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!