are sometimes smooth and silky, and other times tired and tight.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Round

Round and around
Around, around, round, round
Mushrooms on the horizon
Mushrooms on the horizon

Round and around
Around, around, round, round (repeat)
- John Lydon
Too lazy to ride an extra 10-15 kilometers, to ‘play away’ and race at yet another Kampioenschap van Whatever. Instead, I chose to ride an easy hour and a half, and then ‘play at home’ at the usual spot.

I meander along, at a leisurely pace, into the wind. Taking in the familiar sights of meerkoeten, windmills, and runways. Eventually I turn around, and head to the race. With the tailwind, I think I should be fine. I watch a group of weekend warriors pass. No rush. I let go on.

A few minutes later a scooter appears. He’s not going fast, and it’s some shelter from the side winds, so I jump on. Sore legs. Apparently I haven’t fully recovered from the previous two sessions of riding behind a scooter, courtesy of the KMII and his girlfriend, earlier in the week. Considering how hard those days were, I’m not surprised. Both times on the same course that I was racing today, that I raced last week, that I raced two weeks ago.

OK. The legs aren’t feeling great. Or, to be more specific, much like the route for today’s race, they weren’t fresh. Still better than riding those extra 10-15 kilometers to race the Kampioenschap van Whatever.

I arrive with more than enough time to sign in, and have a snack. Pinning on my number I look around the clubhouse, and out of the windows. Looks busy. I spot WK, FD, BB, and Thomas the Taxi – a super strong rider, who never seems to mind when I suck his wheel when he makes a blistering attack.

Two familiar faces also make their racing debut today. There’s the Professor, a friend and teammate. I’ve only seen him once since last season, and that was during one of the motor pacing sessions with the KMII. He's is an eccentric and infuriating talent, always complaining about his lack of form, usually after he’s torn your legs off. The other debutante is Banana Legs, who’s another friend and teammate. We’ve spent a lot of time training through the winter, but now that the season has started, our schedules have clashed, with him wanting to push it, when I want to rest. Hopefully today we’re on the same page.

On the first lap I do my usual form test, and confirm that indeed my legs are sore. What’s somewhat strange, or perhaps not strange at all, is that while they may be sore, I’m not having any problems keeping near the front, or jumping in the initial flurry of attacks. I tell myself trying to calm down. To chose my moments wisely. There are only so many matches to burn. Even if my sore legs are faster than expected. I stay close to the front. Ebbing and flowing with the pulse of peloton.

Several laps pass. I notice BB sauntering by, about 300-350 meters before the start/finish line. I look at his cassette, and know that it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to grab his wheel, so I do. He accelerates. I jump, sprint actually, attempting to catch his wheel. It’s almost there. Almost there. Almost there. I have it.

He looks behind, then eases a little. I do the same, ride alongside, and say “no damage from two weeks ago?” I’m not 100% sure if he understands my poor Dutch.

While I wait for the answer, Thomas the Taxi rides past. I leapfrog from BB to TT, and then hold tight, as he shifts into a bigger gear and pulls us away. Meter by meter my sore legs burn. I contemplate letting go. I remind myself that as painful as this is, Tuesday, behind the scooter, was tougher. A flick of the elbow. My turn. I pull through, and immediately apologize: there’s no way I can maintain the same tempo. Honest. True to form, TT tells me not to worry about it, “help is on the way.” We exchange pulls, bumping over the irregular asphalt, and wait.

When we’re caught, the pace holds, ever so slightly, then the chain begins to turn. There are now 12-13 of us, including BB, FD, the Taxi, and unsurprisingly the Professor. I steal a glance behind, and see that we’re away.

We work well together, taking short pulls, then peeling off smoothly. Legs turning big gears, around and around. It hurts, but it’s manageable.

Only 22 more laps to go.

Round and around
Around, around, round, round
Mushrooms on the horizon
Mushrooms on the horizon

Round and around
Around, around, round, round (repeat)

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