Thursday GP Crit with the Team

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/5921544 (Shannon's)

Originally, I wasn't sure if anyone would come join me for my 2nd crit of the season, but to my welcomed surprise, Shannon, Todd and Mitchell ended up coming out for tonight's race festivities.  It was good to know that representing the team would not fall on my shoulders alone.  HA HA.

We all got to line up toward the front and within the 2nd and 3rd row behind Team Velosport.  This worked to our advantage for the most part given that there was an immediate breakaway from the very beginning.  The breakaway was fast and caused the chase group to also be faster than normal for a first lap already causing people to pop-off early on.  However, as the front of the chase group was led mostly by Team Velosport, they did not appear ready or willing to close the gap on the breakaway too early.  LTJ made his way up to the front early on as a result and was trying to push the group to help give chase, but with no luck.   Seeing that no one was willing to help him, I jumped up to the front as well to give him a hand on the bottom of the track, and Shannon also ended up making his way up front to help as well.  However, as we were on our own trying to rotate and push the pace up, everyone else stayed behind us holding us out for as long as they could.  I guess trying to close on the breakaway was just not a priority.

The pace remained high for the next 3-4 laps, and it was tough to hang on.  While Todd was up front on the 4th or 5th lap on the back side, I just ran out of energy and could not keep the pace of the group.  Shannon had come around me to try and have me latch on and close the gap that was forming in front of me, but I just didn't have it.  Eventually, the whole track cutting thing was just too appealing...so I did...again.

Shannon and Todd stayed in the pack, which was awesome considering it was their first outing back.  What was more impressive was how fast they were still moving as they continued on through the whole race.  I think they hit their best averages for the race by doing so.  It was so fast that I failed in TWO attempts to latch back on.  I had even taken a break prior to the 2nd attempt by talking to Lisa and Pam in the sidelines.  HA HA.

When I failed on my 2nd attempt, Mitchell was coming up behind me and he, too, had problems latching on to the pack taking multiple attempts also to do so.  I took the last attempt to latch on with him, and fortunately, it was the last lap and all we had to do was finish the back end of the lap.  From there, we could see Todd and Shannon still in the mix.   Again...awesome and way to represent.

On the sprint to the final, Todd had gotten spent from all his efforts up front where he didn't have enough to challenge.  However, Shannon gave the sprint a go passing one of our infamous competitors (name withheld) along with some other people and taking #8 for the night.  Todd probably was just outside of the top 10...also awesome for the first outing back.  Now the breakaway group was never caught, so that just goes to show how fast they're going now in this CAT.  Not sure why these guys don't go up the ranks.

Congrats to team BRCM for showing that we can be a factor out there, albeit not all of us.  There were some shaky moments out there with some mouthing off, some elbow rubbing (even for me) and what even appeared to some as attempts to take our guys out, but I know it will only get better as the season progresses and we gain even more respect.

Thanks to Lisa and Pam for coming out and cheering us on.  Pam also brought some sandwiches for some after race nourishment.  Thanks!

See ya next week!

P.S.  Shannon's Strava was a lot more flattering than mine, so I used his in case you were wondering.

Lunch Ride - Turtle Rock Shady Ridgeline Summit Jamboree Route

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/5811836


This morning, I was looking at the temps and the fact that there was no wind and thought it would have been awesome to ride in these conditions.  Unfortunately, the winds kicked up a little by the time we had our lunch ride.  This, however, didn't slow the group down at all.  Gary, Shannon, Galen (welcome back), Adrian, Vin, Seon, Jaffe, Mitchell and Jeremy (welcome back) came out today for some training and it was a good one.

Prior to taking off, Shannon had wanted to define a sprint point but we ended up with two:  the 405 Bridge and the bike trail opening on the way down Shady toward Bonita Canyon.  You know when we define sprint points that it's going to be a helluva day...and it was.

The start was typical BAM fashion and the group almost started to string out as early as East Peltason.  I ended up closing the gap that formed there and just tried to hang on all the way up Anteater to the guys up front.  On the turn to Culver, Shannon, Adrian and Galen immediately broke away from us and was awarded some Strava awards as a result.  S-G took the lead in the chase group and closed the gap to the guys up front by the time we rounded the corner to Turtle Rock.

