While the forecast was for rain (60% chance for late afternoon and evening) a check of the weather radar at http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?zoommode=zoom&num=6&delay=15&scale=0.250&noclutter=0&ID=LWX&type=N0R&lat=39.00437927&lon=-76.50714111&label=Annapolis,%20MD&showstorms=10&map.x=392&map.y=246¢erx=46¢ery=248&lightning=0 suggested we would be fine.
A smaller group including Ace and Doetsch rolled out of the Park & Ride shortly after 6:00PM. The pace was civilized early, but then Doetsch had a quiet word with Ace near the front of hte line, shortly before route 2. He rolled to the front, grabbed the aero bars (yes, Doetschman had AERO bars on his Motobecane), and pulled to route 2 and all the way down route 2, most of it at 30+ mph. The wheelsucker was suspicious of what might be going on (the wheelsucker is ALWAYS suspicious when the strong guys have brief discussions during the ride), and decided that Doetsch might be setting Ace up for a counterattack, but when Doetsch finally pulled off, Ace was still back in the paceline. It turns out that Doetsch is apparently trying to transition from a big jump kind of rider to a long pull kind of rider.
Shortly after the right turn onto South Polling House, Tom Aga flatted. This was a huge win for the wheelsucker, who is suffering from old-age-induced lower back pain. A tuesday morning session with PT Debbie Dudas at a Severna Park bonecracker's office had left him a little less tight, but even more sore. Ms. Dudas' advice had been to skip the training ride, or failing that, go easy. And Tom's flat opened the possibility of an easier ride. So the wheelsucker vociferously exclaimed that some riders should wait for Tom.. and lo and behold, Doetsch, Ace, Stu, the amazing Amanda Wu and our new junior phenom Aaron (a.k.a mini Doetsch), and the wheelsucker, all waited for Tom to pull the glass out of his Michelin Pro Race 2 Lite tire and put in a new tube.
The pace was even more civilized after that, with Doetsch taking one more I'm-in-training-for-a-TT monstor pull down Bayard and onto Sands. The wheelsucker was enjoying the ride, but at his favorite hill (long fast downhill to sweeping right, to false flat and then climb, shortly before route 2), mini-Doetsch was setting a fast pace, and the wheelsucker could not resist, and went into his high-cadence climbing mode. This was enough to spin past mini-Doetsch, but unfortunately also sparked Stu (I-need-to-prove-I-am-a-strong-climber) to go hard. The wheelsucker watched him go by, and decided that his goal of a relatively easy ride was incompatible with chasing Stu up the last of the hill (The wheelsucker's age, and age-induced back pain may have influenced him in this decision), and shut it down. Mini-Doetsch rolled past, and all of a sudden mini-Doetsch and Stu were off the front of the small group. This was more than the wheelsucker could take, so he jumped medium-hard on the next roller, and easily caught on the back. Doetsch, Ace and Tom were being gentlemen, and declined to jump and abandon the amazing Amanda Wu, so the three rolled off the front. As they rolled up to 214, the light was red, but someone noticed the yellow going the otherway, and all three sprinted for the short green, and MADE IT! Doetsch, Ace, Tom and Amanada were left unclipped waiting for the next green. The wheelsucker, claiming advanced age, avoided a few pulls, while mini-Doetsch and Stu were hammering to stay away. At the last descent before the sprint, a relatively fresh wheelsucker pushed hard as the rider in front pulled off and opened up a gap of several bike lengths... Thinking it was better to leave it at that, rather than actually sprint and risk being passed, the wheelsucker sat up and let mini-Doetsch work his ass off to sprint by, while Stu sat up and relaxed. A hard-breathing Doetsch was not far behind, having chased with Ace and the others, and then left them to try to bridge on his own.
The wheelsucker's numbers (from first cross of finish line back to the finish line) were: average speed 23.68 mph, average HR 146 bpm (high was 173, which is the wheelsucker's max), average power 195 watts.
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