I love this pic! Got lucky with the camera I guess.Well, with 20 plus winds from the south - it made sense to burn the candle down on the way south to enjoy the ride back with some serious back draft action. Was it like 9 tonight? The normal wrecking crew was in force and a couple of new guys - Nick and David....great to have you guys on board.
We headed to Fletcher then headed straight south to Hamel - straight into the wind. We did a pace line to reduce fatigue and were able to hold a nice steady pace to not blow the group apart. The rolling hills were just perfect. With a new rider just getting going on the bike, we ran into the all-mighty bonk. I headed back to wheel him to the turn around point and that was a great workout into the wind all on its own - thus the solo head wind effort I might expect on RAAM from time to time.
With the dogs of war ready and itchin to let loose, the turn around with the wind was the cue to unleash said dogs. How often do you get to spin out in your largest gear on a flat? (unless your Merckx, Boonen or any other voodoo pro). Brian, Jorge, Mark, David and I blasted out at max speed. This then became just as hard but faster. Jorge had some crazy speed...leading out forcing us to bridge three times I think it was. The final stretch into Fletcher was tactics - Brian, Mark and I were toying with each other - pushing to the final sprint at Fletcher at 40 plus mph - again - we had a 20 mph tail wind.
The ride home from Fletcher was solid cross wind and easy going and my hats off to Nick for hangin' in there and after talking with him in the parking lot (handing him some E-caps) he was ready to do it again. I did explain that this wind can be one's worst enemy if not ready for it...he had all smiles and we will see him excel this summer...this is the joy of a group ride - new riders having fun in the face of pain.
Great ride guys!
andy
We headed to Fletcher then headed straight south to Hamel - straight into the wind. We did a pace line to reduce fatigue and were able to hold a nice steady pace to not blow the group apart. The rolling hills were just perfect. With a new rider just getting going on the bike, we ran into the all-mighty bonk. I headed back to wheel him to the turn around point and that was a great workout into the wind all on its own - thus the solo head wind effort I might expect on RAAM from time to time.
With the dogs of war ready and itchin to let loose, the turn around with the wind was the cue to unleash said dogs. How often do you get to spin out in your largest gear on a flat? (unless your Merckx, Boonen or any other voodoo pro). Brian, Jorge, Mark, David and I blasted out at max speed. This then became just as hard but faster. Jorge had some crazy speed...leading out forcing us to bridge three times I think it was. The final stretch into Fletcher was tactics - Brian, Mark and I were toying with each other - pushing to the final sprint at Fletcher at 40 plus mph - again - we had a 20 mph tail wind.
The ride home from Fletcher was solid cross wind and easy going and my hats off to Nick for hangin' in there and after talking with him in the parking lot (handing him some E-caps) he was ready to do it again. I did explain that this wind can be one's worst enemy if not ready for it...he had all smiles and we will see him excel this summer...this is the joy of a group ride - new riders having fun in the face of pain.
Great ride guys!
andy
1 comment:
That is a cool shot! And I typically don't like photos that I'm in..
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