2015 Lunch Ride #8 - Vince Was Serving Some Serious Humble Pie

Strava:  https://www.strava.com/activities/247879483

Due to a meeting, I set up the ride to depart from the corner at exactly at 11:30 a.m. to ensure that I can get back in time.  I'm not sure if this reduced the interest of the group, but it ended up only being 3 of us:  Vince, Vin and me.  When I saw that it would just be the three of us, I didn't mind that we left at 11:34 a.m., but I figured I better keep up so I can get back on time...and so I'm not riding alone.  Plus, we were all wearing black, so it looked cooler.  HA HA

While I have no immediate plans to race this year, it was clearly obvious during the ride that this was the right decision for me.  Even from the beginning on Peltason and Anteater, I was struggling just to keep up.  Vince led the whole way to Culver/Bonita Canyon, as he would 99% of the ride, and it was painful for both Vin and I. 

We thought by the time we crossed the street to make our way toward Shady he would slow down, but that rise was even more painful to hold their wheel.  I was glad when started descending toward the bike trail as I would surely have popped had the climb at that pace continued.

Once we got on the bike trail, Vince was definitely a man on a mission.  After we made it up the first steep rise before the driveway, Vin decided he wouldn't try to hold his wheel anymore.  I pushed up to try and bridge the gap given I was shamelessly holding the back the entire time, but I just couldn't do it.  Vince crested ahead of us, and it was only due to a light after that we were able to ride with him again.

We started up Knollcrest together but didn't know for sure where Pine Needles would be as we looked for the right turn.  Once we found it, Vin pulled ahead for a little but Vince and I made our way past.  Vince mentioned at the bottom that if you don't make it to the top with him, you can turn around early as he's making his way down.  This seemed very appealing to me, but I still tried to not be too far behind.  Nevertheless, Vince had gapped the both of us pretty good where I just managed to hit the top of the Luminous climb as I saw him approaching with Vin not far behind.

As we headed down to Laguna Canyon, Vin once again broke off for a little bit with Vince graciously reeling him in with me in tow.  We opted to go on the bike trail at Alton due to traffic, but I'm not too sure how much that really bought us.  Note to self:  that's a scary way to go given the sharp left turn on the trail soon after entering.

I tried to take the lead at that point, but it wasn't long before Vince elevated the pace again when he took and held the front.  He pretty much towed us past the wooden bridge after Harvard.  Vin and I took a turn or two (finally) after but we both skipped the rotation after our pulls just to catch our breath. 

When we got to University, I knew Vince was going to go for a sprint.  I wasn't sure it was going to open up enough to have it be safe, but it was clear. Vin was leading out for the sprint with Vince in #2 while I sat behind him.  When Vince took off, I couldn't get myself to go too because 1) it was shameful and 2) I was tired.  Thus, he broke away and took the sprint.

Going up California, Vin started us up but just before midway up, I pulled up to see if I turn it up a little and try and defend Vince from sprinting from behind me.  When I took off, I thought I had a good snap after jumping off my saddle and didn't see anyone making their way past me right away.  However, as we got closer to Bison, I heard a bike coming up beside me and I knew I was done.  Vince FTW.  Nice work especially considering all the effort beforehand.

Although I pushed the pace more than in the last few lunch rides today, it wasn't what I considered "fun."  What was "fun" was just having people to ride with....especially BRCM peeps.  Thanks for coming out and getting me back on time, Vince (and Vin).  Of course, after getting showered and hurrying to get to my meeting, I saw a notification on my phone it was postponed a half hour later.  Sigh.

2015 Lunch Ride # 7 - Consistency is Key

Strava:  https://app.strava.com/activities/247067535

Attendees:  Vince, Vin, Gary and Seon

2015 Lunch Ride Streak:  Gary, Vin and me (7), Vince and Seon (3)

Highlights:

