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 2024.27 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 2024.26 - 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 2024.25 - 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 2024.24 - 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 2024.23 - 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 2024.22 - 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 2024.21 - 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

Egan 2024.20 - Top Performers

Announcements:

Tonight is the last night to order from the Alto Velo/Egan store for the summer order!

Recap:

In true Egan fashion, another tough ride aligned with another particularly toasty evening. After clearing the first couple of segments, the A and B groups merged at a water beak in Portola Valley to tackle the remaining segments en masse.

By the numbers:

• 152 riders

• 438 PRs

• 9 segments, 28.7 mi and 3,482 ft of climbing

Results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-20

Jen Tavé secured rider of the Day with 8 PRs, 5 Top Tens, 2 XOM and the woman’s GC leader. In a shakeup from previous weeks, Matin Massoudi took the top spot for the men with a commanding lead.

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

2024.19 Top Performers

Announcements:

• One more week to hit the minimum order for Egan kits

• Don’t forget to sign-up for The Bike Hut Classic!

Recap:

After the recent heat wave, this week we were treated to a perfectly cromulent evening in the hills of Westridge. Strava reports that we had 69 riders land on the GC leaderboards, each of them conquering 3200 ft of climbing in just 25 mi. Incredibly, there were nearly 500 PRs set on Tues, meaning an average of 7.2 PRs per person (the extra 0.2 is for pizza PRs)! Amidst this tough competition, Laura Formosa was rider of the day with all 11 PRs and 3 top 10s! At the top of the women’s GC was Rachel Hwang with 8 PRs, 6 top 10s, and 1 XOM while Matthew . led the men’s leaderboard with 9 PRs and 4 top 10s!

Results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-19

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

2024.18 Top Performers - Sue Lin Egan Sendoff

Announcements:

NEW! Egan kits have been added to the store.

Don’t forget to sign-up for The Bike Hut Classic!

Recap:

A bientôt Sue Lin! Sue Lin has been an outstanding board member, racer and Egan rider for the Alto Velo race team and Egan community. We will always keep fond memories of her girls distributing ice cream during the last Egan rides of past seasons. We wish her a smooth transition to SoCal. Thanks Bernard van Táp for the popsicles at the top of La Cresta as we bid farewell to Sue Lin.

Here are some of the highlights of the ride:

• The temperature was mild and the pace was fierce.

• Several riders enjoyed the collection of traditional Egan segments. This means the route may have been too easy as you should feel buried at the end of the ride questioning your life decisions to attend. We’ll make up for that next week.

By the numbers:

• 108 riders

• 443 PRs

• 11 segments, 17.86 mi and 2,874 ft of climbing

Results: https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-18

Jen Tavé was rider of the Day with 10 PRs, 9 Top Tens, 1 XOM and the woman’s GC leader. Matthew . got the top spot again 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

2024.17 - Top Performers

Announcements:

NEW! Egan kits have been added to the store.

Don’t forget to sign-up for The Bike Hut Classic!

Recap:

Why go to the Climb To Kaiser when we had our own Egan Inferno at home last Tuesday? Here are some of the highlights of the ride:

• To our great regret, the official ride was shortened to Foothills Park due to some riders having low thermal resistance. We decided to stop riding when their carbon handlebars started to melt.

• A few smart people dodged the official Moody and traded it for the peaceful and shaded Dirt Moody. Tanner and I bravely stayed the course when Dirt Moody was calling us. Please do not tell Dirk.

• Several nameless Stanford triathletes jumped in the lake, marking our first inaugural Egan biathlon.

• A few brave souls finished the entire ride all the way to Viscaino. Thankfully, the temperature had cooled down by then.

By the numbers:

• 82 riders

• 212 PRs

• 9 segments (short version), 13 segments (long version), 27.39 mi and 3581 ft of climbing

Results: Official (9 segments) and 4 unofficial segments

Zachary Hill was rider of the Day with PRs on the 9 “official” segments. Emily Selman took the woman’s GC and Matthew . got the top spot for the men. As for the 4 extra “unofficial” segments, Tanner got the best time on those.

As a reminder, the AV Photo Contest will be running through July 4, so there is still time to join the our growing list of impeccable shots! Email your best pics to photos@altovelo.org

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 2024.16 - Top Performers

The good news is the longest ride of the year is behind us! The bad news is the longest ride of the year is behind us! It’s still all uphill from here though. This week was challenging, with 83 starters and 63 riders landing on the leader boards. Jen Tavé was rider of the day with 10 PRs, 8 top 10s, and 2 XOMs, also grabbing the top spot of the women’s GC! Matin Massoudi was top of the closely contested men’s GC with 7 PRs and 4 top 10s!

As a reminder, the AV Photo Contest will be running through July 4, so there is still time to join the our growing list of impeccable shots! Email best pics at photos@altovelo.org.

https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-16

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 2024.15 - Top Performers

Another toasty ride on what may be the longest Egan of the year! With 91 riders whittled down to 54 completing all segments for the GC, this week was one for the record books. Rachel Huang secured Rider of the Day and women’s GC with a staggering 11 PRs, 6 Top 10’s, and FIVE XOMs. Just barely edging out Matin, Matthew . continued his streak as men’s GC with a perfect 13 PRs.

