I think it worked, not starting out so hard. I still died on the steep pitch through the park, still got to watch Kevin ride away from me up to the park entrance on Kings, but I was gradually keeping up, and within a short while I was actually developing a little bit of power and he was getting dropped. So for the rest of the climb I’d find opportunities to test my legs a bit, then ease off for him to catch up. Like in the old days!
Even saw peak power in the 700 & 800 watt regions. I’m thinking about how long ago it was when we stopped actively sprinting on the ride, and if that might be something we should look at doing again.