Bartley, the Not-So-Dark Horse

In typical endurance athletic fashion, let's get the excuses out of the way right off.

1. I am not 100% healthy, not even close. Breathing is a bit of a problem.
2. I rode 60 miles Tuesday.
3. I ran 5 miles at a brisk pace before the ride.

There, that feels better. Clears the air, now real discussion can happen.

Bartley is becoming, very quickly I might add, a monster. As a runner he's been often referred to as the male Kathy inasmuch as he always runs ahead of you. Doesn't matter how hard you run, he runs faster. You simply have to accept he's going to run ahead of you. It's becoming the same way in riding. I've had the opportunity to ride with him a lot this spring, and I believe enough data points are collected to come to some conclusions, or at the very least a progress report. 

Data point #1: Scott is probably the best climber of the group. Sure, John T. and Troy might be able to challenge him, and maybe they can't. Those that have been riding with him on a regular basis know what I'm talking about. 

Data point #2: Scott's straight line speed has improved. We've done a couple of time trials and a pace line or two, and Scott has moved firmly into A Group status. 

Witness this Tuesday. We were all there, we know John T. took off from the front once we hit 337, and that Miller and I caught the small, elite group pulling away. We know I took the front, and that I tried to drop or at least hurt the riders. What is germane here is Scott didn't get dropped - more than that, he wasn't pushed. One year ago he would have snapped off the back like a broken Lego. 

Witness his time trial last week. He and Roy (also coming on) posted great numbers. I don't care if it was wind-aided or not - what is important is the gap. I once enjoyed 3-4 minutes gap on both guys. I had only 1 minute on Scott. I could not catch him with only a 2-minute head start, something easily accomplished last year. Folks, that puts him in the Miller/John T. speed range on the flat.

Data point #3: Scott is pressuring on every ride. That's not a bad thing, don't mean for it to sound that way. He takes his training seriously, reminding me a great deal of my old friend Galloway. He's out there to work; better lace them up if you're coming along. 

Witness last night's ride. I knew I would struggle to keep with him and said so. We'd agreed on a Hucks'-and-Back deal, so I didn't pack a Cliff bar, figuring we'd stop at Huck's. (Galloway, you'll love this part.) We took a looping path through Orleans, coming south the traditional path to the east, crossing 37 heading west, and there was Huck's.

Except... Scott rode right by. He was in the front, I slowed, and he kept pedaling. What?! We're not stopping? My wallet started whimpering... "Huuuuck's. HUCK'S!" Too bad, so sad. Now I was seriously worried about bonking. My body weight has dropped dramatically over the last couple of weeks (171.6 lbs this morning!) and I don't have any reserves on board. 

Hey, this was Scott's ride. It was his idea from the start, he was in charge, and I would tough it out. I did my best not to hold him up, tried to keep the gap closed so he wouldn't have to slow to much to wait on me. I dropped to aero to ease the load, to maintain speed better. 

There was one monumental challenge left - the Cut. There was no way on the best day I could stay with him, and my burning quads weren't going to have any of a strong push. I would have to do what I could, plain and simple. You don't have to guess; he was about out of sight when he topped, kind of the way Jake used to be able to do. Once I got on top I recovered and caught, but the point was made. 

Oh, I forgot to mention; he did this not on his time trial bike, but his backup bike. He was sitting straight up the entire ride. Pretty humbling. 

Summary:

So let's examine this... great climber, check. Great flat rider, check. Strong daily effort, check. On every possible measure, Scott is currently sitting at or near the top. Add to that he can run pretty darn well, and you can see we have to figure out some way to get him in the water. If he can swim at all, he might very well be All-American material.