In the Drops

Me, Ullrich, Hoodie, AT, VJ and Cracker rolled this am from Lola. Mod Oz+Lime Creek (60 miler). On the way to Lola (preride) a guy riding west on Bee Cave was waving at me, and looked to maybe be in a Dough Kit (foreshadowing).

We rolled out of the parking lot unsure if the weather would hold. It was a little breezy, and the skies were not welcoming. A long way from yesterday's weather perfection, but still good conditions at the start. We took a few minutes to warmup, spinning up Bee Cave at Tempo. Cracker was a little wrung out from a fiesta last night, and fell off the back halfway down Bee Cave. Group mood was frisky. AT, whatever your preride routine was this morning, I suggest you continue, because you get comeback rouleur of the week. Along Lake Hills Church we ran into Panozz (guy in Dough kit waving at me). Collective brain lapse here, as we thought he was going to roll with us. I guess he thought we were gonna stop and make small talk, but next thing I knew we were at BeeCave Pkway, and Panozz was gone in the other direction. The kid has left the house, and we may not see him again until he gets back from his first semester at racing college. Make sure you write Mauricio!

We laid a little rock hammer down (Andy Dufresne-style) on the dam climb, splitting the group a bit. After we crested, some guy on a Trek with a Trek kit (clearly a brand-loyal customer) busted past me. Greyhound instincts, engaged. I was nearly outta gas (and still 30 yards off his wheel) when Hoodie jumps past me to continue the chase. Drafting in the fortress of solitude, we reeled the guy in for the short sprint to Walgreen's. He was suffering, but couldn't show it, since he had two rolling doughnuts on his wheel. How embarrassing for him. Ahh, good times.

Regrouped at Walgreens, and Crack opted for the regular Mod Oz. We said our goodbyes and hammered a very amateur paceline to Anderson Mill. This was totally my fault, since I told Hoode to go for his 5s max wattage while he was in the front. Huge upheaval ensued, as no one can hold the Hoodie's wheel when he cranks up the engine on the flats. It was funny to watch, but not pretty to see. Hood, what did you hit?

Lime Creek was a blast. Had to take a quick call from my daughter at one point (Joan is outta town and I left her at home by herself), and AT and VJ took the oppo to stage a furtive breakaway. Me, Hood and Ullrich did some Yeoman's work, and reeled 'em back in. I just love that stretch.

Worst conditions of the day were on Anderson Mill to 620. That stretch is under construction, with a 3 foot embankment and no shoulder. We climbed outta there single file, but there were a lot of angry cars, angrily accelerating past us. Can't we all just get along?

Spicewood and 360 were good paced, but into the wind. Shout out to Ullrich, who had a strong ride. Hoodie is turning scary. AT is back in the mix. VJ battled the elements all day like a champ. Suffering was had by all. Here I note Rule 10:

• It never gets easier, you just go faster. To put it another way, per Greg Henderson: “Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”

^{The gorilla won again today, but we did go a little faster. Check out a stat comparison from the last time I did this route:}

Time	29-Jan	10-Oct	%
2s	(A)	(A)	38%
5s			50%
10s			49%
20s			47%
30s			35%
60s			24%
2min			13%
5min			22%
6min			18%
10min			18%
12min			18%
20min			8%
30min			7%

(A) Note that actual numbers were removed. I just read a hilarious (and slightly embarrassing) Ask the Pros Q&A in VeloNews' March 2011 Edition. In the Q&A, Phil Gaimon (Kenda-GearGrinder) basically evoked the Madalora principle on talking about power. So, let's leave it at "I think training with power is helping" and avoid the actual ##'s.

 

I think PedalHard deserves some thanks!

(note that Fausto Coppi has been included here because he was a Hardman, and he is riding in the drops, not like some lazy Belgian)