Tuesday, July 26, 2005

This rocks!

Ok, for a moment, let's forget about Lance and all of the well documented and "historic" times he has caught and passed another rider. Let's think about us for a moment instead and the sheer bliss that comes from seeing that other rider in the distance ahead of us and then catching and passing him or her. Sometimes it ends up being that 80 year old Gramma on a trike and the euphoria is somewhat dulled, but then there are the days when all cylinders fire and all lights are green and you catch that guy that you could swear you recently saw on the cover of Velonews. It's a time honored joy to catch and pass that other rider, give a nod of acknowledgement, maybe a little "good day" and roll along your way. Even getting caught and passed can be good and give you that extra motivation to dig deeper and go a little harder.

I can remember many epic rides where I traded passes with another rider on a long and lonely road while training alone. Those are some of the very best rides ever. A long climb, for a non-climber like me, can become much more enjoyable when I have somebody to use to pace myself. I'm competitive enough that I hate to let the gap grow and I will bury myself to stay in contact with another rider. It can make for an excellent day when you have a little company.

Enjoy the link- it made my day!

Tim

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Back in the day, Scott Tinley called that "Gumby Training."

Anonymous said...

I have a friend who drinks like that.