Under cloudy skies with warm temperatures, a stiff wind out of the South, and no rain (did I mention it wasn't raining?) Steve was the only ABRT rider to show up for the ride. As he put the bike together contemplating a 3 hour tempo ride several Naval Academy team members showed up for the ride. A bit after 9AM it was apparent that no one else was going to show so Steve, and 4 Naval Academy cycling team members set off.
Early in the ride it became apparent that the Navy team had an old school coach as they were just out to do base miles, and Steve's tempo was breaking the group up. There was a bit of dissention in the group about who wanted to go hard, but it was agreed upon that things would start out at a fairly relaxed tempo. After a brief pause for a flat tire early in the ride things continued at an endurance type pace until the first rest stop. As the ride progressed it was obvious that unlike ABRT the Naval Academy team actually waits for their women. A women's collegiate "A" rider from the team was doing a good job hanging in, but the team would slow up for her after some of the short hard efforts on the hills.
At the rest stop knee warmers and arm warmers were disappearing as the weather had warmed a bit. The sun would make an occaisional appearance at various times throughout the ride. As we hit the light at the beach a glance at the flag revealed that we'd have a very nice stiff tailwind for the remainder of the ride. The pace picked up a bit, but things were still fairly relaxed. Coming up the hill out of the beaches Steve was sitting comfortably on the wheel of an Academy rider who was cranking out a fairly steady 350 watts. This was the smoothest trip he could remember up this hill in quite awhile, but alas after less than a minute there was a cry from the back about reducing the pace.
The group continued to do a nice steady pace on the rollers with several riders taking long even pulls. After the light at Central Avenue Steve was informed that only two of the Academy riders would be participating in the sprint, and that he was welcome to move up in the pace-line. He happily sat on wheels until the sprint, but not knowing who the best sprinter was he ended up picking the wrong wheel, and finishing second.
Just as the group finished the sprint the wind picked up, and the rain started. It was light at first, but by the time the group made it back to the park and ride things had picked up considerably. The Academy riders decided to try, and fit all four of their bikes into the one vehicle as 3 of them had ridden to the start, but none wanted to deal with the 20 to 30+ mph crosswinds on the way back to the Academy.
The Academy team will most likely be attending some of our future rides this winter, and a brief discussion on the merits of "old school" training versus "new school" ensued. There was definitely some interest in the "new school" philosophy.
Another interesting thing about riding with the Academy team is that aside from the usual bits of useful insight shared by motorists we actually did get a "Go Navy" a couple of times. Somehow I never remember hearing a "Go ABRT" on any of our rides although I do remember several phrases that started with the word "go".
Those of you who were sitting on the couch (gee I guess that would be all of you) missed a really nice off-season ride.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Mountain Biking: A Wheelsucker Report
Apart from the two road racing bikes, the rain/indoor trainer bike, the TT bike, the fixie and the Powercranks bike, the wheelsucker has a mountain bike. So far he has mostly ridden it downtown for coffee, as it is nice in traffic (one sits more upright, and can be seen better). In fact he has only been off-road with it once, in Quiet Waters park. The dirt on the tires has been left on so others would not immediately realize the wheelsucker was a poseur when it came to mountain biking. The wheelsucker has wanted to try riding off road, but his cycling workout schedule has either had him on road bikes of one kind or another, or recovering, every day since last November. But all this changed after the Deep Blue TT; the wheelsucker was – and is -- free to try other things. So when the Latitude/ABRT mountain bike team started e-mailing about a ride, the wheelsucker thought, "Why not?", and "I’m in!"
The wheelsucker showed up at the appointed parking lot at the appointed time, let young Tom adjust his tire pressure and front fork (thanks, Tom!), and then they were off.
But it turns out there is no place to hide in the woods, no way to wheelsuck and let others do the work; no way to hide the wheelsucker’s weaknesses.
Whoever came up with “It is hard to teach an old dog a new trick” was on to something, thought the wheelsucker as he struggled after his teammates, who were somewhere well up the trail. Mountain biking is not easy, and it is not easy to learn either.
The quiet of the woods was rent by loud “Uhhhh” sounds as the wheelsucker fell, hitting rocks and tree roots and temporarily deflated his lungs on impact, or simply fell into a tree (same “Uhhhh sound on impact) he was trying to go around. The rocks and stones were unhurt, and the tree he ran into did not appear to be damaged; the wheelsucker did not get off as lightly.
When he wasn’t hitting rocks and trees, the wheelsucker’s helmet was fending off low hanging braches. This seemed a useful feature to the wheelsucker, until the time he partly hooked a branch with the helmet, and had a very strange sensation as the helmet slowed down while still attached to his head.
Why was the wheelsucker falling all the time you ask? Perhaps it was his failing eyesight; unable to notice the tree roots and rocks partly hidden by sun-dappled leaves, or maybe it was the trail his team mates picked which apparently went through many streams/creeks (or maybe the same stream over and over again), and over some number of large logs, a section paved with logs (BTW, the origin of the word corduroy.. cord du Roi.. were roads built for the king of France). Then there was the difficulty steering while the front wheel was in the air, having bounced up over a large log, or lifting off the ground as the wheelsucker frantically tried to propel the bike up a steep section.
As the wheelsucker tired and overheated, he started to wonder if he was going to get lost in the woods. His teammates would tire of waiting for him, or they would not stop at a fork, and the wheelsucker would take the wrong turn, and ride down a trail by himself. Eventually, realizing he was lost, he would use the GPS in his iPhone to try to navigate his way to a road, but the iPhone battery would die before he made it, and would be stranded in the woods with winter coming on. :-)
Fortunately for the wheelsucker the others were willing to stop and wait for him many times. They would rest, and then when an exhausted, bruised and battered wheelsucker would roll up, they would be ready to go on. Eventually, after two and a half hours, the wheelsucker made it back to his car.
By that time it hurt to pedal and hurt to walk. The wheelsucker had difficulty removing his cycling clothes to put on dry clothes. When the others noticed that there wasn’t any fresh blood dripping from him, they offered to take him back out for more (I am not making this up).
Getting into his car was hard. The wheelsucker could barely drive it home as his right leg was so stiff and sore. Once parked at home, he was barely able to get out of the car.
The wheelsucker’s thoughts on mountain biking:
1. Thanks to the guys for waiting so many times
2. Riding over large logs is a skill the wheelsucker needs to work on
3. Clipping in an out of the pedals gets harder as the wheelsucker tires
4. Apparently the bike can take rather more than the rider
5. The bike does not steer well when you are braking
6. Not braking means you hit the next tree/rock/ground a LOT harder
7. Perhaps the wheelsucker’s weight weenie tires need to be replaced with wider tires
8. Maybe the wheelsucker is too old a dog: For Sale: one Motobecane 9627 Fly weight weenie mountain bike ;-)
9. It all feels better with ibuprofen and Goslings rum (for medicinal purposes only, you understand).
The wheelsucker showed up at the appointed parking lot at the appointed time, let young Tom adjust his tire pressure and front fork (thanks, Tom!), and then they were off.
But it turns out there is no place to hide in the woods, no way to wheelsuck and let others do the work; no way to hide the wheelsucker’s weaknesses.
Whoever came up with “It is hard to teach an old dog a new trick” was on to something, thought the wheelsucker as he struggled after his teammates, who were somewhere well up the trail. Mountain biking is not easy, and it is not easy to learn either.
The quiet of the woods was rent by loud “Uhhhh” sounds as the wheelsucker fell, hitting rocks and tree roots and temporarily deflated his lungs on impact, or simply fell into a tree (same “Uhhhh sound on impact) he was trying to go around. The rocks and stones were unhurt, and the tree he ran into did not appear to be damaged; the wheelsucker did not get off as lightly.
When he wasn’t hitting rocks and trees, the wheelsucker’s helmet was fending off low hanging braches. This seemed a useful feature to the wheelsucker, until the time he partly hooked a branch with the helmet, and had a very strange sensation as the helmet slowed down while still attached to his head.
Why was the wheelsucker falling all the time you ask? Perhaps it was his failing eyesight; unable to notice the tree roots and rocks partly hidden by sun-dappled leaves, or maybe it was the trail his team mates picked which apparently went through many streams/creeks (or maybe the same stream over and over again), and over some number of large logs, a section paved with logs (BTW, the origin of the word corduroy.. cord du Roi.. were roads built for the king of France). Then there was the difficulty steering while the front wheel was in the air, having bounced up over a large log, or lifting off the ground as the wheelsucker frantically tried to propel the bike up a steep section.
As the wheelsucker tired and overheated, he started to wonder if he was going to get lost in the woods. His teammates would tire of waiting for him, or they would not stop at a fork, and the wheelsucker would take the wrong turn, and ride down a trail by himself. Eventually, realizing he was lost, he would use the GPS in his iPhone to try to navigate his way to a road, but the iPhone battery would die before he made it, and would be stranded in the woods with winter coming on. :-)
Fortunately for the wheelsucker the others were willing to stop and wait for him many times. They would rest, and then when an exhausted, bruised and battered wheelsucker would roll up, they would be ready to go on. Eventually, after two and a half hours, the wheelsucker made it back to his car.
By that time it hurt to pedal and hurt to walk. The wheelsucker had difficulty removing his cycling clothes to put on dry clothes. When the others noticed that there wasn’t any fresh blood dripping from him, they offered to take him back out for more (I am not making this up).
Getting into his car was hard. The wheelsucker could barely drive it home as his right leg was so stiff and sore. Once parked at home, he was barely able to get out of the car.
The wheelsucker’s thoughts on mountain biking:
1. Thanks to the guys for waiting so many times
2. Riding over large logs is a skill the wheelsucker needs to work on
3. Clipping in an out of the pedals gets harder as the wheelsucker tires
4. Apparently the bike can take rather more than the rider
5. The bike does not steer well when you are braking
6. Not braking means you hit the next tree/rock/ground a LOT harder
7. Perhaps the wheelsucker’s weight weenie tires need to be replaced with wider tires
8. Maybe the wheelsucker is too old a dog: For Sale: one Motobecane 9627 Fly weight weenie mountain bike ;-)
9. It all feels better with ibuprofen and Goslings rum (for medicinal purposes only, you understand).
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Saturday October 18th Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report
The wheelsucker cannot remember the last time he rode 60 miles. Certainly last winter, but there have been few MABRA road races this past season, and few long training rides since last winter. The last few races were crits or time trials, the first typically under an hour, while the Deep Blue TT was only a 25 minute ride. This has left the wheelsucker ill prepared to deal with the rigors of a Latitude Saturday training ride.
A wheelsucker firmly in off season, who had not ridden 60 miles in some time, pedaled out of the Davidsonville Park & Ride on a cool morning, not feeling super strong. While Ace, Doetsch and Keith were not there, Ryan Guttridge, Tom MacKay, a strong rider from Florida, and Mike Wagner were part of the large group of (mostly Latitude/ABRT) riders.
Overall it was not a super fast pace, but it was fast in places, with times when the wheelsucker was hard pressed to hold a wheel (frequently when Ryan, who must not have gotten the e-mail about it being off season, was taking a pull).
The lead group had shrunk substantially by the time it re-crossed 214. Some riders had turned around at the rest stop; others may have been strewn through south county. A suffering wheelsucker was still with the lead group; he was impressed with how well Ted Harris and Alex Pline were riding.
Ryan did lead out; a number of riders started sprinting early. The wheelsucker was doing what he does best, wheelsucking at the back, as the group approached the sprint. He moved up a few places just before and during the last downhill. Riders started winding it up early, and the wheelsucker gratefully moved over behind the sprinters and rode the entire way to the finish line, wheelsucking, or at least shielded from the breeze. The wheelsucker believes that the Florida rider won the sprint, with the wheelsucker overtaking several sprinters who went too early and sat up before the finish, to cross 3rd.
A wheelsucker firmly in off season, who had not ridden 60 miles in some time, pedaled out of the Davidsonville Park & Ride on a cool morning, not feeling super strong. While Ace, Doetsch and Keith were not there, Ryan Guttridge, Tom MacKay, a strong rider from Florida, and Mike Wagner were part of the large group of (mostly Latitude/ABRT) riders.
Overall it was not a super fast pace, but it was fast in places, with times when the wheelsucker was hard pressed to hold a wheel (frequently when Ryan, who must not have gotten the e-mail about it being off season, was taking a pull).
The lead group had shrunk substantially by the time it re-crossed 214. Some riders had turned around at the rest stop; others may have been strewn through south county. A suffering wheelsucker was still with the lead group; he was impressed with how well Ted Harris and Alex Pline were riding.
Ryan did lead out; a number of riders started sprinting early. The wheelsucker was doing what he does best, wheelsucking at the back, as the group approached the sprint. He moved up a few places just before and during the last downhill. Riders started winding it up early, and the wheelsucker gratefully moved over behind the sprinters and rode the entire way to the finish line, wheelsucking, or at least shielded from the breeze. The wheelsucker believes that the Florida rider won the sprint, with the wheelsucker overtaking several sprinters who went too early and sat up before the finish, to cross 3rd.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Tuesday October 14th Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report
The wheelsucker LOVES the Tuesday/Thursday training rides, and with the days shortening, and the imminent arrival of daylight savings time, the wheelsucker believes these training rides are something to be treasured while one can. On the other hand, two days of bouncing around on a fixed gear were not kind to the wheelsucker; so it was a conflicted wheelsucker riding out of the Davidsonville Parker & Ride, wondering if the soreness in his legs would go away as he warmed up.
The Doetsch was a no show, but with Ace and Invincible Nat to drive the pace, there was certainly enough horsepower to make it interesting. The ride started with a medium sized group including a couple of non Latitude riders, one wearing team kit. There was a minimal warmup and the pace was “solid” not long after crossing Governor Bridge Road. The peleton started to take casualties shortly after turning off Patuxent Parkway, on the first climb. The wheelsucker was trying to ride at the back early, but people kept letting him in before he rotated all the way back, and he was also concerned about early attacks from strong riders, so was not entirely comfortable riding all the way at the back. Ace rolled by and off the front at the top of Harwood hill, but the wheelsucker found Nat’s wheel and took the pull up. The pace stayed solid-but-not-too extreme to route 2, faltered a little on route 2 as the paceline had to stop rotating and slow down to go by some cars parked in the shoulder, but then started to ramp up on Bayard. There was not enough daylight for the full course, so Ace charged past the right turn for South Polling House, trying to put the hurt on riders. The peleton had been weeded down to the stronger riders, and everyone left was determined to hang.
The wheelsucker’s legs were thoroughly warmed up, and the tightness was gone, but he was still not far from the limit, and was being careful to take short pulls and have enough in reserve to get back on. Ace rolled off the front on one of the rollers on Bayard, everyone looked at each other wondering who was going to close it and then Nat went hard. The wheelsucker had been waiting for just such an opportunity and just as any wheelsucker would do, was on Nat in a flash. The trouble is that Nat is young, strong, fit, and has been riding a LOT with a pro team. The wheelsucker took the tow up to Ace, but then decided enough was enough, as Nat kept accelerating and went right on by Ace. This created a predicament for the wheelsucker, as there were no more wheels to suck, and Ace was having none of it, and was on the wheelsucker’s wheel. With exhortations from Ace in his ear, the wheelsucker put in a nominal pull and rotated off to let someone else (the peleton had caught up) take a turn. Nat was soon reeled in (no thanks to the wheelsucker) and the peleton continued down Bayard. The wheelsucker was leading at the turn onto Sands, but sat up immediately to let the paceline go by, so he could wheelsuck at the back. The group continued up Sands, with the wheelsucker taking short pulls when he had to, and conserving his limited strength to cover attacks.
The boys gather round to tell stories after the ride
But then a possible opportunity presented itself. As you know the wheelsucker’s sprint is less than impressive, so the wheelsucker hopes to “thin the herd” and make the break smaller, so he can finish something like 6th instead of something like 9th. So when the rider leading the paceline pulled off just before one of the Sands road rollers (Rule #7, NEVER pull off just before, or on a climb, as you will struggle to get back on and are vulnerable to the next guy pushing the pace!), the wheelsucker pulled through, stood and just HAMMERED (well, hammered for the wheelsucker) up the short hill. A quick glance under his arm revealed that people were on his wheel, so the give-it-everything-you-have burst from the wheelsucker had not shaken much loose, EXCEPT for the poor guy who had just pulled off. The wheelsucker’s victim was Aaron Canale, who had been riding hard despite not feeling 100%. So once again age and treachery do in youth and strength.
Hammering up the hill took it out of the wheelsucker, so he promptly pulled off and caught on the back of the paceline and caught his breath.
The wheelsucker AGAIN found himself leading going down the dip before the "T" where Sands ends at Patuxent, but carefully coasted and then pedaled easily encouraging the next rider to pull through as soon as possible. The wheelsucker was able to grab on the back (though it was a near thing) and was still attached at the top of the climb.
And then a random car turning left from Patuxent onto Sands forced the group to slow right down, giving the wheelsucker the break he needed. Ace was the first onto Patuxent, with two riders on his wheel. The wheelsucker briefly thought about closing the gap himself, but then saw Nat to his left, and decided to let Nat do it (with the wheelsucker on his wheel). Up the wheelsucker’s favorite climb things were looking good, except that the wheelsucker’s burning legs refused to accelerate as fast as the riders in front, and the wheelsucker was very nearly gapped, but somehow struggled back on. The light at 214 turned red just as the break arrived, so it sat up, looked both ways, waited for the green light (No WAY!!! It looked both ways and crossed). But then a funny thing happened; everyone sat up while Ace was having a conversation with another rider. This suited an aging and tired wheelsucker very well, so he did nothing to disturb the relaxed pace. One of the non Latitude riders asked if that was it for the ride, and the wheelsucker reassured him we still has about 12 minutes to go, and it would probably get fast again. Then Steve Owens ramped it up a little, and the wheelsucker reluctantly grabbed his wheel rather than let him go. The respite was over, and soon the group was hammering again. The group was reasonably large, so there was lots of recovery time, but the pace was fairly high when Ace or Nat were pulling, and there was still a risk of being gapped on the hills. The wheelsucker actually lit it up HARD (hard for the wheelsucker) on one of the climbs, opened a gap, and then realized that no one in the group was worried about it, knowing the wheelsucker would come back quickly. The wheelsucker sheepishly sat up and caught on the back again.
more 'revisionist history' about the ride
As the group approached the finish line, Ace asked the wheelsucker if he wanted to sprint. The wheelsucker was tired, winded, sore and not feeling super strong (even for the wheelsucker), but having Ace as a leadout man was tempting, so the wheelsucker said "YES!" and sucked Ace’s wheel in the paceline. Going down the hill, Nat went early with Steve Owens trying to hold his wheel. The gap behind Nat opened. But without appearing to be working hard, Ace’s speed was increasing, with the wheelsucker desperately trying to stay on his wheel. As Ace passed Steve, the wheelsucker found himself without quite enough room to stay on Ace’s wheel -- he was forced over to the left -- and found himself working MUCH harder than he wanted to, to stay on Ace’s wheel, and then, as Ace’s speed continued to increase, the gap started to open, and the wheelsucker lost the draft, and howled in misery to Ace that he was off. Unencumbered by having to wait for the wheelsucker, Ace turned on the afterburners and reeled in Nat, going by him so fast that Nat sat up. The wheelsucker in turn passed Nat, just as Stu rolled by him easily at a higher speed. So Ace won easily wth Stu second and the wheelsucker 3rd.
Stu assures the wheelsucker that "it's only money!", and that he should buy Bill's SRM Pro
The wheelsucker is enjoying freedom from the tyranny of the Powertap (and the additional weight in the rear hub), so had no data for the ride.
Despite not feeling 100%, Aaron rode hard
But others did: 23.6 mph average from the Park & Ride to the finish line, and a ride of about 28 miles.
Tom rode strong, and was first back to 424
Ace cannot BELIEVE that the wheelsucker could not stay on his wheel at the sprint
The Doetsch was a no show, but with Ace and Invincible Nat to drive the pace, there was certainly enough horsepower to make it interesting. The ride started with a medium sized group including a couple of non Latitude riders, one wearing team kit. There was a minimal warmup and the pace was “solid” not long after crossing Governor Bridge Road. The peleton started to take casualties shortly after turning off Patuxent Parkway, on the first climb. The wheelsucker was trying to ride at the back early, but people kept letting him in before he rotated all the way back, and he was also concerned about early attacks from strong riders, so was not entirely comfortable riding all the way at the back. Ace rolled by and off the front at the top of Harwood hill, but the wheelsucker found Nat’s wheel and took the pull up. The pace stayed solid-but-not-too extreme to route 2, faltered a little on route 2 as the paceline had to stop rotating and slow down to go by some cars parked in the shoulder, but then started to ramp up on Bayard. There was not enough daylight for the full course, so Ace charged past the right turn for South Polling House, trying to put the hurt on riders. The peleton had been weeded down to the stronger riders, and everyone left was determined to hang.
The wheelsucker’s legs were thoroughly warmed up, and the tightness was gone, but he was still not far from the limit, and was being careful to take short pulls and have enough in reserve to get back on. Ace rolled off the front on one of the rollers on Bayard, everyone looked at each other wondering who was going to close it and then Nat went hard. The wheelsucker had been waiting for just such an opportunity and just as any wheelsucker would do, was on Nat in a flash. The trouble is that Nat is young, strong, fit, and has been riding a LOT with a pro team. The wheelsucker took the tow up to Ace, but then decided enough was enough, as Nat kept accelerating and went right on by Ace. This created a predicament for the wheelsucker, as there were no more wheels to suck, and Ace was having none of it, and was on the wheelsucker’s wheel. With exhortations from Ace in his ear, the wheelsucker put in a nominal pull and rotated off to let someone else (the peleton had caught up) take a turn. Nat was soon reeled in (no thanks to the wheelsucker) and the peleton continued down Bayard. The wheelsucker was leading at the turn onto Sands, but sat up immediately to let the paceline go by, so he could wheelsuck at the back. The group continued up Sands, with the wheelsucker taking short pulls when he had to, and conserving his limited strength to cover attacks.
The boys gather round to tell stories after the rideBut then a possible opportunity presented itself. As you know the wheelsucker’s sprint is less than impressive, so the wheelsucker hopes to “thin the herd” and make the break smaller, so he can finish something like 6th instead of something like 9th. So when the rider leading the paceline pulled off just before one of the Sands road rollers (Rule #7, NEVER pull off just before, or on a climb, as you will struggle to get back on and are vulnerable to the next guy pushing the pace!), the wheelsucker pulled through, stood and just HAMMERED (well, hammered for the wheelsucker) up the short hill. A quick glance under his arm revealed that people were on his wheel, so the give-it-everything-you-have burst from the wheelsucker had not shaken much loose, EXCEPT for the poor guy who had just pulled off. The wheelsucker’s victim was Aaron Canale, who had been riding hard despite not feeling 100%. So once again age and treachery do in youth and strength.
Hammering up the hill took it out of the wheelsucker, so he promptly pulled off and caught on the back of the paceline and caught his breath.
The wheelsucker AGAIN found himself leading going down the dip before the "T" where Sands ends at Patuxent, but carefully coasted and then pedaled easily encouraging the next rider to pull through as soon as possible. The wheelsucker was able to grab on the back (though it was a near thing) and was still attached at the top of the climb.
And then a random car turning left from Patuxent onto Sands forced the group to slow right down, giving the wheelsucker the break he needed. Ace was the first onto Patuxent, with two riders on his wheel. The wheelsucker briefly thought about closing the gap himself, but then saw Nat to his left, and decided to let Nat do it (with the wheelsucker on his wheel). Up the wheelsucker’s favorite climb things were looking good, except that the wheelsucker’s burning legs refused to accelerate as fast as the riders in front, and the wheelsucker was very nearly gapped, but somehow struggled back on. The light at 214 turned red just as the break arrived, so it sat up, looked both ways, waited for the green light (No WAY!!! It looked both ways and crossed). But then a funny thing happened; everyone sat up while Ace was having a conversation with another rider. This suited an aging and tired wheelsucker very well, so he did nothing to disturb the relaxed pace. One of the non Latitude riders asked if that was it for the ride, and the wheelsucker reassured him we still has about 12 minutes to go, and it would probably get fast again. Then Steve Owens ramped it up a little, and the wheelsucker reluctantly grabbed his wheel rather than let him go. The respite was over, and soon the group was hammering again. The group was reasonably large, so there was lots of recovery time, but the pace was fairly high when Ace or Nat were pulling, and there was still a risk of being gapped on the hills. The wheelsucker actually lit it up HARD (hard for the wheelsucker) on one of the climbs, opened a gap, and then realized that no one in the group was worried about it, knowing the wheelsucker would come back quickly. The wheelsucker sheepishly sat up and caught on the back again.
more 'revisionist history' about the rideAs the group approached the finish line, Ace asked the wheelsucker if he wanted to sprint. The wheelsucker was tired, winded, sore and not feeling super strong (even for the wheelsucker), but having Ace as a leadout man was tempting, so the wheelsucker said "YES!" and sucked Ace’s wheel in the paceline. Going down the hill, Nat went early with Steve Owens trying to hold his wheel. The gap behind Nat opened. But without appearing to be working hard, Ace’s speed was increasing, with the wheelsucker desperately trying to stay on his wheel. As Ace passed Steve, the wheelsucker found himself without quite enough room to stay on Ace’s wheel -- he was forced over to the left -- and found himself working MUCH harder than he wanted to, to stay on Ace’s wheel, and then, as Ace’s speed continued to increase, the gap started to open, and the wheelsucker lost the draft, and howled in misery to Ace that he was off. Unencumbered by having to wait for the wheelsucker, Ace turned on the afterburners and reeled in Nat, going by him so fast that Nat sat up. The wheelsucker in turn passed Nat, just as Stu rolled by him easily at a higher speed. So Ace won easily wth Stu second and the wheelsucker 3rd.
Stu assures the wheelsucker that "it's only money!", and that he should buy Bill's SRM ProThe wheelsucker is enjoying freedom from the tyranny of the Powertap (and the additional weight in the rear hub), so had no data for the ride.
Despite not feeling 100%, Aaron rode hardBut others did: 23.6 mph average from the Park & Ride to the finish line, and a ride of about 28 miles.
Tom rode strong, and was first back to 424
Ace cannot BELIEVE that the wheelsucker could not stay on his wheel at the sprint
Monday Post Party Ride: The Wheelsucker Report
Being new to the sport, the wheelsucker does not fully understand how to train, the seasons, when the off season starts, and what one does during the off season. Hiring a coach has helped, as the wheelsucker simply checks a website to check what today's (or tomorrow's) workout is, and does it.
But the wheelsucker's coach has not assigned any workouts since the Deep Blue TT, just over a week ago, and has simply told the wheelsucker to do what he wants, "ride your bike if you feel like it." Well, the wheelsucker has a somewhat addictive personality, and after two or three days off the bike, the wheelsucker NEEDED to get back on the bike! GIVE ME THE BIKE AND NO ONE WILL GET HURT!!!!
Another point that confuses the wheelsucker is when to ride a fixed gear and how. There seem to be different schools of thought on this. So the wheelsucker was a little lost as to what to do for a bike ride, and chose to ride the fixie because ... well maybe it was just that he had not ridden the fixie in awhile. So the wheelsucker rode the fixie on the Sunday ride, and when he heard about a MONDAY ride, he decided to use the fixie again, but changed the gearing from 44-18 to 44-17 so he would not be spinning QUITE as fast going down hills.
Stu Waring suggested the Monday ride. The wheelsucker had trouble getting out of work, but Stu, the amazing Amanda Wu, Ty, Jeff "Ace" McDermott and Alex Pline were all still waiting for him when he turned up at the Bike Doctor Annapolis parking lot. How could you NOT want to ride on such a nice afternoon!
Alex was NOT wearing his team kit, and it turned out that a sore back was keeping him off the bike. So Alex jumped on the team photographer role.
The wheelsucker is happy wearing Latitude/ABRT kit with blue socks (the wheelsucker prefers higher wool socks for fall training rides) and riding his matching Cannondale Capo with blue bar tape and blue Michelin tires. But the wheelsucker is NOT happy with his tummy bulge!
The Latitude squad rode out of the parking lot and turned right onto Bestgate Road, and there was the official Latitude photographer blocking the left lane (we already had the right lane blocked) taking photographs. NO WONDER Annapolis drivers are so aggressive towards us!
Less traffic on Ridgley
Rather than ride down Rowe Blvd, we made the left and then right onto Ridgley, quickly "zagged" onto Annapolis, went over the Naval Academy bridge and out the St. Margaret’s Road route.
It was just KILLING photographer Alex Pline to NOT be riding!
Despite being advertised as "we're going to the beach!", we did NOT turn into Sandy Point State park, but simply turned left onto East College Parkway, after crossing over route 50.
East College Parkway is easy; almost no traffic. College Parkway has more traffic, but a wider shoulder until it gets closer to route 2. It then gets interesting with lots of traffic and no shoulder, so we turned off it as soon as we could, used back roads to get to route 2, crossed it, and came back on the B&A trail, stopping at Asquith (our local version of Ilchester) to do the climb seated.
It was twentyeight miles round trip @ 19.5 mph. The wheelsucker was grateful for his 44/17, particularly going down the hills! He was bouncing too hard downhill to read the cadence on the bike computer, but was taking pulls at a cadence of 100+, and distinctly recalls holding 115-120 for some time while riding at the back while Ace took a faster pull.
But the wheelsucker's coach has not assigned any workouts since the Deep Blue TT, just over a week ago, and has simply told the wheelsucker to do what he wants, "ride your bike if you feel like it." Well, the wheelsucker has a somewhat addictive personality, and after two or three days off the bike, the wheelsucker NEEDED to get back on the bike! GIVE ME THE BIKE AND NO ONE WILL GET HURT!!!!
Another point that confuses the wheelsucker is when to ride a fixed gear and how. There seem to be different schools of thought on this. So the wheelsucker was a little lost as to what to do for a bike ride, and chose to ride the fixie because ... well maybe it was just that he had not ridden the fixie in awhile. So the wheelsucker rode the fixie on the Sunday ride, and when he heard about a MONDAY ride, he decided to use the fixie again, but changed the gearing from 44-18 to 44-17 so he would not be spinning QUITE as fast going down hills.
Stu Waring suggested the Monday ride. The wheelsucker had trouble getting out of work, but Stu, the amazing Amanda Wu, Ty, Jeff "Ace" McDermott and Alex Pline were all still waiting for him when he turned up at the Bike Doctor Annapolis parking lot. How could you NOT want to ride on such a nice afternoon!
Alex was NOT wearing his team kit, and it turned out that a sore back was keeping him off the bike. So Alex jumped on the team photographer role.
The wheelsucker is happy wearing Latitude/ABRT kit with blue socks (the wheelsucker prefers higher wool socks for fall training rides) and riding his matching Cannondale Capo with blue bar tape and blue Michelin tires. But the wheelsucker is NOT happy with his tummy bulge!The Latitude squad rode out of the parking lot and turned right onto Bestgate Road, and there was the official Latitude photographer blocking the left lane (we already had the right lane blocked) taking photographs. NO WONDER Annapolis drivers are so aggressive towards us!
Less traffic on RidgleyRather than ride down Rowe Blvd, we made the left and then right onto Ridgley, quickly "zagged" onto Annapolis, went over the Naval Academy bridge and out the St. Margaret’s Road route.
It was just KILLING photographer Alex Pline to NOT be riding!Despite being advertised as "we're going to the beach!", we did NOT turn into Sandy Point State park, but simply turned left onto East College Parkway, after crossing over route 50.
East College Parkway is easy; almost no traffic. College Parkway has more traffic, but a wider shoulder until it gets closer to route 2. It then gets interesting with lots of traffic and no shoulder, so we turned off it as soon as we could, used back roads to get to route 2, crossed it, and came back on the B&A trail, stopping at Asquith (our local version of Ilchester) to do the climb seated.
It was twentyeight miles round trip @ 19.5 mph. The wheelsucker was grateful for his 44/17, particularly going down the hills! He was bouncing too hard downhill to read the cadence on the bike computer, but was taking pulls at a cadence of 100+, and distinctly recalls holding 115-120 for some time while riding at the back while Ace took a faster pull.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
October 12th Team Ride and Party/BBQ
A large number of Latitude/ABRT riders descended on Lynn and Steve Doetschman's home near Millersville at noon today, first for a relaxed team ride, and then a party/BBQ.
Despite concerns that Latitude/ABRT could not have an easy civilized no-drop ride, no matter how hard it tried, we ended up with a good ride with no one dropped. The long lost John Ver Byrke was there, as was new member Larry Dieran. Doetsch had a nice rolling route chosen which took us just over two hours to cover at a good, but not killer pace. Not only was no one dropped, but it was even a "fixie friendly" ride, as Ryan, Tom and Ali all rode their fixies.
Beer is a recovery drink. Who knew?
We were back at Lynn and Doestch's by 2:15, but the party did not really get rolling until about 3:30, as riders returned with spouses and family, and others rolled in.
The correct recovery behaviour after a ride. Sit down and drink your beer! Tom did not ride, so is drinking cola
The people playing volleyball had not done the ride!
Between multiple courses of Red, Hot and Blue, and several beers, President Shapter gave the volunteer of the year award to Dana Mellerio (club secretary), who helped keep ABRT going through some shaky times in late 2007 and early 2008, and recognized Sue Estes for rebuilding Latitude/ABRT's junior program from a standing start of zero riders, to a BAR winning program. Members present did concede that some of the credit might also go to the riders ;-)
While some considered this to be an afternoon party, others hung on for the evening.
I left before things got out of hand, but Monday rumours of late night drunken hair cutting, Jack Daniels shots, more shots, etc. are circulating.
Great company, great food, multiple kegs of beer, wine, and shots of Jack Daniels; a good time was had by all. We should do this more often!
Despite concerns that Latitude/ABRT could not have an easy civilized no-drop ride, no matter how hard it tried, we ended up with a good ride with no one dropped. The long lost John Ver Byrke was there, as was new member Larry Dieran. Doetsch had a nice rolling route chosen which took us just over two hours to cover at a good, but not killer pace. Not only was no one dropped, but it was even a "fixie friendly" ride, as Ryan, Tom and Ali all rode their fixies.
