There is Nothing Like Riding With Your Buddies.
There is nothing like riding with your buddies. They know all of your tricks and can spot weakness faster than a Hyena. They will beat up on you, torture you, and since they are your good buddies they will offer you solace and haul your sorry ass home. They might point out the weaknesses in your form on the ride in, so you are encouraged to blow up as close to home as possible. This limits the duration of the critique.
Your best buddy will help you train. He will stay on your wheel for mile after mile gleefully letting you know how much farther you have to go. This is especially helpful for time trial training. Little gems like “Nine and a half more miles to go” and “You seem to be dropping off a bit and we’re not halfway there yet” are SO inspiring. It is even better when there are two or three of your best friends on your wheel to keep you appraised of cadence, speed and style. Who hasn’t heard “ I thought black was supposed to be slimming.”?
I rode with a few good friends last Saturday. I had had a couple of miserable solo training rides during the week and brought a full bag of frustration with me. I started out fast with one buddy in tow. We got caught by two others and I kept the pace up most of the way out. We picked up a newbie with atrocious form and strong legs. We shed the two veterans of the back after about 20 miles. Ten more miles to go and we picked the pace up a little. I picked on the newbie. My best bud picked on me. By the time we hit the turn around everyone was picked pretty clean, the buzzards weren’t even interested.
The heat was up on the way home, some where in the high 80’s with hardly any wind to help. It seemed like it took me forever to get back up to 20 mph and once the big guy was on my wheel 23 mph seemed like the place to settle in. He of course came around and settled in at 24 mph and that is where we stayed until our tanks emptied out. At the 50 mile post a silent armistice was signed and we shut it down. (We had a 22 mph average from the time we left the parking lot.)
This is the true joy of riding with your buddies. Once everyone has emptied their fuel reserves and there is nothing left to fight over, there is that splendid cool down ride. This is where you build those bonds that form a team. You see, your buddies may take advantage of your weaknesses when you ride together but when you ride with strangers they are always there to watch your back, offer a wheel and let you know when it’s your day to shine.
And that newbie? the buzzards got him.
Your best buddy will help you train. He will stay on your wheel for mile after mile gleefully letting you know how much farther you have to go. This is especially helpful for time trial training. Little gems like “Nine and a half more miles to go” and “You seem to be dropping off a bit and we’re not halfway there yet” are SO inspiring. It is even better when there are two or three of your best friends on your wheel to keep you appraised of cadence, speed and style. Who hasn’t heard “ I thought black was supposed to be slimming.”?
I rode with a few good friends last Saturday. I had had a couple of miserable solo training rides during the week and brought a full bag of frustration with me. I started out fast with one buddy in tow. We got caught by two others and I kept the pace up most of the way out. We picked up a newbie with atrocious form and strong legs. We shed the two veterans of the back after about 20 miles. Ten more miles to go and we picked the pace up a little. I picked on the newbie. My best bud picked on me. By the time we hit the turn around everyone was picked pretty clean, the buzzards weren’t even interested.
The heat was up on the way home, some where in the high 80’s with hardly any wind to help. It seemed like it took me forever to get back up to 20 mph and once the big guy was on my wheel 23 mph seemed like the place to settle in. He of course came around and settled in at 24 mph and that is where we stayed until our tanks emptied out. At the 50 mile post a silent armistice was signed and we shut it down. (We had a 22 mph average from the time we left the parking lot.)
This is the true joy of riding with your buddies. Once everyone has emptied their fuel reserves and there is nothing left to fight over, there is that splendid cool down ride. This is where you build those bonds that form a team. You see, your buddies may take advantage of your weaknesses when you ride together but when you ride with strangers they are always there to watch your back, offer a wheel and let you know when it’s your day to shine.
And that newbie? the buzzards got him.
posted by Speedo at 1:12 PM
1 Comments:
poor noob!
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