At 6:00, I drag myself up from the couch and dress for the ride.
I add a few pounds of air to the rear tire, spray a bit of lube
on the chain, and head out. A few miles later, I find myself standing
among eleven fellow cyclists, ready to ride. I look around at
the bikers and notice the slower members of the group are missing.
Tonight's ride is going to be fast, I think to myself.
One by one, the crowd starts rolling toward the highway. Everyone
carefully steps into their pedals and dodges the puddles in the
muddy driveway. On the road, our group thins out into a long line.
Everyone following the rider in front. The pace quickens and people
start drafting. My front tire is just inches from the preceding
rider's rear tire. I'm new at this, and more than a bit anxious.
Before long, an organized pace line forms to fight the wind.
As such, we take turns at the front of the line. My turn comes
and I'm determined to pull my own weight -- keep up the pace.
After a few short minutes of pedaling at twenty-two miles an hour,
I fall back, exhausted. The pack is pulling away and I'm too tired
to catch the end of the line.
But I don't give up. After some work I catch up and draft, taking
a brief turn in the front when required. After twenty miles of
of this, riders in front pull over and stop. We break along the
road for a few minutes before riding the twenty miles back to
the park.
As we head South, the wind we fought earlier now pushes us along.
Even so, I pass a few people and lose sight of the riders in front
of me. I'm alone for much of the ride back to the park.
It's now 8:30, and I'm back at the apartment. Exhausted. Perhaps
a bit sunburned. Sweaty. And most importantly, starving. I stretch
for a few minutes and hop in the shower.
A quick survey of my barren refrigerator is disappointing. Tonight,
my extreme hunger calls for something better than a frozen pizza
or bowl of soup ... I'm going out.
I walk into the restaurant and notice two coworkers catching
a hockey game. I join them and order up some delicious grilled
salmon and a down two huge glasses of lemonade. Leaning back in
my chair after the meal, I feel extremely content.
There are few things more pleasant than recovering from a truly
exhausting ride.
