It wasn't quite a northwest wind tonight, but it wasn't much better. We had a strongish wind blowing out of the NNE. Speed was around 10-15 mph, with gusts of over 20. The impact of this wind could be felt both going out and coming back.
We'd planned to ride pace line slowly out, maintaining 20 mph max. It didn't take long to see this could work. The strong lateral winds prevented a stable line from forming, and we abandoned the exercise by Lost River Valley. Better to save the energy for the ride, which was sure to be more difficult because of conditions.
I wound up falling completely to the back, playing sweeper to DfO's relaxed pace. We talked, and I observed the wind conditions throughout the course. It was a variable deal, always strong, but shifting about directionally. Any hope for a tailwind of any kind was out the window.
We joined the others at the tree. WinD and Kathy had turned back at Bromer, leaving 10 of us to decided how to manage the drill. Rand took off on his own; Galloway, Strunk, Allen, DfO, and Dan formed the first chase group. Allen took the first lead, and when they hit the start only 30 yards separated Rand from the chase. It wouldn't take long to catch at that rate.
Apparently there was some sort of gentlemen's agreement between the riders of this group to stay 20-21 mph, though sadly I must report there were no gentlemen in the group. Rand was caught. The group average 21.7 mph. The math doesn't lie. Sure, it made interesting dinner theater listening to Allen gyrate through verbal gymnastics, attempting to explain how a promise that wasn't kept wasn't broken. Dan didn't attempt to explain it at all.
We gave the first group a couple of minutes, then we let Jimmy take us out. I figured the first two pullers would have an easier time of it, and they did. Jimmy gave us 2 strong minutes at 24.5-25.5 mph, then handed to John T. John took it right up to 26-27, settling in to 25.5-26.5 range for 2.5 minutes. Miller took a long pull of 4.5 minutes, though he wound up with a tougher leg. He got Bromer, with the first really strong headwind leg and the first climb. I figured he'd hand off at the top, but he didn't. He held it for a lot longer, finally tapping near the log cabin.
I took over midway through the descending straightaway, a mixed blessing with a favorable terrain drop and a mitigating vortex of wind. My pull was strong, going 26-27 mph as we headed to the Pumpkin Center turn. This was about when we caught the first group.
Interesting thing about that; Rand had been absorbed. There were six of them now in a pretty good line, which meant we'd have to be careful on the pass. The timing of the pass would mean our line wouldn't get around their line until we were headed straight north, pretty much into the teeth of the rather strongish wind. We needed to clear them quickly and by enough distance to allow four riders back in front before we hit the series of turns directly ahead. I didn't want any of us forced to the center of the road where we couldn't see clearly.
To this end we topped 28 mph as we passed. I won't lie; passing people decisively feels good. We went around with authority. I called out, "On your left!", and heads turned our way. I caught the eyes of DfO, and wondered to myself if he might think about jumping on.
We slowed a bit by the end of the straightaway, perhaps 24.5 mph, then it was Lost River hill. I'd been on for some time at this point, but I wasn't the least bit fatigued. I considered briefly giving to Jimmy at the top of the drop (where he normally gets it), then decided against it. I was going pretty well, felt good, they were hanging in there, I'd go for a while longer. 33 mph downhill, scatting across the bottoms, slowly bleeding speed, and once again I thought about giving to Jimmy. Nah. I'd take the climb. I wanted to see if I could hold the speed over the top. I'd give it up once we were over the top and up to speed.
We topped at over 20 mph. I feel good about that because there was no wind aiding about it, not one bit. It was a legit climb. The weird thing was what was going on behind me. My aero helmet can really be impacted by wind, and at times I can't hear a thing at all behind me. I could glance back and see a shirt which should have been red-white-black (Jimmy), but was solid red (John T.). I figured Jimmy had been dropped, but I thought I could still hear his voice. Right before we climbed the hill I heard Jimmy saying something, so I knew he was there. Halfway up the hill I noticed the shirt change, but didn't worry too much about it. I was focusing on the job ahead of me for the time being.
Over the top I resumed the fast pedal, taking it right back up to 26 mph. I was still amazingly fresh, instantly recovered, but I was feeling selfish. I'd been on for over 9 minutes by now, and though I could have easily taken it in, I tapped.
I rolled out, fell back to take my place at the end, and counted only two behind me. Jimmy was gone. We were maybe 200 meters past the top of the hill, and Jimmy was just coming over the top, clearly slowing. There was no hope he could catch us, John T. was motoring on, and I had to make a choice. I stayed with John T.