The pace up Turtle Rock was no record setter, but it was still plenty quick considering the conditions.  There were a couple gaps that formed but didn't hold, and at the top we had a good sized group still.

As we made our way onto Shady (did you guys see that lady being interviewed on the sidewalk by the way?), the group stayed together up until the first bridge. When it pitched up, Galen Shannon and I broke away.  Galen kept the lead the whole time all the way to the top but with Shannon and I not too far behind.

When we went down the other side, another rider had gotten in between Galen and I, so at the start of the trail that goes parallel to the 405, we lost a little ground and Galen had a sizeable gap.  I tried to keep a solid pace, but Shannon came around me and just powered up to catch Galen before the bridge.  I took advantage of Shannon's lead out and sprinted to the bridge once we caught him.  I popped just after where Galen was like "why are you slowing down?"  HA HA

The two had gotten away for a bit while I recovered but I caught them at a light and then everyone else caught us as we waited to go up Ridgeline.  Shannon took the initial pull but I jumped ahead to help.  Galen came around after and started to gap, but Shannon came around and chased him down.  The two were close together once we hit Turtle Rock, which thankfully was a regroup point.

After we regrouped, Seon and Vin took off with Galen and already started to gap us, but we all managed to catch them by the time we got to Sunnyhill. On the way up Shady, there were some pulls but Galen started to gap again only for us to catch him before the top.  I took the front after and then tried to set up for a position on the sprint going down once Mitchell took over, but ended up at the very back of the paceline.  Adrian started the sprint coming around from Mitchell, but took off early where Shannon made him pay for that with a high speed pass once Adrian ran out of steam.

Once on Bonita Canyon, we were all getting ready to go to Turtle Ridge when S-Gary decided to drop the hammer and keep going straight.  We all tried to call him but he looked like he was on a mission and just kept going.  He must have needed to get back.

Going up Summit, Seon took off the hill ahead of everyone, but Vin decided to show Seon he needs to come out more if he's thinking he'll take that hill.  Vin ended up crushing the hill where no one caught him until the light at the bottom of Turtle Ridge.  Nice.

On Bonita Canyon, there were some strong pulls and once again, Galen was instigating here as he tried to egg Jaffe and Vin to break away only to break away himself.  I had given chase but was only able to keep the same distance behind him.  Adrian came out of nowhere, however, and started to close on Galen but the two didn't realize that the route also included Jamboree.  I had to call them back after they made their way onto McArthur.

On Ford, Shannon offered a lead out for the condo but I wasn't sure what I'd have and graciously refused.  He and Galen pushed past me and I just tried to catch my wind in preparation for the run up Jamboree.  Everyone else stayed behind me but Adrian decided last minute he wanted to take a stab at it and passed me at the top.  Once we turned, the three guys ahead picked it up and pushed the pace up the hill.  I pretended someone stole one of my kids and was at the top of the hill, so I took off.  I did manage to catch and pass the three, but it was funny how Galen called out to Adrian how I was coming since Adrian was up ahead of them as well.  It's a conspiracy, I tell ya.  Once I realized I was off the pace for a record given the wind, I dropped it down a notch but felt worked.

We all regrouped on Bison at the McArthur light and sure enough, there was the obligatory sprint to California.  Shannon, Vin and Adrian had set up the first light over the 73 and started moving.  I was hoping Galen was going to reel them in, but I think he thought the same thing about me.  HA HA.  Adrian and Vin made a run at the end, and I tried but was unsuccessful in catching them.

Next Tuesday, prepare for a ride for points again.  It's been a while but it should be fun given how fast everyone has gotten since the last time.

Good training today, gents!

Como St and Reverse Loop with Stand-up Drills

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/5714357 (Como Loop)

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/5714358 (Post Como)

With the threat of a storm coming today, we were fortunate enough to get TWO rides in and not just one.  I have to say, I wasn't sure I was up for a second ride after doing Como, but S-G had a great showing at Como that he just couldn't pass up the chance to get more miles in.  Greeeaaat!  (sarcasm)

The first ride (Como) seemed a little small from the start, but team BRCM was represented by Gary, Seon, Jaffe, me and Vin (who picked up the ride from El Toro).  We had three black jerseys, one red, and my white...i.e. a cornucopia of BRCM pride. 

