The Climbing Ride,November 17th - Climbing & Coffee & Cake

This week we’ve got a “very special episode” of The Climbing Ride. Simon and I work hard to avoid conflicts between the Climbing and C & C rides, but this month events conspired against us and the 17th was the only day available for both rides. Rather than fight over it we decided to combine forces. This Sunday both rides will meet together at the Chamber of Commerce, ride parallel routes, meet up for coffee & cake in Saratoga, and take parallel routes back to Manresa for second breakfast cake. Come on down for a social and suffering extravaganza!

Note that this week the Climbing Ride will be leaving at 09:10, and the C&C ride at 09:15.

If you are not an Alto Velo member you will need to fill out your yearly waiver at https://www.bikereg.com/alto-velo-guest-waiver

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "If you are going up hill, keep going".

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3291272552128095722

36 miles, 4084ft

Climbs of note: Taaffe, Stonebrook, Mora, Voss, Eden, Albar, Heder, Saratoga Heights, Saratoga Hills, Comer Climbpocalypse

Ride Safety:

Riders must be fully vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19.

For additional ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Climbing Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot on semi-random Sundays at 09:10 and leaves at 09:15. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Rides are 40-60 miles with 5000-7000 feet of climbing. The emphasis is on little-traveled hills with grades of ten to twenty percent. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks, and discouraged from vomiting in people’s driveways.

The Climbing Ride,October 27th - On the Up and Up

Time for your bi-weekly dose of vertical violence. Most of this week’s climbs are on the shorter side, so you’ll have to bring your sprint legs. Which will of course be wrecked by the one-two punch of Los Trancos & Vista Verde. Oh well, sucks to be you.

If you are not an Alto Velo member you will need to fill out your yearly waiver at https://www.bikereg.com/alto-velo-guest-waiver

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "If you are going up hill, keep going".

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26805966

53 Miles, 5240 ft

Climbs of note: Moody, Alexis, Los Trancos/Vista Verde, Huddart, Farm Hill/Canada College, High Rd/Woodside Dr.

Ride Safety:

Riders must be fully vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19.

For additional ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Climbing Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot on semi-random Sundays at 09:10 and leaves at 09:15. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Rides are 40-60 miles with 5000-7000 feet of climbing. The emphasis is on little-traveled hills with grades of ten to twenty percent. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks, and discouraged from vomiting in people’s driveways.

The Climbing Ride,October 13th - The Return of Your Favorite Form of Suffering

It’s officially fall, time for The Climbing Ride. It’s the answer to everybody’s burning question: “What if you take an Egan and stretch it out horizontally and vertically?”. Come on down to the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce Suffering at 09:10 this Sunday and join me in the quest for lactic acid burns.

If you are not an Alto Velo member you will need to fill out your yearly waiver at https://www.bikereg.com/alto-velo-guest-waiver

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "If you are going up hill, keep going".

Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2036476

48 Miles, 5500 ft.

Climbs of note: Redwood Gulch, Sanborn Rd, Pennsylvania/Overlook/Sheldon, Rest of Overlook, Saratoga Hills, Rainbow, Regnart, Lindy.

Ride Safety:

Riders must be fully vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19.

For additional ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Climbing Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot on semi-random Sundays at 09:10 and leaves at 09:15. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Rides are 40-60 miles with 5000-7000 feet of climbing. The emphasis is on little-traveled hills with grades of ten to twenty percent. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks, and discouraged from vomiting in people’s driveways.

2024 Egan End of Season Banquet and Bonus Pre-Party Ride

Well here it is folks, the official end of the Egan 2024 season. This year we’ll celebrate the same as last year by doing a short and sweet pre-party ride, then head to State of Mind (SOM) for some real heat and sweet pizza. The route should take about an hour, so we’ll plan on starting the banquet by 6:30PM. Feel free to join the ride or just show up at SOM for the banquet and start squatting at the tables in the parking lot. We can’t make reservations so we need to start occupying the tables as we arrive.

