One of the perks teachers have is this wonderful invention called Spring Break. This allowed me to do two group rides I normally wouldn't be able to do as father of three who has a 106 mile commute, roundtrip, each day and whose two daughters are involved in weekday soccer practices. I can probably do night rides if I plan it accordingly with my sweet Melissa but usually the hours I log in before my summer break are on weekends (after my daughters' soccer games) and riding rollers either early morn or right when I get home (which sucks either way because the sun's out longer now). I repeat, I got in two group rides and an XC race Saturday.
Tuesday, group ride #1 was in Boulder. On my drive out I was watching the wind play havoc on the trees and knew it was going to be a long day in the saddle. Sho' nuff, at the bus stop ride only a handful of people showed and that meant I can't chill in the back. The gusts made pack riding tricky because it would randomly blow riders off their path starting a ripple effect from that point forward; and mind you we were already in a tight echelon, hiding out from the wind. Before the right-hander into Hygiene (a name of a town for y'all non-Boulderites), one of our elite riders, Dirk Friel, opened a can of whoop ass and starting cranking the pace! He cranked it so much that me, hidden nicely in the pack, was spinning my 53X12 with everything I had and still got dropped. As my heart was beating in my throat I looked down at my cyclecomputer and I attacked backwards at 42 mph. Ouch. From there, I hopscotched it to other broken groups, lastly drafting off of some triathletes then soloed back to north Boulder. Not good for morale but great for my legs. The sputum I've been collecting for the past week from this malingering head cold now finally making its way outwards.
Group ride #2 in Meridian (Meridien?) in Lone Tree with teammate Garth Peters. Deja vu all over again. Small crowd, huuuge winds, freezing, down two laps finished with a group of 4. An even lowered morale, greater for legs, now considering curling as my new sport of choice.
XC race Saturday. Raced with teammates Jeff(s): Leischner and Higham.
L-R: Jeff L, me, Jeff H.
Super windy again. The beginning of race was up a nice, steep hill and how XC races differ from road racing is that it's really a mass start time trialing event. When they let us go, our Natural Grocers trio just made the front pack split and from there, there was little deviation in the pecking order. Jeff Higham passed me and Jeff L. on the first climb and that's how it pretty much stayed. We passed a couple and a couple passed us. Mr. Leischner and I team time trialed it for the remaining 4 laps and we gained no time on anybody and vice-versa until 1h later when it was all over. Click on results to officially witness Jeff H's 7th, mine of 10th, and Jeff L's of 11th. Fun and painful kinda like life itself don't you think? Best surprise of the month was meeting up with a former student of mine who got married and is an official home owner, Matt Dunn, tearing it up off-road and seeing my college roommate and his wife. My former roommate was racing singlespeed. Ouch.
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