Road Cycling

Flying Down The Canyon

One of my most favorite things to do on a bicycle is coming down Laguna Canyon Road with the Saturday group. There is an amazing synergy, its a PR every time for sure. This particular Saturday is special as our group encountered another group, so it was on like donkey kong.  I jumped up in to the front early on but there was a long snake of cyclist behind me. Good times!

Dropping down Laguna Canyon Saturday Group

Rotating Pacelines on PCH POV

Some footage of the group I ride with on Saturdays.  This was a 68 Mile ride from Tustin to Queen Mary Long Beach and back to Tustin. The group dropped

A POV video of us practicing the rotating paceline, I often like to refer to this as “collaboartive cycling”, it is the fastest and most efficient way for a group of cyclist to travel.  There are 2 line the left line, the left line is the fast lane, while the line on the right is the slow (recovery) lane. This is only effective and possible with a group of cyclist with similar levels of fitness. We are traveling just under 30 mphs.

 

Below is quick video of us cycling along the long beach bike path.

New Bike….Still Pedaling….Will hit 10k for 2021

Still cycling, when i started I avoided hills at all cost, but that has changed.  I guess I was forced to, cause i moved on top of a very big hill.  It is amazing though how each hill gets a little easier and a lot less painful with each climb.  La Plata is like 3 big rolling hills here in San Clemente,  I didn’t even think La Plata was even possible for me, and after the first time, I vowed to never try it again, just from the pain and agony it caused me.  I have been the local legend (most ridden in 90 days) on strava for a while now, I  now ride La Plata a couple times a week, and enjoy it.  I am also proud of climbing to top of the world in Laguna Beach, probably one of the most challenging climbs around here.

I also picked up a few new bikes, hahaha. 2 Electric Mountain Bikes (HaiBikes) and my favorite a 2020 Trek Emonda SLR.

I am also fortunate and by pure luck came across an epic group of riders, and look forward to riding with them every Saturday, more correctly stated I try myu hardest to keep up with them. They have all been riding togther for a really long time, and they all ride as often and as passionately as i do, and I’m so fortunate that they are willing to let me tag along and teach me the ropes.  Like the rotating pacelines, which you rarely see groups of cyclist doing cause it requires everyone in the group to be of the same fitness level, I often refer to it as collaborative cycling.

Ive also driven out to check out some of the crits around CA. Ive pedaled pretty much all of SOuthern California coast.

Just under 14,000 miles since i started cycling just under a year and a half ago. Still love it, and will  continue to do so.

 

 

 

Month of May behind bars (not the jail kind)

Surprisingly its been 6 months since i started road cycling, and I literally spent the month of May behind bars. In the process i learned how to wrench the bike including tuning (indexing) the gears and I can fix a flat like a pro with my bare hands. I also got my bike dialed in by swapping out the wahoo bolt for the newer ROAM, upgraded my drive train to the ultegra R8000, and added the garmin RTL-510 rear radar and taillight, and some 60″ carbon fiber rims. The most effective upgrade i made happened to be the cheapiest, and that was switching from rubber inner tube to latex innertubes, it made my bike noticebly faster, and worth having to pump tires before every ride.


Starting out my goal was to accomplish Strava’s distance and climbing challenges, it took 6 months and i finally was able to accomplish that along with every strava cycling challenge that month. Its currently June and I will do it again ahead of schedule

Strava recently just started “local legends” for which i am currently a legend of 4 segments

Current Local Legend on Strava

Segments on Strava for which i currently am a local legend

Niguel Rd Camino Del Avion Local Legend

Niguel Rd Camino Del Avion Local Legend

Niguel Rd Camino Del Avion Detail Local Legend

Niguel Rd Camino Del Avion Detail Local Legend

My 2 best rides for 2019

So i started cycling in december and managed to put in 300 miles in my first month.  something i never even thought was possible. What helped keep me engage was the strava app as it appeals to my competitive spirit, and using the latest technology to monitor and measure my biofeedback, learning about all the health variables and watching there progression over time also helped keep me motivated, most fasinating was learning about the heart rate variable and all that it entails.  so in 2019 i completed lofty rides that i never thought was even possible for myself.

laguna niguel to oceanside

riding for 9 miles on the  freeway was interesting to say the least.

 

laguna niguel to newport beach

great network of bike trails from irvine all the way to newport, i plan to do a “there and back” trip this month some time.

i plan to cycle the entire southern california coast from the north end of LA to San diego in the month of january. i also entered the january strava challenge 1250 km in one month. i am currently on track to get the trophy on it.

 

My latest hobby


Thanks to one my best friends for hooking me up with this mechanical masterpiece.

This trek domane is made of carbon fiber so its light as a feather, and like riding a bullet.

My goal is to ride from Laguna Niguel to Oceanside, and then take a train back, its just about a 40 mile ride, which is a lot for my out of shape ass. but do-able.  So in preparation I’ve been training a couple times a week doing a beautiful 12 mile ride from my house in Laguna Niguel to the house my family is building in San Clemente, meanwhile learning about all the technology on the bike and how it applies to my own physical stats.