Long Day

It was a long longest day of the year today.  I woke up feeling, for lack of a better word, lousy.  I rode out to meet the Wednesday group with achy legs, wondering why the hell they were achy.  There were just a few of us this morning, and despite the wind, the pace was smooth and steady.  Well, at least until we caught up to Jay and he started taking pulls on his "urban" Lefty mountain bike at three mph faster than our consensus speed. We just tagged along and then the next person would drop the pace back down to the 21 mph that we'd settled on for the upwind sections.

At lunchtime I rode back to the house for food and Advil, hoping that one or the other might make me feel a little better.  I felt like I needed a long nap.  It wasn't until around 3:30 that I started to feel a little bit more normal.  So I rushed back home at 5:00 to walk the dogs and then rush off down Carrollton Avenue to meet the Wednesday Night Worlds out at the lakefront. I knew I'd never make it for the 6:00 start.  I battled the rush hour traffic, finally emerging onto Lakeshore Drive around 6:10 or so.  Turning east into a strong headwind I rode easy out past the Elysian Fields traffic circle, keeping an eye out the whole time for the group.  Naturally, I crossed paths with the group just as they were flying down the levee going 30 mph with a tailwind.  I made a quick U-turn, but there was never really any hope I could catch, so I continued along and made another U-turn, slotting in as the group plowed into the headwind at a much more manageable pace.  Next thing I knew, Noya attacked down the left side, and since I was right there I felt obliged to go with him.  I was hanging on for dear life for a while, and then we were joined by Woody and Jordan.  I figured I was in a bit over my head, and since I'd missed the first lap entirely I was reluctant, or perhaps unable, to do too much work, so I was skipping a lot of pulls, especially on the downwind stretch.  When we'd made the loop at Seabrook, our speed went from 23 mph in the headwind to 31 mph in the tailwind.  For me, the tailwind felt much harder than the headwind, and I don't think I took a single pull on that stretch.  For the last lap and a half or so Rolan joined us, finally dropping off about half a lap from the end.  Anyway, the training race was just what I needed. 

Sometimes when you feel tired for no apparent reason, a good hard ride like that can feel like hitting the reset button.