Swamis ride pace?
 

Hi, I'm interested in doing the Swamis ride on Sat mornings for a bit of a change of scenery but am a little intimidated. I heard it is a hammerfest. I'm not worried if I get dropped from the fast pack, my main question is, are there different levels of riders doing that ride so I would be able to latch onto a group that would be at a comfortable pace? I guess I just don't want to get dropped in the middle of the ride and have no idea where to go or how to get back. My skill and fitness level is about a cat 5 rider, occasionally cat 4. I've done montrose in pasadena and was able to keep up with the lead group for 90% of the ride until they hit the climbs at chantry flats at the end. I've done the SDBC ride and can ride comfortably with the "B" ride. I've never tried the A ride though.

Also, what are the people that do the swamis ride like? Are they pretty friendly or are they roadie snobs? Thanks!

They are friendly. And yet they are very fast. Friendly and fast. They have regroup points. I'm sure if you hang with the Montrose ride, you'll be fine.

Bring a map with you in case get dropped and lost. Or just go west to the coast, ride south down coast highway. Stop at Pannikin or Java Depot. Have coffee.

what ride do you usually do...where do you live. there are allot of rides around SD. Also i have done the "A" ride for SDBC and have heard from many that the Swami's ride is faster. The SDBC "A" ride is imo quite a bit faster than the B ride. I do the Chili's ride on saturdays which is fast but pretty fun. it's probably somewhere between the SDBC A and B rides.

I live in the UTC area which is why I do the SDBC ride but a change of scenery would be nice. Where does the chili's ride start out from? What is the group size typically? thanks.

Come to Fiesta Island on Thursday at 6pm. There is plenty of Swamis guys there. If you can hang on to this ride, you shouldnt have any problem. I do the SDBC A ride almost every week and it is about 2 to 3 miles per hour faster than B ride.

I've ridden fiesta a few times, at best I could hang on for about 6.5-7 laps before I got dropped and then I got back on for another couple laps (I have to confess though the cops were watching so they were holding back on the first few laps). More recently though due to a respiratory track infection, I've only been able to keep up for 4-5 laps and an addition 1 or 2. I'm thinking about trying the A ride, but I do like the paceline practice the B ride offers.

the ride starts at the mission valley Chili's off of Mission gorge right under the 8 freeway. It starts right around 8 am and consist of a couple 28mph+ sections and some faster sections with a couple of sprint points. there is also a few small climbs but nothing to horrific at all. there is a regroup point. PM me if you are coming and we'll hook up at the start. there are usually about 35-50 people there.

Fiesta for those of us that are a little weak is all about course management. I ride for Dewalt so if you want come find me (the only one on a black specialized that rides for dewalt) and i'll give you some pointers on hanging on. There is also a good group ride on tuesday evenings starting at 6 also on Fiesta.

Swami's was my first club and Sat. group ride. What IMO differentiates the Swami's ride from either the Montrose or the SDBC rides, (which I have done many times) is that the terrain is more selective on the Swami's Ride and the talent tends to be deeper. There's a regroup spot at the church when you enter Escondido. From there either head back Del Dios or out into the E. County. But I would say it ranks right behind the Simi ride in the depth of talent and the challenging nature of the terrain.

The trick with Swami's is having enough power to get over trash truck hill (San Elijo Rd). It's about a 3 minute climb, a right turn, a minute of false flat followed by a 45 second kicker. That's where the majority of the riders get shelled. From there it's mostly fast with a few punchy rollers. If you're positioned well you can tuck into the group and hang on. It also really depends on who shows up. There have been times where I've arrived at the church and I realized that we had less than 15 people in the front group. Other times you'll see 30-40 riders hanging on.

Don't forget that there are 2 different rides. The Swami's team ride starts at Nytro at 8:15 and the 'real' Swami's ride starts at B&L at 8:15 then rolls past Nytro at ~8:25-8:30.

Draft, what do you mean by the terrain is more selective? More climbs, wind?

I'll try to make it out to fiesta tomorrow, I'll look for you. I'll be riding a red Look and probably wearing a blue jersey.

I'm guessing they are both pretty intense, but is the "real" one the one with the regroups and friendlier for the newbies?

When I first started doing this ride (88 I think), the ride went straight up La Costa, which takes out the recovery flats of Levante. If the group was unlucky enough to hit a green light, the next section would be very entertaining. The dump truck bypass road would begin the action, and the ride would ramp up there. Right after you passed the dump, the road arced left and angled up to a hard right turn with a small kicker, before a recovery swale, before you turned right on Elfin Forest road. That section I always found the hardest to keep in touch with those who mattered. Anyway, it's always been a very stiff ride.