages to find ways to push up to the front for the final sprint.  You don't get to be a point leader by luck, so....

As we got to the bottom part of the course that would eventually lead for the final sprint, I was just going to stay with him and see if I can shoot by at some point.  Despite being midpack in the chase group at the time, I thought there must be something special he would do to push ahead of everyone.  There just has to be.  After rounding the last turn, I started sprinting as he did but I was already starting to make my way past him early on.  As I passed, I think I literally saw him just give up and thought to myself...damn...that was a bad gamble on my part.  I guess I should have paid more weight to how he indicated he wasn't feeling good, as he pretty much gave up on all hopes of winning the series and ultimately lost the title.  I decided I'd just keep going for it passing about 10 or so people on my way, but that only left me with being in 17th place and a very angry left calf at the finish.  It was so angry, in fact, that I couldn't even pedal during the cool down given it had fully locked up.

When I heard the news that Shannon got 2nd place, that's pretty much all I needed to hear.  Regardless of my own personal outcome, this was a team success.  I may have cited the butterfly theory before, but I truly believe that even the smallest changes during the race can lead to the biggest changes in outcome.  With a #2 spot for Shannon, I wouldn't change a thing about how this race went at all.  Congratulations, buddy!  You deserved it for sure.

We celebrated Shannon's results with some fine brews he made (damn, the boy has got it down pat), along with a bomber of Saint Archer Pale Ale I brought.  Shannon ended up giving me a bomber of more beer he made that I brought home, drank, and pretty much passed out from.  Good stuff.  I do wonder once in a while how much faster I would be if I didn't drink, but then again I wonder how much less I would ride knowing I'm not going to drink afterward.  Irony defined.

Let's get ready to RUUUMMMMBBBLLLEE...Series 2 starts next week....

San Luis Rey Road Classic - The Report

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/134486423

It took me a while to register for this race.  First, I wasn't sure I wanted to do a road race with some moderate climbing given I don't really think it's something I could do well in...but it was interesting to know where I'd fall.  I also thought doing a race like this alone would definitely be more challenging since there's no one to ally up with who can bail you out in a bind.  Lastly, the weather forecast for it earlier during the week was showing 30% chance of rain, and I didn't want to race that bad and take chances not being able to continue the GP series should I crash.  In the end, I ended up doing it obviously but it was definitely one that had me questioning it all the way up to the drive down to the race.

The funny thing about the weather was that when I was at GP hanging with Todd and Pam on Thursday, TWC forecast for Bonsall where the race is held had reduced the chance of rain down to 10%.  I even checked again when I got home.  It was important for me to decide then as it was the last night to register online or it will go up $11 for same day registration.  With the reduced chance of rain, I registered that evening.  When I got up on Friday, I thought I'd check again to see and strangely enough, it had gone up to 50%!  Of course, it rained pretty heavy that evening, and even was still raining some here and there on the way down.  The 76 highway was even pretty soaked where I almost decided to turn around.  The only reason I kept going was just to check out the course should I decide to do it again next time.  Upon nearing Bonsall, however, the clouds broke and the skies cleared up and all of a sudden it seemed boned dry.  The only thing to contend with weather-wise was the heavy winds, but I figured after putting on my aluminum wheels the night before that I should be okay.  Plus, others had to work through the same weather as me, so that definitely wouldn't be something I'd use as an excuse to get out of racing.

I didn't realize this when I signed up but the race was setup where the roads were still open to vehicle traffic during the race.   I found this out as I was heading to the middle school where the race started from and ended up being behind a couple racers who had a vehicle behind them flashing their lights as warning.  There was another guy who had dropped behind that I felt bad about because he had to keep to the side as a few cars including mine lined up taking the road while he had to continue racing on the edge.  I kept looking back to make sure I would give him room should he need to pass.  I was hoping that something like that wouldn't happen to me!

