Saturday, October 3, 2009

The Joy of Suffering


10.3/10.4.09 Fall Fling Time Trial and Circuit Race
Cat. 3 /
12th and DNF

TT:
Just man and machine against the clock - they call it "The Race of Truth." And the truth, apparently, is that I suck at it. It probably doesn't help that my TT bike looks conspicuously similar to my road bike, but I suppose that excuse is worth little more than a few sympathy points. I truly hope to enjoy this discipline someday, but for now there remains no love lost between us. And hey - I got 12th place - which really doesn't sound that bad as long as I don't mention it was out of 13. Anyhow, the critical detail here is that I beat my dad by 12 seconds - so I've got that going for me.

Circuit Race:

The picture speaks for itself - I wasn't thrilled to prematurely pull the plug on the final race of the year, as it made for a rather anticlimactic finale to what has been one helluva fun season of racing. Nevertheless, it was a great race while it lasted. There was a lot of activity and the wind kept things interesting - and by interesting I mostly mean really hard. I blew myself up trying to make something happen late in the race and quickly found myself struggling to hang on. All of a sudden it was taking everything I had just to maintain contact. I could feel it coming...and sure enough, as soon as we hit that relentless headwind it started. Just a few feet at first. Okay, close the gap, no big deal, catch your breath. But there would be no catching of breath and no comeback today. The last wheel of the peloton slipped slowly and quietly out of reach as I resisted the temptation to shout, "Wait for me!" I rode my final lap alone - unaccompanied and reflective, surprisingly more content than disappointed. The peace, I suppose, of knowing that I hadn't gone down without a fight and, more importantly, that it's just a race after all.

1 comment:

  1. Not good new on the TT. It means I suck 12 seconds worse than you. But you got that going for you, too.

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