Thunder Thursday with Team Best

Ride Fast. Eat Pizza. Repeat.

There are plenty of ways to build a cycling community. Team Best has kept the recipe pretty simple.

Ride bikes. Ride them fast. Eat pizza. Drink a beer. Repeat.

We recently joined Team Best for a special edition of Thunder Thursday, rolling out from Cadence Cyclery Encinitas with support from PAS Normal Studios for an afternoon of fast road riding around North County, followed by the arguably more important part of the evening: pizza, beer, empanadas, and hanging out at the shop.

Pretty hard to argue with that.

From a Few Friends to 40+ Riders

Team Best started in 2020 with a few friends getting together to ride bikes and explore the roads around North County San Diego.

There wasn't a grand plan behind it. People kept showing up, new riders joined along the way, and those weekly rides eventually grew into Thunder Thursday.

Depending on the week, 20, 30, or more than 40 riders can show up for what has become a reliably fast Thursday road ride.

As Team Best founder Jason explains it, Team Best isn't really a traditional cycling club or race team. It's closer to a family—one that likes riding together, welcoming new people, and occasionally handing out a proper Thursday afternoon beatdown.

A Different Starting Line

Thunder Thursday typically rolls out from Best Pizza in Cardiff, but this edition moved a few miles up the coast to Cadence Cyclery in Encinitas.

PAS Normal Studios came onboard to support the evening, the group rolled out from the shop, and the usual Thunder Thursday proceedings followed.

Ride hard.

Try to hold the wheel.

Regroup.

Do it again.

Then head back to the shop and replace everything you just burned with pizza, empanadas, and a cold beer.

Cycling nutrition is a complicated science.

Supporting the Ride in Our Backyard

ALMSTHRE has been fortunate to support Team Best for the past few years, but events like this are less about sponsorship and more about supporting the cycling community in our own backyard.

We're based here. We ride these roads. We see the same faces at shops, races, group rides, and trailheads throughout San Diego.

So when a Thursday afternoon ride gets 40 people out on their bikes and brings everyone back together afterward, that's something we're happy to get behind.

And because no ride involving pizza and beer should be unnecessarily complicated, you'll spot a few ALMSTHRE Saddle Bags throughout the photos doing what they're supposed to do—staying tucked out of the way until somebody needs a tube, tool, or whatever else made the packing list that afternoon.

Pretty Simple Recipe

Not every ride needs to be an adventure across a continent or a race with a number pinned to your back.

Sometimes it's Thursday.

You finish work, meet some friends, ride harder than you intended to, and end up eating pizza afterward.

That's enough.

Fast road riding, good people, local bike shops, and a cycling community that keeps showing up.

We'll see you next Thursday.