John took us quickly into the rollers, touching 26 mph again. Near the end of the last roller he tapped, handing to Miller for the final climb. This was shaping up nicely for me the second week in a row. Miller would have the last pull.
Miller climbed well, better than last week (he only ran 5 hard miles at lunch instead of 12), and over the top he endeavored to recover his pace. He had it back up in no time at all, and we were fast approaching the break. Exact speed I cannot say; I was already strategizing.
The last pull would make it harder, not impossible for Miller to catch onto me if/when I made my move. I need a sizable speed advantage to keep him from taking my wheel. His instantaneous acceleration necessitated something drastic. I resorted to an oldie but goodie. Since I was behind him, I let him pull away a bit near the end of his pull, near the break line. Then, as he was nearing the bottom of the last roller, I hit it hard. The timing was perfect. I was 30 mph already when he topped the break hill, and I got around him.
This by itself would not have been enough, even with him pulling last - the guy has wicked speed and acceleration. John T. was on my wheel, which meant Miller had to attach to his wheel. This put one bike between us.
I had no idea what either guy had left. We had a lot of buffet from the wind, so much so I could only make and hold 30 mph. But hold it I did all the way to the line. John apparently faded in the stretch, and since Miller was behind him, the gap was too great to close, sealing my second sprint victory in as many weeks. I was so excited I forgot to stop the watch!
Of course I suspect these guys just let me have it. They're way too good to be taken like this. I'm still keeping the trophies. ;)
On the rather fastish 3-mile run that followed the ride, we got to hear about DfO's rather interesting ride. First he started with the group, then he tapped out and disappeared, only to reappear a few minutes later, passing up the right side of the line and cutting in, then jumping out of the line when our group went by (and attaching to us), then dropping off that group, then attaching to Jimmy when he got dropped... not sure how to score that, but it was suggested he might be the "Wendy's Sweet Potato Award" winner of the evening because, whatever we were expecting, we weren't expecting that!
Speaking of Wendy's sweet potato, Jimmy apparently died inside since every attempt to purchase a sweet potato has been met by bitter disappointment. Since he nor Dan had the guts to try, I ordered one. And got it. Trouble is, I hate sweet potatoes, so guess who got it? Jimmy and Dan! They split it, and both apparently enjoyed it greatly.
I guess I showed them... wait a minute...
We'd planned to ride pace line slowly out, maintaining 20 mph max. It didn't take long to see this could work. The strong lateral winds prevented a stable line from forming, and we abandoned the exercise by Lost River Valley. Better to save the energy for the ride, which was sure to be more difficult because of conditions.
I wound up falling completely to the back, playing sweeper to DfO's relaxed pace. We talked, and I observed the wind conditions throughout the course. It was a variable deal, always strong, but shifting about directionally. Any hope for a tailwind of any kind was out the window.
We joined the others at the tree. WinD and Kathy had turned back at Bromer, leaving 10 of us to decided how to manage the drill. Rand took off on his own; Galloway, Strunk, Allen, DfO, and Dan formed the first chase group. Allen took the first lead, and when they hit the start only 30 yards separated Rand from the chase. It wouldn't take long to catch at that rate.
Apparently there was some sort of gentlemen's agreement between the riders of this group to stay 20-21 mph, though sadly I must report there were no gentlemen in the group. Rand was caught. The group average 21.7 mph. The math doesn't lie. Sure, it made interesting dinner theater listening to Allen gyrate through verbal gymnastics, attempting to explain how a promise that wasn't kept wasn't broken. Dan didn't attempt to explain it at all.
We gave the first group a couple of minutes, then we let Jimmy take us out. I figured the first two pullers would have an easier time of it, and they did. Jimmy gave us 2 strong minutes at 24.5-25.5 mph, then handed to John T. John took it right up to 26-27, settling in to 25.5-26.5 range for 2.5 minutes. Miller took a long pull of 4.5 minutes, though he wound up with a tougher leg. He got Bromer, with the first really strong headwind leg and the first climb. I figured he'd hand off at the top, but he didn't. He held it for a lot longer, finally tapping near the log cabin.
I took over midway through the descending straightaway, a mixed blessing with a favorable terrain drop and a mitigating vortex of wind. My pull was strong, going 26-27 mph as we headed to the Pumpkin Center turn. This was about when we caught the first group.