Pre-Party Ride meets at 4:50 and leaves at 5PM from the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce

Banquet starts around 6:30PM @ State of Mind: https://www.stateofmindpublichouse.com/locations-hours

Route: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/route?r=3273186714660844408&s=491203,681843,658065,676449,619616

Segments:

1. La Paloma from Westwind

2. La Cresta

3. Anacapa

4. Ascenscion + Anacapa

5. Viscaino Rd (East Side)

6. Viscaino West Side

7. Heat & Sweet Pizza

8. Drake’s Best Coast IPA chaser

Ride Safety:

For additional ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly covered socks on the Egan Ride, and riders are discouraged from riding Egan if they wear conservative socks.

Egansite: https://altovelo.org/egan
Egangram: www.instagram.com/eganrideclub
Strava: https://www.strava.com/eganride

Egan 2024.28 - Top Performers

With 119 riders, 363 PRs, and a variety of costumes, the Egan finalé for 2024 was a memorable experience. Thanks to Mark Filer for providing popsicles at the top of Madonna Way!

While Egan is officially over for 2024, don’t be sad because there’ll continue to be Eganesque rides through the fall/winter season, in particular Dirk’s Climbing Ride. Also stay tuned for more info on the end-of-season banquet to be held at the usual Egan watering hole, State of Mind in Los Altos.

Our women’s group has grown in popularity over the season and will be returning at least monthly next year. The leaders have a goal of growing this group even more, so you have all winter to get your female friends into cycling so that when next summer begins we can convince them that hills are fun.

Official Results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-28

Jack Lund was rider of the day with PRs on all 7 segments and a KOM on Stonebrook from Priscilla, as well as top GC spot! Jen Tavé took the GC crown for the women!

Note: If you’re wondering how to show up in the results, here’s how it works:

• Upload your ride that evening (the results are tabulated early Wednesday mornings)

• In your privacy controls, make sure that everyone can see your activities (if you’re worried about privacy, Strava has other settings such as restricting your profile page to followers and map start/end point visibility)

• You have to complete all segments to show up in the GC

Jérôme le super héros (photo credit Christophe Testi)

Amsterdam or Los Altos? (photo credit Dirk Bergstrom)

New Egan fashion helmets (photo credit: nearly everyone on the ride)

Egan 2024.28 - Season Finale

Weep ye bitter tears, for the season of Eganing is coming to an end. This Tuesday we will be riding the traditional First and Last Route with Jerome’s favorite pop singer addition (Madonna!). It’s short, but that just means you can go harder on each segment; we expect to see many PRs and cups, and hopefully a few crowns. Your efforts could be rewarded with some tasty treats at the end, but only if you go full gas and have something crazy on you (like a panda helmet) or your bike (pink tassels)!

Leaders: The Egan Collective (Akin, Jerome, Matt, Mike, Robin and Tanner)

Start Times: Tuesday at 6PM meet up at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. First group rolls at 6:05, followed by the second group at 6:08 and women’s group at 6:10. Start times as follows:

• Egan A Group @ 6:05

• Egan B Group @ 6:08

• Egan Women’s Group @ 6:10

And don’t free up that Tuesday evening slot on your calendar just yet! Tuesday, September 24th will be the traditional end-of-season banquet; details to follow.

Route: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/route?r=2874856572963175602&s=4243560,610571,21036783,10534914,3687553,686220,863594

Summary: 11.38 mi, 1325 ft (Strava route)

Segments:

1. La Paloma from Westwind: https://www.strava.com/segments/4243560 - (57s / 1:05)

2. La Barranca Rd: https://www.strava.com/segments/610571 - (25s / 31s)

3. Taaffe from Dezahara (Egan Official): https://www.strava.com/segments/21036783 - (55s / 1:07)

4. Stonebrook from Priscilla: https://www.strava.com/segments/10534914 - (49s / 59s)

5. Dirk's super short hill sprint: https://www.strava.com/segments/3687553 - (14s / 17s)

6. Quinnhill from Summerhill: https://www.strava.com/segments/686220 - (33s / 40s)

7. Madonna Way: https://www.strava.com/segments/863594 - (43s / 58s)

Ride Rules: For ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Egan Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot every Tuesday at 6:00pm and leaves at 6:05. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks on the Egan Ride, and riders are discouraged from riding Egan if they wear conservative socks.

