Two Wheel Blogs

I was so ramped up to do some serious trail blazing this weekend. Last year during Mother's day weekend, Unit and I hit up a twofer at Binder lake. But of course this year, the rain would have the upper hand, and it did an excellent job of soaking everything in sight.

So no go on the trails, so road it was. I'm beggining to worry though. You see I've never been the "roadie" type. In fact I think most people who ride road exclusively are pricks. Yup, I said it. Now understand that that is a generalization, not all of them are, just most. I find them to be extremly stuck up and full of themselves. The few hard core roadies I've had the pleasure of riding with all looked at my cross bike, and had nothing else to say to me after that. Hell I even road the cross bike in a Criterium last year. Ackward would be a way to describe it. These fellows were not the happy go lucky people mountain bikers tend to be. We mountain bikers seem to actually want to talk with others and have a good time. These fellows just seemed content with giving you the evil eye...

So back to my point, with all of this crazy weather we've had, I've actually found myself attracted to riding road. I look forward to getting off work and heading out to fly down lone country roads... To blaze down hills trying to beat my top speed... To carve corners at breakneck speeds. So I really wasn't to upset when the rain settled in late in the week.

I worked intervals on Wednesday, tempo on Thursday, recovery ride on Friday. Saturday I wanted to go out and do more tempo work, hopefully getting in about 50 miles or so. I say hopefully because the forcast was anything but hopeful. It was calling for rain, and crazy high winds. I had to work early in the morning and finally hit the road around 12:30. I missed the group ride with Unit, so I had to ride solo. I hit a bunch of the country roads, and felt great starting out. This was suprising because I never feel good after a long night of drinking. The first hour of back country hilly roads, and I had a 20 mph average. The second hour flew by. That's when all hell broke loose. I was in Jeff city at my pops house, shooting the breeze for a few, when the rain started. They were getting ready to go to Herman so there was no chance of me getting a sympathy ride back home to Brazito, where I started.

So there I was, sitting on my bike in my tights and short sleeve jersey getting pelted by ice cold rain. It was actually more like sludge, not quite hail, but not quite rain. I've never ridden in rain, so it was kinda cool flying down the road with rain pelting exposed skin and streams of water coming off the tires. I spent the next hour tucked down hammering the road as fast as I could. Rain feels like little bee stings when your riding down the road at 20mph+ speeds. It was awesome...

I made it home fine, soaked to the bone, but still alive. The warm shower has never felt so good. So the rain was a first, but I also had another first... I almost ate it hardcore on a big corner earlier in the ride. I had read an article in Bicycle magazine early in the week about how to corner best. Not that I don't know how to ride a corner, but there is always room for improvement. So there I was, tucked down in the down bars, coming in hot to a right hand corner. Outside foot down, pressure to the inside hand. I was riding low and I had my eye on the speedometer to watch and see if my speed was gaining with my new form. It was, I hit around 30 mph without pedaling. My problem was I wasn't paying attention to the road, and once I passed the apex the white line shot into view. This was a road with no shoulder, just a 2 inch lip to gravel and a big ditch. I about shat myself. I quickly threw all my weight to the outside and somehow was able to ride the white line, just inches from a almost certain horrible crash.

So that ride was pretty crazy... but Sunday would prove to be a ride all in it's own too. Unit whimped out on me, something about a brunch to go to and then he'd call me. No call, so aroudn 3:30 I hit the road for a red line session. The wind was wipping around at something like 20mph+. I spent the first hour straight into it. It hurt, it sucked, but I knew it was going to end up being a good ride. I turned with the wind and flew. I didn't get to go far with it to my back though because I as riding to my grandmas. We were having a fish fry, so I figured I'd just ride there and catch a ride back with mom. So before I knew it I was to her house, and the ride was over.

A good week of riding non the less, and this week is my R and R week. I need it, it's been a crazy last few weeks with alot of road miles, and Syllamo. This weekend is the Rhett's Run race, my first expert cross country race. I should be well rested, and I'm going to need it. I posted expert times last year in sport, so I have alot riding on the line in my books. Here's to no rain...