Interesting thing about that; Rand had been absorbed. There were six of them now in a pretty good line, which meant we'd have to be careful on the pass. The timing of the pass would mean our line wouldn't get around their line until we were headed straight north, pretty much into the teeth of the rather strongish wind. We needed to clear them quickly and by enough distance to allow four riders back in front before we hit the series of turns directly ahead. I didn't want any of us forced to the center of the road where we couldn't see clearly.
To this end we topped 28 mph as we passed. I won't lie; passing people decisively feels good. We went around with authority. I called out, "On your left!", and heads turned our way. I caught the eyes of DfO, and wondered to myself if he might think about jumping on.
We slowed a bit by the end of the straightaway, perhaps 24.5 mph, then it was Lost River hill. I'd been on for some time at this point, but I wasn't the least bit fatigued. I considered briefly giving to Jimmy at the top of the drop (where he normally gets it), then decided against it. I was going pretty well, felt good, they were hanging in there, I'd go for a while longer. 33 mph downhill, scatting across the bottoms, slowly bleeding speed, and once again I thought about giving to Jimmy. Nah. I'd take the climb. I wanted to see if I could hold the speed over the top. I'd give it up once we were over the top and up to speed.
We topped at over 20 mph. I feel good about that because there was no wind aiding about it, not one bit. It was a legit climb. The weird thing was what was going on behind me. My aero helmet can really be impacted by wind, and at times I can't hear a thing at all behind me. I could glance back and see a shirt which should have been red-white-black (Jimmy), but was solid red (John T.). I figured Jimmy had been dropped, but I thought I could still hear his voice. Right before we climbed the hill I heard Jimmy saying something, so I knew he was there. Halfway up the hill I noticed the shirt change, but didn't worry too much about it. I was focusing on the job ahead of me for the time being.
Over the top I resumed the fast pedal, taking it right back up to 26 mph. I was still amazingly fresh, instantly recovered, but I was feeling selfish. I'd been on for over 9 minutes by now, and though I could have easily taken it in, I tapped.
I rolled out, fell back to take my place at the end, and counted only two behind me. Jimmy was gone. We were maybe 200 meters past the top of the hill, and Jimmy was just coming over the top, clearly slowing. There was no hope he could catch us, John T. was motoring on, and I had to make a choice. I stayed with John T.
John took us quickly into the rollers, touching 26 mph again. Near the end of the last roller he tapped, handing to Miller for the final climb. This was shaping up nicely for me the second week in a row. Miller would have the last pull.
Miller climbed well, better than last week (he only ran 5 hard miles at lunch instead of 12), and over the top he endeavored to recover his pace. He had it back up in no time at all, and we were fast approaching the break. Exact speed I cannot say; I was already strategizing.
The last pull would make it harder, not impossible for Miller to catch onto me if/when I made my move. I need a sizable speed advantage to keep him from taking my wheel. His instantaneous acceleration necessitated something drastic. I resorted to an oldie but goodie. Since I was behind him, I let him pull away a bit near the end of his pull, near the break line. Then, as he was nearing the bottom of the last roller, I hit it hard. The timing was perfect. I was 30 mph already when he topped the break hill, and I got around him.
This by itself would not have been enough, even with him pulling last - the guy has wicked speed and acceleration. John T. was on my wheel, which meant Miller had to attach to his wheel. This put one bike between us.
I had no idea what either guy had left. We had a lot of buffet from the wind, so much so I could only make and hold 30 mph. But hold it I did all the way to the line. John apparently faded in the stretch, and since Miller was behind him, the gap was too great to close, sealing my second sprint victory in as many weeks. I was so excited I forgot to stop the watch!
Of course I suspect these guys just let me have it. They're way too good to be taken like this. I'm still keeping the trophies. ;)
On the rather fastish 3-mile run that followed the ride, we got to hear about DfO's rather interesting ride. First he started with the group, then he tapped out and disappeared, only to reappear a few minutes later, passing up the right side of the line and cutting in, then jumping out of the line when our group went by (and attaching to us), then dropping off that group, then attaching to Jimmy when he got dropped... not sure how to score that, but it was suggested he might be the "Wendy's Sweet Potato Award" winner of the evening because, whatever we were expecting, we weren't expecting that!
Speaking of Wendy's sweet potato, Jimmy apparently died inside since every attempt to purchase a sweet potato has been met by bitter disappointment. Since he nor Dan had the guts to try, I ordered one. And got it. Trouble is, I hate sweet potatoes, so guess who got it? Jimmy and Dan! They split it, and both apparently enjoyed it greatly.
I guess I showed them... wait a minute...
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