Egansite: https://altovelo.org/egan
Egangram: www.instagram.com/eganrideclub
Strava: https://www.strava.com/eganride

Egan 2024.27 Egan GP Top Performers

Instead of watching Tuesday’s political debate, we attended the long awaited inaugural Egan GP with plenty of fast rolling, low grade non-Egan segments. Fortunately, the dogs, cats, deers and turkeys were spared but not the Egan riders. We achieved 400 PRs! The A Group did two extra bonus segments on West Altamont and Almaden Court.

Next week for the last Egan, get crazy & dress-up your bike. Here are some ideas. Something with a bit more flair here.

Official Results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-27

Yash S. was rider of the day with PRs on 8 segments and 2 top 10s. Once again, Rachel Hwang took the top GC spot for the women (and hydration technique) while Matin Massoudi took the GC crown for the men as usual.

Note: If you’re wondering how to show up in the results, here’s how it works:

• Upload your ride that evening (the results are tabulated early Wednesday mornings)

• In your privacy controls, make sure that everyone can see your activities (if you’re worried about privacy, Strava has other settings such as restricting your profile page to followers and map start/end point visibility)

• You have to complete all segments to show up in the GC

Photographer: unknown.  Photo touch-ups: Christophe Testi.  Chloé in full effort, wearing the Egan roadsuit at the last Ironman in Santa Cruz last Tuesday.  Great Egan participation including Simon and Hugo!

Egan 2024.27 (CORRECTED) - Egan GP

NOTE: the previous post had some issues with the route. This has the correct one

Tired of Akin’s painfully slow intervals from last week? Welcome to the first edition of the Egan GP! This Tuesday night, get ready for long, fast rolling intervals with a touch of unpredictability. We’re honoring "The Best Part of Purissima," a long-overlooked gem in Los Altos, with a stopover at Viscaino. Prepare for Dirk's complaints about the 2% incline over 1km, a true Egan-style rebellion against the norm. Enjoy, and happy fast rolling!

Warning: Be careful on the first segment with a sharp right turn into Miranda.

Leaders: The Egan Collective (Akin, Jerome, Matt, Mike, Robin and Tanner)

Start Times: Tuesday at 6PM meet up at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. First group rolls at 6:05, followed by the second group at 6:08 and women’s group at 6:10. Start times as follows:

• Egan A Group @ 6:05

• Egan B Group @ 6:08

• Egan Women’s Group @ 6:10

Route: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/route?r=3268449227577990310&s=627427,1247601,10249847,619616,35204659,31402844,638963,30846897

Summary: 18.02 mi, 1875 ft (Strava route)

Segments:

1. Miranda Hill: https://www.strava.com/segments/627427 - (57s / 1:05)

2. St. Francis to La Cresta: https://www.strava.com/segments/1247601 - (48s / 1:00)

3. Purissima — Arastradero to Viscaino: https://www.strava.com/segments/10249847 - (1:36 / 1:53)

4. Viscaino West Side: https://www.strava.com/segments/619616- (50s / 1:18)

5. The Best Part of Purissima: https://www.strava.com/segments/35204659 - (47s / 44s)

6. Altamont: Padre Ct to Top (Egan Official): https://www.strava.com/segments/31402844 - (3:06 / 3:58)

7. Black Mtn Rd.: https://www.strava.com/segments/638963 - (1:32 / 1:56)

8. Boronda Egan Sprint (Egan Official): https://www.strava.com/segments/30846897 - (46s / 59s)

Ride Rules: For ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Egan Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot every Tuesday at 6:00pm and leaves at 6:05. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks on the Egan Ride, and riders are discouraged from riding Egan if they wear conservative socks.

Egansite: https://altovelo.org/egan
Egangram: www.instagram.com/eganrideclub
Strava: https://www.strava.com/eganride

Egan 2024.27 - Egan GP

Tired of Akin’s painfully slow intervals from last week? Welcome to the first edition of the Egan GP! This Tuesday night, get ready for long, fast rolling intervals with a touch of unpredictability. We’re honoring "The Best Part of Purissima," a long-overlooked gem in Los Altos, with a stopover at Viscaino. Prepare for Dirk's complaints about the 2% incline over 1km, a true Egan-style rebellion against the norm. Enjoy, and happy fast rolling!

