Egan Ride
Bored with structured training? Increase your fitness with hill intervals! Welcome to Egan, a fun, social yet competitive group of eclectic hill climbers. We charge steep uphills and banter during recovery. Each week is a new route featuring challenging short climbs in the beautiful hills of Silicon Valley.
Join the Egan Ride Club on Slack to stay informed about rides and chat with other Egan riders!
Start: Tuesdays 6:00pm during daylight saving time at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce, rolling at 6:05pm
Pace: Charge the hills, slow roll in between
Regroups: We regroup and recover after every climb; if you can climb Old La Honda in 25 minutes you should have no problem keeping up
Example route: https://www.strava.com/routes/2874856572963175602 (click here to see more)
The Egan Ride is subject to Alto Velo's Ride Rules and all participants must sign an annual waiver.
Note: During the Egan off season, The Climbing Ride is held monthly on Sundays, starting at 9am at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. Slightly longer than Egan, it features crazy steep hills in places like Los Gatos, Emerald Hills, and Hillsborough. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "If you are going up hill, keep going".
Egan Videos
Have a video to add? Let us know!
Representing Egan!
Chloé Nguyen at the 2024 Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz Ironman
Chloé Nguyen at the 2024 Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz Ironman
Warner Yuen at the Umbrail pass in the Dolomites
Simon Parton at the finish line of 2024 Unbound Gravel
Akin Dirik riding in Mallorca (Cap de Formentor)
Egan 2023.06 Top Performers
Siddhant Benadikar was rider of the day with PRs on all 12 segments. Yan led the group by over 3 minutes and Yvonne Walbroehl took the women’s GC.
This week Egan was rescheduled to Thursday due to evil rain. Despite cold weather, we managed to have a small group of fearless Eganeers. To spice it up, we added a stealth segment, Tanglewood Lane, that averages 15% and creeps up to 22% at the end. Then we chased our fearless Egan rabbit, Rhodes on Viscaino, resulting in someone exploding halfway. It was great Machiavellian fun!
Siddhant Benadikar was rider of the day with PRs on all 12 segments. Yan led the group by over 3 minutes and Yvonne Walbroehl took the women’s GC.
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2023-06
Join us again on next week's ride when Egan returns to its normal Tuesday schedule.
Thanks,
J.
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
Egan 2023.05 Top Performers
Eugene Chan was rider of the day with PRs on all 9 segments. Sam Schneider beat Eugene by 10 seconds to take the men’s GC and Yvonne Walbroehl took the women’s GC.
This week we had a more equal split between the 2 groups which resulted in a smooth and incident-free ride. Each group had its share of faster and slower riders. For future Egans we’ll come up with interesting ways to split the ride so you’re not always riding with the same group of people. As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback to keep the ride safe and fun.
Eugene Chan was rider of the day with PRs on all 9 segments. Sam Schneider beat Eugene by 10 seconds to take the men’s GC and Yvonne Walbroehl took the women’s GC.
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2023-05
Join us again on next week's ride which will be even longer & climbier.
Thanks,
Akin
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
Egan 2023.04 Top Performers
Another chilly night, but that didn’t stop us from heating up the streets of Los Altos Hills! Did anyone catch the chatter we raised among the NextDoor oligarchs of Los Altos Hills? It’s a bit entertaining IMO.
This week, we split the group between ‘GC Achievers’ and ‘GC Believers.’ That seemed to go incident free, made regroups easier, and helped the overall ride operate more efficiently. A few notable observations include the front group could have benefited from a few more riders and the follow group could have kept to the right more to allow traffic (and riders) to pass freely on the left. We’ll keep tweaking the grouping structure and try new ideas as we go along. Your feedback on this matter is welcome and appreciated!
C Zinger was rider of the day with PRs on all 9 segments and claimed the men’s GC, while Karen Brems (in the follow group) snagged the women’s general classification. Julian Amblard also deserves recognition as the 3rd fastest overall and the fastest in the follow group. Awesome job folks!
Here are the results you’ve been refreshing your e-mail for all day:
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2023-04
For those who want a preview of next week’s ride, we are doing the ‘Egan Recon Ride’ this Friday at 3pm. Meet us at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. at 321 University Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022 if you’d like to join us.
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
Egan 2023.03 Top Performers
Newcomer Nikhil Sharma was rider of the day with PRs on all 8 segments, while Robin Betz (again!) and George Wehner got the women and men’s general classifications, respectively. Awesome job, Nikhil, Robin and George!
