Two riders rolling slowly uphill on the return leg of a ride. The weather had been unexpectedly clear and bright, though storm clouds were gathering unseen.
"Why did you pull seven minutes?!", said the first, outrage barely contained.
"I didn't want to get dropped", was the indignant reply.
"But you DID get dropped!", the first challenged with a chuckle.
"Take THAT!" - a hammer fist to the upper chest threw the first off-balance and into the weeds.
Roll back two hours...
The storm system that devastated Oklahoma yesterday was scheduled to roll east through Indiana today. The outlook for a ride in the evening looked grim in the early morning hours as line after line appeared on radar. Indeed, for the early part of the day it looked as if the worst would come to pass.
Then, as if by magic, the skies cleared, for good as it turned out. This was a most unexpected and pleasant outcome, and the ride went on as scheduled. Even better, the winds took a more southerly (and favorable) direction. It promised to be an easier ride.
Most of the guys had raced over the weekend. Kathy joined us too, as did DfO. Bartley returned this week, so though the numbers weren't large, we had a smattering of talent top to bottom. It would make organizing a pace line a little harder if all went, harder still if they didn't.
I didn't care if I went hard tonight - I mean, if challenged I knew I would, but it wasn't something I felt I needed. My neck and back are still quite sore, a sure sign I haven't recovered yet from the race. John felt pretty much the same, so we agreed to ride in a single group tonight and just go a bit easier.
Allen must not have liked our pre-ride discussion, because he tried to navigate to the rear of the line, I suppose in anticipation of being dropped. I wasn't going to have that. Jimmy was taking the first pull, Allen could take the second. In this way we would see what these guys could hold, and the rest of us could restrain ourselves to an appropriate pace.
Both guys held a 24.5-25.5 mph level for their pulls, which was slightly slower than the number we kicked out ahead of time, but hey, it was merely a target. Jimmy pulled a little over 2 minutes, but Allen pulled nearly 7 minutes. I was behind him, and the feeling I got was he was punishing himself. This later proved to be false, as his reasoning was he didn't want to get dropped by tapping off in Bromer. In the end he had a nice, long pull that ended when he topped the first hill west of Bromer.
I took over, and since we were stair-stepping downhill, I let the speed go upwards of 27 high. Sam asked me how long I would pull. Since Allen had gone long, I figured I needed to go shorter than I normally would to be certain everyone got at least one pull. So I went 2 minutes on the first. Sam came on and did the same speed I held, then came John. He carried us into and through most of the Lost River bottoms before handing off. His speed was similar to Sam's and mine.
Jimmy took over for the Lost River climb, and he tried like crazy to hold 20 mph. He dropped to 16.9 at the top, and broke Allen in the process. DfO had dropped before then, so now it was Jimmy, me, Sam, and John T.
After topping, and after letting the speed come back up a bit, I got the nod. There were maybe 2 miles left now, and I decided then they would be all mine. I took it back up to 27-mid, then pushed hard on the last climb. I dropped slightly under 20 on the top, then laid down and immediately took it back up.
I figured it right. Now it was me, Sam, and John T. I knew if I held pace somewhere near the end John T. would make a move. I didn't figure Sam was strong enough to cover - his cadence on his pull was too high for the speed he was getting, which told me he could stay with John. He was doing a good job hanging in there with me, but that was about all he had. I held 28-mid, saving just a little, hoping for a shot at John when he went by. With less than a quarter to go he went by, but I couldn't jump on. He opened a little, I started to even it up, but there wasn't enough room left to catch him. I eased up and coasted through. My official Strava set that at 23:33.
Jimmy wasted no time working on Allen, bringing us back to the beginning of the post. I won't say Allen was on the verge of tears or anything, but he clearly wasn't enjoying the chiding. For my part, I wouldn't be so hard on him (not because I'm afraid of him BTW). Sometimes you take your shot. Allen has ridden well all spring. If he wants to push a long pull, I say more power to him. Sure, he may get dropped, but he may also get stronger.
It always comes down to what you want out of it. I could time trial every week, and it would help me race better, but for me the pace line is about being able to hit higher speeds, speeds I couldn't hit on my own. However, if Allen's motivation is to be a better rider, there is certainly more than one way to get that done. On top of that, triathlon riding is about being in aero for long periods of time at speed.
We skipped the run afterward, which surely made Kathy angry, but it couldn't be helped. I have to be careful with my calves, which are always a problem after this series of races (Indy, BMS, TH). If I feel I need to take it easy this week, I will.
