Sunday Ride Report… I can’t remember it… give me a second. Oh yeah, the day we were suppose to just go out pedaling.
Ten riders left the vision center and rode the loop consisting of Pump house Road, Barnsburg Road, Grundy Road and back to the vision center with the added twist of “Behind the Factories Sprint”.
It seems, in the warm days of winter, No Body Dropped Rides seem to morph into EVERYBODY DROPPED RIDES! That’s ok with me, but it might not be for some. I think if most of the racers (multisport, running, road) are going to show up, you can just about guarantee that we will get “Effort Creep”! Marc Travis called it on the nose.
But that is ok. The racing crowd does need the road workout when they/we can get it, so lets just go ahead and start stating the possible paces in our rides. Rides with more than one or two competitors on it will get hot. I think Marc’s post was good, and much more accurate than my was in terms of Sundays Rides/Efforts.
When it gets warm like it did, some guys can come out Saturday, not Sunday…. Others can come out Sunday, not Saturday…. We’ve all been pent-up for a long winter, so nobody can be blamed for “stretching their legs”. It is a natural thing to do when men and women have been on a stationary trainer for the past few months.
Anyway, Doctor Farmer, KMAC and Mr. Bourne (Esquire) were feeling good so they kept the front end of Sunday’s ride over the Grundy Loop (Clockwise) hot!. At the end of Barnsburg Road, the group opted to do the little Jig behind the Factories. As what seems to be becoming a Natural Law of Cumberland Cycling, anytime a ride (of any previously stated venue) ventures onto the road behind the factories, you know that the ride itself has broken the delicate bonds of sanity, and lifted into the realm of the insane, hyper-completive.
Why? Well, there’s a mailbox back there that everybody likes to be the first to pass. (You have to be a racer… i.e. partially or wholly insane, to understand).
Yes, a mail box…. And we gun and gun; we fight for position, cut each other off, gate-keep, sandbag, blow snot, get sneaky and otherwise cantankerous…. Hell, down right “disagreeable” in order to be the first rider past that damn mail box!
To those who are not competitive cyclists, it must seem as if the “eNtire aRea cYcling aRmy” got the conviction that every Rainbow ends AT THAT MAIL BOX. But, I can assure you, as insane as it seems to have everybody “Up-and-Get”, all at once, there is some reason to it. (The team has always will contest a sprint to that certain place).
Competitive cyclists on the team often sprint to a point to practice the violent art. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RNAYR3KPIg). The boys and girls riding in road races need to practice sprinting, as the above video will insure you.
Anyway, Adam arranged himself such that at least seven or eight riders were in front of him when the bombs started to fall. I didn’t see it, but I heard while the guns were blazing up front, Adam (esquire) was caught in such an atmospheric vortex, he was actually coasting behind us at 35+ MPH. Arriving at the infamous Mail Box, Adam came around us like an Indy Car at a Soap Box contest. (It was impressive for a guy who’s been running 50+ miles at a time in the woods).
It was a great ride, and there were many great things that happened on the ride.
Coming in on Gundy Road, JT has a favorite stretch of road, so he attacked, and got considerable “day light” on the crew. AC Donahue (esquire2) brought the field up to JT. And that is just awesome! There is nothing that makes my ride happier than to see riders make huge advances in fitness!
Well, that just about does it for my ride report… LESSON: If you are a casual rider, and you are on a ride this summer, and there are some racers among you, and they divert the ride to the area “Behind The Factories”; don’t do it!!!! Don’t go in there! If you do go, rest assured, they will all wait at the Shopville School.
We will all be out in the warm sunshine soon, I promise. I hope you are all well. I am well.
JT
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