Egan 2022.03 was another sufferfest with a picture-perfect finish in Foothills Park! While there were no incidents on the ride, the large number of riders on some of the shorter segments resulted in some crossing the yellow line, which is a no-no. For the purposes of ride safety, we might have to split up future rides into multiple groups.
Newcomer Nikhil Sharma was rider of the day with PRs on all 8 segments, while Robin Betz (again!) and George Wehner got the women and men’s general classifications, respectively. Awesome job, Nikhil, Robin and George!
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2023-03
See you all again next week for a slightly longer (and harder) ride!
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
Egan 2023.02 Top Performers
Rider of the day was Evan Batzer, who got PRs on all 7 segments. Sam Schneider and Robin Betz (2nd week in a row) took the GC. Who is going to beat Robin next week… Alexandrine?
Eganeers,
Thank you for joining the official Egan launch ride for 2023! Welcome baaaack to the endless pain cave!!! Darn cold weather, but the Egan spirit was definitely on fire. Even Greg Finley, who designed this route last year, made the trip from San Jose to join the fun. Now, the data you’ve been waiting for all day (we’re certain of that!).
Egan by the numbers:
Total riders: 61 (per Strava) grossely underestimated. We would guess the total riders were more in the 70-80 range. Can someone count the number riders in the video below and report to the group next Tuesday? Special prize for the Eganeer who can count all the riders.
Total number of pizzas consumed: 12. Like true Pirates, we took over the entire space at SOM without reservations! Thanks Alto Velo Board of Directors for sponsoring. Don’t forget to join AV this year here!
Total beers consumed: Unspecified. Thanks Chloe for the pint!
Total calories burned: A lot
Total calories consumed post-ride: More than a lot
Temperature: 6° Celsius (42° F) at the end of the ride. Burrr…
23 Egan new kits on their way to be delivered early June. First ever Egan road suit in production!
Rider of the day was Evan Batzer, who got PRs on all 7 segments. Sam Schneider and Robin Betz (2nd week in a row) took the GC. Who is going to beat Robin next week… Alexandrine?
Video: credit Chloe. Photo credit: random Eganers
Egan 2023.01 Top Performers
Rider of the day was Hannon Ayer, who got PRs on all 7 segments and came in 3rd for the men’s GC. Robin Betz took the honors for the women. Congrats to all riders for putting in a great effort after a long and rainy winter!
Eganeers,
Damn the weather, the 2023 season has officially started! It wasn’t a bad turnout considering we gave only 2 days notice.
Rider of the day was Hannon Ayer, who got PRs on all 7 segments and came in 3rd for the men’s GC. Robin Betz took the honors for the women. Congrats to all riders for putting in a great effort after a long and rainy winter!
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2023-01
The weather is looking fine next week so we expect Egan to resume its normal Tuesday schedule. See you all there!
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
Egan 2022.27 - Top Performers
Rider of the Day was Cam O’Reilly with 7 PRs, 2 Top 10s, and 2 KOMs. Dude looks fast standing still and I couldn’t even see him once he got moving.
Big turnout this week, maybe the largest of the year. I’m sure they all came to hear me bloviate; certainly not because it was the last chance for an Egan Ride in 2022. Seems like every fast rider in the AV orbit showed up to throw down — you know the competition was fierce when George & Steven don’t even make the top ten!
Rider of the Day was Cam O’Reilly with 7 PRs, 2 Top 10s, and 2 KOMs. Dude looks fast standing still and I couldn’t even see him once he got moving.
Photo credit: That Dirk guy.
Egan 2022.26 Top Performers
Rider of the Day was Whitman Kwok with 10 PRs out of 10 Segments. Congrats all!
This week we caught the tail end of the heat wave. Temperature at the start of the ride was 100F, but quickly dropped below 90F by the end of the ride. We were fortunate enough to be in the shadows of the sunset for most of the ride as the segments got longer/steeper as the ride went on. Thanks to Rhodes for calling out the water spout at the top of Magdalena. It was a well deserved rest stop before AND after Blandor Olive Tree.
Rider of the Day was Whitman Kwok with 10 PRs out of 10 Segments. Apparently he was the only one who kept his head ‘cool’ throughout the ride with his 3D printed KAV helmet. Congrats all!
Beat the heat with https://www.instagram.com/eganrideclub/
Photo credit: sorry this is the only pic I could find.
Egan 2022.25 Top Performers + Egan After Party on Slack
Rider of the Day was Luke Sonnet with 12 PRs out of 12 Segments. Sam Schneider, our Egan rider from Sacramento with an orange bike with gravel tires, took the Men GC. Amy Koop first time Egan rider took the Women GC. Congrats all!
