JOSEPHWEISSERT
Zen MBB Master
It’s the big Thursday night A ride. We start out with a group of over 10 A riders. I’m just getting over a bad cold and my lungs are still full of mucus. I’ve been off the bike for a while due to the cold. But my legs feel well rested. After a few miles into the ride, the former professional Olympic athlete (POA) joins the group. This guy is by far the most powerful rider around. No one else even compares. He starts off by jacking up the pace significantly. Not much later, we lose two riders off the back. I swerve around them and stay with the group. Then a single rider drops off the back. Then we lose two more riders. A strong rider flats and pulls off the road. The attrition continues until I’m trying desperately to follow POA as he continues alone to motor on down the road. I can’t even stay in his draft. I’m just barely staying near him. Finally, the strong riders take a shortcut and regroup with POA and we continue on. Now I’m feeling tired from the cold and from chasing POA. It turns into another high-speed chase and then we get to the final 6.5-mile stretch. I fall off the back of the group a little and then the group of four (POA, 21YOP, and two others) take off at a pace I can’t maintain. Slowly, over the miles, they pull away. Then POA pulls off to go home. I pass him and continue to chase the remaining three. I go as fast as I can, but I never catch them. They’re just too far out and too strong and are working together. They take the sign.
It’s Saturday morning. There are four of us in the A group. Before the A riders split off from the rest of the riders, a 21-year-old-punk (21YOP) is trash-talking my bike. 21YOP is a really strong rider – one of the strongest A riders in the area. I find out that he was one of the four riders that dropped me two days ago on the Thursday ride. But 21YOP has earned a smack down for the trash talk. So the four of us ride for a while and then hit a nice long stretch of flat road. 21YOP and I drop the other two. We cross a highway and I stop to take a nature break as we wait. Then the other two A riders catch up and the four of us regroup. Soon after, 21YOP and I drop the other two A riders again. We take turns pulling up a long stretch. Then we turn onto another road where there is a sprint. I pull 21YOP up and over a short hill and then blast down the other side pulling a big gap. 21YOP is working hard to try to keep up, but he just can’t even come close. He’s huffing and puffing and working it. The downhill doesn’t last long and flattens out. I continue on at high speed and I easily take the sign. Smack-down number one. Then I continue at speed to cross the highway since, fortunately, I have the green light. 21YOP is so far behind me that he gets stuck at the light. I look back and he’s standing there waiting for the light to change. I continue up the road a ways toward the final sprint. Then I turn right at an intersection, do a U-turn, and wait in the shadows of some trees on the left side of the road. Some recreational cyclist goes by toward the final sprint. I wait some more. I hear some noise and then I see 21YOP zipping by in a chase. He thinks the rec rider is me, so he doesn’t even turn his head at the intersection. I’m standing there in the shadows but in broad daylight and he blows right past me. All he had to do was turn his head and he would have seen me. So I take off and chase him. He can’t see me because he has no mirrors. I make my approach and then lay on some speed. I zoom past him at over 30 mph and drop him again. I continue on up the road and take the sign. He didn’t know what hit him. Smack-down number two.
It’s the Thursday night A ride again. We have a sizable group of over 10 A riders. We get to the elusive sprint. I have never been able to win this sprint yet. We cross the one last intersection before the long trek to the sign. Things start happening quickly. I’m moving up and people are falling back. I get behind 21D and 21YOP and draft for a little bit. Then I pull left and easily pass them (surprise, surprise!) and take the sign. Smack-down number three. This is the first time I have ever been able to win this sprint. I work on getting my breath back. Things get a little sketchy as 21D and 21YOP try to get the group back together. I continue on alone. But they are not successful at getting the group back together. Then they get ahead of me. One of them drops a water bottle. I get ahead of them. I see some other riders coming from the other direction. They are about to turn where I turn. Then 21D and 21YOP use the other cyclists as cover and sneak up on me. They try to pass me but I put out some power and they fall back. Then 21D turns off to go home at the beginning of the final 6.5-mile stretch leaving only 21YOP and me to fight for the final sprint. All other A riders are in the dust at this point. So it’s just 21YOP and me. We take turns pulling for miles and miles. I make him work to stay behind me when I’m pulling. Then we get to the final curves and I lay down all my reserved power and jack up the speed into the thirties. I pull away from 21YOP leaving him gasping and pumping in my mirrors. I take the sign. Smack-down number four.
The Saturday ride was rained out, so I go out for an easy 110-mile solo ride on Sunday.