The ride started out as normal, but S-G and Jaffe pushed up to the front early on in the ride.  I hung back toward the rear initially, but I moved toward the middle midway through.  By the time we got to El Toro, I decided to make my way closer to the front.  However, as I was making my way up, I see S-G pushing up the front and even pulling ahead creating a gap.  Of course, I couldn't let him go up there all on his own, so I was pushing the front also.  We had some pretty good pulls going up, but by the time we hit the peak before Cook's, I was a little worked and started getting passed.  I ended up mid-pack again by the time we hit the climb. 

I tried to catch the front group during the climb, and I was getting closer but just couldn't get it done.  I actually started to run out of steam toward the top of that first crest where I got passed and couldn't latch on to those who passed me.  By the time I went over, I was well ahead of others behind me but not nearly close enough to get to the front or first chase group.  When I hit the 2nd crest, I was all alone.

I decided to make the best of it and just keep a good pace hoping to get picked up by another group.  After a while, I hear Gary call out and tell me to get ready to jump on.  Little did I expect that they would be in a paceline behind a scooter...but okay.  I was able to accelerate and jump on as they passed, but the guy in front of me was having trouble sticking on.  I wasn't sure if I'd be able to successfully pass him to latch on to the guy in front of him, so I hung back.  Sure enough, he ended up popping us off the back.  After, he and one other guy ended up working with me and rotating together until we could see Gary.  Gary had hung on for a lot longer, but fell off after the incline.  However, he didn't slow down at all and worked to keep us off of him for a good long distance. 

When we finally caught him, one of the guys with us had popped off so there were three of us working together again.  The next thing you know, Vin and another guy end up joining our pace after passing us up.   Nice!  We stayed together pretty much to dump, but Gary and one other guy had broken away at the start of the climb.  I got in a rhythm where I was able to make some ground before the top, but not enough where they were about 15 feet ahead of me at the crest.  They increased the gap on the downhill, but I was fortunate enough to run into them as they slowed for a light over the 261.   I went ahead since I had momentum but Gary reeled me in and traded places up front with me a couple times. 

When we got to Jamboree, Vin and the guy he caught us with (works at Allergen but I forgot his name), caught us and we all rode together up and over the hill.  We were all working as best as we could rotating to the front and helping keep the pace up (except for one TruCycling guy who just stayed in the back).  We did set up for a sprint near the end and when I took off, I thought others hadn't followed but Gary was getting ready to pass me just as we were coming up to the left turn on Irvine Blvd (yikes...S-G is back!).   It was at this intersection where I met the guy from Allergan when he asked if we were the guys who writes the Broadcom blog.  I guess more people read this than I thought.  HA HA

When we got back to the BJ's parking lot, I was worked.  Vin and Gary did awesome, and I was just glad to have made it.  As I mentioned above though, Gary wanted more so he and I opted to do a reverse loop.  Vin did the right thing and went home. 

On our reverse loop, we decided to ride off the seat all the way from Irvine Blvd to the top of Jamboree.  We kept hitting lights, but we would jump back out of the saddle from the go.  When we started up the climb, Gary had a great pace and was holding it for the longest time breaking away from me.  I was working on a good tempo and had stayed back from Gary for a while.  It was only near the top that I started to make ground and eventually passed him, but he latched on and we made our way to the canyons.

On Dump, we both got back off the saddle and worked on our standing climb.  I led for a while, but Gary got ahead just as we were going over the 261.  I did make my way past him again, but this time, he was ready.  He turned around and passed me again and held me off all the way to the top...off the seat.  He pushed pretty hard where he did start to cramp at the top (I didn't know this until later).  I passed him after the crest and soft pedaled down the hill waiting for him to catch me, but he was in recovery mode.  I thought to go ahead and make my way to Silverado and kept ahead of Gary the whole time.  He, however, maintained the gap where I didn't gain or lose much for the longest time. 