Last Tuesday, we were chasing the sunset all the way to the top of Foothills Park where our exhausted faces were washed away with the last sun rays of the day. The countdown of the Egan Golden hour has started, click here to join Egan After Party on Slack. Le puncheur edition was packed with 12 short climbs. We had a total of 165 PRs. It was a big ring day and sandbagging on a small ring was not an option.
“I don’t know George but i took his suffer pill, it was painful. Short climbs, full gas, minimum recovery. This is Egan” Yuval
Unfortunately, George was not present but we will celebrate again his Cat 3 upgrade upon his return from the East Coast.
Rider of the Day was Luke Sonnet with 12 PRs out of 12 Segments. Sam Schneider, our Egan rider from Sacramento with an orange bike with gravel tires, took the Men GC. Amy Koop first time Egan rider took the Women GC. Congrats all!
Chasing Sunset with https://www.instagram.com/eganrideclub/
Photo credit: Roger Pai
Egan 2022.24 Top Performers
Greg McCullogh was the rider of the day who snagged the KOM on Madonna Way and took nine PRs, and two additional top ten finishes, great job Greg!
Great job by everyone last night, that was pretty tough! This was the first time this year that we used the five ways to the four way and I think the difficulty of that section was apparent. Extra kudos to George Wehner, Tanner Devoe, Otto Jolanki, Mike Kato and Jerome Sierra for taking part in the brutal University Road Race and still joining us for this tough Egan course. I think I saw a twinkle of extra suffering on all of their faces :) Despite that we had top ten finishes by a few of those individuals! While he didn’t complete the course, George Wehner snagged a KOM on O’Keefe Lane!
Special mention to Ben Stevens who rode across country on an older Specialized frame with downtube shifters and panniers, camping along the way just to ride with Egan! I didn’t find out what gearing he had, but it was definitely not Egan friendly.
Greg McCullogh was the rider of the day who snagged the KOM on Madonna Way and took nine PRs, and two additional top ten finishes, great job Greg!
Egan 2022.23 Top Performers
Alex Derry was rider of the day with 9 PRs and 1 top 10. Way to go Alex!
Whew, that was a scorcher! Thankfully the water break at Arastradero (and short gravel climb) kept us going for the 2nd half of the ride. Previous Egan ride leader Dirk Bergstrom took plenty of professional-quality photos us suffering on the ride. Below are a few of my favorites. You can view his album at https://www.otisbean.com/photography/egan-2022.23/
Alex Derry was rider of the day with 9 PRs and 1 top 10. Way to go Alex!
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2022-23
(remember to join the Egan Strava club if you want your results to be shown on the leaderboard)
Also, a final reminder that the University Road Race is this Sunday. The race is desperately short of volunteers, as UCSC just decided that we need a total of 18 marshals and wayfarers (volunteers at driveways and intersections to provide info and direct the riders. Please signup to volunteer at:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19ealqGvzrrYw8Yf_dzdcbLcI0V8W71E2AZFo14Y_sPQ/edit#gid=0
Chloé Nguyen
Matt Flanzer
Yours truly
Egan 2022.22 Top Performers + University Road Race workout tomorrow
Few public service announcements first related to the few incidents with the cars on the Egan ride this week. We want everyone coming to the ride to have great fun so it is our best interests not to running into conflicts with drivers. Here are some good practices we should follow:
If there is someone passing the group on a climb where there isn't space, the call of 'car back' should have our riders pull over and ride single file. It isn't our legal obligation, but it will keep things safer. If it screws up the segment times people can request that we remove it from the results (its the least of our worries).
If possible do not engage any drivers in any negative way. Do not shout at or touch a driver's car. If someone in the group is getting heated by a driver's actions, any other nearby riders who are more calm should do their best to calm the riders first, then possibly calmly discuss the issue with the driver.
As that is out of the way, here is more info about AVRT collaboration for University Road Race! If you want to join the Egan Slack Channel about this upcoming race, email egan@altovelo.org and we will send you an official invite.
Join us for a University Road Race workout tomorrow, Friday 08/12 at 7:30am at Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. We will do repeats on Taaffe RVSP egan@altovelo.org
Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/2992934682505153616
Last but not least, the results from Egan! Greg McCullough took the rider of the day and GC victory for men. Welcome to the club and congrats! Remember to join the strava club if you want your result to be shown on the leaderboard.