Wendy's was good, great even. The baby screaming at the top of her lungs wasn't so hot, but we had a good time regardless.
"Why did you pull seven minutes?!", said the first, outrage barely contained.
"I didn't want to get dropped", was the indignant reply.
"But you DID get dropped!", the first challenged with a chuckle.
"Take THAT!" - a hammer fist to the upper chest threw the first off-balance and into the weeds.
Roll back two hours...
The storm system that devastated Oklahoma yesterday was scheduled to roll east through Indiana today. The outlook for a ride in the evening looked grim in the early morning hours as line after line appeared on radar. Indeed, for the early part of the day it looked as if the worst would come to pass.
Then, as if by magic, the skies cleared, for good as it turned out. This was a most unexpected and pleasant outcome, and the ride went on as scheduled. Even better, the winds took a more southerly (and favorable) direction. It promised to be an easier ride.
Most of the guys had raced over the weekend. Kathy joined us too, as did DfO. Bartley returned this week, so though the numbers weren't large, we had a smattering of talent top to bottom. It would make organizing a pace line a little harder if all went, harder still if they didn't.
I didn't care if I went hard tonight - I mean, if challenged I knew I would, but it wasn't something I felt I needed. My neck and back are still quite sore, a sure sign I haven't recovered yet from the race. John felt pretty much the same, so we agreed to ride in a single group tonight and just go a bit easier.
Allen must not have liked our pre-ride discussion, because he tried to navigate to the rear of the line, I suppose in anticipation of being dropped. I wasn't going to have that. Jimmy was taking the first pull, Allen could take the second. In this way we would see what these guys could hold, and the rest of us could restrain ourselves to an appropriate pace.
Both guys held a 24.5-25.5 mph level for their pulls, which was slightly slower than the number we kicked out ahead of time, but hey, it was merely a target. Jimmy pulled a little over 2 minutes, but Allen pulled nearly 7 minutes. I was behind him, and the feeling I got was he was punishing himself. This later proved to be false, as his reasoning was he didn't want to get dropped by tapping off in Bromer. In the end he had a nice, long pull that ended when he topped the first hill west of Bromer.
I took over, and since we were stair-stepping downhill, I let the speed go upwards of 27 high. Sam asked me how long I would pull. Since Allen had gone long, I figured I needed to go shorter than I normally would to be certain everyone got at least one pull. So I went 2 minutes on the first. Sam came on and did the same speed I held, then came John. He carried us into and through most of the Lost River bottoms before handing off. His speed was similar to Sam's and mine.
Jimmy took over for the Lost River climb, and he tried like crazy to hold 20 mph. He dropped to 16.9 at the top, and broke Allen in the process. DfO had dropped before then, so now it was Jimmy, me, Sam, and John T.
After topping, and after letting the speed come back up a bit, I got the nod. There were maybe 2 miles left now, and I decided then they would be all mine. I took it back up to 27-mid, then pushed hard on the last climb. I dropped slightly under 20 on the top, then laid down and immediately took it back up.
I figured it right. Now it was me, Sam, and John T. I knew if I held pace somewhere near the end John T. would make a move. I didn't figure Sam was strong enough to cover - his cadence on his pull was too high for the speed he was getting, which told me he could stay with John. He was doing a good job hanging in there with me, but that was about all he had. I held 28-mid, saving just a little, hoping for a shot at John when he went by. With less than a quarter to go he went by, but I couldn't jump on. He opened a little, I started to even it up, but there wasn't enough room left to catch him. I eased up and coasted through. My official Strava set that at 23:33.
Jimmy wasted no time working on Allen, bringing us back to the beginning of the post. I won't say Allen was on the verge of tears or anything, but he clearly wasn't enjoying the chiding. For my part, I wouldn't be so hard on him (not because I'm afraid of him BTW). Sometimes you take your shot. Allen has ridden well all spring. If he wants to push a long pull, I say more power to him. Sure, he may get dropped, but he may also get stronger.
It always comes down to what you want out of it. I could time trial every week, and it would help me race better, but for me the pace line is about being able to hit higher speeds, speeds I couldn't hit on my own. However, if Allen's motivation is to be a better rider, there is certainly more than one way to get that done. On top of that, triathlon riding is about being in aero for long periods of time at speed.
We skipped the run afterward, which surely made Kathy angry, but it couldn't be helped. I have to be careful with my calves, which are always a problem after this series of races (Indy, BMS, TH). If I feel I need to take it easy this week, I will.
Wendy's was good, great even. The baby screaming at the top of her lungs wasn't so hot, but we had a good time regardless.
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