• Nearly perfect conditions out there weather-wise but with a little moisture on the road here and there...nothing bad.
• Not everyone wore white BRCM today, and one person even wore non-BRCM.  3/5 isn't bad.
• Vince led the pack down California to start things off and actually managed to restrain himself from an early first intersection breakaway.  
• S-Gary took the 2nd pull on the University bike trail showing his ever improving conditioning.
• When we got on Back Bay, Vin came around from the back (behind me) and pulled up to take the front and elevate the pace.  He and Vince ended up pulling away gapping Gary, Seon and me (in that order).  
• Gary and I worked together, but I guess Seon got a little excited when he took the front and eventually gapped the two of us.  We did manage to reel him in by San Joaquin though.  
• Climbing San Joaquin, I opted to climb standing mostly because my taint is still recovering from Saturday.  Gary made his way past me here in BAM fashion reaching Vince and Vin at the intersection ahead of us.  Seon and I weren't too far behind.
• Fortunately there were a lot of lights on San Joaquin.  This helped us stay together since Vince and Vin kept hitting lights.  
• Just before McArthur, Vin said he was going to ride with us and let Vince go but ended up taking off with him anyway. I guess Vin meant he was only going to ride the same course given Vince planned to do the extra credit Vista climb.  
• Seon had gotten ahead of Gary and I but pulled over after Gary and I got caught at a light.  Seon's back tire flatted, but instead of having us wait for him (which we stopped to do), he told us to keep going and he'll just see is later...so we took off.
• On the climb up San Joaquin, I was relieving my taint some more with the standing climb and had gotten a little gap on Gary.  Someone passed me at one point in a kit and mentioned how my chainrings must be strong (given I was climbing that way) as he passed.   I'm not really sure what he meant by it, but I used it as motivation to catch up to him, ride his wheel and pass at the top.    He gave me kudos.  
• Gary and I regrouped and headed down NPC and up Pelican.  Gary was back behind me after the first hill and wasn't too far behind going up the second hill.  
• When we got on NPC, we looked up Ridge Park and didn't see anyone and just kept going. 
• On San Joaquin, I was holding a good pace but I thought Gary was slightly off my wheel.  The next thing you know, he passed me with authority just before the descent and took the F off.  HA HA...nice.  Fortunately, I caught him at a light. 
• When we got on McArthur, I thought I'd dial it up a notch and not really paying much attention behind me.   I was pleasantly surprised that as I approached Bonita, I see Gary's giraffe sized shadow looming just beside me.  
• After almost getting swiped by a lady in a BMW coming from Bonita Canyon and then having a couple cars block out the bike lane near Bison, I was more than just a little bothered.  I told Gary about it as he rolled up beside me, but then ended up taking off for a sprint up to California.  Nice work!
• When we got to the gym, we saw Seon had made it back safely given his bike was leaning up against the mirror.  

Another great lunch ride.  In all seriousness, my taint really does hurt.  I may rest it on Thursday.  I may not.  Pray for my taint.

Thanks for coming out, gents!

2015 Weekend Team Ride #2 - Bonkarific!

Strava:  https://app.strava.com/activities/246194400

In an effort to keep the momentum going for some good team riding, I offered to host a ride from my house that took us to the base and back (roughly 60 miles).  Answering the call were Todd, Vin, Noah, Galen, Hiroshi and Verm with Vince deciding to join us last minute after his mountain bike race was cancelled.  Verm hadn't been feeling great the week before, but despite this managed to show up just before we departed like the trooper that he is.

When I woke up to check the weather, I was really surprised to see that the current winds at the time (6:30 a.m.) showed 19 mph NNE.  Looking outside my windows, however, the trees and bushes looked pretty still.  Apparently, the winds were hitting other parts of Orange county at that moment, but we would be facing some pretty good winds, especially on the way back.  At times it was absolutely ridonkulous.  I probably would have felt it more had I been helping to pull more.  HA HA.  Aside from the winds, the temperature and conditions were absolutely perfect.

As with all the other rides this year, the premise was to get some good seat time riding together as a team with some great guys.  And on top of it, everyone came and represented BRCM black!  Of course, Noah came out donning his red BRCM only to pull out the black after just to try and get a reaction from me...typical.  In addition to the new site picture, I took another one early on from the back showing how menacing the team looked in black.  It seemed others may have found it daunting  since we hardly had anyone jump on and/or try to mix it up.

Bad asses!

When we headed out, we pretty much rode two abreast and not with any real rotation.  Todd and Verm had the front probably most of the way to San Clemente if not entirely.  It was a great pace for sure since we passed people here and there along the way.   You definitely couldn't tell Verm had been fighting the flue early on.  Todd also had 10 miles on his legs beforehand given he (and Vin) rode from home.  There were times when we would get a little separation, but they were short-lived early on.

It was during the first climb up San Clemente that the gloves came off and people started climbing up the hill in typical BAM fashion.  I definitely didn't want any knowing that carrying the extra weight against the likes of Hiroshi, who barely filled his size XS jersey, would be asking for trouble.  I think Vince and Verm ended up breaking away at this point while the rest of us stayed fairly close together while hitting the red lights in down town.  Vince and Verm ended up regrouping with the rest of us on Presidente though as we made our way toward Trestles.

There were more breakaways on Old Coast Highway, but for the most part, no one in the group really cared.  We were out to ride as a team, so except for maybe 1-2, we stayed together all the way down to Las Pulgas with Todd and Verm still doing most of the work up front and without any hint of caring.  Vince had regrouped again during our descent toward the gate before Las Pulgas, so we all made our way up to the guard station together.  Galen had been doing some bunny hops just before Las Pulgas and ended up tweaking his rear derailleur somehow, so we all had to stop and let him work on his bike just after the gate.

Noah, in his infinite wisdom, let Sarah use his ID for something that morning and forgot its need to get him on the base.  Since he wanted to get some power training in anyway, he was content to turn around and do some intervals at the state beach while he waited for us to return.