Egan 2022.21 Top Performers
Along with her other accolades, the rider of the day was Gina Yuan with a PR on every segment, seven cups and a QOM! Awesome job Gina!
We had a great ride last night, thanks to everyone for keeping it slow and safe between all of the climbs!
We had some great performances this weekend at the San Rafael Criterium! Gina took first place in P-3, Alex took third place in P-1-2-3 and Jack took first place in P-3. Not bothering to rest on their laurels, they came to Egan last night and pretty much crushed the field with Gina and Alex taking first and second among the women and Jack taking first for the men.
Hal took first place in the Bike Hut classic for an impressive third year in a row and was still out there with us last night.
And Justin Pane decided he hadn’t had enough pain on Tuesday after getting a skin biopsy, so he also came to Egan for a bit more suffering.
Other honorable mentions go out to Gavin, who took 5th in Men’s P-1-2 at the San Rafael Crit and Robin who had her third win in a row at the Bike Hut Classic. Come back for some more Egan fun soon!
Along with her other accolades, the rider of the day was Gina with a PR on every segment, seven cups and a QOM! Awesome job Gina!
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2022-21
Hope to see everyone again next week!
Greg
Gina, Alex, Jack and Tommy relaxing between segments
Egan 2022.20 Top Performers & Rider Safety
The last crash we had on the Egan ride was in 2019 when the same rider went down twice. Last night we had two riders go down and left the ride early. As a reminder the principles of the Egan ride are very simple: go hard on the climbs, go easy on the descents and follow group ride protocols. If you are unsafe and put others in danger we’ll either ask that you stay at the back of the ride or leave the ride entirely. It’s our goal to provide a safe and friendly ride, so the last thing we want to do is ask someone to leave it. Now with that out of the way on to the ride summary.
I once heard The Godfather of the Egan ride say “It’s not the length of the climb it’s the Gerth that gets you.” That’s probably the best way to describe last nights follow up to Napolean’s anger management ride where Jerome kept extending the ride until we were all defeated. Over 22 short miles we were able to rack up over 3k feet of elevation gain and still finish before 8pm. It wasn’t the length of the ride, it was definitely the Gerth!
Alex Obrand was rider of the day with 1 QOM, 9 PRs and 7 top 10s.
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2022-20
See everyone again next week!
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
At least this rider (Mitch Smith) was still having fun at the end of the ride!
Egan 2022.19 Top Performers
George Wehner was rider of the day with 11 PRs and 2 top 10s.
It is always difficult to create a tough ride after Greg but I might have achieved it with the Death Ride Edition of Egan. We climbed 1/4 of the Death Ride in distance and elevation with 14 segments (2 undisclosed ones). Barely avoided a mutiny at the end when the last undisclosed segment was announced. Super Kudos to Veneta Cholakova who completed this brutal Egan ride after doing the Death Ride last Saturday. She is not on the race report but we have proof that she was there. ;-)
George Wehner was rider of the day with 11 PRs and 2 top 10s.
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2022-19
See everyone again next week!
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
Credit: Justin Molush
Egan 2022.18 Top Performers
William Hooper was rider of the day with 14 PRs and a top 10 on the creatively named segment “Tough Wee Climb” (Vineyard/Redwood in Los Altos). Kristin Hepworth and George Wehner earned the top women’s and men’s GC respectively. Steven Wu bagged another couple of KOMs, on Whitham Ave and the aforementioned Tough Wee Climb.
Thanks to Greg Finley for putting together a fiendishly brutal Egan ride! Featuring 4 new climbs, lots of short punchy segments at the beginning, and several longer ones at the end, this ride had something for everyone. Personally, I’d rank this among the toughest Egans so far this year (regrettably, I had to skip the final Blandor/Olive Tree segment due to some rib pain).
William Hooper was rider of the day with 14 PRs and a top 10 on the creatively named segment “Tough Wee Climb” (Vineyard/Redwood in Los Altos). Kristin Hepworth and George Wehner earned the top women’s and men’s GC respectively. Steven Wu bagged another couple of KOMs, on Whitham Ave and the aforementioned Tough Wee Climb.
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2022-18
See everyone again next week!
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
Dirk Bergstrom demonstrates “what does not kill me makes me stronger” (photo courtesy of Allen Ibarra)
It’s a long way from the bottom of Mora (photo courtesy of Simon Parton)
Egan 2022.17 Top Performers
Rider of the day was Niky Taylor who had 11 PRs and 4 top 10s! Other notable performances included Greg McCullough with the top men’s GC and Steven Wu who got the KOM on Wildcrest.