Warning: Be careful on the first segment with a sharp right turn into Miranda.

Leaders: The Egan Collective (Akin, Jerome, Matt, Mike, Robin and Tanner)

Start Times: Tuesday at 6PM meet up at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. First group rolls at 6:05, followed by the second group at 6:08 and women’s group at 6:10. Start times as follows:

• Egan A Group @ 6:05

• Egan B Group @ 6:08

• Egan Women’s Group @ 6:10

Route: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/route?r=3268449227577990310&s=627427,1247601,10249847,619616,35204659,31402844,638963,30846897

Summary: 18.02 mi, 1875 ft (Strava route)

Segments:

1. Miranda Hill: https://www.strava.com/segments/627427 - (57s / 1:05)

2. St. Francis to La Cresta: https://www.strava.com/segments/1247601 - (48s / 1:00)

3. Purissima — Arastradero to Viscaino: https://www.strava.com/segments/10249847 - (1:36 / 1:53)

4. Viscaino West Side: https://www.strava.com/segments/619616- (50s / 1:18)

5. The Best Part of Purissima: https://www.strava.com/segments/35204659 - (47s / 44s)

6. Altamont: Padre Ct to Top (Egan Official): https://www.strava.com/segments/31402844 - (3:06 / 3:58)

7. Black Mtn Rd.: https://www.strava.com/segments/638963 - (1:32 / 1:56)

8. Boronda Egan Sprint (Egan Official): https://www.strava.com/segments/30846897 - (46s / 59s)

Ride Rules: For ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Egan Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot every Tuesday at 6:00pm and leaves at 6:05. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks on the Egan Ride, and riders are discouraged from riding Egan if they wear conservative socks.

Egansite: https://altovelo.org/egan
Egangram: www.instagram.com/eganrideclub
Strava: https://www.strava.com/eganride

Egan 2024.26 - Top Performers

Maybe it was the “heat wave”, maybe it was the extended Labor Day weekend, but we had a less-than-average turnout for Egan 2024.26. Still, it was a fun and memorable ride with a picture perfect finish in Foothills Park just as the sun was setting. Remember, the end of the Egan 2024 season is slowly approaching, with only 2 more rides remaining ☹️ and the last official Egan scheduled for Sept 17th, followed by an informal Egan & banquet on Sept 24th.

Official Results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-26

Jack Lund was rider of the day with PRs on 5 segments and a top 10 on Tanglewood Lane. Once again, Jen Tavé took the top GC spot for the women while Matin Massoudi took the GC crown for the men.

Note: If you’re wondering how to show up in the results, here’s how it works:

• Upload your ride that evening (the results are tabulated early Wednesday mornings)

• In your privacy controls, make sure that everyone can see your activities (if you’re worried about privacy, Strava has other settings such as restricting your profile page to followers and map start/end point visibility)

• You have to complete all segments to show up in the GC

Jack Lund only had a single water bottle to weigh him down on the climbs 

Egan 2024.26 - Moody Blues

Are the last days of summer getting you down? That’s what we call the Moody Blues, and there’s no better remedy than climbing Moody at full throttle. We recommend you bring lights and 2 water bottles to the ride since it’s going to be hot!

Leaders: The Egan Collective (Akin, Jerome, Matt, Mike, Robin and Tanner)

Start Times: Tuesday at 6PM meet up at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. First group rolls at 6:05 and the second group at 6:08. Start times as follows:

• Egan A Group @ 6:05

• Egan B Group @ 6:08

Route: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/route?r=3265884655838930678&s=676449,3010957,610570,1664991,9055326,6445920,2083915,20963377

Summary: (Strava route) 18.83 mi, 2606 ft

Segments:

1. Viscaino Rd (East Side): https://www.strava.com/segments/676449 - (1:25 / 1:56)

2. Horseshoe Ct - https://www.strava.com/segments/3010957 (31s / 48s)

3. Elena Rd to Natoma: https://www.strava.com/segments/610570 - (1:31 / 2:00)

4. Edgerton from the bottom: https://www.strava.com/segments/1664991 - (1:25 / 1:51)

5. Tanglewood: https://www.strava.com/segments/9055326 - (33s / 37s)

6. Moody - New "Official": https://www.strava.com/segments/6445920 - (2:21 / 3:11)

7. Altamont_Circle_KOM: https://www.strava.com/segments/2083915 - (1:14 / 1:40)

8. Foothills Park Vista Point (Egan Official): https://www.strava.com/segments/20963377 - (2:11 / 2:47)

Ride Rules: For ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Egan Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot every Tuesday at 6:00pm and leaves at 6:05. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks on the Egan Ride, and riders are discouraged from riding Egan if they wear conservative socks.

Egansite: https://altovelo.org/egan
Egangram: www.instagram.com/eganrideclub
Strava: https://www.strava.com/eganride

Egan 2024.25 - Top Performers

What a great way to celebrate the end of Summer with a splash down at Jack’s at the end of the last segment. Who could turn down a slice of heat & sweet pizza after a hot & steep Egan ride! Events like this are made possible by the Alto Velo Race Club and your continued membership is greatly appreciated! Be on the lookout for 2025 membership registration near the end of the year.

Here are the results and some photos from Egan 2024 #25:

Official results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-25

Laura Formosa was rider of the day again with PRs on all 13 segments and 4 top 10s. Jen Tavé took the top GC spot for the women with 9 PRs and 9 top 10s while Matin Massoudi took the GC crown for the men with 9 PRs and 2 top 10s!

Note: If you’re wondering how to show up in the results, here’s how it works:

• Upload your ride that evening (the results are tabulated early Wednesday mornings)

• In your privacy controls, make sure that everyone can see your activities (if you’re worried about privacy, Strava has other settings such as restricting your profile page to followers and map start/end point visibility)

• You have to complete all segments to show up in the GC

Egan 2024.25 - Cool Down End @ Jack’s!

This week is setting up to be a hot hot Egan ride with 13 classic/dramatic segments. Come join the fun in the heat and end with a special cool down segment splash. Our usual post-ride happy hour will move to Jack’s at the end of the Tepa-Summit Wood segment where we’ll cool off in the pool and order pizza.

Leaders: The Egan Collective (Akin, Jerome, Matt, Mike, Robin and Tanner)

Start Times: Tuesday at 6PM meet up at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. First group rolls at 6:05 and the second group at 6:08. Start times as follows:

• Egan A Group @ 6:05

• Egan B Group @ 6:08

Route: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/route?r=3262954854931180466&s=12597337,1637778,628290,628214,9687341,681843,19570446,610571,1445586,12789305,19435465,730153,456211

Summary: 17.6mi, 2390ft (Strava route)

Segments:

1. Quail Beotch -https://www.strava.com/segments/12597337 (29s / 44s)

2. Duval Way - https://www.strava.com/segments/1637778 (35s / 48s)

3. Alta Tierra SB - https://www.strava.com/segments/628290 (26s / 33s)

4. Westwind (E side) - https://www.strava.com/segments/628214 (18s / 23s)

5. Aric Lane - https://www.strava.com/segments/9687341 (20s / 24s)

6. Anacapa - Sir Francis to La Cresta - https://www.strava.com/segments/681843 (2:36 / 3:17)

7. DeerCreekClimb - https://www.strava.com/segments/19570446 (37s / 1:01)

8. La Barrance Rd - https://www.strava.com/segments/610571 (25s / 31s)

9. Foothill Lane - https://www.strava.com/segments/1445586 (34s / 42s)

10. Taffee: Egan Style - https://www.strava.com/segments/12789305 (1:13 / 1:30)

11. E Byrne Park & Deer Springs Way - https://www.strava.com/segments/19435465 (56s / 1:14)

12. Rhus Ridge Road - https://www.strava.com/segments/730153 (2:11 / 2:39)

13. Tepa-Summit Wood - https://www.strava.com/segments/456211 (2:01 / 2:48)

Ride Rules: For ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Egan Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot every Tuesday at 6:00pm and leaves at 6:05. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks on the Egan Ride, and riders are discouraged from riding Egan if they wear conservative socks.

