Austin, Texas. May, 2026
Group Rides In The Austin Hills
We’ve been racing all year.
Marathons, 70.3s, Ironmans. Everything we've been able to fit in the calendar.
Chasing PRs, hitting faster paces, dialing in our carb-per-hour numbers, but best of all crossing finish lines. It’s been an absolute thrill.
But we started to really miss something.
Group rides.
Riding together for miles and miles. Burning up the legs on long climbs, then flying downhill. Catching up and joking around. Enjoying the process, the best way to train.
This is the entire reason we started Squadron Racing. Our love for racing, combined with training together, as a squad.
Into The Hills
We finally had a weekend at home, so we put together a route heading into the toughest hills in Austin. The most scenic ones.
We knew all the climbing would be good training and the views would be perfect. We also made sure to add a coffee stop.
To really make it a trip.
Rolling Out
We rolled out of the city, passing through quiet Austin neighborhoods. Warming up the legs with a few of the small hills first up on the route.
Nothing too serious yet. New triathlete Kevin was already asking what kind of climbs were waiting later in the route.
We didn't want to scare him.
Fueled Up
As long distance triathletes, we know how to fuel. Our jersey pockets full of gels and bottles loaded with carb mix, each athlete running their own setup.
This is key to stay strong in the back half of routes like this, once the legs have gone through a couple rounds of steep climbs on heavy triathlon bikes.
Bikes Moving
Lachlan had the most important session out there. He was a few weeks out from a 70.3 with a hilly bike course. Something completely different from the courses he's used to.
So this was great training for him. An opportunity to dial in shifting into climbing gears, get familiar with long gradient climbing efforts, and handling the bike on the fast descents.
On the downhills, the focus was bike control. Using body position to guide the bike through turns, finding the apex, and keeping speed without over braking.
Small tweaks not often practiced.
Rare Coffee Stop
Midway through the ride, we made our stop at Civil Goat Coffee. They have actual goats.But we were there for the essentials: Coffee and donuts.
Today we had no rush, no intervals, or heart rate zone targets. Just hang out and enjoy the route.
Everyone had two donuts, they were good.
Rolling Back
Back on the bikes, we rolled toward the city. A few final climbs still to go, soon enough shifting into long descents carrying us out of the hills.
From there, it was smooth riding back toward the start. Navigation was a mix of memory from previous rides, and a few glances at the bike computers.
We could afford a few wrong turns.
Reminder For Whom It May Concern
Not far from the starting point, there was a lone intersection in a quiet neighborhood. We rolled right through the stop sign, not that we usually do this..
But to our surprise, we quickly gained some company. A Police officer, letting us know, we have make that stop on bike.
Lesson learned.
Ride Complete
We rolled the bikes back in, finishing out the route. A big effort with tough climbs, fast descents, and a lot of good miles logged. It was really fun.
This was a reminder for us. Find a cool route, and invite your squadron.
Anzae, Bryan, Kevin, Lachlan.
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