Southern California - 8:00 Como Street ride

How fast is it usually? Is there paceline work, or just mostly fast riding?

Volt - sort of familiar with the group as I have buddies who ride with them. It's a very fast, very organized formal riding group. They generally do a double paceline with everyone expected to pull a turn. Speed are generally very high, in excess of 20 mph even climbing. I wold say you have to be at race level but you can always give it a try. Maybe try the Santiago Cycling group first - see if you can make the B or A group and then try Como.

Rubbish :p
Como is fast, but it's not that fast, and rarely very organized. Normally about 50-100 riders start at 8:00am. The fast group heads up Bake and most others head up El Toro. The pace is mostly warm-up until you turn off either Bake or El Toro, sometimes it gets a little heated on Irvine Blvd. The Bake group is tough, especially heading up Glen Ranch and Cook's. The El Toro group isn't too bad going up El Toro, Cook's can get tough, but they stop to regroup at the top. After the climb, sometimes the front of the pack will rotate in a double paceline, a lot of the guys on the El Toro group don't understand how to ride a doulbe paceline, and it becomes a joke. Another hard push up Dump Hill (coming up from Irvine Lake towards the Toll Road), and then a sprint up the roller towards Jamboree. The pace is fast, and it's a lot of the racing crowd, but there's plenty of rec riders and noobs. The climbs are tough, but you can draft the rest of the time. Usually when I do El Toro, I'll go off the front with a few others on the climb and not stop at the regroup, because it gets frustrating riding with some of that crowd (not to discourage you from joining). The Bake group is very fast and usually has some of SoCals best domestic P/1/2 riders, and they will hurt you:eek: Just try it, I got dropped in the canyon the first couple of times I did it, but it wasn't a big deal. The biggest thing is to be aware of your surrounding, try to identify the sketchy wheels, and stay away. Let me know if you have any other questions about it. :)

Thanks! One of these days.

Ok OC - your description makes it sound like the Como group is a regular bunch of riders - NOT! It is a very fast group of riders, they do paceline and will go charging up Bake and through the Loop on a high testerone level - just a regular Club ride... Volt have fun!!!! ;)

Volt........if this group is anything like the Montrose group where you have about 100+ riders, with a nice mix of racers and rec riders, just hang anywhere in the back half of the pack and draft as long as you can. I, and a bunch of others are usually able to hang for about 1/2 to 3/4 of the ride before dropping out of the pack. Except for the head of the pack, the ride is informal for the rest of us. Pay attention what's going on ahead of you, don't overlap wheels, and just have fun. :)

Volt........if this group is anything like the Montrose group where you have about 100+ riders, with a nice mix of racers and rec riders, just hang anywhere in the back half of the pack and draft as long as you can. I, and a bunch of others are usually able to hang for about 1/2 to 3/4 of the ride before dropping out of the pack. Except for the head of the pack, the ride is informal for the rest of us. Don't overlap wheels and just have fun. :)
+1
From what I've heard about the Montrose group, that ride is probably about comprable. Yes, it's a fast training ride, but it's not that hard to hang, especially if you're not on the front. I'd be more concerned wtih pack riding and bike handling skills, then the speed of the ride. Hang in the back half, and move up as you build skills, confidence and speed :)

I've done COMO several times when I'm off on Sunday. I always get dropped at Cooks, Slow climber! I have hit 28mph on Irvine in the pack. The pull up El Toro is a challenge. The last three times I did it, I flatted... my suggestion.. do it it isn't that big of a deal. Just be in the parking lot at 800 or 830 and leave when the group leaves. If you get dropped, so what, the loop is great fun.

Hi,

I started riding Como Street in 1979 and stopped just after I got married in 1990. My biggest problem with the ride was (still is?) that once it got to 100+ riders, the group would blatantly run red lights, stop signs, etc AND block most or all of the traffic lanes. :eek:

The very last time that I did the ride, we were coming down Trash Truck Hill (when it was mostly one lane) and a couple of cars tried to pass us (after waiting a long time through a good part of the canyon) and the second vehicle, a pickup truck wasn't going to get around the pack before hitting an on-coming car. The pickup driver slams on his brakes (this is happening in front of me) and starts fish-tailing next to pack. He barely gets slowed down enough to get behind us before the oncoming car came through. :eek:

Now I know that there are a lot of different people that you can blame for the scenario, but right then and there I decided that I didn't want to expose myself to that kind of risk anymore.

Also, at that time, it seemed like there was at least one crash per week on the roads leading up to El Toro. Once things thinned out at El Toro (due to the split at Bake and the splits on Cook Corner), the crashing stopped, but it was always kind of hairy until then. Of course for this ride everyone has the "I hope they weren't hurt too badly" attitude where the only people that stopped for the crash were the victim(s) and MAYBE their close friends. :(

Yes, I haven't been there in almost 17 years, but I find that I don't miss it that much.

Ahhhh, poor cagers might have to slow down until it's safe to pass. boo hoo.

Volt, I've done this ride and my opinion is that OC's description is a bit more accurate than Pam's. It's fast but you'll be able to hang for a while and you'll probably end up riding through the canyon on your own or with another person who gets dropped. The cool thing is that you get used to riding faster and it will carry over to your other rides. Each time you'll be able to stay with the group a little longer. One good way to get faster is to ride with faster riders. I'll probably start doing this ride again once I stop traveling so much.

I'd like to try this ride sometime, too. The three (four) of us can get dropped together, then have lunch.

I'd like to try this ride sometime, too. The three (four) of us can get dropped together, then have lunch.


It's in my area, I'll get dropped with you, or by you....
So make it 4 ( five) of us.

The three (four) of us can get dropped together, then have lunch.That's what we always do whenever we do the Montrose ride. In fact, we did just that today...:D

It's in my area, I'll get dropped with you, or by you....
So make it 4 ( five) of us.

It's in my area, too. The more dropees, the more festive the lunch!

Just Do It!:)

Yeah!

(when is the Como St. ride, anyway?)

Yeah!

(when is the Como St. ride, anyway?)

Sundays at 8, starting at the Tustin Marketplace.

I'd like to try this ride sometime, too. The three (four) of us can get dropped together, then have lunch.

Even better...how about breakfast at Cook's Corner. Every time I stop in there around breakfast time, I see great stuff being cooked...meanwhile I'm just filling my water bottle.

We could fill up on bacon & eggs...and bacon...and more bacon and then call Rose and have her bring the Trooper to pick us up!!!

Even better...how about breakfast at Cook's Corner. Every time I stop in there around breakfast time, I see great stuff being cooked...meanwhile I'm just filling my water bottle.

We could fill up on bacon & eggs...and bacon...and more bacon and then call Rose and have her bring the Trooper to pick us up!!!

What if we skipped the ride and went straight to breakfast?

And aren't you in NY right now? So isn't it really earlate?

What if we skipped the ride and went straight to breakfast?

And aren't you in NY right now? So isn't it really earlate?

Heading to bed right now...that's the beauty of NYC...I was the party pooper when I left the bar at 2 AM.

I'd consider this one Sunday morning, and I'm sure Melissa would too. We can hang as long as we could, get our X miles in by ourselves, then eat.