After regrouping by Silverado, we started working together.  The winds were pushing at this point and as  I figured, working with Gary always make it that much more challenging.  We both kept rotating pulls all the way up to the base of the climb.  When I stood up to climb, I ended up breaking away for a bit but we both regrouped at the 2nd peak just before the downhill.

We worked together after we got past Cook's and kept the pace up all the way down toward Trabuco.  Once we got on Trabuco, it was heaven.  We could feel the wind behind us!  The only problem was we kept hitting lights. 

After we got past Alton, I made my way up to the front after Gary taking a strong pull and I was ready to use the tail wind.  Then, I felt this real sharp pain on the inside of my left thigh...a bee sting!  I tried not to slow down but I was cursing trying to make sure the stinger didn't stay in, and I didn't feel one.  After the adrenaline kicked in, I used it to my advantage and just dropped lower and went for it.  I ended up pulling away from Gary at one point and had averaged a couple of the miles on that section over 30 mph...one even 34.  I was moving!  I actually caught up to two older guys who had just pulled up to the light on Sand Canyon. 

Gary wasn't far behind and we ended up getting back together and dropping the hammer again as we made our way to Jeffrey, Yale, and then Culver.  After we went over the toll highway, Gary had tried to set me up for a sprint past me.  This time, I was ready.  I was able to hear him coming so I dropped even lower and just started to sprint and pull away.  I can always count on Gary to give me a good run at the end when he's there. 

62 miles for the day and we made it back probably about an hour before the storm.  21.5 mph average on Como and 18.3 for the reverse loop (which came with some medals on Strava for me).  Overall, a great training day.  

First 2012 Great Park Crit Race Report

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/5587994

I was pretty anxious to do the crit tonight mostly since I just wanted to get the first one done. For the most part, my goal was just to establish a baseline for the season and see how I improve (or not) as the season progresses.   I was also interested in just seeing what this type of racing would be like again as well as observe what type of talent came out to the races. 

Arriving alone and not recognizing anyone made it a little intimidating, but it wasn't going to stop me from doing it.  I did have to join the Cat 4/5 group since the Masters required a race license, so back in the mix with Team Velosport as well as all the other teams present.  I did end up wearing BRCM black despite my recent performance not being very consistent whereas I was thinking I didn't want to dishonor our jersey.  However, I'm Team BRCM through-and-through, and if anything, I'll at least give it what I got as is the MO of our group.  

Doing my warm-up, I noticed a couple things:  the course was a little dirty on some of the turns so this did play into how the race was going to be for me where I would check up through those turns.   Also, my cranks felt like they were gritty, which may be because I didn't have a chance to clean it with my wife's birthday being last night.   However, I was there and it was what it was, so I'll make the best of it. 

Lining up, there were a few teams present with Team Velosport being predominant.  There were some Simple Green, some Veloviets, and a few others I can't recall.  I just sat mid-pack in the line-up determined not to be blown out on the first lap.  HA HA. 

When the race started, the pace was pretty decent but it was definitely not taxing from the middle of the pack.  As usual, you do have to jockey for position, so staying mid-pack did take some work.  There were some surges, and a couple breakaways early on, but nothing that stuck.  I did end up closing a couple gaps that formed in the early laps, but nothing crazy.  On the lap or 2 after the first prime, there was a sudden breakaway containing between 7-10 guys, and I tried to catch that group along with one other guy but we were too far apart from one another (he was ahead) to be able to work together.  We did breakaway from the peloton behind us, but had both gotten pretty worked riding apart that we both blew up pretty good.  When the peloton caught us eventually, I was winded where latching on was almost impossible.  That's what I get.  Thoughts of just quitting did pop-up, but I wanted to get my money's worth.  Since I knew I wasn't in contention for a top 10 spot at that point, I decided to join one guy who pulled to the side and started to cut across the track to rejoin the peloton.  I know, I know...but better to live and fight another day....