Egansite: https://altovelo.org/egan
Egangram: www.instagram.com/eganrideclub
Strava: https://www.strava.com/eganride

Egan 2024.24 - Top Performers

Some say that 5% is the new 10%; others say that it wasn’t really 5% at all; still others say “coffee and cake is this weekend, right?” Well, I’ve heard it both ways. In any case, this past week was a nice change of pace (🙄) as we stuck to the milder grades, discovered the utility of drafting, and learned the true meaning of Jens Voigt’s catch phrase. There were 91 riders that made it to the GC leaderboards and 680 PRs - over half of the ridden segments were PRs, incredible!

Official results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-24

Laura Formosa was rider of the day with 12 PRs and 6 top 10s, also taking the top GC spot for the women! Top GC for the men was Matin Massoudi with 9 PRs and 5 top 10s!

Note: If you’re wondering how to show up in the results, here’s how it works:

• Upload your ride that evening (the results are tabulated early Wednesday mornings)

• In your privacy controls, make sure that everyone can see your activities (if you’re worried about privacy, Strava has other settings such as restricting your profile page to followers and map start/end point visibility)

• You have to complete all segments to show up in the GC

Egan 2024.24 - 5% Fun

This week’s route may have you asking, “Is this really an Egan?” The first 10 segments or so average only around 5%, meaning a higher average speed than we are used to here on Egan ride. Several of them also employ the “kicker”, meaning the first half is an even milder grade until the very end. Make no mistake though, the total climbing height and time are just as long as other weeks. To round out these more moderate climbs, we also travel to some segments in south Los Altos while ending on beloved Mora.

Leaders: The Egan Collective (Akin, Jerome, Matt, Mike, Robin and Tanner)

Start Times: Tuesday at 6PM meet up at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. First group rolls at 6:05 and the second group at 6:08. Start times as follows:

• Egan A Group @ 6:05

• Egan B Group @ 6:08

Route: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/route?r=3260443131977663286&s=819038,22323489,678219,15025857,676448,632574,804807,7994833,640149,6664213,711223,21137778

Summary: 24.9mi, 2470ft (Strava route)

Segments:

1. Dianne Drive Climb - https://www.strava.com/segments/819038 (35s / 42s)

2. O'Keefe summitage - https://www.strava.com/segments/22323489 (38s / 52s)

3. Hilltop Drive - https://www.strava.com/segments/678219 (1:26 / 1:57)

4. Magdalena - Dawson to Stonebrook - https://www.strava.com/segments/15025857 (2:05 / 2:27)

5. Ravensbury - https://www.strava.com/segments/676448 (1:45 / 2:31)

6. West Loyola, Eastbrook to Rolly - https://www.strava.com/segments/632574 (2:19 / 2:53)

7. Vineyard/Redwood - https://www.strava.com/segments/804807 (1:04 / 1:20)

8. Deodara, Vineyard to the end - https://www.strava.com/segments/7994833 (32s / 50s)

9. Arboretum Drive - https://www.strava.com/segments/640149 (1:15 / 1:41)

10. Sierra Ventura - https://www.strava.com/segments/6664213 (55s / 1:12)

11. Highlands Circle (east) - https://www.strava.com/segments/711223 (39s / 59s)

12. Mora Trail - Egan Official - https://www.strava.com/segments/21137778 (1:59 / 2:40)

Ride Rules: For ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Egan Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot every Tuesday at 6:00pm and leaves at 6:05. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks on the Egan Ride, and riders are discouraged from riding Egan if they wear conservative socks.

Egansite: https://altovelo.org/egan
Egangram: www.instagram.com/eganrideclub
Strava: https://www.strava.com/eganride

Egan 2024.23 - Top Performers

The inaugural Sprint Delight route was a success! Riders were panting and legs got heavier & heavier after each segment. Best of all, Dirk Bergstrom cursed yours truly, the best honor one can receive from our local Egan legend. It’s like winning a gold medal for hill climbing. I digress but Egan should be added to the next Olympic games in LA. Christophe and Jonathan enjoyed the pain cake with 14 delicious handcrafted sprints and said that it was the “Best BD ever.” Seriously, climbing hills instead of drinking Champagne, what’s wrong with those two Egan riders?

