Strava: https://app.strava.com/activities/278120397
Attendees: Shannon, Todd, Hiroshi, Vin, Mitchell, Jaffe, Seon and me
I really hate having to adjust the start time on the ride due to MY schedule. To my surprise, I was happy to see a full crew come out to join me. Vin even came out looking rushed with his jersey still unzipped, but maybe he was trying to show that we have women on our cycling team as well. HA HA...just kidding.
We talked about the route before we left due to some confusion, but really I'm just too pressed for time to really lay it out. In the end, everyone was on board and we were slowly off shortly after Jaffe came out of the gym a minute past 11:30 a.m. (tsk tsk).
As we rolled out, we decided we should check if Shannon was racing this evening given we knew this had implications on how the ride would be. Once he confirmed he didn't, Todd and I were already saying our goodbyes to him and/or expecting the worst case scenario.
I was thankful to have a good sized group come out earlier than normal, so I didn't mind taking the initial lead out/pull. When I was finally relegated to the back, it didn't take long before the pace got pretty aggressive as we started making our way up Anteater. The group got strung out a bit at that point, but we were able to regroup at the light for the most part.
Going up toward Sunnyhill was a little rough with Todd gapping the group on the initial climb. I helped close the gap, which was work and somehow still didn't get any relief to get pushed out to the front after like a domestique worker bee. Even after taking a pull, I was rolled back in right away toward the front and I started thinking WTF?!?
Once we started up the bike path climb up Shady, I had relieved Todd for a pull after the first rise but then had Shannon passing me where I just couldn't respond. I asked Mitchell to close the gap, and I think he literally just laughed at me and pretty much disregarded the request. I think I tried at one point to take the front again to hopefully not let Shannon get away too much, but after Todd passed hauling the rest of the crew behind him, I was too cooked to latch on and just hoped to be able to catch them on the following descent. I did...barely.
Shannon was caught at the first stop light after getting on Quail Hill, so those of us in chase mode with Todd leading didn't even slow down as the light turned green upon our approach. Now the greyhounds became the rabbits with the biggest greyhound of all doing the chasing.
When we got on Laguna Canyon, after Todd did all the work, Vin and Hiroshi launched an attack as though they were going for a final sprint in the TDF. Seeing the abuse Todd received after pulling and having experienced it already, I couldn't help but give chase. I had to take advantage of Hiroshi's weakened state given his half IM last weekend.
When we got back on the bike trail, it wasn't chaotic initially as Todd lead with a solid pace with the rest of us in tow. Mitch took a pull (cough - finally - cough) and before I could get up front again, Shannon kicked it up a notch or 5. I was a little more ready this time, so I latched on and just did what I could to not drop. I felt a little more confident of not dropping at one point, and pushed up to try to take the front. I managed to get ahead of him, somewhat, but as I was scooting over to my right to roll out (given the monumental task it was to just pass), Shannon was pushing up again from the right. When I looked back, I had hoped the others latched on to him, but instead remained behind me again. Oh great. I did manage to help Shannon and take the front before the end, but I was definitely more cooked than I wanted to be at that time.
After going through the first tunnel, I knew I was bordering on having my right calf blowing up, so all I could do at that point was hang on. I think I kept letting others rotate ahead of me just so I can recover more, but it's hard to recover when the pace continues to stay high. I think I finally recovered enough to get back in the rotation before the bridge.
It was good to see more people pushing up after the bridge and will acknowledge Vin being one of them and having done so a few times. I have to acknowledge it similarly to if I saw a UFO, because it's not something I see all too often. Nonetheless, here you go.
By the way, did I mention it was ridiculously windy on the way back?
When we got back on University, I wasn't about to sprint but I think the wind pretty much broke everyone else's spirit from wanting to do so too. Guys were even slowing down as we reached California, so I had to call out how the route finishes going up Jamboree toward Bison.
While we all stayed together making our way toward the University/Jamboree intersection, the green light that just turned yellow upon our approach let the others go ahead of us splitting of Shannon, Jaffe and me. Shannon made the wise choise to stop and not have the 2 of us behind him get pulled into the intersection against the red.
When we got going again, the other guys were pretty much up the hill already, so I took the front hoping to keep a good pace up the climb. It wasn't long after we started, however, that Shannon passing me where I had to ask myself "am I a man or am I a mouse?" Convinced I was a man, I was going to do whatever it took to try and stay on his wheel for the rest of the climb. While he may not have been going full throttle, it took every ounce of energy I had just to take cover behind him and focus on his rear wheel asking myself repeatedly "got cheese?" I managed to stay with him until I realized we weren't going to be held up at the intersection, which was still about 100 feet away from it (HA HA) so I backed off and started looking around for other mice related food. Jaffe was off early based on Shannon's pace, but he rolled up in time to make the green light when we started to cross.
With no signs of anyone else and an aggressive pace throughout, I'm glad there wasn't any more intense pedaling for the remainder of the route. It was probably one of the more intense BAM sessions we've had in a while. This should be expected on the rides when I have a meeting I have to return to (both due to time constraints and due to how aggresive I become when my someone books a meeting adjacent to our training ride).