We saw Mani from Two Hubs and some other guys he was riding with while we were waiting for Galen, so we thought they may be joining us or vice versa.  However, when we took off eventually, and with Galen's shifting not fully operational, we ended up taking off without them.

For some reason, the pace through the pace had picked up more and we were definitely passing people with authority.  Some guys we passed met up with us at McDonald's and commented how we blazed by them, so it had someone transformed to more of a typical BAM pace.  Vince had gotten away for a bit again, and Hiroshi was continuing to show his strength from all the miles he's been putting in as well.  At one point, I thought there was more of a collective effort to reel Vince back in again, so I actually participated in this cause...probably not the best idea given the outcome of the ride on the way back (more on this later).  We were able to get back on his wheel, but more of the same antics continued up through when we got to the base.  I tried a little sprint on the hill just before McDonald's, myself, only to have others make fun of how pathetic of an effort it really was.  I agreed.

We had a rather lengthy break at McDonald's with people refueling with food and drinks.  Vin had some dried sweet potatoes among other sweet goods he had brought, but not a single taro bun in sight.  I'm not really a fan of long breaks, but it was definitely more enjoyable given the company I was with.

Still in good spirits after 30

Had the most fuel with him than anyone else

Vin caught looking lovingly at Vince

When we finally got going, we definitely had a lot more wind to contend with.  Hiroshi led the charge up the Stuart Mesa hill, and it was a definitely at a taxing pace.  I managed to keep up just at the very top, but I think that was probably the beginning of the end for me.  Shortly after, I found myself in the paceline just ahead of Todd when Vince decided to turn it up a notch.  When I realized I couldn't hang on, I "pulled a Jaffe" according to Todd and waved him on after allowing a sizable gap to form.  This happened again after Galen finally decided to take the front, despite his bike's state, but Hiroshi had allowed for the gap whereas my efforts to close it again only blew me up more.   It was nice that the others would wait for some rolling regroups here and there, but I think they tired after we got back on Las Pulgas and just made their way to the next water stop at the beach.  Verm and I had been off the back at that point, so we were just helping each other out trying to work together until the watering hole.

The two of us regrouped with the others at the water fountain but Verm opted to get ahead.  I should have joined him, but I thought I'd do okay trying to stay with the others after getting a gel from Galen (I didn't bring any food or electrolytes...doh!).  I just managed to stay with the group as we made our way back to Trestles, but lost them after I totally ran out of fuel at that point.  From there, it was just Verm and I and both of us were struggling just to pedal.  There were times he'd help me and then vice versa, but for the most part, we both just wanted to get back.

When we saw everyone making their way back toward the bike trail through Capo Beach, Verm and I opted to go straight instead to shave off some distance to my house.  We were hurting THAT bad.  I actually thought the others may follow, but thankfully they didn't as they would have seen a really pathetic pace at that point.  The winds definitely didn't make it easy.

When Verm and I finally made it back, even having taken a shortcut through the bike trails near my house, I think the saying "near-death" would describe our state appropriately.  I can't remember the last time I was that depleted both from a hydration and nutrition standpoint.  Noah had already made his way back ahead of us, and of course enjoyed seeing us in our depleted state.  It didn't take long for the others to get back after us, but they definitely didn't seem as damaged as Verm and I.  I was just telling Lisa the other week how I miss the days when we would push our bodies beyond its limits...what was I thinking.  I could have died....  HA HA

Although Hiroshi couldn't stay and Verm could only have a Peroni with me, the rest stayed for the post-ride food and festivities.  Pam, Lan, Tiff with Gage, Nicole and Lisa were here with us, and we enjoyed various types of beers, Mexican food, music (Todd approved) and each other's company.  Noah, in training, actually was the model of good behavior (as opposed to the norm) and only had one beer.  Wha?  I should have busted out some Smirnoff's.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Galen was in absolute rare form.  While I told him I'd write everything he said and did, let's just say that the Left Coast Asylum Belgian I served him did its job and leave it at that.  Glad he had a ride home.

Another fun team outing in the books.  I'll need to prepare better for the next one for sure.  NO excuses on my part though.  I have only myself to blame, but I'll be smarter for the next one.

Thank you, guys and gals!  Until the next ride....  

Lunch Ride #6 - Portola OAB Plus a Little OH Sumpin' Sumpin

Strava:  https://www.strava.com/activities/244681160

With Todd indicating on Wednesday he wasn't going to be able to make it out, I took the opportunity to choose his least favorite group ride route...Portola.  Vince proposed the addition of Orchard Hills, which I've never done before in a lunch ride, so I was game.  I was hoping it would lure the mighty Shannon out given this is one of his training grounds, but no luck probably because of Dina's birthday the night before. 