Official results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-23

Jeff Walls was rider of the day with PRs on all 14 segments. Claire MacDougall got the top spot on the women’s GC and Matin Massoudi was the men’s GC leader again! Who is going to dethrone Matin?

Note: If you’re wondering how to show up in the results, here’s how it works:

• Upload your ride that evening (the results are tabulated early Wednesday mornings)

• In your privacy controls, make sure that everyone can see your activities (if you’re worried about privacy, Strava has other settings such as restricting your profile page to followers and map start/end point visibility)

• You have to complete all segments to show up in the GC

Bday boys! Jonathan and Christophe

Egan 2024.23 - Sprint Delight! Women’s ride is on!

Joyeux Anniversaire, Christophe! On Tuesday, we're celebrating our talented Egan Photographer from CreativeShot, Christophe Testi! To mark the occasion, we've crafted a special Egan handcrafted cake, complete with 14 delicious slices of sprint bliss. Get ready to enjoy the 'pain cake' on Tuesday, and savor each moment! Women’s ride is on and Robin will be leading it!

Leaders: The Egan Collective (Akin, Jerome, Matt, Mike, Robin and Tanner)

Start Times: Tuesday at 6PM meet up at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. First group rolls at 6:05 and the second group at 6:08. Start times as follows:

• Egan A Group @ 6:05

• Egan B Group @ 6:08

• Egan Women’s Group @ 6:10

Route: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/route?r=3257556529066987042&s=21706104,1247601,619166,1529368,994786,771633,1691743,3744123,7021782,631065,2903909,20659253,6871583,12244647

Summary: 20.18mi, 2838ft (Strava route)

Segments:

1. De Bell (Egan official): https://www.strava.com/segments/21706104 - (31s / 42s)

2. St. Francis to La Cresta: https://www.strava.com/segments/1247601 - (48s / 1:00)

3. Arastradero Steep Sprint: https://www.strava.com/segments/619166 - (58s / 1:17)

4. Mir Mirou: https://www.strava.com/segments/1529368 - (32s / 49s)

5. A little bit Country: https://www.strava.com/segments/994786 - (52s / 1:10)

6. Briones climb: https://www.strava.com/segments/771633 - (44s/ 1:00)

7. Altamont [WB] - Natoma to Almaden Court: https://www.strava.com/segments/1691743 - (27s / 39s)

8. Almaden Ct. Climb: https://www.strava.com/segments/3744123- (36s / 47s)

9. Oak Park Court (steep bit): https://www.strava.com/segments/7021782 - (33s / 45s)

10. Dawson Road Wall: https://www.strava.com/segments/631065- (48s / 1:09)

11. Valley View Climb from south: https://www.strava.com/segments/2903909 - (29s / 39s)

12. Quinhill from University (Egan Official): https://www.strava.com/segments/20659253 - (33s / 48s)

13. Summerhill / Rockpoint: https://www.strava.com/segments/6871583 - (49s / 59s)

14. Madonna Way (the climb): https://www.strava.com/segments/12244647 - (41s / 56s)

Ride Rules: For ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Egan Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot every Tuesday at 6:00pm and leaves at 6:05. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks on the Egan Ride, and riders are discouraged from riding Egan if they wear conservative socks.

Egansite: https://altovelo.org/egan
Egangram: www.instagram.com/eganrideclub
Strava: https://www.strava.com/eganride

Egan 2024.22 - Top Performers

Emeraldhill Lane. Who would’ve thought that a 0.08 mile segment would cause so much frustration? Several riders reported that Strava didn’t properly record the segment, either causing an inaccurate time or not identifying the segment at all in their ride data. As Egan éminence grise Dirk Bergstrom pointed out, Strava isn’t so good at dealing with short segments, and in fact no longer allows them to be created. More info here: https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918227-Optimizing-Segment-Creation-How-to-Create-Good-Segments#short

For this reason, we removed Emeraldhill Lane from the official results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-22

For those of you who hammered up Emeraldhill (and most of you did) and didn’t face any GPS inaccuracy issues, here are the original results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-22-orig. It should be noted that our own Robin Betz got the QOM!