Beer is a recovery drink. Who knew? We were back at Lynn and Doestch's by 2:15, but the party did not really get rolling until about 3:30, as riders returned with spouses and family, and others rolled in.
The correct recovery behaviour after a ride. Sit down and drink your beer! Tom did not ride, so is drinking cola
The people playing volleyball had not done the ride!
Between multiple courses of Red, Hot and Blue, and several beers, President Shapter gave the volunteer of the year award to Dana Mellerio (club secretary), who helped keep ABRT going through some shaky times in late 2007 and early 2008, and recognized Sue Estes for rebuilding Latitude/ABRT's junior program from a standing start of zero riders, to a BAR winning program. Members present did concede that some of the credit might also go to the riders ;-)
While some considered this to be an afternoon party, others hung on for the evening.I left before things got out of hand, but Monday rumours of late night drunken hair cutting, Jack Daniels shots, more shots, etc. are circulating.
Great company, great food, multiple kegs of beer, wine, and shots of Jack Daniels; a good time was had by all. We should do this more often!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Tuesday October 7th Training Ride: The Wheelsucker Report
A few months ago the wheelsucker followed a link in an e-mail and found an amusing cycling blog. One of the posts that have stuck in the wheelsucker's memory was something like:
Being new to the sport (this is the wheelsucker's second year of racing and being a Latitude/ABRT member), the wheelsucker has heard many references to the "off season", but is confused as to when it occurs, how long it lasts, and what about one's cycling changes, during the off season.
Since the last MABRA race was this past Saturday, and some of the die-hards have switched to cyclecross, and the wheelsucker's coach has stopped giving him workouts and told him to do whatever he wants, the wheelsucker could perhaps be excused for concluding that we were in the off season. He even left his primary race bike at home and took out the ultra light but twitchy Scott CR1 SL (and it IS superlight), and left all instrumentation off. The sense that it was off season and was going to be an easy ride continued when, early in the ride, the peleton caught up with Doug Milliken who was riding a cross bike. So Doug thought it was off season, too!
Frankly the first part of the ride met the above description. With Doetsch yelling encouragement from the back (the wheelsucker does wonder why Doetsch rides at the back at lot early in a ride) about "single file!" and "car back!", the ride was steady, smooth and even relatively easy. Feeling relaxed and not worried about being dropped, the wheelsucker took a couple of good (well, good for the wheelsucker) pulls, and was rewarded for his efforts with Doetsch telling him, "that was a wussy pull!" Actually, that is not quite the wording Doetsch used, but it was similar sounding and rhymes. Now the wheelsucker knows that Doetsch usually only rags on the people he likes, so took this as a compliment, though he did have his doubts.
On his next pulls the wheelsucker went a little harder just to be sure he was not being a "rhymes with 'wussy' ", but the peleton simply let him roll off the front and kept its smooth steady pace. The second time this happened (soon after going through the circle and turning onto Bayard) the wheelsucker concluded the group simply did not want to go any faster and sat up to wait. But then there was a WOOOSH as Doetsch went by grinning, towing another two or three riders at a high rate of speed. The wheelsucker gave it everything he had and managed to latch on the back and wheelsuck for all he was worth. But Doetsch eased up, and the remains of the peleton (which was shrinking fast) caught back on, and the rest of ride down Bayard was fast, but not crazy. Doetsch was still leading as the peleton stayed straight on Bayard, skipping the right turn on to South Polling House. Then Ace hit it HARD at the turn onto Sands doing an 800 meter sprint out of the corner, with one rider (Steve Owens?) trying to stay on his wheel. The wheelsucker was at the back, but noticed that Doetsch was organizing a chase and made sure he was wheelsucking on the correct wheels and took the tow up. It took a little while for everyone to line up after the corner to start the pursuit, and Doetsch waited for the chase to form, while drafting the amazing Amanda Wu. The amazing Amanda Wu simply does not know that she is not supposed to be able to catch Ace by herself when he jumps (very few riders in MABRA can), and was trying to do just that, rather than get to the back of the line and recover for the chase. This effort must have been so far beyond what she could sustain, that when Doetsch got the chase moving, she went OTB. How fast was the chase going? The wheelsucker rides an 11-26 on his CAAD9 and has a 12-25 on his Scott CR1 SL. And he normally time trials with a cadence of 95-99, so is comfortable with a high cadence. But once Doetsch got going, the wheelsucker was riding at the back of the chase, spinning out in his 53-12 gear, and wishing he had an 11 or smaller! Ace was soon caught by the Doetsch-led chase. But the peleton was shrinking fast as more and more riders were OTB, typically in pairs.
The next attack, a team effort from Doetsch and Ace, had a couple of other riders (including the wheelsucker) bridge up, but was quickly countered by some of the chase, though it took a fair bit of work by the stronger chasers to bring them back, and the effort tired out the wheelsucker, who was at the front of Doetsch and Ace's paceline slowing up so someone else could pull through, when it was caught. Doetsch and Ace quickly rotated to the back, and a careless wheelsucker (still not quite realizing that the ride had completely changed) was taking a decent pull when WOOOSH!!... Ace and Doetsch went by at a VERY high rate of speed. The wheelsucker learned later that the two had started scheming as soon as they got to the back with Doetsch urging Ace to "hit them again!" Having been pulling for a little while after bridging up to Ace and Doetsch, the wheelsucker was in no condition to respond (the normal response would be to accelerate hard and either lead the chase or catch a wheel and go with them) and was left yelling S...! (expletive deleted) and then pulling off so someone fresher could start a chase. He nearly went OTB as the chase accelerated, but somehow stayed on the back. Ace and Doetsch were going hard, but were not very far ahead as the chase tried to organize itself. The chase had Steve Owens, Matt Albanese, Rick Paukstitus, Tom Aga, Aaron Canale and the wheelsucker (and perhaps one or two more), so working together pulling them back WAS possible. But the chase did not fully organize, and the rotations were not happening quickly enough, and the chase was tiring, and Ace and Doetsch were not coming back. The wheelsucker saw all this from the back of the chase (where he was wheelsucking HARD and trying to catch his breath), and then, just as Ace and Doetsch were part way up a roller, and the chase was slowing down as it started to climb it at the bottom, the wheelsucker saw Matt Albanese pull out of the middle of the line and HAMMER! The wheelsucker wishes he could jump and sprint like Matt. The wheelsucker, in a doomed-before-it-started attempt to catch Matt's wheel, launched a monster (by wheelsucker standards) sprint up the hill, and was rewarded by seeing Matt open the distance between them only slowly. Matt caught Ace and Doetsch not long after the top of the roller. It took the wheelsucker rather longer but he somehow made it up and grabbed a wheel, just as Ace pulled off and rotated back. A spent wheelsucker managed to mumble "skip" loud enough for Ace to understand, and Ace graciously pulled back in, in front of the wheelsucker. Hoping for a few more seconds to catch his breath, the wheelsucker tried again as the next rider rotated back, but this rider was Doetsch, who in response to the wheelsucker's plea, yelled "GET UP THERE!!", and then pushed the wheelsucker forward. The wheelsucker wobbled but did not fall, and accelerated just enough to keep his place in the rotation, take a pretend pull at the front, and rotate off. Ace and Doetsch were still keeping the hammer down, and the wheelsucker's effort to stay with them was so great that various wheelsucker body functions were starting to shut down, presumably so the oxygen the wheelsucker was extracting from air with his desperate gasps could be dedicated to the wheelsucker's quads. All the wheelsucker could think of was staying on a wheel, taking the shortest pretend pulls he could, and rotating back and grabbing a wheel. Given the very limited oxygen reaching his brain, it is perhaps understandable that the wheelsucker did not see what happened to Matt; at some point the wheelsucker realized he was gone, and the wheelsucker was by himself, trying to stay with two of the strongest riders in the region.
