Same route as last week. I think the wind was tougher today. James, Martha, Amy and me played plenty hard. James and Martha are as tough as they come (Martha raced in 64 races last season), but long road rides are not their forte. They race mountain bikes. We waited a few times for them, and soft pedaled a few more to let them get back on. No help up front for me.
It's sort of like being caged. Fighting that wind...it's so hard to stay on top of the gears, and keep up a cadence that feels productive. Rest on the descents, stay low to the bars, aero, appreciate the brief shelter of trees. There's a lot of hard that comes when riding. But, I think, climbing a hill, or a series of rollers into a 15-20 mph wind, that pretty much is as hard as it gets. Had a couple of opportunities to test out that theory today.
Direction changes and you're let out of the cage. You want to scream, because of the sudden surge of power you feel. And so, you let your bike do the screaming for you. Flying low to the ground, the wind in your ears is replaced by the hum of the tires, and when you leave the saddle, you hear the power being laid on the asphalt. The pain in your quads, almost goes unnoticed because of the opiate of freedom.
Hit 43 mph and maintained that for a bit, which created major smiles. No, they weren't cringes.
I felt good about averaging 18.5 considering a few waits, some soft pedaling, and no help. Great friends, lots of fun conversation. 72/18.5
Amy Was Extra Fast Today
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