Marc Osswald was rider of the day with PRs on all 10 segments. Robin Betz got the top spot on the women’s GC and Matin Massoudi was the men’s GC leader.

Note: If you’re wondering how to show up in the results, here’s how it works:

• Upload your ride that evening (the results are tabulated early Wednesday mornings)

• In your privacy controls, make sure that everyone can see your activities (if you’re worried about privacy, Strava has other settings such as restricting your profile page to followers and map start/end point visibility)

• You have to complete all segments to show up in the GC

Egan 2024.22

This week’s Egan route is untitled. Because I couldn’t think of a cool name. But that doesn’t mean the ride will be easy or uninteresting. From the shortest segment (Emerald Hill Lane @ 0.08 miles) to the longest (Altamont @ 1 mile), it will test your legs & lungs.

Leaders: The Egan Collective (Akin, Jerome, Matt, Mike, Robin and Tanner)

Start Times: Tuesday at 6PM meet up at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. First group rolls at 6:05 and the second group at 6:08PM. Start times as follows:

• Egan A Group @ 6:05

• Egan B Group @ 6:08

Route: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/route?r=3254294582095635412&s=4243560,456211,3687553,21192549,2903975,9441001,619680,1712416,3588820,638963,20963377

Summary: 23.08mi, 3062ft (Strava route)

Segments:

1. La Paloma from Westwind: https://www.strava.com/segments/4243560 - (57s / 1:05)

2. Tepa-Summit Wood: https://www.strava.com/segments/456211 - (2:01 / 2:48)

3. Dirk's super short hill sprint: https://www.strava.com/segments/3687553 - (14s / 17s)

4. Camino Hermosa (Egan Official) to Magdalena: https://www.strava.com/segments/21192549 - (1:42 / 2:16)

5. Mora Glen Drive climb maximus: https://www.strava.com/segments/2903975 - (52s / 1:09)

6. Mora: steep to gate: https://www.strava.com/segments/9441001 - (2:06 / 2:34)

7. Stonebrook to Prospect: https://www.strava.com/segments/619680 - (41s / 50s)

8. Emeraldhill Lane: https://www.strava.com/segments/1712416 - (16s / 25s)

9. Altamont - Stop Sign to Crest: https://www.strava.com/segments/3588820 - (3:57 / 4:59)

10. Black Mtn Rd.: https://www.strava.com/segments/638963 - (1:32 / 1:56)

11. Foothills Park Vista Point (Egan Official): https://www.strava.com/segments/20963377 - (2:11 / 2:47)

Ride Rules: For ride safety rules, please visit https://www.altovelo.org/riding-etiquette

What: The Egan Ride meets at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce parking lot every Tuesday at 6:00pm and leaves at 6:05. We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can do OLH in under 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up.

Where: Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022

How: Remember, pace yourself appropriately, there's lots of hills to climb! Pay attention to traffic and don't hog the road. Riders are encouraged to wear garishly colored socks on the Egan Ride, and riders are discouraged from riding Egan if they wear conservative socks.

Egansite: https://altovelo.org/egan
Egangram: www.instagram.com/eganrideclub
Strava: https://www.strava.com/eganride

Egan 2024.21 - Top Performers

This week we tried to answer some questions on GC leaderboard tactics: how do you pace overlapping segments? What if those two segments are almost 50% of the combined segment times? In the end, it looks like the standard strategies won: just do it. And so with the spirit of Egan, we climbed Blandor not just once, but twice, with zest, zeal, and zing!

By the numbers:

• 82 riders, 58 GC riders

• 491 PRs

• 12 segments, 21 mi and 2,940 ft of climbing

Results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-21

Rachel Hwang secured rider of the Day with 8 PRs, 6 top tens, 2 XOM and the woman’s GC leader. In a continuation from last week, Matin Massoudi took the top spot for the men with 7 PRs and 1 top ten.

Note: If you’re wondering how to show up in the results, here’s how it works:

• Upload your ride that evening (the results are tabulated early Wednesday mornings)

• In your privacy controls, make sure that everyone can see your activities (if you’re worried about privacy, Strava has other settings such as restricting your profile page to followers and map start/end point visibility)

• You have to complete all segments to show up in the GC