Sport Chrono
Banana Pudding.
Hop Water.
Aethos.
Spicy Boys.
It’s July 8th.
I’m sitting here at Zilker eating some nuggets, drinking a hop water.
I rode the bike this morning. I rode easy.
At no point did I try to push harder than I needed to, merely enjoyed the ride. And that was the right choice to make.
Yesterday, I woke up 5 minutes before the group ride that I planned to attend on the opposite side of the city left their departure point.
I’d been pushing my limits on how late I could leave our building and still make it to the ride and may have gotten a little too comfortable.
Last week I discovered it takes me only 8.5 minutes to make it there..
This week a new challenge, can I catch the group given they have about 15-20 minutes on me by the time I leave?
Only one way to find out.
“Are you riding with a group today?”
“Yes, I’m very late.”
No time for eggs, no time for oatmeal.
Just time to fill the bidon, and grab a pack of gummy bears out of the cabinet.
The odds were in my favor as I made it across town.
The light rail and I synced up, the railroad crossings closing off every intersection I would have needed to yield to, but with enough lead for me to cross in front of the train before getting stuck as it entered the station.
Getting past the station, into the city, I caught the green light at every intersection but one, in which I slowed only enough to just start a track stand before it went green.
Momentum…
I continued on passing the departure point. Not having breakfast this morning and having not ridden fasted in so long, I reached for a handful of gummy bears and hammered down.
Through the city and into the hills, I catch a glimpse of the blinking red lights of the group…
“Oh yeah… rendering.”
Into the twists and turns of the neighborhood, they disappear but I have a good feeling of where I’ll catch them.
I make my way through the neighborhood still steady pushing on.
I laugh about how much easier this entire endeavor had become now that I know they’re within reach and just as I lock back in and finish a mild hill effort, I see the flashing red lights closer than I’d seen them before and much closer than I expected to see them at this point.
“Oh… that’s it.”
“Good morning! I’m gonna join.”
Proud to have closed the difference I sit in and catch up with some of the riders in the group.
At the end of the day, I do tell Delta I need to start waking up early again.
It’s nice to know I can reel the group in if need be but…
It’s off-putting to forgo my eggs and oatmeal in the morning and spend the first bit of the day fueled by sour gummy bears.
An earlier start today.
But no rush to get anywhere.
I eat my eggs. I eat my oatmeal.
Fill the bidon, grab the remainder of yesterday’s gummy bears.
I depart.
It’s a beautiful morning, not overbearingly hot.
My legs feel good.
I head to the hills.
I take it easy, taking the time to feel the bike beneath me, to feel the lack of effort compared to yesterday.
The easy effort overall makes for more pleasing descents.
The recent maintenance I carried out on the bike eases my mind, the lack of effort isn’t enough to dilute the speed that comes with confidence and peace of mind.
Maybe that’s a metaphor?
I think that’s a metaphor.
With the hard parts behind me, I zip open my jersey and mosey on back to the city following behind a Guards Red 911 Cab.
“That’s the spirit.”
I think to myself as the driver finally decides to accelerate away from me.