The parking lot was pretty full, so they had us go all the way around and park on the basketball courts.  I was barely able to get a space, but managed to do so after a guy told me to just have some people move out of the way.   After asking nicely, they did. 

While I could go on about the registration process, my warm-up, my bio situation, etc., let's get down to talking about the race, shall we?

The number of racers were not up to the maximum limit by any means.  I think there may have been 30 riders or so at the most.  I met one guy named Spencer who introduced himself to me and indicated it was his first race ever.  Originally, I thought I may be able to ally with him but after seeing he had a mirror on his glasses since he thought it would be good for racing (he ended up taking it off as instructed by the race organizer), I decided he may be more of a liability than helpful.  I will say, however, that for a first race, he was definitely going for it taking pulls and breaking away here and there...most likely due to the inexperience and not knowing how everyone was just using him up.   I thought he popped off on the 2nd lap, but he actually was still there.  It was on the 2nd climb up, that he dropped off.  I hope he continues to race....

For me, my plan was not to take any chances.  I REALLY didn't want to get dropped in the race.  There were a lot of young people racing and some who are rail thin, so I hoped that they would be kind to the fatty (me) and not expect much.  The descent down the course was fast, and I think we lost 1-2 guys by the time we got to the bottom of W. Lilac Road.  I was able to stay toward the back on Camino Del Rey both directions, but I started pushing up for the 2.2 mile climb up W. Lilac. 

I would characterize the climb as being comparable to the last part of Silverado.  I didn't think I would need to drop down to the small ring, but I ended up doing so just so I can save some of my legs for the latter part of the race.  I ended up being in the front group on the climb as some started to pop off, but it was pretty taxing much like how it feels to crest toward the front of a Como ride after Cook's.  I wondered what 2 more of those climbs would feel like, so I continued to play it safe.

As we were descending a 2nd time, one guy decided to break away before we got on Camino Del Rey, and no one responded.  I didn't know what the one guy could do on his own, especially in the wind, so I was fine with staying with the rest.  The 2nd chase group actually ended up catching us at one point, so I let others push up ahead of me as they seemed eager to continue working.  I saw one guy who I thought was being fairly careful and climbed pretty well, so I thought it would be good to do what he's doing and save it for the last lap climb.

Upon reaching the turn around spot on the 2nd lap, however, 2 guys started to break away as well, so I saw that as an opportunity to see if I could work with them.  I took off and left the chase group to try and catch up to the two ahead of me and seemed to have made a clean break from the others.  However, the two could see me closing and opted to work together to keep me from catching them rather then letting me join to help chase down the other guy.  This pretty much put me in a bad situation given I lit a lot of matches riding against the wind trying to catch them.  Eventually, the peloton ended up catching up to me, but instead of taking a pull to reel the two in, they held me out instead and sat in my draft.  This was followed with an attack, which pretty much took everything I had just to latch back on.   Fortunately, I was successful...barely.

On the 2nd climb up, I still managed to stay with the head of the chase group, but we never managed to reel in the two in front of us.  We got close at times, but when they turned around at the top to descent, they increased the gap.  I was thinking of trying to help with the descent as there were times we would slow up where I knew those ahead of us were just increasing the gaps, but I didn't want to get taken advantage of and get dropped as the group had dwindled down to probably 10 or so. 

I remained in the back on Camino Del Rey and was saving it as much as I could see others doing the same thing.  The younger and/or more aggressive continued to push the pace up front, which worked to my fat ass' advantage.  When we got to the turn around point, however, I thought I better step up as racing for a non-podium spot seemed pretty lame.  I was hoping the others would want to work with me to reel the two guys ahead as we did seem to close a little bit after the turn around.  However, rather than working together, people were maneuvering around instead.  I realized from this that no one was interested in getting a podium spot anymore where the 3 all together ahead of us had clinched it. I was pushed up front a couple times, and I even bridged a gap from an attack, but I started to get a little nervous as we neared the last climb.  People seemed to be getting nervous also, as people were starting to slow down a lot beforehand.