Joining us and again to be praised for consistency this year was Gary and Vince, and Sean made it out for his 3rd consecutive ride.  We should make a contest of this seeing who gets out on the Tuesday/Thursday lunch rides the most for 2015.  Don't be surprised if I don't count and bring this up by this year's end. 

When we started on California, Vince lead the pack early with Gary just behind while the rest of us had a nice warm-up pace heading down toward the bike trail.  Vince just made the light before University, but Gary opted to not roll through it for the possibility that others behind him may roll through the red.  As we sat at this red, we saw the light change for Vince on University, and he took off where we wondered to ourselves, "Does he really need a headstart?"  HA HA

When the 4 of us got on the bike trail, Gary started us off and got a good pace going early on.  I was thinking Vin was going to take off, but he stayed in the rotation and even took some pulls.  When I was up front at one point, I was glad to see that Seon was even willing to push up and provide some wind coverage for the others. 

When we got to the Harvard intersection, Gary pointed out a new rule:  For those under 5'10" you cannot take the front and be on the drops.  Thus, from that point on, I did my best to stay on the hood anytime I was up front to return the favor.  I'd slip on occasion but would remember and make the correction to adhere to the new rule for the big guy.  In fairness, I did try to stipulate that guys 5'10" and over cannot date Asian women but it appears no one gets my sense of humor. 

As we were heading up toward Portola, we were all still rotating and everyone was doing great in keeping a solid pace.  It was definitely faster than I was expecting we were going to go and probably even faster than I was wanting to.  At one point, I thought I was holding the same effort level up front but looked back and saw that only Vin was behind me at that point.  Since we neared Portola and with Vin having taken the front, I then opted at that time to just sit on Vin's wheel.  Vin held a great pace going to the top, and even stood up to give it a little extra push at the end (not sure if he was trying to drop me or what...HA), but it was a good effort nonetheless. 

To our surprise, Vince was the next to roll up behind us as I guess he took some detour to be able to regroup from the back.  Seon and Gary rolled up shortly after, and off we went to Orchard Hills, or shall I say the big OH.

Given that this was my first time up OH in a while, I decided I would work to stay with Vince and give him a little riding company on the loop.  Of course, he was probably a little more leary about me sitting in his draft from the last ride going up California, so it seemed he soft pedaled for a bit encouraging me to take the front as well...so I did.  It's just a lunch ride anyway, right?  HA HA.  We seemed to gave the others with Vin not too far behind from some breakaway antics (Vince, not me) as we worked toward the top.  Out of nowhere though, Vin tried to sprint by the both of us but what he probably didn't realize is that his bike makes too much noise where we both heard him coming.  Admittedly, it still took some effort to latch on, but we did.

Vince had mentioned at the bottom how there was a downhill sprint that people would do to the light just before Portola, so when we crested and started heading down I thought I'd give it a go.  Vince took the opportunity to train for sprints and came around and passed me just before the light.  Nice work!  Admittedly, it riled a little bit of the BAM in me.

After regrouping on Portola and making our way back to the bike trail, I decided I was going to pick it up a little and lead down the bike trail at a pretty decent clip.   I was still on the hood, however, minding Gary's new rule.  Vince eventually took the front and also held a good clip so I opted to just stay behind him and let him get some good training in in the wind.   Yeah, that's it.  That's the ticket. 

Vince's pace was definitely more intense, but I stayed on and to my surprise, Seon was right there with us the whole time as well.  We stayed together through Harvard and finally back onto the bike trail.  It was when Vince got off the wooden bridge ahead of us that he took off and Seon fell victim to the accordion effect at that point that left Vince and I alone.  I was going to stay with Vince to "help" him further by seeing if he wanted to sprint to California.  Of course, I also held him out for really long pulls just to try and make it a little fair.  HA HA.  Vince did try to break me off just before the last underpass with a little sprint, but holding him out as I did enough to allow me to latch back on. 

When we finally made it to the final stretch, you can tell he was trying to setup the sprint by slowing and hoping I would pass.  However, looking ahead and seeing that there was traffic, we opted to just ride abreast for the remainder and also called California a cool down zone.  Yes!

It was another good lunch ride with great efforts from everyone.  The group continues to get stronger, so I'm thinking I just need to run more and drop all this alpha male BS.  Just kidding.  Thanks to everyone for making it out!

2015 Lunch Ride #5 - NPC Double Back Bay with Bonus Quote of the Day

Strava:  https://app.strava.com/activities/243829865

It's great to be able to go out consistently with the group during lunch.  Today was the first time this year Vince actually joined us for a ride during lunch, so it was good to be able to ride with him...even for as little as I did.  Gary and Vin (as well as myself) have made it out to all of them this year...woo hoo.  Todd, I think, missed one but made it out today and Seon came out for his second ride.  We all rode in BRCM gear, which is always cool, but Todd and Vin missed the Tuesday equals white kit memo.  We still looked like a team, so all is good.