Getting back in the peloton, it was clear that Team Velosport was in complete control of the race as they were definitely blocking to allow those of their team in the breakaway to keep increasing the gap.  I was not about to try and push the pace on my own, especially after cutting the track, so I just sat back and enjoyed the rest of the race in the group.  There were more surges here and there, but none that were unmanageable.  For the last lap, I was interested in trying out a sprint so I just saved up for it.  I was not close enough to the front of the chase group though, but I did manage to pass a couple guys on the last stretch (including Sol).  Good enough.

No one to help me remove my number, no beer after party, no one to even talk to, so I just went home.  I'll be back next week though for sure.  I can't wait.    

Lunch Ride - The Triple Bypass with a Superman Finish

Strava (late start and malfunction through BB) - http://app.strava.com/rides/5477308

I chose today's route to keep it fairly flat and fast in order to prepare for the Great Park crit that I hope to participate in this Thursday.  Adrian, Vince, Mitchell, Vin, Hiroshi, Jaffe and Todd came out for it and made me realize that I should probably take up knitting instead.  I'll still go this Thursday, however, but I probably will not don the BRCM colors to prevent dishonoring it.

Getting on the bike trail at the bottom of CA is always fun when you're at the very back...not.  Gotta love that mad accordion effect.

Adrian led by the time we got to Back Bay, and little did he know we were plotting from Bldg 11 to hold him out for a while to neutralize his sprints.  However, that didn't end up working too well since he eventually was going so slow up front that guys on row boats in the bay were passing us.  Others started to move up as a result and the rotations began.  I thought about getting up front sooner, but I decided it best to wait my turn.  It was good to see everyone taking turns although Todd did get held out a while, but I've learned not to worry too much about Todd.  Vince was taking turns as well despite his hiatus and condition, so I don't see it being too long before he's back putting the hurt on.

For the first Prime, I was trying to see when Adrian was going to take off and had not expected him to do so as early as he did.  Once he took off, Vin and I gave chase and although I made ground, Adrian still got to the gate before me.  When I realized I wasn't going to catch him, I decided to use it as an opportunity to break away instead knowing he was going to recover from the sprint.

I managed to keep the group off for a while but they caught me just before I made my way back onto Bayside drive.  I think Todd pulled everyone back up onto me from my quick glance back, or it could have been a combined effort.

On the 2nd pass through Back Bay where the 2nd Prime was, cars prevented it from being safe to run a sprint to San Joaquin.  Thus, we all took turns pushing the pace up front.  Adrian launched a sprint at the top of Back Bay, but it was not a defined sprint point for today's ride, so....  :)

On Jamboree, Todd broke away as expected.  Vin had a good run up too, and it took a lot just to catch up to him before we got to the Bison light where Todd went through ahead of us.  We did manage to catch up to him at the Ford light, but so did everyone else including Vince who came darting by just as the light had turned green.

On Jamboree, Todd and Vin broke away and I remained with the 4-5 guys believing we could catch them at some point.  However, the effort to do so was not very well coordinated and it took telling the guys that one guy (Mitchell) can't do it by himself by the trailer park to get everyone to start pushing up front.  When I took my turn, I ended up getting winded and rolled off to the back.  Upon exiting the bike trail onto Back Bay Drive, however, I ended up not latching on after again being accordion'ed off.  Vince had been working with the guys we were with, but had fallen back where I was able to catch him and work together for awhile, but we never were able to make ground on the 4 guys in front of us.  From what I hear, the 4 were also not able to close the gap on Todd and Vin either.

I was fortunate enough to run into them at the light at the bottom of California.  Even going up California, there was still a lot of kick in the group and they were charging up the hill (after stopping at the first light) upwards of 20-21 mph.  Todd got up to the top first, but I was coming up just behind him with Vin latched on to me.

Todd definitely had a lot of fight in him today as expected given that we missed the Bulldog race.  The surprise performance was from Vin who set up the ride to finish strong although had received criticism (source withheld to protect the innocent) for not taking enough pulls early on.  That's how it is sometimes though, so whatever it takes to finish like he did today, kudos.