On the last climb, I was toward the back and there were some attacks occurring in front of me.  I had to sprint by a couple riders just to close the gap that some had created ahead of us.  As they continued to attack one another, I found myself a little off where I figured pushing on seemed pointless.  I remembered the crit on Thursday when Todd and Shannon was saying sprinting for 10th place is pretty weak, so I found myself comfortable with where I was knowing some other guys dropped behind me.  One of the guys, Zack, a RB4U rider who rides with Vin and Jeremy and who I met on the last lap, had dropped during the attacks, and I didn't see anyone behind me for some time.  I could have put some effort to try and catch the guy just in front of me, but I figured I'll just hold a steady pace for the finish.  I must have looked behind me 2 or 3 times though, just to make sure, but ended up getting caught sleeping near the finish.  Zack, and one other guy had caught me, and Zack passed me just before the finish.  When he passed, I didn't think I would do more, but it was like a natural reaction to get back up and sprint.  I just couldn't do enough to pass him again when he passed.  The other guy with him almost passed me too, but we pretty much crossed together.  In the end, I'm not sure where I ended up but it may have been top 10 or just outside of it.  Oh well, that's what I get for sleeping. 

I didn't even stick around afterwards, and I pretty much just got changed and headed home.  I suppose I should have stuck around for the results, but I wanted to get back before traffic got bad given it was the end of spring break for some places.  It was a great experience but one that I know would be better with other team mates.  I think our climbers would have fun on this race, so maybe I'll convince them to come out next year...while I watch. 

 

GP Crit #7 and TT

TT:  http://www.strava.com/activities/133916867
Crit:  http://www.strava.com/activities/133916863

Due to time constraints, let me break down both races with highlights only.

TT:
- We got to represent the new Castelli kits and speedsuits
- One guy in the parking lot passing me after I warmed up told his friend that I was full of it, which Pam overheard.  I'm not sure where that came from since I didn't know the guy and it usually takes getting to know me real well before people reach that conclusion.  
- It was windy but not as bad as last week.  It was mostly felt during the bottom of the course since the wind seemed to be coming from the W or SW. 
- Todd and I were out there and Todd went ahead of me so that not too many people pass me. 
- The guy behind me was asking about my wheel cover and power tap, and I suggested he get one when he mentioned how windy it was.  I didn't realize he was a CAT 1/2/3.   He passed me on the 3rd lap.  Sigh. 
- I hit my PR with my first time hitting a 27 mph avg for the race along with an avg power PR.
- I didn't yet get the final results, so I'll update the blog once they post it.  Overall, I think we did well. 

Crit
- There were a LOT of people out for this race.  Along with Shannon, Todd and myself, we also saw John Lenell and some of Shannon's buddies from the TMWC morning rides. 
- I was really blown out from the TT, as was Todd, but we managed to stay among the rest of the group without dropping. 
- Shannon had decided to mess with the group and took off after the 4th lap or so.  He was chased down.
- Todd was up front pushing the pace as well early on encouraging others to bridge the gap from a breakaway that I guess John was in..  I was midpack at the time, and was a little out of it so I didn't even realize a break had occurred.  I didn't worry much though since the series leaders weren't part of it.  I thought we'd end up chasing them down toward the end.
- When the series leader attempted to break off at one point, I bridged the gap to not let him get away but I knew I didn't have a lot of those in me.
- After about 5-6 laps, there was an accident that  was at the Start/Finish from the masters group and they kept asking us to slow down.   At that point, it wasn't really a race anymore although it was a little cheap that one of the lead guys attacked right after. 
- The actually ended up neutralizing the race every time we passed the Start/Finish from that point on so it wasn't even a race anymore at that point.  We were actually thinking about quitting and just going for beers.
- There were firemen and police who arrived at the scene where the fire trucks actually ended up riding on the course for a bit...even turning on their sirens as though they were expecting the racers to pull over.  WTF?  The police, from Pam's account, had also decided to cross the track at some point without looking almost causing another major crash. 
- When they called out the last lap, they instructed everyone to not sprint to the finish.  Ummm...okay.  It was a good sized group arriving at the finish and despite these instructions, you still see 2 guys sprinting anyway.  Ridiculous.