With Vince planning to race this year, we figured he would be off and about early.  In all fairness, he did wait in some spots, but also did his thing on some others.  He was definitely among those up front for the entire length and also did the horseshoe extra credit along with even more unplanned extra credit at the end.

While Todd could have worked with Vince to break away even more, he was still the gentleman offering tows early on and trying to keep the group together.  When we got going up NPC, however, he couldn't resist the opportunity to go up to the others up front.  He did call out a regroup point (exit of the horseshoe) before taking off, so he was somehow able to corral Vince to also wait with him.  He too, did the unplanned extra credit with Vince, so they had some additional mileage above the others.

Vin had taken off on NPC with a head start, but slowed a little to wait for Vince and Todd as they ascended up NPC.  I didn't see much of their ascent, so I can only assume he made it up with Vince and Todd to do the horseshoe extra credit as well.  Vin was together up front during the rest of the way up until Back Bay where we saw him riding alone with Todd and Vince not in sight.  I presume he either caught them or somehow regrouped to do a portion or all of the unplanned extra credit as well.

Gary's progress continues to increase every outing.  Some of my observations include how I passed him off the seat at a steady pace as we climbed up NPC only to have him pass me back in BAM fashion also off the seat and at a much better pace holding it to the top.  He also got some of the guys riled with his wild charge down San Joaquin and did some rotations up the front during both of the Back Bay passes as Seon and I rode with him.

Seon is also making some progress.  Although he couldn't match the pace going up NPC, he wasn't too far behind.  He also stayed fairly close throughout and even had a good climb going up Jamboree after the first Back Bay pass.  He was a little reserved about charging down San Joaquin, but he's getting a lot of head shake when he brakes.  Better safe than sorry.

I had fun riding my ride, which I'm thankful to the guys for allowing me to do so.  I didn't keep up on Peltason and Anteater, but I wasn't too far behind.  On NPC, I can actually say I had a fun climb getting to work off-the-seat through most of it.  I also had fun going through Back Bay at a less than manic pace as those who race or are just plain aggro.  It was great to exchange pulls (with Gary) at a more manageable pace and not feel like death throughout.  I had gotten ahead of the Gary and Seon on the last pass, but as I stopped to wait before Jamboree, I turned around and Vince went whizzing by with no one around.  He didn't even say hi.  For that, I thought I'd give chase and offer to help him race training.  I managed to reel him on the stretch before California, and passed just before probably pissing him the hell off.  I don't know why he should be pissed though since this IS what other racers will do to him if he's not paying attention.  Vince also took off up California, so I opted to jump in his draft and proceed to do the same just before the top.  When he arrived, I commented how FAT is 75% of FAST (something I took from Super Dave's Strava post) and Vince was a little too annoyed to respond.

Todd and Vin were just behind me before the sprint, so I was expecting one of them to take off.  I think they were all equally pissed that I didn't do any work (with them) during the ride.  Todd even made a comment in the shower as I was reflecting on the finish "what about the hypocrisy of sprinting?!?"  He gets a little cray cray when people do that, but let me respond:  1) with Vince racing and needing the exposure, morals and principles are out the window.  Crying "hypocrisy" as a result of losing a race won't change the score cards and 2) I know I didn't do as much work and am nowhere as fast, but considering I'm not racing, who cares?"  A simple "thank you" will suffice instead.  HA HA.  I'm sure I'll get heat for these statements in the next ride, but then again, I'm always off the back anyway.  Plus, these guys love me too much to be mad at me too long.
Thanks for coming out, gents!  Love you too!

Lunch Ride #4 - Growth is Good

Strava:  https://app.strava.com/activities/241519602

Attendees:  Shannon, Todd, Gary, Vin and Seon (just missed Vince)

It was really nice to see the numbers that came out to ride today.  Shannon and Vince hadn't been out with us yet on a 2015 lunch ride, so it was great seeing them join us.  It was funny how there was a collective "whoa" when Shannon came into the locker room...probably an involuntary reaction resulting from hearts skipping a beat due to sheer nervousness.  Vince came in late and had told us to go ahead and he'll catch up, and given how much riding he's been doing, we were confident he would.  He must have taken a modified route, however, that just prevented him from riding with us.  Bummer.  Seon came out again, and it was actually nice that he joined us for the full course this time vs. only about 1/10 of it like Tuesday.  Todd, the only one with the white jersey despite my announcement early this week, seemed in good spirits probably because he got his hill training in yesterday.  Gary and Vin, along with me, were out there and the only ones so far who's been consistently participating in the 2015 lunch rides.  That's right.  We bad.