Although last night’s ride was shorter than previous Egan rides it was quite a bit faster, with another perfect photo finish at the Foothills Park vista point. Thanks to Mike Kato for designing the route and to Greg for leading the ride (since Mike wasn’t able to make it).
Rider of the day was Niky Taylor who had 11 PRs and 4 top 10s! Other notable performances included Greg McCullough with the top men’s GC and Steven Wu who got the KOM on Wildcrest.
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2022-17
See everyone again next week!
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
Foothills Park scenery never disappoints (photo credit: Claude Luu)
ZZ Top rides Egan! (photo credit: Dirk Bergstrom)
Egan 2022.15 Top Perfomers
Rider of the day was Kevin Kim with 7 PRs and 1 Top 10. George Wehner with tired legs from the Pescadero Road Race took the overall GC. Big kudos to Alison and Chloé who showed up for this crazy ride.
Eganeers,
I hope you all enjoyed last Tuesday night. The route has been renamed the “101F Egan edition”. It was shorter, hotter and ended up with a new final segment called Pizza and Beers 😉
Rider of the day was Kevin Kim with 7 PRs and 1 Top 10. George Wehner with tired legs from the Pescadero Road Race took the overall GC. Big kudos to Alison and Chloé who showed up for this crazy ride.
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2022-15
Support your Egan Leader! Greg will be performing a free classical guitar recital this Saturday at 7pm with 10 other players at 20920 McClellan Road, Cupertino, next to De Anza College.
See you all again next week!
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
The Last Interval was tough!
Egan 2022.14 Top Performers
Rider of the day was Gavin Hlady with 8 PRs, 4 Top 10s and 2 KOMs and the overall GC. Katheryn Curi led the Egan women. In her own words: ”We had a small but strong turnout for the women's Egan, with 7 determined women tackling the steep slopes in Los Trancos. I was so inspired by the fortitude that all showed as each pushed their limit to earn some PRs and 'podium' finishes for the segments. The time between efforts seemed to fly by as we chatted away. I look forward to leading another women's Egan sometime in July (date TBD).”
Eganeers,
I hope you all enjoyed last Tuesday night’s segments in Los Trancos. Because none of the Egan Leaders made it to the top 10, the report will not be published this week :-)
Rider of the day was Gavin Hlady with 8 PRs, 4 Top 10s and 2 KOMs and the overall GC. Katheryn Curi led the Egan women. In her own words: ”We had a small but strong turnout for the women's Egan, with 7 determined women tackling the steep slopes in Los Trancos. I was so inspired by the fortitude that all showed as each pushed their limit to earn some PRs and 'podium' finishes for the segments. The time between efforts seemed to fly by as we chatted away. I look forward to leading another women's Egan sometime in July (date TBD).”
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2022-14
See you all again next week!
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
Egan 2022.13 Top Performers
Rider of the day was Niky Taylor with 9 PRs (on all segments), a QOM (on Minoca) and a Club QOM (on Horseshoe Bend)! For the men, Ben Hoskins took the overall GC with 8 PRs and a KOM (on Morro Vista). Way to go, Niky and Ben!
Eganeers,
I hope you all enjoyed last night’s segments in the hills of Ladera and Portola Valley.
Rider of the day was Niky Taylor with 9 PRs (on all segments), a QOM (on Minoca) and a Club QOM (on Horseshoe Bend)! For the men, Ben Hoskins took the overall GC with 8 PRs and a KOM (on Morro Vista). Way to go, Niky and Ben!
https://route-viewer.vercel.app/results/egan-2022-13-v2
We had a couple of Alto Velo riders show up and give these important club announcements:
Bernardo Tapia is Alto Velo’s racing coordinator for the annual Pescadero Coastal Classic Road Race on Saturday, June 18th. We need volunteers to help make sure it’s a positive and safe experience for racers. Please consider giving back to the club by signing up for a volunteer position in this sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ccb3bSecVDryyp4oVj_yuE9UM6TL4RM4/edit#gid=912235044
Gina Yuan and the Alto Velo Women's Racing Team will be hosting a women’s ride this Saturday, June 11th, starting 9am from the Woodside Town Hall (https://goo.gl/maps/v1NKfhzDqPmsHt2j6). The ride will be a recon of the Pescadero Coastal Classic!
See you all again next week! If that's too long to satisfy your Egan addiction, please join us for a recon of next week's Egan route this Friday at 7am starting at the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce (https://g.page/losaltoschamber?share).
Thanks,
Akin
NB: want on the leaderboards? Join the club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/eganride