Post ride
- We couldn't party right away due to some emergency people lingering around due to the accident...so we waited
- I got to try out a new fractional IPA that Todd brought, which was delicious but light.  I need to get some of those.
- Pam brought cheese, sausages, chips and dip, so we definitely indulged in some of those while hanging out.  Delicious.
- Closed the park down...again.

Fun races, good training, and better yet...great people to hang out with after.  Thanks, folks!

BRCM Lunch - Humbling Portola OAB

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/activities/132772487

Attendees:  Jaffe and Shannon on road bikes, me on TT

Route:  Portola OAB + Jamboree

Highlights:

• Weather was nice with a SW wind that felt okay on the way out but was more difficult on the way back.
• I was planning a solo tempo ride not thinking anyone would show up, but it turned out to be a high intensity intervals type ride that literally abused me.
• I led initially on the bike trail trying to keep the pace up for a good training day, but not so much so that I would be taking unfair advantage of the fact I'm on a TT.  
• It was after Shannon passed me, however, that I realized I didn't need to hold back at all.  In fact, quite the contrary.  I was pushing way above my FTP just trying to keep up!  I even would drop on occasion where I would regret it given it was pretty insane just trying to catch up.  
• I was fortunate that we didn't cross right away as we got on Harvard.  I led originally once the light turned green, but it was more of the same where Shannon and Jaffe kept getting away.  
• This abuse continued on the Peter's canyon bike trail and eventually, I tapped out and just didn't even try to hang on anymore.  By the time they got to Portola, I was still working my way up where I told them just to go.  So they did....
• On the way back, the wind was pretty harsh so that was probably my only saving grace.  It still took forever to catch up to Shannon and Jaffe (on Harvard).
• I would take pulls now when I could, and I figured with the headwind, the guys might find it difficult to stay on given my lower profile.  Not only did they stay on, but more of the same kept happening where they would pass and I would be playing catch up.  
• It pretty much went like this the whole ride, and I seriously wanted to go up California just to end the misery and pain.  I kept going though.
• Things settled down a little on Jamboree with Shannon and I making our way up together.  Jaffe finally dropped at this point but this was after he was taking some pulls too.
• I was hoping to give Shannon a lead out for a sprint to California on Bison, but he had taken off on McArthur and just kept going where I was barely able to make my way up to him after the 73.  
• Looking at my power numbers, it kept bouncing well above where I would normally be making for some seriously intense interval-type training.   I'm just glad I was on my TT bike today, or I would never have been able to keep up.  Nice work, gents!

Easter Como Ride - The Report

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/132307929

It's been a while since I've done Como, but I have a race next weekend with some hills where I figured what better way to prepare for it than this ride.   I wasn't sure what kind of turnout there would be given it was Easter morning, but surprisingly there was a good number of riders out there.  I saw Jaffe at the Starbucks in his BRCM kit while Vin on Irvine Blvd with the ARB4U crew.  I recognized a few others out there but no one I really knew too well.  Jaffe's estimation was that there were about 100 riders out, but I think it was more like 80ish.

I was a little tentative in the ride given I had trained on the TT the day before, so I didn't know how my legs were going to feel.  It also didn't help that my HR seemed/felt unusually high.  Even before getting on the bike, it was already close to 100.  During the warm-up, this continued where despite average speeds of under 20 mph, my HR would be hitting close to 130.  No bueno.  Thus, my MO for a good portion of the ride was just to try and hang on.  It didn't help that I didn't have a power meter either.

The pace eventually picked up on Irvine Blvd and although my legs weren't feeling too strong, I was still able to keep pace.  I did end up finding myself toward the back of the pack at some point, and I pretty much stayed there all the way to El Toro.  I was thinking I would move up closer to the front going up El Toro as I used to do, but I only moved up nominally and just enough to ride among the pack.