The ride started out moderately fast where Seon and I were off the back doing our thing.  While we regrouped shortly at the base of California, the pace was just one that I wasn't interested in doing.  As I don't expect anyone to conform to my pace, I also don't have a problem with others doing their own as well.  Seon and I were off doing our thing and he even took the front on a couple occasions despite not having ridden much recently.  We pretty much stayed together through all of Back Bay while the rest of the group were well ahead of us.  I bet they didn't notice how beautiful it was out there as much as we did.  :)

Seon and I ended up running into Todd and Gary at the top of Jamboree, while the Shannon and Vin waited for us just after turning left on PCH.  Todd led the way after the light turned green, and we passed a standing Shannon and Vince knowing they would make their way back up to us.  Seon had even joined in their line, but I wasn't too far behind and still enjoying the bike.

As we made our way onto Avocado, we were all pretty much together again but the kicker hill going up toward Ocean strung us out pretty good.  I was in the back just riding Gary's awesome draft (now I know how it feels to get a giraffe's draft) as we rode through Ocean with Seon just ahead of us.  By the time we got to PCH, Todd, Shannon and Vin were gone so the 3 of us managed a steady pace heading toward NPC.  Seon indicated that Todd told him before taking off that we would regroup after Vista.  This left us confuse, but I'll come back to this.

Going up NPC was long and arduous, but it was good to go up together with Gary and Seon.  Seon started of ahead but Gary soon made his way to the front and held a pretty steady pace going up.  I was somewhere in between, but we were all close together as we got to the top.  Gary was impressed at my feat of pedaling off the seat the whole time, but the reality was it's more comfortable pedaling off the seat standing up for me; my stomach doesn't interfere with my stroke as much as when I sit.

At the top, we tried to decipher what Todd told Seon and concluded that we should meet at the bottom of Ridge Park since they were going to do Vista...something we weren't interested in.  Upon our arrival there, despite hitting a couple lights, we didn't see anyone heading down so the natural presumption was "they left us."  Despite this, we waited a little longer and finally decided to go on.  Gary, however, felt that we should go ahead and wait on San Joaquin just in case.  After sitting a few minutes and just when we were getting ready to take off, I opted to go back to the intersection again and I caught a glimpse of Todd, Vin and Shannon.  It turns out they were waiting for us at the bottom of Ridge Park too.  Todd wasn't too happy about waiting for nothing, but finally calmed down after I went over the above with him.  Story of my life....

The pace started heating up going up and over San Joaquin and Shannon, Todd, Vin and Gary were jamming down it.  Seon and I were a little less manic, but I did press ahead a little just to make sure we don't get separated at a light.

When we got to McArthur, the pace definitely picked up more and Todd led the charge initially.  Shannon took the next pull, and Vin held him out to take a final charge to Bonita Canyon. Of course, something in me also clicks when I see Vin trying to finish the charge on a segment (probably because of the countless KOMs he's stolen in the past doing so...ha ha), so I took off with him and passed him.  Okay, so I know that may have been a little "douchy" of me, but you know what?  It was fun.

When we took off from the light heading toward Bison, Todd took off so I took the opportunity to stay with him although not too closely. Like the feeder fish that swims with sharks, Vin was just behind me seemingly looking for pay back.  We hit a stroke of good luck where we didn't have to slow too much, and Todd continued to lead us out over the 73.  I cinched up closer to him to get optimal drafting when I hear Vin winding up and making his move past us for a final sprint.  He had a pretty good jump, but as before, same click, same result.  BOOM!  HA HA.

Okay, so the last 5% of the ride wasn't mellow, but overall it was a great team ride.  We all finished pretty much together, and everyone did their thing and did great.  Gary's improvements continue, and Seon seems like he's right there as well.  Shannon is still maniacal, Todd is also maniacal but a gentleman as well (think Jekyll/Hyde) and Vin is still Vin where that's pretty much all I have to say about that.

Thanks for coming out, gents!  Hope Vince had a great ride.  See you Tuesday!

Lunch Ride #3 - BT Laguna Cyn Luminous Ridgeline Shady Bonita Cyn

Strava:  https://app.strava.com/activities/240702006

Attendees:  Gary, Vin, Seon and me

This is the 3rd "official" lunch ride of the year, and I'm already starting to get flashbacks of the past.  Gary leading out the start of the ride, Vin sucking wheel early on and Seon Lee coming out to ride with us had me thinking about how it used to be.  Given I'm a sentimental fool, I'm diggin' it.

We saw David Karr in the locker room where I tried to convince him to join us having ridden with us in the past.  He chuckled when I was welcoming Seon back to the lunch ride and describing how the pace was not as fast (at least for those of us interested more in seat time).  I guess I failed to do so given he still wouldn't ride with us, but hopefully this will change down the road.

Although Seon joined us, he only stayed with us for a little bit on the bike trail.  He was behind Gary and Vin with me off the back when I saw him pull over.  When I slowed to see what was wrong, he indicated his phone dropped off his bike and he needed to look for it.  I would have waited, but he told me to keep going.  I figured in case he decided he wasn't going to ride without his phone, I took off as he suggested.  Seon ended up seeing David Liu after finding his phone near the base of California, and they did their own thing around Back Bay.  What's cool here is that David is also looking to be making a come back.  Hopefully, it won't be long before the corner of Bison and Health Sciences is full of BRCM cyclists again.  Remember that?

