Finally got around to doing this ride today. Ow. Was doing just fine until the group split at El Toro/Santa Margarita. I just followed the majority of riders I was with and ended up turning. I did not know this was the long route. Held on just fine until we started going through the canyon near Trabuco. Holy hell. Does the group that goes straight go slower too? Got dropped somewhere along those many many hills before dropping into Cooks, then proceeding to have my rear der all of a sudden point upwards and my cleat separate from my shoe. Thanks to Dave aka pmortuary for coming to save my ass at Cooks.
The ride is tough no matter which way you go. Sometimes the shorter route is faster because...it's shorter. Neither ride really even starts until El Toro/Santa Margarita. Just keep showing up, it will pay dividends.
I will start coming out again since I'm now finished with my 3 months of base rides. Now comes the fun part of training.
