That Right There was Full of Awesomeness

The morning darkness was cool with much less humidity and the stars were shining bright as I pushed out the door for the morning ride.  I left the fixie in the stable, and climbed aboard the Kona.  She had been neglected for nearly two weeks, requiring some new air in the tires, a tool kit attached, a little chain lube, and light battery switched over.  But she was ready to go and it felt good to spin her up for the ride.

I was later than usual getting out of the house, so my trip to the Rusty Bridge was cut short.  Eight of us gathered and launched ourselves into an easy, early pace.  Dan was anxious though.  He’s been riding the fixie for a little over a week now and it felt like he had something to prove.  As we came off Jennings Road, Dan put the hammer down and set a brisk 25 mph+ pace down the trail.  The rest of us wheel suckers hung on and didn’t let him get away.  In Round Bay, seven riders took off for the hill while I settled in for an easier route, attempting to keep the speed up and stay ahead of the fast guys.  I kept checking my rear view mirror, but they didn’t appear until late in the ride down the trail.  I kept pushing hard, maintaining a fast pace to stay ahead.  I noticed one rider broke off from the rest and just as we got to the finish line, Chet passed, with Clint right on his rear wheel.  I had stayed ahead of 5 riders, but not those two.

A quick turn around and we stayed together as a group.  First it was Dan on his fixie who was in the lead, then Chet would ratchet it up a notch sending Dan scurrying to catch up.  On the fixie, there just isn’t the acceleration there is on a geared bike.   We were about 5 mph faster than usual downhill before Fishpaws.  We were fast on the little uphill before Woods Church.  We even kept a pretty decent pace back on the trail.  Later, Dave P would note that he had his 3rd fastest time overall on the route.  I had my second fastest time.  On the 13.3 mile main part of the ride, I had an average speed of 19.7 mph.  I also had my second fastest time on Jennings Road heading north helping boost my entire ride average speed to 19.0 mph, the same as my previous best back in June.  My average heart rate was lower.

This was a fun morning.  I was drenched in sweat at the end of the ride despite the 68° F temps.  I’m glad I pulled the Kona out.  Had I been on the fixie, the entire morning would have been different.

This Ride: 19.7 miles
Month: 551.9 miles
2012: 3,914.7 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 17,768.3 miles