Thursday, March 19, 2009

Bunny Hopping


Up until a couple of days ago, the weather in Mongo's neck of the woods has been rainy, cold, and crappy. I've only been able to ride once since the inaugural 23/2300 Hammerfest on March 9th.

This past Monday's ride was rained out, so my second ride in ten days was yesterday. It also happened to be a very serious shop ride in enemy territory. Mongo was one of five Smyrna Bicycles riders to go across town and crash the party. The peleton was made up of a diverse group of talent numbering between forty and fifty riders.

Knowing my current level of fitness was key for me in preparing for the ride. I realized that I was completely overmatched...but instead of worrying about it, I just started doping heavily 24 hours prior to the event. Hey, it worked for "The Pirate".

Let's just say I ended up doing my part for the team during the first 15 miles. I was always around the top five, driving the peleton, breaking the wind for my team, and as it turned out later, everyone else. I was a regular Yaroslav Popovych.

Unfortunately, after one too many climbs, I was dropped by the lead group with about five miles to go. Fortunately, the rest of the guys picked up the slack and took it to the "Hizzy". Had it not been for a badly timed red light, the SBCT would have swept the podium...Mongo limped home a minute or two behind the action.

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