As for Gary, Vin and I, we proceeded through the bike trail pretty much together the whole time.  There were a couple charges here and there (none from me by the way), but all-in-all, we remained as a group throughout.

Going up toward Luminous, Vin broke away early and ended up waiting for us near the top.  Gary and I were together to the top, and eventually joined Vin after turning around.  It was Gary's first time going up, and he liked it.

When we got onto the bike trail leading to the 405 (Vin missed the entrance so came up from the back), it was pretty solid head wind.  Vin eventually made his way past the both of us, but Gary was holding a pretty solid pace while I was off the back managing mine.

We regrouped at the light on Strawberry Farms, but we all ended up just a little strung out going up Ridgeline where no one was really riding anyone's draft.  It's uphill anyway, so....  We were still fairly close together though, so it was all good.

When we made our way onto Shady, Gary and Vin had pulled away from me on the climb with Gary leading the way.  Vin, I believe, took a turn but Gary then started to lead their charge down toward the bike trail opening.  I wanted to give the old bike trail charge a run, so I started to make my way past both of them when I noticed Vin latch on after I passed (think Stand By Me when the leech attached to the kid's nuts).  Anyway, I decided to drop the hammer and see what the kid could do expecting him to pass me before the trail.  That didn't happen.  I guess I still got a little kick...either that or fat people can sprint.  HA

We got a little strung out on Bonita Canyon, but we were fully regrouped before the 73 underpass.  Gary started to charge past Vince right before we got to McArthur, but Vin wasn't having any of it and took off leaving the two of us behind.  I did try and pick it up for the finish to hopefully get lucky with the lights and catch Vin, but I didn't.  Oh well.

It was another good day on the saddle, so I'm already looking forward to the next one...with more folks I hope.

Thanks for coming out, gents!

Riding the Todd Jacobs Canyon Express...In the Rain!!!

Strava:  https://app.strava.com/activities/239342100

I checked to see who was riding this weekend to see if anyone was interested in riding with me.  I wanted to keep riding in the same mode as I've been for 2015 with a focus on seat time vs. intensity.  When Todd indicated he was riding on Saturday and invited me to join, however, I wasn't sure he'd be able to ride in that mode.  He's THE Todd Jacobs after all.   With the only other option being to ride on my own, I accepted Todd's offer based on the following:  he agreed to let me sit in his draft the WHOLE time, and he offered beer after...Belgian at that.  How could I resist.

Todd and I definitely wanted to get out and avoid the rain, and from all the cyclists we saw on the road it looks like we were not alone.  Collectively, I'm sure I can speak for Todd, myself and all of the other cyclists out there and say "WTF, weather people?!?"  I was a little nervous when I was driving to Todd's seeing little droplets of rain hitting my windshield, but it wasn't a lot and didn't persist at the time.  It still seemed dry as we got ready to go from his house, so off we went hoping for the best.  So much for that....

Todd was true to his word as always and led us out staying up front the whole ride.  He even chose a flatter start, which I REALLY appreciated considering that starting from his place is usually hilly off the bat.  I rode abreast on some of the flatter sections for some conversation, but he definitely provided wind cover everywhere else.  I did offer to help on the flats, but he checked me on it and thankfully so as had I helped, I would not have been able to keep up on some of the climbs.

Now riding in the draft for the whole ride seems easy enough, but doing so behind Todd is another story.  When we did do some climbing up Marguerite after our early start, I was huffing and puffing already and seeing my HR bouncing off my max.  Since he was kind enough to let me draft, however, I was going to push and do what I could to keep up.  He seemed to back off just enough for me to do so, which  I appreciated, so we managed to stay together throughout.

At one point, we saw some guys cross in front of us at an intersection heading up El Toro toward Santiago.  Todd and I considered joining them, but we were glad we didn't since it was much more enjoyable not having to worry about how dicey some groups can be.  As stated earlier, we saw a lot of different groups out and about, but most of them were going the opposite way.  We were never given any further opportunities, nor did we seek them, to ride with others.

When we got to Alton heading down to Irvine Blvd, the precipitation started to pick up a little but it still wasn't too wet.  It wasn't until making our way closer to Jamboree and back into the canyon that the rain picked up more.  It really started to pick up as we rode through the canyon and although we entertained the idea of riding up Live Oak, the roads were pretty wet at that point where we thought it would be safer to avoid all together.

Instead of Live Oak, we opted to finish to include Glenn Oak and making the right turn from El Toro had Todd's back wheel kick out a little as an indication of how slick the roads were.  He recovered fairly easily, but we were definitely more cautious after.  At that point, it was full on raining and somewhat reminiscent of our first SD Gran Fondo ride.  Fortunately, we weren't too far from Todd's place.  If we had to ride another hour in these conditions, we probably would have been really cold given neither of us were wearing any wet weather gear.