Vin and his team broke off to do the long route, but I had only enough time and energy for the short one.   It seemed there were a lot of people doing the short route only as well.  I think Jaffe mentioned he was doing the short route, but I lost sight of him on Irvine Blvd and never saw him again for the rest of the ride.

Going past Santa Margarita and continuing to climb, I never really moved up too much but did start to worry as the line or riders was pretty long.  I didn't want to get behind others who pop off or crash and be split off from the group.  Fortunately, that didn't happen.  There was some road kill on the bike lane, which could have ended bad, but fortunately everyone saw it on time and avoided it without any incident.

As we got closer to Cook's, I decided I better move up and got on the road to start getting closer to the front.  There was a lot of riders arriving at Cook's together, so I knew if I didn't get close enough early it would be bad.  As I made my way up, I started seeing some people popping off and the front group basically disintegrate.  I start jumping from group to group until I wasn't too far from the leaders.  Then, I saw the big guy who used to ride the Aragon bike and has mad power on the flats.  Instead of passing him, I figured we were close enough to the top that I would just stay behind him and the guy in the Bike Religion kit on his wheel.   He slowed a bit as we got close to the first crest, so I actually made my way around him mostly because I didn't want to break the pace.  Then, there were some others who were maneuvering around where I guess I ended up looking to see what people were doing around me.  I guess the big guy didn't like that too much since he made his way past me again and told me to keep my eyes forward.  Jiminy.  I didn't say anything and just kept going, but I wasn't about to argue with someone who I knew would be key to latching on to the front group.  After the 2nd crest, that's exactly what ended up happening.

There were a lot of guys in the merged front group where I thought I'd go ahead and exercise some humility and just stay in the back letting others rotate in front of me.  I wasn't feeling too great anyway, so I pretty much stayed there the whole time.  I may have to do this next week, so exercising humility is definitely a part of the training program.  There were some surges where even staying in the back of the pack was challenging.  As some people would rotate in, not just in front of me but in front of the 1-2 guys ahead of me, I would find myself having to sprint just to latch back on.  I was also trying to make sure that the others guys ahead of me didn't just drop off and block me from being able to stay with the front group.

When we finally got to Dump, there was some more disintegrating there but I managed to stay with the front group all the way to the crest.  I was losing some steam, but as someone would pass me, I would just jump on his wheel to stay connected.

I thought there was going to be a mad sprint to Jamboree, but there were still a lot of guys where I opted to be safe and not swing out and cause any crashes while trying to challenge for the sprint.

When we got on Jamboree, the big guy had started to break away and I was toward the back just watching and wondering why no one gave chase or try and close the gap.  I ended up swinging around and doing the chasing making my way up to and past him on the climb.  Others had seen that as an opportunity to go and latched on to me on the ascent.  I was relieved close to the top, and the following descent toward Portola was just a mad free for all.  I would try to push up, but others kept speeding up as I tried.  Cool.

After Portola, I expected there would be a section on Jamboree that people usually sprinted, so I lurked in the background waiting for someone to take off.  The big guy was still with us, so I knew he was going to give it a go as is usually the case when I'd see him.  When I saw him swing out from the #4 spot and start hammering it, I figured it was time to test out my sprint too.  He gapped everyone right away, and no one seemed to respond, so I gave chase on my own.  I was able to reel him in and pass him, and set a PR on that section doing so.  I did keep looking forward as I passed him though.  Hee hee.  After doing so, I figured that was good enough and checked up.  Two guys passed me at that point, but I had gotten to do what I was hoping to by testing out what I could do in a sprint.  The big guy does go to the GP crits and races in a higher class, so I was content in knowing I could challenge him in that regard.

22.4 mph average for the route doesn't seem to fast, but considering the first 3-4 miles were sub 20 average...it was probably one of my faster times out at Como.  Good deal.