Gettin' around!

With training, of course!

This past weekend Justin and I did a bit of jet-settin' (locally, at least). Friday started out early since I was given the heave-ho at work. Instead of sitting on the trainer doing drills I enjoyed some 70*F weather and went for a long ride instead!

Tons of crazy drivers out, but it was stellar anyway.







We ran to Henry's afterwards and picked up some surf & turf for dinner!



Saturday morning we got up early and cruised it over to Irvine for Rock N' Road's Hunger Ride. Huge crowd! It was awesome. Piles of canned goods.









Matt tried to keep everyone in check by giving his "This is a fun/social/charity ride, let's keep it together." It lasted, for about a mile!



Cruising out









Front group regroups before heading through the super windy streets back to the shop



Gnoshing on Chik-Fil-A post-ride





After we hung out for a bit and picked up some needed goodies from the shop we headed north west toward Laguna to hit up the Crankbrothers sale. Saw some good people and hung for a bit. I picked up a zip hoodie (sweet!) and then it was time to head NE to Santa Ana to hit up REI for some waterproof cell phone packs. Then it was sit in bumper-to-bumper on the 91 for awhile, house cleaning for me, then a drills session.

My legs were torqued from the effort on the road ride, and from me nearing the end of this cycle... Got the workout done, and that was one of my weekly goals (finish all scheduled workouts, no shortcuts).

Legs were still feeling fatigued and heavy Sunday morning when we cruised south to meet up with Steph and Dan for some loops at Daley. Also sold an old Reba and Dos frame to Zippy so he could build it up for Holly! Can't wait to see her out tearing it up on the trails.

Steph and Justin led us out





Fail at trying to take a self-portrait over-the-shoulder-rider-photo




Heading up Tank Trail before the techy stuff



Everyone but me cleaned both switchbacks! I dabbed on the first, re-clipped and got the second one.









Unfortunately Dan wound up being stronger than he imagined and not only busted his derailleur, but also broke his chain, and had a flat tire. My goodness, man!!



He cruised it back to the lot chainless while we finished up a loop (or 2).

Trying to rail it





Steph needed to get back and pack for airline fails, so Justin and I cruised out to finish up my workout. I wanted another go at the switchbacks!



Got the first one, but not the second one. Put all the tries together and I had one successful go!



On the drive home I realized my camera was nowhere in sight. Hmm. The only place I could have left it was on the bumper. I am notorious for leaving stuff on the bumper. New Rule: Allison is not to ever set anything on the bumper. Ever. For any reason.

So we're debating whether or not to drive back down to Esco to see if the camera fell off the bumper when we get home. I took a load of stuff in the house, walk back out and what do I see?

My camera. Sitting motionless. On the bumper. After a 40 minute drive home.

OMG. Sooo lucky. The pictures turned out pretty stellar, so I think the fresh air did it good.

Great weekend. Stoked to be taking it easy this week and partaking in a much deserved day off today!

Full Weekend

All in all, it was a good weekend. Lots of fun with friends and family, and a pretty chill Memorial Day with some pool time.

Saturday Stephanie, Dan, Justin and I hit up Daley Ranch for a fast-paced 14-mi loop. The group splintered right away with Justin going on the attack before we had warmed up at all, and shortly after I followed suit. He slowed up a bit, and gapped me a few times, especially on the steeper climbs. He'd wait up, then continue with me. I knew the only climb where I could possibly keep Justin in sight was coming up, so I made it my goal to stick to him once we got there. He put a small gap on me, but I stayed within 2 bike lengths throughout the climb and was stoked! The workout was really short, but solid from an effort perspective.

My recovery wasn't stellar (a banana and half a container of Bloks, followed by about 1.5 hours of easy spinning, standing, and no food), but it was time for the Dust Bunnies beginner women's ride! I went over and met a few of the women as they congregated and a little after 10 we headed out to start a loop.









Ride leader Shalyn (taking a break from tearing up the local endurance scene!) on the right



Regroup



A few of the true beginner women struggled on some of the early hills, so I suggested we head back and climb up the pavement, descend down to the Ranch House, and do a short stint on Jack Creek Meadow. We lost a few once we got back to the parking lot, but a few continued on to the Ranch House and Jack Creek Meadow, and we all wound up regrouping one final time back at the Ranch House.





It seemed like everyone had a good time, and I enjoyed pretty much my first women's only ride! It was cool to ride with others that had a much different scope of experience and I hope to head out to these rides in the future and help lead and teach!

I had to get back to the truck to get some food in me, and once we had a bite to eat we headed north to pack up for our final trek out to the desert! There was a ton of food awaiting us.

Saturday night we had a big bbq with veggies, smoked salmon, and a huge pot of quinoa. I was stoked with plenty of leftovers!

Went to bed a tad late, didn't sleep all that well, and soon enough it was up and at'em on Sunday for a full day at Hurkey Creek! I was shooting for somewhere between 3 and 5 laps. Justin wanted me to do 3 race pace laps, which would've been great. Lap 1 was an endurance paced loop to warm up. I almost think I should've just gone from the gun since the next 2 laps were tough knowing how much more fun an easier lap was ;)





I only got through 2 race pace laps, with #3 being much slower (albeit similar effort) to #2. Time to pack it in. I went back out for #4, and while I finished it out, it wasn't pretty. Got back to the truck and downed my recovery ProCharge with milk, and had my ABJ sandwich and did some hanging out. Dan had been MIA since in between laps 1 and 2, and he pulled in about 20 or so minutes after Justin and Stephanie had gone out for lap #5. Crazies!

Dan and I hung out in the shade and got in some early "recovery". Eventually it was back to the desert for more bbq and a Young's Double Chocolate Stout! Hell ya!



We got to enjoy a good bottle of Wiens, even!



I know there are quite a few racers that enjoy knocking a few back on the weekends (or even during the week), but I've found whenever I have more than half a beer or a glass of wine I wind up being totally unmotivated and generally not feeling all that great the next day. No hangovers for me over the weekend, but I don't think alcohol enjoyment is going to be on my to-do list anymore, unfortunately! Someone remind me of this on a regular basis, though, okay?

Monday we slept in a bit and then had a serious date with some pool time.



After that it was time to pack up and head back to reality! 3 of us had bikes in need of service, so it was off to the bike shops before closing and then home to watch Monday's exciting Giro d'Italia stage!!

Got back to it yesterday and today. So far this week I feel much better about how training is going than I did after Sunday's ride. Going to unwind a bit the next two days and put in some good time this weekend. Should be fun! Hopefully I'll have a few more ride photos after next weekend!

I can't believe it's Wednesday already!