Ten Days Grace: I Almost Had It



It's been a while since Mongo has spent some good, quality time talking about one of my favorite subjects...me.

I used to get much more excited about riding my bikes. Each individual ride, with their unique situations and adventures, would enrich my day and leave me wanting more. But now I seem to be numbing to the simple joy of the ride as my competitive skills increase and my focus on training dominates my agenda. I am becoming one of "those guys"! You know the type...every conversation is about a past performance or an upcoming "epic" training session. Being in the moment and enjoying the present gets lost in this hamster mentality. Mongo is really trying to get back to enjoying the process and not worrying about the results.

That being said, Mongo has been kicking ass on the bike lately. 

Two Saturdays ago, Mongo and "Danimal" represented at the Cat 6/7 "Enemy Bike Shop" ride, where Mongo dazzled once again by taking a gritty solo victory out of a three-man breakaway. This brings Mongo's consecutive podium streak on this ride to an astonishing eighteen.

This past Saturday, Mongo and six of his teammates took their skills to the Cat 1/2/3/4/5 "Enemy Bike Shop" ride. They were..."MC-Lean"/ "Danimal"/ "Tony" Martin/ "Cap'n" Clay/ "Full" Gass/ "Crazy Saddle" Ian. We laughed, we cried, we used bad language, and most importantly, we dominated. This is a fast, 22+ mph average speed ride, and Mongo rode the best I think I ever have on this particular course. It was fun to control a big peloton using team speed and tactics.

The most recent 23/2300 Hammerfests have been encouraging as well. Mongo is getting stronger and faster on the long climbs, and I'm threatening to maybe, actually, possibly, win the Sprint before the season is over. I had my best opportunity for victory thus far at the Hammerfest yesterday, with Ian doing everything he could to drag me to the line before we were both passed and Mongo finished fourth.