It's Thursday night again with over 10 A riders in the A group. We ride on for many miles. The first sprint is the elusive sprint – the one I got last week for the first time ever. The jockeying-for-position begins and I pull in behind 21D and another bike. Then CH forces his way in front of me. I pulled back around CH and then 21D jacks up the speed. The rider in the second position drops back and then CH slows down. I pull around CH, who waves me on, and I go after 21D all by my lonesome. I jack up the power output and catch him quickly and then pass him at almost 36 mph. I give him a casual “Hi” as I pass him (like, I’m just out for an easy ride today, ya know, and I accidentally ended up in front of you as you tried to win the sprint) then I take the sign. That's two weeks in a row for the sprint I had never won before. Score: 1 to 0. I work on catching my breath for a while. The group reforms and is soon off again at high speed. We zip around a right turn and then zip around a left turn a go down a nice road for quite a ways. Then I see some movement up front as we get near the next sign, so I start to move up. I blow by a bunch of riders and catch the front guys, who are going uphill for the next sign. 21D is in front. Most everyone else drops quickly and then I pass 21D. But then CH gives it a good try. He comes on strong. He is right on my wheel and then almost overtakes me. I’m pushing pedals as hard as I can now second after precious second as I wait him out. Then he blows up and I continue on for a short distance and take the sign. Score: 2 to 0. Then we make our way toward the long stretch to the end and there is a third sign I didn’t count on. I see activity in front as some guys jump for the sign. Oh crap! I forgot about that sign. I’m way in back, so I jump and pass everyone except 21D, who is up front alone and who is going for the sign. He thinks he has it made, so he lets up just a bit. I turn up the power output to maximum thrust and catch him – just after he passes the sign. So close but no cigar! Score: 2 to 1. So I take advantage of my inertia and continue on where I make the turn onto the final 6.5-mile stretch. I have to make a critical decision now. Do I wait and take advantage of the group until the final sprint? Or do I go solo and see if I can use my inertia and my lead advantage to stay ahead of the pack for 6.5 miles and get the sprint before the group does? I decide that I’ll go solo to see what I can do alone. I’ve already won this sprint multiple times before by staying with the pack, watching it shrink as they lose riders, and then blowing past the strongest remaining riders to take the sign. So I’ll try something new. I sail along but I don’t see anyone in my mirrors. I pass some recreational riders at high speed. I keep on going for miles and miles. I’m not even sure they’re chasing me because I can’t see them. Then I spot something in my mirrors. It isn’t obvious yet. It first appears as a dark spot in my mirrors. I slow down as I go up a hill and then blast down the other side going in the mid thirties trying to gain some distance quickly. Now I’m pretty sure it's the chase group. The color of the spot in my mirrors is changing from red to white to red from their different jerseys as they rotate through. I keep on pushing hard to make the remaining miles. I’m keeping a 26 mph pace, but they’re gaining on me. I still have a couple of curves to go around and they keep slowly gaining. Now I’m almost to the sign and they launch 21D off the front and he comes up fast behind me. I’m somewhat wasted from the long six-mile pull and can’t get any more power to the pedals. But I’m running over 31 mph still. I’m almost at the sign and I see 21D grow too quickly in my mirrors. And there he is. He passes me just before I get to the sign. Crap! Score: 2 to 2. It’s “Even Steven” for the day.
It’s Saturday morning. There are four of us in the A group. Before the A riders split off from the rest of the riders, a 21-year-old-punk (21YOP) is trash-talking my bike. 21YOP is a really strong rider – one of the strongest A riders in the area. I find out that he was one of the four riders that dropped me two days ago on the Thursday ride. But 21YOP has earned a smack down for the trash talk. So the four of us ride for a while and then hit a nice long stretch of flat road. 21YOP and I drop the other two. We cross a highway and I stop to take a nature break as we wait. Then the other two A riders catch up and the four of us regroup. Soon after, 21YOP and I drop the other two A riders again. We take turns pulling up a long stretch. Then we turn onto another road where there is a sprint. I pull 21YOP up and over a short hill and then blast down the other side pulling a big gap. 21YOP is working hard to try to keep up, but he just can’t even come close. He’s huffing and puffing and working it. The downhill doesn’t last long and flattens out. I continue on at high speed and I easily take the sign. Smack-down number one. Then I continue at speed to cross the highway since, fortunately, I have the green light. 21YOP is so far behind me that he gets stuck at the light. I look back and he’s standing there waiting for the light to change. I continue up the road a ways toward the final sprint. Then I turn right at an intersection, do a U-turn, and wait in the shadows of some trees on the left side of the road. Some recreational cyclist goes by toward the final sprint. I wait some more. I hear some noise and then I see 21YOP zipping by in a chase. He thinks the rec rider is me, so he doesn’t even turn his head at the intersection. I’m standing there in the shadows but in broad daylight and he blows right past me. All he had to do was turn his head and he would have seen me. So I take off and chase him. He can’t see me because he has no mirrors. I make my approach and then lay on some speed. I zoom past him at over 30 mph and drop him again. I continue on up the road and take the sign. He didn’t know what hit him. Smack-down number two.
It’s the Thursday night A ride again. We have a sizable group of over 10 A riders. We get to the elusive sprint. I have never been able to win this sprint yet. We cross the one last intersection before the long trek to the sign. Things start happening quickly. I’m moving up and people are falling back. I get behind 21D and 21YOP and draft for a little bit. Then I pull left and easily pass them (surprise, surprise!) and take the sign. Smack-down number three. This is the first time I have ever been able to win this sprint. I work on getting my breath back. Things get a little sketchy as 21D and 21YOP try to get the group back together. I continue on alone. But they are not successful at getting the group back together. Then they get ahead of me. One of them drops a water bottle. I get ahead of them. I see some other riders coming from the other direction. They are about to turn where I turn. Then 21D and 21YOP use the other cyclists as cover and sneak up on me. They try to pass me but I put out some power and they fall back. Then 21D turns off to go home at the beginning of the final 6.5-mile stretch leaving only 21YOP and me to fight for the final sprint. All other A riders are in the dust at this point. So it’s just 21YOP and me. We take turns pulling for miles and miles. I make him work to stay behind me when I’m pulling. Then we get to the final curves and I lay down all my reserved power and jack up the speed into the thirties. I pull away from 21YOP leaving him gasping and pumping in my mirrors. I take the sign. Smack-down number four.
The Saturday ride was rained out, so I go out for an easy 110-mile solo ride on Sunday.
It's Thursday night again with over 10 A riders in the A group. We ride on for many miles. The first sprint is the elusive sprint – the one I got last week for the first time ever. The jockeying-for-position begins and I pull in behind 21D and another bike. Then CH forces his way in front of me. I pulled back around CH and then 21D jacks up the speed. The rider in the second position drops back and then CH slows down. I pull around CH, who waves me on, and I go after 21D all by my lonesome. I jack up the power output and catch him quickly and then pass him at almost 36 mph. I give him a casual “Hi” as I pass him (like, I’m just out for an easy ride today, ya know, and I accidentally ended up in front of you as you tried to win the sprint) then I take the sign. That's two weeks in a row for the sprint I had never won before. Score: 1 to 0. I work on catching my breath for a while. The group reforms and is soon off again at high speed. We zip around a right turn and then zip around a left turn a go down a nice road for quite a ways. Then I see some movement up front as we get near the next sign, so I start to move up. I blow by a bunch of riders and catch the front guys, who are going uphill for the next sign. 21D is in front. Most everyone else drops quickly and then I pass 21D. But then CH gives it a good try. He comes on strong. He is right on my wheel and then almost overtakes me. I’m pushing pedals as hard as I can now second after precious second as I wait him out. Then he blows up and I continue on for a short distance and take the sign. Score: 2 to 0. Then we make our way toward the long stretch to the end and there is a third sign I didn’t count on. I see activity in front as some guys jump for the sign. Oh crap! I forgot about that sign. I’m way in back, so I jump and pass everyone except 21D, who is up front alone and who is going for the sign. He thinks he has it made, so he lets up just a bit. I turn up the power output to maximum thrust and catch him – just after he passes the sign. So close but no cigar! Score: 2 to 1. So I take advantage of my inertia and continue on where I make the turn onto the final 6.5-mile stretch. I have to make a critical decision now. Do I wait and take advantage of the group until the final sprint? Or do I go solo and see if I can use my inertia and my lead advantage to stay ahead of the pack for 6.5 miles and get the sprint before the group does? I decide that I’ll go solo to see what I can do alone. I’ve already won this sprint multiple times before by staying with the pack, watching it shrink as they lose riders, and then blowing past the strongest remaining riders to take the sign. So I’ll try something new. I sail along but I don’t see anyone in my mirrors. I pass some recreational riders at high speed. I keep on going for miles and miles. I’m not even sure they’re chasing me because I can’t see them. Then I spot something in my mirrors. It isn’t obvious yet. It first appears as a dark spot in my mirrors. I slow down as I go up a hill and then blast down the other side going in the mid thirties trying to gain some distance quickly. Now I’m pretty sure it's the chase group. The color of the spot in my mirrors is changing from red to white to red from their different jerseys as they rotate through. I keep on pushing hard to make the remaining miles. I’m keeping a 26 mph pace, but they’re gaining on me. I still have a couple of curves to go around and they keep slowly gaining. Now I’m almost to the sign and they launch 21D off the front and he comes up fast behind me. I’m somewhat wasted from the long six-mile pull and can’t get any more power to the pedals. But I’m running over 31 mph still. I’m almost at the sign and I see 21D grow too quickly in my mirrors. And there he is. He passes me just before I get to the sign. Crap! Score: 2 to 2. It’s “Even Steven” for the day.