As a reminder, the AV Photo Contest will be running through July 4, so there is still time to join the our growing list of impeccable shots! Email best pics at photos@altovelo.org

https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-15

Photos by the one and only Dirk Bergstrom - more here

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

Rider of the Week

Egan 2024.14 - Top Performers

Thank you for all of you who signed up to volunteer at the Alto Velo Pescadero Road Race this Saturday. It’s great to see the cycling community come together to promote the sport throughout the region. This is our one ask for the year and Thank You to those who answered the request! Now on to the top performers results for the ride:

We are in peak season and the ride will likely get shorter from here, what a bummer! But that didn’t stop 80 riders from showing up this week for the 27 mile route racking up 3,323 ft of elevation gain. Great job everyone, especially Steph Hart who nabbed 5 top 10s, PRs on all 9 segments and claimed Rider of the Day status. Great job Steph! Jen Tavé and Matthew . are the two GC leaders for the week.

As a reminder, the AV Photo Contest will be running through July 4, so there is still time to join the our growing list of impeccable shots! Email best pics at photos@altovelo.org

https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-14

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 2024.13 - Top Performers

The heat didn’t deter at least 73 Egan riders from a southerly adventure featuring some of the most notorious short climbs near Cupertino. The women’s group had great turnout too! Egan women’s group is at minimum the first ride of every month - join us!

The last bit of Lindy was definitely a challenge for everyone, except perhaps its new queen and our Rider of the Day Jen Tavé who obtained PRs on all 9 segments, FIVE XOMs, and top 10s on the other four. Are any segments safe from Jen’s dominance? Greg McCullough was fastest in the men’s GC with 8 PRs and 2 cups.

As a reminder, the AV Photo Contest will be running through July 4, so there is still time to join the our growing list of impeccable shots! Email best pics at photos@altovelo.org

https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-13

Photos by the one and only Dirk Bergstrom - more here

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 2024.12 - Top Performers

Turnout was a bit lower for this week’s Egan compared to previous weeks. Perhaps some people stayed away because of their fear of the mighty Los Trancos staircase? If so, they missed out on some high quality suffering.

For the 3rd week in a row, Jen Tavé was rider of the day with PRs on all 8 segments, 6 top 10s, and 2 QOMs! Her QOMs were on the Ramona and the initial Vista Verde segments! Jen also took top honors for the women’s GC, while Qüinn Felton got the top spot for the men with 7 PRs and a KOM on Nasty Los Trancos Driveway!

So far this year, Jen has been Egan rider of the day 6 times, far ahead of Rachel Hwang with 2. Is anyone up to the challenge of dethroning Jen?

As a reminder, the AV Photo Contest will be running through July 4, so there is still time to join the our growing list of impeccable shots (such as the ones featured below). Email best pics at photos@altovelo.org

https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-12

Mike Kato going deep into the pain cave on Vista Verde (photo credit Joshua Wise)

Mike Kato dreaming of a relaxing Hawaiian vacation after summiting Vista Verde (photo credit Hugo Perez)

Egan 2024.11 - Top Performers

I, for one, wonder just how many seasons we will see of this 3 Body Problem! This installment started out strong with 6 segments in just 5 miles and just about 900 ft. before continuing on to two segments that made their Egan debut. Let’s be sure to thank Jerome for this absolutely brutal start! 72 riders made it on the leaderboards this week, missing those with private or incomplete rides.

Jen Tavé was once again rider of the day with 10 out of 12 PRs, 4 XOMs, and 5 other top 10s! Jen Tavé also took top honors for the women’s GC, while Justin Peck got the top spot for the men with 12 out of 12 PRs and 5 top 10s!

As a reminder, the AV Photo Contest will be running through July 4, so there is still time to join the our growing list of impeccable shots! Email best pics at photos@altovelo.org

https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-11

Credit Will Gibb

Credit: Simon Parton (but not his drone)

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 2024.10 - Top Performers

Thank you all for a fun and safe ride on Tuesday (and for humoring me with yet another Blandor)! This week we got to visit some of our old friends near Ravensbury, cramming in 2600ft of climbing in just 17 miles. We had a total of 74 riders on the leaderboards (and probably many more who skipped some segments or kept their rides private).

Jen Tavé was rider of the day with 9 out of 10 PRs, 5 XOMs, and 4 other top 10s! Jen Tavé also took top honors for the women’s GC, while Nico Sandi got the top spot for the men with 1 XOM and 3 top 10s!

As a reminder, the AV Photo Contest will be running through July 4, so there is still time to join the our growing list of impeccable shots!

https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-10

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

Credit: Unknown. Egan Model: Christophe Testi

• PS: If you cannot make it to the top 10 in GC report, but you want to get your Egan photo featured on the performance report. Take a pic of your Egan jersey during one of your epic rides. Email us your pic at photos@altovelo.org. Subject Line: Egan

Credit: Simon Parton and his drone!

Egan 2024.09 - Top Performers

Another reminder that safety is our priority and there are no PRs on downhills! Let’s take it easy on the way home and pay special attention to your speed, surroundings and road hazards. Hitting a bump with speed hurts! Now on with the results…

What a wonderful way to spend a Tuesday evening! This week we kept the ride local, but added a few more segments to get us to 2,581 ft. of climbing. We had a total of 85 riders on the leaderboards (and probably many more who skipped some segments or kept their rides private).

Scott W was rider of the day with PRs on all 12 segments and a top 10 on Aric Lane. Rachel Hwang took top honors for the women with 2 QOMs, while Grant Miller got the top spot for the men, beating Yann by 1 second. Aric Lane served up some serious results for the sprinters, so you all owe us a big Thank You for including it in the route.

Once again, big thanks to Dirk, Hannon and Josh for snapping photos in random spots along the ride. Photos will likely be posted via Slack sometime soon. As a reminder, the AV Photo Contest will be running through July 4.

https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2024-09

Photo credit Simon’s Drone