First came the swim. Only six people swam this year - Kathy, Andie, John T., Allen, Jimmy, and myself. One of the six wore a wetsuit despite the 80 degree water temperature (which by the way was one of the finer swim temperatures we've ever encountered). I'll let you guess who it was.
We couldn't start from Steve's dock because of beavers. That's right, a family of beavers had taken residence over the winter and built a dam right off Steve's dock! We moved about 100 yards up the lake and started at the neighbor's dock instead.
Everyone did well. A few of us did the full 3 laps (1.2 miles) - Andie, Kathy, Jimmy, and me. John T. did a couple laps, and Allen completed one full lap. That's a big deal. Last year at this time it was a much shorter trip.
Thirteen riders crossed Highway 40, six of which took part in the pace line. Steve took the ceremonial first pull, and since this was the first time the P5 ever did the Jim-N-I, a point had to be made. Steve complied. His 28+ mph first pull fulfilled all expectations. Jimmy took the 2nd pull, as usual, and he wasn't much lighter on the effort. John T. went next, and the pressure continued. Allen had been in front of me for a time, but as the pressure kept up, he rotated toward the back, skipping the pull. His cadence was high and he was breathing hard. I wasn't sure how long it would last.
Springer was next up. His speed wasn't all that high, or that long for that matter. We'd gone a couple of minutes when Steve called for a quick nature break. Once completed, Springer called his pull over. I took over then. Springer finished with a comment along the lines of, "I don't know how smart it is to hand off on this hill." I really didn't know what he meant. I promised to go no faster than they had, and I kept my word.
We went only 22-23 mph in my first part of my pull. Yes, there was an uphill in it, and yes, we had a rough wind. It wasn't easy to hold the speed. Also, since the wind wasn't directly in the face, it was difficult to draft off the person in front of you - meaning the people behind weren't getting a draft from me.
Anyway, when we hit the first major intersection of the line, I slowed to look back. Everyone was off. Every. Single. Rider. John T. was close and quickly caught. Everyone else was strung out almost a quarter mile back. This was stupid, and I told John so. We needed to slow down and keep everyone on. It was silly to split the group up, especially since it was so small to begin with. On top of that, we came over to work out with Steve. Stupid to drop him in the first 5 miles of the line.
I continued the pull to Miram. Speed was a lot more moderate, 20-21, though it was pretty much into a headwind. The wind would be an issue all day as it turned out. John T. had the next pull, and he took a nice long one. He did a great job, in fact, for a guy that ran in the Relay for Life the night before, he looked remarkably fresh.
Steve regained his confidence and pulled again, and had a very strong effort. So did Jimmy. I've never seen Jimmy pull better or longer than he did then. Springer had a nice effort for his second as well.
At this point we were 24.5 miles into the ride. The break would come at 30 miles, and the hill in the last mile before that. The hill is not really that big, especially by Bedford standards, but it comes at exactly the wrong time. I decided everyone had had two pulls, and I wasn't going to give John T. another hard pull in the first 30. I felt great, so I was going to finish this segment.
By now the wind was starting to favor us, so naturally the speed went up some. I was afraid to push too hard - everyone was still on (except Allen, who'd fallen off for good early on), and I really wanted all to stay together to the break. As we neared the hill I could see two cyclists ahead, the Sullivans, and one looked back just as I could make them out. That's when one of the riders broke away.
I knew what he was thinking. While we were gaining fast, he was trying to get to the rest area before we caught him. It was close, but he just nipped us. We continued up the hill (he stopped), and crested over 19 mph. I've never taken the hill faster. True, we broke up a bit on the way up, but we all got to the hill together. That was the main thing.
We stopped at the SAG, began to re-hydrate, and waited for the others to make it in. They trickled in over the next 10-15 minutes, and all riders made it safely. Even better... all riders rode out. Andie briefly considered ending her day then, but she Boiler'd up and finished the ride.
On the way back no one really made an effort to start another line - at first. We were strung out over half a mile by the turn, but no one was pushing. I was on the back talking with Andie and Mike when I looked up. Way off in the distance, almost a mile down the road, were three riders in a line. "Who is that?", I asked Mike. He surmised it was John T., Allen, and Jimmy. And he was right.
Part of me wanted to just let them go, but the Bill in me wouldn't let it happen. "Gotta run them down!" I said, and shot from the rear of the line in pursuit. This wasn't an invitation to join me as much as an announcement I was going. Think of the Tour de France when someone breaks out of the peloton to catch a breakaway group. It was a big gap and growing fast, and unless I moved then, it would be impossible to cover.
Cranking it up to 26 or so, I spent a few minutes running them down. Now to be fair, they weren't riding hard - if they had been, I could never have caught them. John T. all by himself could have held me off, much less three riders taking turns on the front. As it was, it gave me another good hard segment of riding. Once I caught them, we took turns pulling until we got back to 40.
The four of us came to the final stretch, where John T. asked if we were going to ride across the gravel. That was a reference to last year, when I snaked the guys to finish first by riding across the gravel. Of course I did it again. I pushed up the speed again to keep challengers off, and thought I had it wrapped up. Good thing I looked back. John was charging hard. I had to hit the pedals again, then the riding victory was sealed. That was payback for Tuesday's sprint finish!
By now it was warming up. The cloud cover had been consistent, but if the sun did pop out, things would heat up quickly. We needed to get moving, because it was only going to get hotter. The riders all finished in the next few minutes and began to prepare for the 9-mile run to come.
I hate this run. It's not pretty, it's always hot, and I'm always suffering badly by the end. It doesn't matter what pace I take it, I suffer. I wasn't looking forward to it, but worse, I wasn't looking forward to waiting to do it either.
That was it. In my time with this group, I know one thing; sometimes the only way you start running is if someone runs right through the group and starts running. So I did. The group didn't start with me right away, but they did start shortly after. Whatever it takes, I guess.
I ran slowly, allowing folks time to catch. Since I was running nearly 9:30 pace and they weren't catching, I knew they didn't want to. Fine. I could run by myself too. One runner did break off the group, Cheyanne, and after a bit I circled back and ran with him. He did a great job, if for only 3 miles. He's Neil's best man for his wedding, a law school graduate, and former Bicknell student. Nice guy. Wish he'd run farther.
I didn't stop at the break. What would be the point? It wasn't going to make me feel better and the separation was so great. By now I could barely see anyone behind. Might as well get it over with as soon as possible.
By now the sun was popping out, and sure enough, it was getting hot. We finished the ride at 90 degrees - you can only guess it was getting hotter. As the run progressed I could really begin to feel it too. I'd eaten too much during the ride SAG, and I was becoming nauseous. I couldn't really drink much of the water I was carrying, all I could do was maintain my effort.
Second stop came and went, and I sailed through that too. I knew I'd finish the run, but it wasn't going to be fun. The 8th mile especially, with the hill, was a drag. But I knew once that one was over, the worst of the run was done. The hill came and went, and eventually I was in the driveway and finished.I had an overwhelming need to lay down right away. I was very hot and nauseous, and afraid I might start cramping convulsively. Fortunately the last part didn't happen, but it was a bit before I could stand up without being sick.
Ten minutes went by before Kathy came in, followed shortly by Jimmy (pushing KJ in a stroller). They'd run together until Kathy dropped Jimmy (who had to stop and pick up KJ's shoes).
The rest of the afternoon was taken with showers, meals, and Frisbee golf. Sorry to Denny that he had to partner with me - I am a crummy Frisbee golf player. I had no strength left to throw a Frisbee for that matter. I was his walking handicap.
No comments:
Post a Comment