Our first climbing ride went off without a hitch under clouds and low-60\'s. We had four depart the Seal Beach group at Alton and we headed towards Bake for the first ascent of the day. Bruce C., Greg K., Mattias J., and myself rolled towards the foothills merging with another group as we passed Oakley. Larry opted to join us for the festivities and leave his group on their own. Saddleback Ranch didn\'t disappoint and was a good warm up for Live Oak. The route down through Melinda and Los Alisos was an ideal stretch to loosen up before hitting Vista del Lago (tops out at 16%), the steepest of the hills.  Our only scheduled stop was the 76 station at Marguerite and Trabuco. Not as deluxe as the Mobil in Seal Beach but it has restrooms and bottled water. The next climb was La Paz with a right turn at the top heading towards Oso Parkway. The grade is in the 3-4% range with an 8%section right at the top. As we continued up Pacific Park we could really start feeling the burn as we got closer to climb number 10, Aliso Creek. Once over the top we rolled down to the 133 for a tempo spin back into Irvine, then Sand Canyon back to the shop. This loop can be described as several climbs with good recovery sections in between. Mild temps and great crew made for an excellent morning in the saddle. Looking forward to next Saturday. Here\'s quick rundown of the ride stats:

Distance: 51.4 miles

Elevation: 4041\'

Ride Time: 3:23

Avg. Speed: 15.2mph

I\'ll add waypoint times in the next announcement this coming week. See below:

www.ridewithgps.com/trips/83435