Lunch Ride - Riding like it's your Last

Strava:  https://www.strava.com/activities/326869808

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

Highlights:

• It's always a good bet that when the riders who came out today go out, it's going to be a great workout.  It's not a matter of one or two single riders; it's the combination.
• The pace was tough really early, so it was understandable that Vin took off ahead of the group to try and be a part of the group later on.  Unfortunately, this strategy didn't work today given the heated pace.
• It didn't take too long for the group reel Vin in by Peltason, but doing so wasn't satisfactory enough since the pace stayed hot all the way to Bonita Canyon.
• On the climb after Bonita Canyon, everyone got in the rotation to keep the pace up.  Jaffe once again pushed up ahead of others early on, but unfortunately cost him given the pace being held by the front group.  
• By the time we were on Sunnyhill, there were just 5 of us left and of that, only 4 actively taking the front.
• The pace through the Turtle Rock loop was ROUGH.   It just was.
• The climb on the other side was equally rough.  I did my best to stay with the lead person, but I started to drop off before the final climb.  Of course, this was when Vince took the opportunity to come around at a breakaway pace and join the lead person for a breakaway.  
• I thought I'd try to keep my position but was caught by the time I was climbing back on Shady heading towards Bonita Canyon.  
• By the bottom of the hill, the five of us together again and still with two others no where in sight.
• When we got going up NPC, we had a passenger for a bit but the 5 of us pushed ahead as a group and stayed together for a bit.  I dropped off before the 73 waving Todd ahead of me, but was able to regroup again with chase group #2 while the Vince had broken away.  It was windy, so taking cover in the draft going up the hill helped a LOT.
• When we got onto the horseshoe, we started closing on Vince, but Vince had a chain problem where he pulled over letting Todd and I pull ahead (after checking that Vince was okay).
• Todd and I tried to hold a slight breakaway, but got caught on the descent.  
• Despite some good pushes on San Joaquin going by Fashion Island, it didn't keep us from all being regrouped by Jamboree before Back Bay.
• When we got on Back Bay, I started us off and got relief from two other guys who stayed in the rotation for the length of Back Bay.
• Todd led toward the end, and despite my desire to challenge Vince to the top, I just couldn't.
• Vince got ahead crossing the street but I wasn't far behind as we made our way to Jamboree.  On the climb, I was able to gain on him some but not enough since he pushed every time he saw me closing.  
• When I looked back, I saw someone closing on me and never really knew who it was.  As he approached, I opted to cross the street as did Vince to make the left turn from the light.  This was when Shannon in hot pursuit kept going straight and ended up actually crossing Jamboree ahead of us.  Todd was right behind us, and joined us to make our way onto Bison.
• At the McArthur light, we started discussing sprints, cadence, and such and I was seeing if I could offer a lead out.  I don't think I got confirmation.
• When we crossed and made our way to the 73 overpass, it seemed like people were waiting for someone to make a move.  This was when Mitchell pushed ahead in his "seated sprint" position and started things off.  I took off after him thinking I can take advantage and sprinted ahead.  When I looked back, I thought I didn't see anyone behind me and let up before the end of the intersection.  Of course, this was when Vince pulled around me and took off for the corner.  Nice.

I know I said in the beginning of the year that without any races planned, there was no point in pushing.  Well, I've since changed my thoughts on this and realized that the training is still phenomenal with this group so why not take advantage while I can.  Who knows what the future holds, so I think I'm going to enjoy each and every one of these rides (along with the intensity they offer) until it's no longer an option for me.  I don't know when it ends, but everything ends, so why not, right?

Thanks for the fantastic workout once again, folks!