Yea right. We were like 6 caged animals busting loose at Bearspaw this morning. Harley led us out of the parking lot and around the first corner at a very casual pace. Then boom! We were moving at 42 kmh right away. I was thinking, this is not the early season Harley and I got suspicious. At the first hill Harley moved aside and we had our second surprise of the morning. Sarah dropped all of us on the hill and when she slowed down at the top and we caught her, our questions about her secret winter training was met with "you will never know".
Things settled down for a few minutes however changed abruptly when Glenn Miles suddenly joined the group having time trialed solo from downtown Calgary. The pace never let up again after that. Chuck was always up to the pace and kept things moving along into the stiff south west wind. Our sixth rider, Ryan showed some good pace and was able to stay with Glenn and Chuck on the hills.
On our way west, we settled into two groups. Glenn, Chuck and I seemed to have a similar pace going except for the hills of course where I usually get dropped. We had a good echelon going along Horse Creek Road where the west wind gave us some challenges in staying tight. Chuck almost got sucked into my vacuum at one point. Some random cyclist dared to pass us when we thought we were going really fast and of course Glenn had to bust out of the formation to chase him down.
That rider decided to drop a few gears when he heard Glenn wheezing behind him and he took off again. On Cochrane hill Glenn and Chuck dropped me again and were nice enough to wait for me at the top. I was having none of that politeness and took the opportunity to get up to full speed as they watched me go by. The 30 kmh tail wind on the 1A got me up to a good 50 kmh time trial speed and I tried to stay away from the two. It worked for most of the way, they caught me with a few km to go, Glenn went by me with snot pouring from his face, we had fun!
Harley said he fell apart on Cochrane hill, Sarah needs to share her winter training protocol with him. It's really no surprise that after being on the trainers so long through this tough winter that an opportunity to test the legs on the road results in a good hard ride.
Let's see some more people out and keep an eye on the Training Ride Forum.
.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Full Calendar
4 comments:
Great job everyone! I missed the posting and had a good solo ride to Cochrane. Nice to be out again.
Yeah Sarah! Sounds like a great ride - sorry we missed it!
Great ride recap Mike. It should be noted that Sarah, Harley and Ryan were on cross tires, take that into account when you consider how Sarah punished us on the first hill.
Also of note is that Glenn has found an extra gear or two this season. He had me feeling uncomfortable in the cross winds and up the hills. He opened a gap on Gleneagles drive, I think I pulled back a second or two near the top, but that was the best I could do. I was very perplexed when Mike crested the hill and attacked into the downwind section. More work to do hanging on Glenn's wheel!
Like all good rides this one becomes more enjoyable after the fact and upon reflection...
I finally found this post and noted the rumours of glory were almost true, except for the snot part, I'm sure it was just sweat! The wheezing was accurate though and I have to admit I had stiff lungs the next day.
Nevertheless, it was great fun, the suffering and all. I know I will pay a price after taking this weekend off. I have a commitment requiring only my skis and no bike all weekend. So, to the others, go hard, improve your fitness and be ready to catch me a week from tomorrow! Have a great ride this weekend.
Post a Comment