Tonight we started them up. Had a great showing for PVD. Pile of college kids, and some old fuckers. Kyle, Peng, Sandy and Tom filled out that first category, Syl, me and Yeah I'm calling Fox old, filled out the latter. Andrew slots in the middle somewhere. He's a freak. Lightweight rowers generally are. He used to be one. Sarah showed up but when i probed her about directions and route and if she knew how to get back her buoyant "I have a phone" let me relax as ride leader (she got dropped before we hit the Mass Line Sprint from what the guys behind were saying).
So we hit this ride, hard. This new guy from PC, Tom (think Ted King look a like) is the wild card and the game changer.
I lead out, measured pace, not too bad, my HR is comfortable. Set the pace over the new pavement down Broadway, Kyle asks if we're sprinting for the State Line, I say "Maybe, just don't tell Tom" and Tom pipes in "What?"
From the stop like there the chatter from Peng and Kyle is how horrible the pavement is on the bridge. I've got the sun behind me, I'm leading out... no one goes around me before the bridge, so fuck it. Lets wind this shit up. Soon there's a helmet at my crank (shadow) wind up the cadence a bit more, shit, up the cadence, shift... helmet is getting close to front wheel. FUck it. Lets sprint. Boom. I win. Cheap, but crafty. I'll take it. I'm 2x as old as some of these damn kids.
Right turn on Arcade. Syl rolls up "I think we've already dropped Sarah" damn, well she has her phone. Tom wants to do a 15 min zone 4 effort. Fine go for it. He does. He's not slow. We sit on his wheel and yell at him for the turn. On Ledge he starts hammering. I slot in behind Peng who is sitting on Tom's wheel.
Feels okay in the draft. Not easy but okay. Make the left up the hill. over to Jacob/Broad. Tom still driving the pace, nice and fast, so awesome. I'm loving it (sitting in the draft that is). Down hill, over the bridge, past the point where Brier stacked it, and Peng comes out of Tom's slipstream to go for the Townline sprint we don't sprint for. Of course I'm on his wheel. But he timed it pretty well. Two more feet and I'd have beat him. I got grief for sprint at the line I neutralized. But hey, third wheel, Tom didn't go for it, what am I supposed to do???? Was good. Tom carried on, got a gap on everyone and we directed him to the left turn...
up pine we go.
Andrew sort of slots in behind Tom and Peng is on the wheel. Pine hurts. The steady low % grade is unrelenting. And we had a fucking headwind to boot.
Up... and off they go. I manage to hang to w/in maybe 100' of the first sprint line. Andrew takes the second line seriously and Tom gives him a good run for his money and those to jackasses are gone. CHECKED OUT.
Sandy and Fox come by. Peng goes back. Kyle goes backwards... or never really forwards, i don't remember my breathing was killing me.
Anyway... Sandy Fox and I manage to finally hook up just as we turn on to Homestead. We get a bit of the way down and catch up to Tom and Andrew and keep the pace high.
Tom drops back, to either wait for Peng or give us a head start up Rocky Hill.
Andrew sets a solid pace up the hill. Sandy sits on his wheel doing great. Granted he needs to SLAM THAT FUCKING STEM AND FLIP THE STEM DOWN but he's much better than last year. I'm on Sandy's wheel, Andrew is driving it. We get to the last stretch, before the right hander.
Fox attacks.
A good attack. I expected it, I know he's a cagey competitive dude, and he's been f'n riding and running.
But I go down to the drops and make the jump to his wheel. Andrew can't respond, Sandy can't either, I dunno about Syl, maybe Syl was on my wheel but he never came around so was never a factor.
Fox makes the corner and well I thought of all those damn logs, no just kidding, I just went for it. Won Rocky Hill Sprint. Blew pretty much everything in the process. Hillside was gonna suck.
Made it around down... Tom catches back on, no Peng or Kyle tho.
We start up Hillside, pedestrian like. Andrew starts going for it. Tom goes at it with him. I get shelled. Everyone rides off w/o me. Kyle catches me just as I turn right onto pine and then he has the audacity to sprint for the Pine KOM AGAIN. F'er got it too.
I had nothing.
We reel Fox back in.
He cramps or feigns a cramp and drops out of the wind, and I work to bring us back to the group waiting up there together for us on that final run in. Wheeler comes through fast, and then of course Andrew and Tom go motor pacing on the way back. Syl does a great job of trying to hang on but blows sky high. I work my ass off but can't do much more than keep them at a consistent distance.
Was good though.
Legs felt good. Hillside was definitely "this is not as bad as hauling logs so go harder dumbass" but the lungs were toast. Tasting blood, still.
Was a good ride.
Headed back to the office, grabbed my backpack and headed home. Glorious tail wind. Pile of Noobs on the bike path though, walkers and stuff mostly. S'okay, not a big deal and totally work able, but warm weather brought them out.
Legs are feeling it, but not the way my lungs are. I'm missing those weekly roller races right now. And am 3 rides behind in my Boston and back long ride Mental Health days. Soon? Maybe. Maybe not.
Bike was good. New Wheel was great. Thanks to Thom and JLS. Bar Tape worked.
Can't wait for next week. Fox destroyed me there on Hillside. I'm going to have to work on that. That or get his pain in the ass in to the wind a bit more before we hit that hill. Ifn you are in the PVD area, see if you can make the ride. If you're pro level it is just a good ride, if you're not the ride will push you to improve. Either way it is fun.
No. I have no numbers. No time. No distance. No strava. No Heart Rate. Nothing. No Metrics at all.
F'that shit.
But there is one beer in the house. I'm going to drink it. And put a plug out: if you need bike mechanic work, a tune up. drive train clean, wheel true, anything, drop me a note. I work for beer or beer money ;)
heddwch
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