Todd opted to take a mellow way back to his house to allow for a cool down vs. charging up one final hill.  Yippee!  When we slowly made a right turn to head toward a bike trail to his house, however, Todd's back wheel kicked out again and this time much more abruptly where both he and I thought he was going down.  It even caused one of his feet to pop off the pedal it was that violent.  Thankfully, Todd managed to remain upright again.  We definitely chilled going down the bike path to his place after.

It wasn't raining by the time we got to his house, so after getting changed we opted to hang out and enjoy some brews post ride.  It's what we do.  Todd had a Gulden Draak for me, and unbeknownst to him was one of my favorites.  It was delicious!  It was great to hang with Todd and Pam after a ride like that.  My back was tired, my legs were dead, but I was in great spirits given the company.

Thanks for the ride, beer and company, Todd and Pam!  Despite the weather conditions, I can't wait until we do it again.  

Lunch Ride #2 - Steady as She GoesT

Strava:  https://app.strava.com/activities/238592380

Although I was hoping more people would start coming out, I'm glad we still had the same people come out from Tuesday's ride.  I guess Gary, Todd, Vin and myself are the only ones who made cycling related New Year's resolutions...either that or sticking with them!

I chose a hillier route today that included climbs up Turtle Rock, StarCrest, Shady, Summit and the Condo.  Due to time constraints, however, Todd was the only one who did Summit.  I'm just surprised he didn't catch the rest of us despite going further.  I'm sure if he hadn't slowed to wait for us like the gentleman he is that he'd have either caught us or finished ahead.  Stud.

Gary having come out for his 3rd 2015 ride is already showing some improvements.   I know he mentioned to me he's only interested in seat time and enjoying the sport again like me, but he seems to continually be pushing himself where I'm certain the progress will continue as long as he keeps coming out.  It's the BAM way.

Vin actually surprised me today.  It wasn't really surprising to see him take off ahead of everyone here and there on occasion, but what I didn't expect was for him to slow or stop and wait for me like he did.  I pictured him telling his non-cycling friends how he's just killing it on our lunch rides, but I guess there's more to him than the flashy colored underpants he wears.  There may be hope for him after all.

As for myself, I'm still enjoying the riding and trying to keep the pace "pleasant."  I like the standing drills I'm doing, the managed output pedaling on the flats, and just the fact that I'm on a bike (albeit one I hadn't ridden for a while as well given I was on the Cervelo today).  I'm sure I could pick up the pace somewhat here and there, but I can't seriously contend with the likes of others if it came down to being competitive...so I don't...yet.  Let me just do my thing out there for now, actually get fully reacquainted with having something hard and white between my legs (my seat, you perv), and work on consistency more than anything else.  I'm really just happy to be riding again with the BRCM peeps, so let's keep this going and have more people come out.  Then maybe, just maybe, my perspective may change...or maybe not.

Thanks for coming out today, gents!

First 2015 Lunch Ride - Holidays Are Rough

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/237758023

I'm not sure what the plan is for 2015 for the others, but I currently cannot foresee racing (at least on a bike) in my immediate future...unless it's to head over to a McDonald's for a couple McRibs (just kidding as I actually just started my diet yesterday).  Given this, I'm having great difficulty wanting to push too hard and would rather enjoy myself on the saddle again just pedaling (i.e. get back to basics).   Let's just say I'm good with hitting the reset button for now....

I rode with Shannon and Gary on Sunday and it was a good thing.  One, I haven't ridden with these two together for ages, so it was a bit nostalgic for me.  Lastly, I enjoy hanging out with them after, which was what we ended up doing.  It was therefore great to see Gary out again today at lunch, so it seems he's on the resolution path as I am.

Todd and Vin came out too, and they were definitely on a faster track than Gary and I were.  I didn't really mind, but it was nice to see Todd slowing a bunch for us just to get some good "group" riding in albeit with him just offering us cover from the wind.  What a guy!  I'm sure he'll probably go out tomorrow and the rest of the week to get more hard core training.  Vin was also ahead of us, but it seemed more by Todd's choice than anything else given how long Vin would sit on his wheel.  HA HA

There were moments in the ride Gary and I would "charge" but sustaining it was a different story.  I think if anything, Todd and Vin would just get annoyed.  It was still fun, but both Todd and Vin left us both on Back Bay probably as a result.  That's what we get.  

It's good to get back out with the guys, and I'm hoping with most of us just ramping that we can get more people to join us too.  I'm sure the rides will pick up in pace as we continue to go out, so now's a good time to start again.  Or...we can just ride at our own pace and be happy with that.  I think I'm good with the latter....

Thank for coming out, gents!