Ace pulled off shortly before the last dip before Sands rises to the Patuxent Parkway intersection, and the wheelsucker found himself leading down the dip, and up the other side. "This is it", thought the wheelsucker, "this is where I will be slowly, painfully, inexorably, unable to keep the small gap to the wheel in front of me, and the gap will open and I will struggle manfully for a few more seconds, go off the back, sit up, and the pain will end." But though the gap opened a little near the top, the wheelsucker was somehow able to stay on.
The wheelsucker was leading again down the last hill before the sweeping right at the low point that often floods and the wheelsucker's favorite climb, doing his best. He continued pulling around the sweeping right and part way up before rotating off and grabbing a wheel. "This is it", thought the wheelsucker, "this is where I will be slowly, painfully, inexorably, unable to keep the small gap to the wheel in front of me, and the gap will open and I will struggle manfully for a few more seconds, go off the back, sit up, and the pain will end." Sure enough the wheelsucker could not stay with Ace and Doetsch at the top where it gets steeper before starting to level off, and he muttered "So long, boys" as they accelerated off the top. But Ace and Doetsch decided to be merciful -- or maybe they were enjoying the wheelsucker's suffering and wanted to continue it -- and slowed up a little, forcing the wheelsucker -- who had pretty much given up -- to stand and accelerate as hard as he could and get back on. They took it easy on him for awhile, and then hearing the gasping rate slow slightly, ramped it back up. The three caught the green light at 214 and hammered across. The wheelsucker was taking only token pulls, and was feeling bad from the effort. It seemed like more body functions were shutting down; one second the wheelsucker was expecting to "toss his cookies", the next he was wondering if he really needed to stop NOW and run for the trees to go to the bathroom. Several more times the wheelsucker thought "This is it; this is where I will be slowly, painfully, inexorably, unable to keep the small gap to the wheel in front of me, and gap will open and I will struggle briefly, go off the back, sit up, and the pain will end, and I will run for the trees." But each time Doetsch and Ace slowed just enough, and yelled at the wheelsucker to get back on.
All the wheelsucker remembers of the ride from 214 to the finish is back wheels and jerseys from the back; it was all he could do to hang on; his token pulls were probably ten seconds long. Then, on the last flat before the dip and the sprint, a miracle happened. NO, not the "I can suddenly sustain 1300 watts for 30 seconds miracle", which the wheelsucker has often hoped for, but the miracle where Ace sits up, turns to the wheelsucker and says "lets go back and pick up the others." Given that the alternative would have been to try to close a gap to Doetsch and then sprint against him, the wheelsucker gratefully accepted Ace's offer, and rode slowly back towards 214 with him, seeing first the chase group charging by, then some stragglers, and then turning to ride in with two of the last stragglers.
Later that evening, as the wheelsucker poured himself his preferred recovery drink -- hot skim milk with chai tea powder and Goslings rum -- the wheelsucker wondered how fast he had been going, how many watts he had put out, and more. But this was an off season ride, and the wheelsucker had no instrumentation at all on the bike. So it will just have to go down as an epic ride, and the wheelsucker will just have to make something up about the numbers... How fast are you doing when you spin out with a 53-12?
All roadies know they are supposed to have an off-season to rest and recuperate. For most roadies it was last Sunday, at 4:00PM
Being new to the sport (this is the wheelsucker's second year of racing and being a Latitude/ABRT member), the wheelsucker has heard many references to the "off season", but is confused as to when it occurs, how long it lasts, and what about one's cycling changes, during the off season.
Since the last MABRA race was this past Saturday, and some of the die-hards have switched to cyclecross, and the wheelsucker's coach has stopped giving him workouts and told him to do whatever he wants, the wheelsucker could perhaps be excused for concluding that we were in the off season. He even left his primary race bike at home and took out the ultra light but twitchy Scott CR1 SL (and it IS superlight), and left all instrumentation off. The sense that it was off season and was going to be an easy ride continued when, early in the ride, the peleton caught up with Doug Milliken who was riding a cross bike. So Doug thought it was off season, too!
Frankly the first part of the ride met the above description. With Doetsch yelling encouragement from the back (the wheelsucker does wonder why Doetsch rides at the back at lot early in a ride) about "single file!" and "car back!", the ride was steady, smooth and even relatively easy. Feeling relaxed and not worried about being dropped, the wheelsucker took a couple of good (well, good for the wheelsucker) pulls, and was rewarded for his efforts with Doetsch telling him, "that was a wussy pull!" Actually, that is not quite the wording Doetsch used, but it was similar sounding and rhymes. Now the wheelsucker knows that Doetsch usually only rags on the people he likes, so took this as a compliment, though he did have his doubts.
On his next pulls the wheelsucker went a little harder just to be sure he was not being a "rhymes with 'wussy' ", but the peleton simply let him roll off the front and kept its smooth steady pace. The second time this happened (soon after going through the circle and turning onto Bayard) the wheelsucker concluded the group simply did not want to go any faster and sat up to wait. But then there was a WOOOSH as Doetsch went by grinning, towing another two or three riders at a high rate of speed. The wheelsucker gave it everything he had and managed to latch on the back and wheelsuck for all he was worth. But Doetsch eased up, and the remains of the peleton (which was shrinking fast) caught back on, and the rest of ride down Bayard was fast, but not crazy. Doetsch was still leading as the peleton stayed straight on Bayard, skipping the right turn on to South Polling House. Then Ace hit it HARD at the turn onto Sands doing an 800 meter sprint out of the corner, with one rider (Steve Owens?) trying to stay on his wheel. The wheelsucker was at the back, but noticed that Doetsch was organizing a chase and made sure he was wheelsucking on the correct wheels and took the tow up. It took a little while for everyone to line up after the corner to start the pursuit, and Doetsch waited for the chase to form, while drafting the amazing Amanda Wu. The amazing Amanda Wu simply does not know that she is not supposed to be able to catch Ace by herself when he jumps (very few riders in MABRA can), and was trying to do just that, rather than get to the back of the line and recover for the chase. This effort must have been so far beyond what she could sustain, that when Doetsch got the chase moving, she went OTB. How fast was the chase going? The wheelsucker rides an 11-26 on his CAAD9 and has a 12-25 on his Scott CR1 SL. And he normally time trials with a cadence of 95-99, so is comfortable with a high cadence. But once Doetsch got going, the wheelsucker was riding at the back of the chase, spinning out in his 53-12 gear, and wishing he had an 11 or smaller! Ace was soon caught by the Doetsch-led chase. But the peleton was shrinking fast as more and more riders were OTB, typically in pairs.
The next attack, a team effort from Doetsch and Ace, had a couple of other riders (including the wheelsucker) bridge up, but was quickly countered by some of the chase, though it took a fair bit of work by the stronger chasers to bring them back, and the effort tired out the wheelsucker, who was at the front of Doetsch and Ace's paceline slowing up so someone else could pull through, when it was caught. Doetsch and Ace quickly rotated to the back, and a careless wheelsucker (still not quite realizing that the ride had completely changed) was taking a decent pull when WOOOSH!!... Ace and Doetsch went by at a VERY high rate of speed. The wheelsucker learned later that the two had started scheming as soon as they got to the back with Doetsch urging Ace to "hit them again!" Having been pulling for a little while after bridging up to Ace and Doetsch, the wheelsucker was in no condition to respond (the normal response would be to accelerate hard and either lead the chase or catch a wheel and go with them) and was left yelling S...! (expletive deleted) and then pulling off so someone fresher could start a chase. He nearly went OTB as the chase accelerated, but somehow stayed on the back. Ace and Doetsch were going hard, but were not very far ahead as the chase tried to organize itself. The chase had Steve Owens, Matt Albanese, Rick Paukstitus, Tom Aga, Aaron Canale and the wheelsucker (and perhaps one or two more), so working together pulling them back WAS possible. But the chase did not fully organize, and the rotations were not happening quickly enough, and the chase was tiring, and Ace and Doetsch were not coming back. The wheelsucker saw all this from the back of the chase (where he was wheelsucking HARD and trying to catch his breath), and then, just as Ace and Doetsch were part way up a roller, and the chase was slowing down as it started to climb it at the bottom, the wheelsucker saw Matt Albanese pull out of the middle of the line and HAMMER! The wheelsucker wishes he could jump and sprint like Matt. The wheelsucker, in a doomed-before-it-started attempt to catch Matt's wheel, launched a monster (by wheelsucker standards) sprint up the hill, and was rewarded by seeing Matt open the distance between them only slowly. Matt caught Ace and Doetsch not long after the top of the roller. It took the wheelsucker rather longer but he somehow made it up and grabbed a wheel, just as Ace pulled off and rotated back. A spent wheelsucker managed to mumble "skip" loud enough for Ace to understand, and Ace graciously pulled back in, in front of the wheelsucker. Hoping for a few more seconds to catch his breath, the wheelsucker tried again as the next rider rotated back, but this rider was Doetsch, who in response to the wheelsucker's plea, yelled "GET UP THERE!!", and then pushed the wheelsucker forward. The wheelsucker wobbled but did not fall, and accelerated just enough to keep his place in the rotation, take a pretend pull at the front, and rotate off. Ace and Doetsch were still keeping the hammer down, and the wheelsucker's effort to stay with them was so great that various wheelsucker body functions were starting to shut down, presumably so the oxygen the wheelsucker was extracting from air with his desperate gasps could be dedicated to the wheelsucker's quads. All the wheelsucker could think of was staying on a wheel, taking the shortest pretend pulls he could, and rotating back and grabbing a wheel. Given the very limited oxygen reaching his brain, it is perhaps understandable that the wheelsucker did not see what happened to Matt; at some point the wheelsucker realized he was gone, and the wheelsucker was by himself, trying to stay with two of the strongest riders in the region.
Ace pulled off shortly before the last dip before Sands rises to the Patuxent Parkway intersection, and the wheelsucker found himself leading down the dip, and up the other side. "This is it", thought the wheelsucker, "this is where I will be slowly, painfully, inexorably, unable to keep the small gap to the wheel in front of me, and the gap will open and I will struggle manfully for a few more seconds, go off the back, sit up, and the pain will end." But though the gap opened a little near the top, the wheelsucker was somehow able to stay on.
The wheelsucker was leading again down the last hill before the sweeping right at the low point that often floods and the wheelsucker's favorite climb, doing his best. He continued pulling around the sweeping right and part way up before rotating off and grabbing a wheel. "This is it", thought the wheelsucker, "this is where I will be slowly, painfully, inexorably, unable to keep the small gap to the wheel in front of me, and the gap will open and I will struggle manfully for a few more seconds, go off the back, sit up, and the pain will end." Sure enough the wheelsucker could not stay with Ace and Doetsch at the top where it gets steeper before starting to level off, and he muttered "So long, boys" as they accelerated off the top. But Ace and Doetsch decided to be merciful -- or maybe they were enjoying the wheelsucker's suffering and wanted to continue it -- and slowed up a little, forcing the wheelsucker -- who had pretty much given up -- to stand and accelerate as hard as he could and get back on. They took it easy on him for awhile, and then hearing the gasping rate slow slightly, ramped it back up. The three caught the green light at 214 and hammered across. The wheelsucker was taking only token pulls, and was feeling bad from the effort. It seemed like more body functions were shutting down; one second the wheelsucker was expecting to "toss his cookies", the next he was wondering if he really needed to stop NOW and run for the trees to go to the bathroom. Several more times the wheelsucker thought "This is it; this is where I will be slowly, painfully, inexorably, unable to keep the small gap to the wheel in front of me, and gap will open and I will struggle briefly, go off the back, sit up, and the pain will end, and I will run for the trees." But each time Doetsch and Ace slowed just enough, and yelled at the wheelsucker to get back on.
All the wheelsucker remembers of the ride from 214 to the finish is back wheels and jerseys from the back; it was all he could do to hang on; his token pulls were probably ten seconds long. Then, on the last flat before the dip and the sprint, a miracle happened. NO, not the "I can suddenly sustain 1300 watts for 30 seconds miracle", which the wheelsucker has often hoped for, but the miracle where Ace sits up, turns to the wheelsucker and says "lets go back and pick up the others." Given that the alternative would have been to try to close a gap to Doetsch and then sprint against him, the wheelsucker gratefully accepted Ace's offer, and rode slowly back towards 214 with him, seeing first the chase group charging by, then some stragglers, and then turning to ride in with two of the last stragglers.
Later that evening, as the wheelsucker poured himself his preferred recovery drink -- hot skim milk with chai tea powder and Goslings rum -- the wheelsucker wondered how fast he had been going, how many watts he had put out, and more. But this was an off season ride, and the wheelsucker had no instrumentation at all on the bike. So it will just have to go down as an epic ride, and the wheelsucker will just have to make something up about the numbers... How fast are you doing when you spin out with a 53-12?
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