Monday, June 14, 2010

Enough Already With The Vuvuzelas


It couldn't have been any hotter yesterday. The heat index in the sun was above 100 degrees and the humidity index in my chamois peaked out at "swampy".

After showing some improvement on the 23/2300 Hammerfest last Monday, Mongo knew what he had to do...get back to basics. So on Thursday and Friday I put in 80 miles on LPE, including a practice run on the MNR loop. Riding heavy and in the blistering heat was what Mongo needed to get back on track. I had several Trek-induced smackdowns, and really worked on cadence and pedal speed with LPE's compact gearing.

Knowing that I'd be back on the Sub-18 tonight for the 'Fest, Mongo took her out yesterday in the life-threatening heat for a final training ride...and I was presented early on with a moral/ ethical/ douchebagical dilemma.

What do you do when you chase someone down for ten minutes only to realize that the person you caught is a hot chick and she's really fast? As I rolled into her slipstream with my HR at 171, Mongo had to make a quick decision...Do I draft her and let myself recover? Do I pull along side and make some cool, yet not creepy, small talk? Do I suck it up an blow by her because "I ain't followin' no girl"?

In the end, Mongo did all three...but I couldn't shake her. We ended up working together for about ten miles until an "old-school douchebag" on a Litespeed decided to crash the party and ruin my blossoming romance. Of course...it was on!

Mongo doled out the punishment on the uphills and drafted mercilessly on the flats and downhills, eventually crushing the spirit of the party crasher...and unfortunately losing my girl in the process.

No comments: