The Second Half

Office jailbreak at 3:00pm and I'm on my way to a rest stop half way between Sedona and Cottonwood. Strip off the monkey suit, put on the lycra costume, set up the bike, and make sure I didn't forget anything...this time I didn't. I rode the 8 miles into Cottonwood as a warm up as this group ride tends to start F F F fast - ripping it up a 7% grade about 1/4 mile from the start. I met GP, Tall Todd, Green Goblin, the Kid and a couple others - total of 8. Three of them are Cat 3's - so I was in for a fast ride. Road racing is entirely about hanging tough during the surges, recovering, and then going again and again and again. I hung tough until the first real climb and got shelled off the back about 20 seconds in arrears...recover...recover....recover, fortunately the leaders waited so me and another dude didn't have to try a suicidal bridge back to the top dawgs. The second climb into Sedona is longer an I was near the back with a guy sucking my wheel. Tired of that shit, I stood up, accelerated for 10 seconds and lost him. I waited just a bit like a carrot to him, and as soon as he caught back on I stood again and hit the gas, this time about 15 seconds. I wanted to do it again, but he was not coming back.

We had 4 "town line" sprints and I could not get get there first to any of them....4 second places by a bike length or less made me the ugly bridesmaid for the day. I just don't have the top-end power like the Cat 3's - and probably never will. Content with that, I formed an echelon with the group on the way back to protect us from the wicked head/partial cross wind blowing at 25. 16 miles of that hard work - nearing now the end of the ride, but one more sprint....2nd again. The Green Goblin, AKA Jeremy in his green Diadora shoes got me with plenty of room to spare.

Stats:
164 average heart rate
56 miles
A little under 2.5 hours
185 max heart rate
Climbing - a lot

I think 183bpm is my true redline. I went past that once and I got into a semi-sick feeling that kind of mirrored a hypothermia/vicodin/and Red Bull cocktail all at once - I think Brett Favre drinks those for breakfast. I didn't go there again for fear of ending the ride much earlier than the planned ride time.

Good ni...