Now as to this Superman finish in the title, this isn't some heroic feat at the end of the ride but more so me flying over my handlebars after either miscalculating a jump onto the sidewalk or inadvertently hitting the front brake when lifting the bike up from the hood.  It's so nice to hit the pavement after a long grueling ride I always say.  Fortunately, I landed on my hands and was able to roll not causing too much physical damage (although my right wrist hurts now), and as for my bike, my left shifter suffered some aesthetic damage as well.  Bummer.  The most damage was probably to my ego given I must have looked mentally challenged as I went over the handlebars right by the gym.  Lame.

Now about that knitting....

Lunch Ride - The LTJ Breakaway Route

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/5167769

It was a slightly cool day for a ride and arm warmers definitely made it more comfortable.  Todd, Shannon, Mitchell, Vin, Jaffe and Paul B. came out today, but I think most of us weren't figuring that Todd was looking to put the hurt on like he did.  The man is definitely anxious about this weekend's race, so what better way to find relief than beat up on the rest of your team?  HA

Jaffe started out up front on the ride, but I brought us down to University.  Once on the bike trail though, Mitchell got up front right away (wha?) and had pulled us all the way out to the Jamboree underpass.  LTJ took over after and kept the pace up where Paul B. ended up being the first casualty just before Back Bay.  Keep coming out, Paul!

On Back Bay, we did have a pretty good pace but in some instances, I thought Todd was held out a little longer.  I realized later on, however, why since I ended up doing the same thing to him on PCH (more on this later).  For the most part, however, people were taking a turn or two up front and I just waited patiently behind Shannon until it was my turn.  One guy did jump in our paceline, but after not wanting to get up front, decided to roll out.  At the end of Back Bay, Shannon dropped the hammer for a sprint to the gate and I went with him to test out my sprint legs too.  I couldn't get by him so he nosed me out at the gate.

We made our way through the trailer park bike trail to Bayside.   When we turned left to go up PCH, I thought I'd ratchet it up a little and see if I can hold a good pace up the climb to Jamboree.  It felt good but everyone stayed on to keep me humble.

After the light on Jamboree, Todd decided to break away right away and while I chased him, I was still far from being his draft on that whole run to Avocado.  I was close by the time we rounded, but so was everyone else.  Nice.

After the run through Ocean and Poppy, we came out on PCH with Jaffe being up front initially.  I took the reigns after and was holding a pretty good clip when Todd decided to pass.  It took a lot just to be able to latch on and hang on all the way to NPC where I too, held him out just because the boy never really slowed down.  Plus, with NPC to follow, do I look that dumb?

A guy with a Capo jersey was sitting waiting to cross as we arrived at the bottom of NPC.  Todd took off first followed by Capo guy and I gave chase as well.  When Capo guy was passing LTJ, I had momentum as well and was trying to pass both of them.  However, Capo guy held a good pace where I decided to try and duck in behind him.  Todd was a little behind the both of us, but after I popped off the back of Capo, LTJ went by where I tried to keep his pace only to fail miserably.  I was trying to hold a decent pace up NPC, but somewhere in the middle of the climb, Shannon pedals by seated in his big ring like I was just sitting still.  Demoralizing.  I gave it what I could but lost all sense of confidence where near the top, I didn't even know how I wanted to climb and just spun up to where Todd and Shannon waited.  Thankfully, I called out that we should regroup at the top before the climb.  Mitchell, Vin and Jaffe came in probably within a minute or less after me.

Once we got going, LTJ once again took off and while I thought we can chase him down on the other side, we got stuck on the Ridgepark light and then at a subsequent light just before Bonita Canyon.  We were moving at a pretty good clip down NPC too, but what'cha gonna do.

When we got on Bonita Canyon, we were moving pretty fast and Vin brought the pace up on his favorite part just after the 73 under pass on the little sprinter hill.  Shannon kept the pace going after again slowing for a light, but we did have to stop at the McArthur light subsequently.  Once we got going, Shannon peeled away from the group early on.  I had started to bring the pace up as well enough to where the other guys fell off a little bit, but I was saving some for Jamboree.

Shannon rounded the corner ahead of me but I was able to find a good rhythm climbing the hill and made my way past him only to be slapped silly after Bison, on University and subsequently up California.  As we tried to chase Todd down, a lady had pulled out from a side street just in front of Shannon and pretty much stopped on the road once she saw him coming and dangerously blocked him...while he was descending.  She wins today's prize for the most idiotic driver out there by a mile.  We did see Todd again, but as we chased him, we were once again stopped by a couple lights.  The other guys had caught us by the time we were at the first light on California, but Shannon's pace was too high to have them latch on.  Vin did make his way up to us by the time we crossed the intersection though...good job!

If this ride is any indication of what's to come on Saturday, Todd shouldn't have a problem getting top honors.  Thankfully, he's in the next age group above mine.  I just need to figure out how to not pop on the climb for the race (EPO?), and I should do okay.  Maybe I won't wear BRCM just to be sure.  HA HA

Thanks for the training, gents!

Gary and I at Como Street

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/5094102

Only Gary and I went out this morning for the Como ride and while short, it was still a great workout.  I suppose the time change deterred a lot of people from coming out this morning since the size of the peloton seemed less than normal.  Vin did come out as well, but he did the long route and we never saw him.

The pace also seemed fairly tame in the beginning and never really picked up too much until we got to El Toro.  This worked to my advantage since I was tired from my 60 miler yesterday, and further I forgot to close my saddle bag where I had to stop on Jeffrey just to get it zipped up again.  Gary, the team player, pulled out of the peloton as well when he saw me drop off, and together we were able to make our way back up to the group a few blocks later on Irvine Blvd.

As I indicated, the pace up El Toro did get pretty high.  I had wanted to sit in the back as much as possible today but when people started to pop off, I had to close the gap back up towing some other guys with me just to get back to the group.  One guy did thank me for the pull...cool.

The split up on Santa Margarita didn't seem to have too many people doing the long route today, so there was still a good sized group doing the short one.  Rather than pushing up front for better positioning before Cooks, I decided not to move up until the hill already started.  I started making my way past people but it was hard being there were so many that I was on the road most of the time.  After a while, I was no longer gaining on the front group and ended up just watching them go over the 2nd crest.  I ended up cresting after them all by myself, but then got picked up by a chase group with Gary in it.  Nice!

The guy on the Aragon bike, who is now on a Scott CR1 since he crashed on his Aragon, was also in this pack, and did some of his really strong pulls.  The pace was actually pretty fast with several people also being in the group, although the paceline was not very organized and with some guys not getting up front right away.  We did see the front group ahead at one point by the lake, but they got away before we could get to them by Dump.  Gary had taken a pull or two in the paceline, but I didn't see him after a while.

On Dump, I was at the back after taking a few pulls, even with some shortened rotations, so I decided to try and make some ground up toward the front again since some of the guys started popping off.  I actually ended up pulling ahead of everyone and even creating a gap, but after the slight bend to the right, 3 guys eventually passed me.  I was able to respond and pull one of them back before the top, but the other 2 (including the Aragon guy) got away.  I led the initial charge down the hill to try and catch them, and then others came around behind me and started to help.  We actually gained on them a lot and I took the last pull to try and close it, but we were coming up on Jamboree where it was good enough just to be able to catch them at the light.

On Jamboree, we started climbing up the hill where I wasn't eager for a repeat pass at the end, so I sat in the back for a while.  Near the top, I made my way to the front and began the charge down the hill on the other side.  At this point, we had snapped off some of the other guys where there were only 5 of us left as we made our way to Portola.  I was trying to see if anyone was going for a sprint at some point after, and no one really seemed like they were.  Mr.  Aragon rider had pulled away from the 3 guys, so I went around them and made my way up to him.  I know he had some mad power, but rather than sprinting against him from one of the lights, we just ended up talking the rest of the way back.

21.1 mph average, which isn't really bad considering it was rather slow on Irvine Blvd.  Good enough for some training.  Gary rolled in shortly after and had gotten a good workout as well...enough to skip his post canyon run.  He had matched some of his 2nd  best times to get some medals whereas I had gotten zip on Strava.  Oh well...we'll just have to see what we see for next week's race.