Great training, folks. Thank you for coming out!
Attendees: Shannon, Todd, Hiroshi, Vin, Mitchell, Jaffe, Seon and me
I really hate having to adjust the start time on the ride due to MY schedule. To my surprise, I was happy to see a full crew come out to join me. Vin even came out looking rushed with his jersey still unzipped, but maybe he was trying to show that we have women on our cycling team as well. HA HA...just kidding.
We talked about the route before we left due to some confusion, but really I'm just too pressed for time to really lay it out. In the end, everyone was on board and we were slowly off shortly after Jaffe came out of the gym a minute past 11:30 a.m. (tsk tsk).
As we rolled out, we decided we should check if Shannon was racing this evening given we knew this had implications on how the ride would be. Once he confirmed he didn't, Todd and I were already saying our goodbyes to him and/or expecting the worst case scenario.
I was thankful to have a good sized group come out earlier than normal, so I didn't mind taking the initial lead out/pull. When I was finally relegated to the back, it didn't take long before the pace got pretty aggressive as we started making our way up Anteater. The group got strung out a bit at that point, but we were able to regroup at the light for the most part.
Going up toward Sunnyhill was a little rough with Todd gapping the group on the initial climb. I helped close the gap, which was work and somehow still didn't get any relief to get pushed out to the front after like a domestique worker bee. Even after taking a pull, I was rolled back in right away toward the front and I started thinking WTF?!?
Once we started up the bike path climb up Shady, I had relieved Todd for a pull after the first rise but then had Shannon passing me where I just couldn't respond. I asked Mitchell to close the gap, and I think he literally just laughed at me and pretty much disregarded the request. I think I tried at one point to take the front again to hopefully not let Shannon get away too much, but after Todd passed hauling the rest of the crew behind him, I was too cooked to latch on and just hoped to be able to catch them on the following descent. I did...barely.
Shannon was caught at the first stop light after getting on Quail Hill, so those of us in chase mode with Todd leading didn't even slow down as the light turned green upon our approach. Now the greyhounds became the rabbits with the biggest greyhound of all doing the chasing.
When we got on Laguna Canyon, after Todd did all the work, Vin and Hiroshi launched an attack as though they were going for a final sprint in the TDF. Seeing the abuse Todd received after pulling and having experienced it already, I couldn't help but give chase. I had to take advantage of Hiroshi's weakened state given his half IM last weekend.
When we got back on the bike trail, it wasn't chaotic initially as Todd lead with a solid pace with the rest of us in tow. Mitch took a pull (cough - finally - cough) and before I could get up front again, Shannon kicked it up a notch or 5. I was a little more ready this time, so I latched on and just did what I could to not drop. I felt a little more confident of not dropping at one point, and pushed up to try to take the front. I managed to get ahead of him, somewhat, but as I was scooting over to my right to roll out (given the monumental task it was to just pass), Shannon was pushing up again from the right. When I looked back, I had hoped the others latched on to him, but instead remained behind me again. Oh great. I did manage to help Shannon and take the front before the end, but I was definitely more cooked than I wanted to be at that time.
After going through the first tunnel, I knew I was bordering on having my right calf blowing up, so all I could do at that point was hang on. I think I kept letting others rotate ahead of me just so I can recover more, but it's hard to recover when the pace continues to stay high. I think I finally recovered enough to get back in the rotation before the bridge.
It was good to see more people pushing up after the bridge and will acknowledge Vin being one of them and having done so a few times. I have to acknowledge it similarly to if I saw a UFO, because it's not something I see all too often. Nonetheless, here you go.
By the way, did I mention it was ridiculously windy on the way back?
When we got back on University, I wasn't about to sprint but I think the wind pretty much broke everyone else's spirit from wanting to do so too. Guys were even slowing down as we reached California, so I had to call out how the route finishes going up Jamboree toward Bison.
While we all stayed together making our way toward the University/Jamboree intersection, the green light that just turned yellow upon our approach let the others go ahead of us splitting of Shannon, Jaffe and me. Shannon made the wise choise to stop and not have the 2 of us behind him get pulled into the intersection against the red.
When we got going again, the other guys were pretty much up the hill already, so I took the front hoping to keep a good pace up the climb. It wasn't long after we started, however, that Shannon passing me where I had to ask myself "am I a man or am I a mouse?" Convinced I was a man, I was going to do whatever it took to try and stay on his wheel for the rest of the climb. While he may not have been going full throttle, it took every ounce of energy I had just to take cover behind him and focus on his rear wheel asking myself repeatedly "got cheese?" I managed to stay with him until I realized we weren't going to be held up at the intersection, which was still about 100 feet away from it (HA HA) so I backed off and started looking around for other mice related food. Jaffe was off early based on Shannon's pace, but he rolled up in time to make the green light when we started to cross.
With no signs of anyone else and an aggressive pace throughout, I'm glad there wasn't any more intense pedaling for the remainder of the route. It was probably one of the more intense BAM sessions we've had in a while. This should be expected on the rides when I have a meeting I have to return to (both due to time constraints and due to how aggresive I become when my someone books a meeting adjacent to our training ride).
Great training, folks. Thank you for coming out!
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