Aug 15, 2008

hanging on

just a little bit longer. i just wanted to hang on longer than i did last week. it didn't have to be much, i just wanted to be a little bit further along when i got shelled. that was my goal for last nights' club ride. the same ride that i left a while back because it just got too fast; the same ride on which i got my ass handed to me almost every time i ever did it.

but last night was different. oh, it was still fast alright. in fact, it was a faster average speed than the tuesday night worlds'. but the best part? i didn't get my ass handed to me. i rode smart. i stayed tucked in the pack. i hung in well past my goal of just making it to river road. at one point during our blazes fast roll through the park, as we were coming up to a stop, i saw my husband looking back for me, and usually, when he looks back for me - i am way in the back of the pack. and i usually give him a nod that indicates i am still there, but barely. but tonight? i rolled up right next to him, and said "you looking for me?" and i totally loved that he was looking for me in the back, but there i was. feeling fine. well ensconced right where i should have been. front third of the pack. on a wheel. not out in the wind. bike coach was very pleased. i was right where he's telling me to be for months. only i had always felt that i could never actually get there. now i can.

and because i had my head screwed on right and was riding smart, i made it to river road and then some. at one point though, i was struggling to close a gap that was no bigger than a bike length. i just couldn't do it and was about to pull off in the hopes that i could get on a wheel and rest and give the guy behind me a go at closing the gap. out of nowhere an angel in barbasol blue swooped in, pushed me up to close the gap and disappeared into the line. i had a wheel again, but the guy who had been behind me had fallen off and i was last in line. hang on hang on hang on. i watched the miles per hour on my computer. 25. 26. 27. hangon. 28. hangonhangonhangon. holy shit. 29.

that was it. i couldn't hold it. i know by being the last one in line i was in the worst possible spot. but it was all just fine and dandy with me. i traded pulls with the guy behind me to catch them, but we never did. i lost him & joined on with two other guys and went up mockingbird the fastest i have ever gone up. i lost them near the top, but was over the moon about the whole ride. i had never hung onto that particular ride for that long. i would have freaked out a few months ago at someone coming out of nowhere to give me a push. and not too long ago there was no way i could have held 28 for as long as i did. i went into the ride with all kinds of negative thoughts in my head about my perceived abilities and came out of it feeling really good, with a nice big boost to the fragile bike ego. ahhhh. always fun to see that you really are making progress. i really needed a really good road ride. i might be starting the 'cross training, but i still have one more race to finish off my very first road season. this weekly race should have me ready for that one.

now, next week? hang on for just a little bit longer. ride just a little bit smarter.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome! Great job!!! :)

Gotta Run..... said...

Now that is some SMART...FAST riding girl!! Always great and amazing to read how strong you are getting on the bike. No stopping YOU!

ItchyBits said...

good for you! i'm jealous as i hardly ever get to do my club rides with kids at home and lessons and football......

zanne said...

thanks vegan & robin! it was a nice measure of what i've accomplished in the past five months. i had been thinking that i'm not fast enough or strong enough (always forgetting that i haven't been at this very long!) - it was really nice to realize for myself that i have come a long way since that first race in april! always feels good to find that you can hang with the big dogs - even if its only to the halfway point!

zanne said...

bettybetty: yeah - for those two nights a week, we leave our oldest at home to babysit his younger sisters so we can ride. and we chose our daughter's ballet schedule so it didn't coincide with ride nights. (is that bad?). mostly we just juggle and compromise where we need to & somehow it all works. sometimes we'll skip a ride or alernate weeks or nights. it definitley helps that all three kids are not invloved in after school things - they all like to do friday night kids 'cross - so thats like one stop shopping right there. and my son mountain bikes with his dad on weekends. now, if my youngest wants to do soccer this fall, it could put a real wrench in the works!

Unknown said...

soccer is for girls. she needs to race CX.

Stuart said...

Oh good girl, how nice to be on hubby's tail like that! You wait next month you'll be in front!

ItchyBits said...

Your oldest is 12? Mine is too...and an 8 yr old. I worry being out on a bike....if I have to get back quickly...I can't. I guess I gotta get over that.

Groover said...

Awesome job. Let me quickly calculate 29 mi/h is ... 29*1.609 = 46 km/h ... holy sh!t. You are flying!

zanne said...

groover: yes, i was flying - but only for about 30 seconds! these legs are not 29mph legs (yet!) even in a draft ... just couldn't hold it.

bettybetty: yes, our oldest is 12. (sisters are 8 and 7) it took me a while to be comfortable with the whole thing too. we started in small increments. and the two nights a week that we leave him in charge are the nights we are doing in-town routes - if he calls, we could be home fairly quickly. when we have longer rides that go further out of town, we get a sitter. mostly i think they just sit around watching spongebob. we also have added bonus of an ER doc next door - sometimes we'll pawn the girls off on him and his daughters play with ours - & we'll watch his daughter when he goes to gym, cause you know - it takes a village. - it all works out. that was my roundabout way of saying: i hear ya. i was nervous ... try it in small increments & do close to home rides.