I Believe in Travellin' Light
Well, the rain held off long enough for us to ride. There were rides on the last two rainy Thursdays but very few riders, I found out. Last week they cut it short after 7 miles because it was raining so hard. Last night, only the triathlete guy who goes for a run before and after the ride (as well as take constant pulls during) was tan. The rest of us were pale pale pale. One old guy had a brand new Trek 5500, with the new 10 speed Dura Ace gear--wow! I think the new crank looks better in person. In pictures it looks so heavy and lifeless.
I came in tied for third--me and another guy finished at exactly the same time. No big deal, really, since there were only 12 of us on the ride--compared to, like, 30, in the middle of the summer. All results are totally informal. But you can't tell me the guys aren't keeping track, at least in their minds. Why else would people sprint for the line? Our average speed was only 20 mph, but it was windy and it's still pretty early in the season. It'll go up a few miles before we're done. My only goal was to finish with the group. There was one new guy on a fancy schmancy new Cervelo. But at the end he tried to do some fancy cool dismount and crashed. Fred. No, actually, he seems to be a very strong rider. It could happen to any of us--who can't get out of the pedals properly--while swinging your free leg over the saddle--to ride sidesaddle for a moment before hopping off. Just unclip and touch down. That seems to work just fine for Petacchi or Hamilton or any other pro.