Tuesdays with Maury

OK, so I wasn't with Maury, I don't even know a Maury. It was still, however a Tuesday. But I decided to shake things up, or at least the decision was made for me. Word came down that there was only one police escort for Tuesday Donaldson festivities and of course they would be with the A group. I, along with the others decided that I would go with the A's.

We started, it was a good pace and then half way through the lap (as the A's only use half a lap to "warm up") the train stretched into a long line and everyone was booking. I had stayed up to close to the front and new I was gonna have to fall back or give it everything I had in me. I decided to go for it and pour what I had into staying with the attacks as long as I could. These dudes weren't playing. I was moving from wheel to wheel as riders came from behind. I slowed at the top of the hill before the RR tracks and got back into the group where I thought I would be somewhat safe and have a better draft. Oh S*&@!!! I lost a water bottle over the tracks. I called out to the riders behind me "BOTTLE".

The group continued to surge further along the 7 mile course. We hit the hill that comes before the finish and I just tried to stay tucked in, the attack shenanigans had worn me down. As we headed back out for lap two I had drifted all the way to the back, luckily Arthur was there and I took his wheel to get back into the crowd where I stayed until golf course hill. I again started to fall back. Arthur caught me again and pushed me back in where I stayed until the end of the that lap. I let them ride away from me, I didn't want to kill myself with a race comming up this weekend (see below blog entry).

But as I was spinning slowly, feeling somewhat beaten a Land Rover/Touring Sport racer passed me. "Oh Hell NO", I was not going to let him pass me and leave me, I would at least try to get his wheel. As it ends up I passed him up the hill. Then he pulled up next to me saying he guessed we's have to duke it out until the end. I didn't have the breath to say no, just smiled and nodded. I figured the motivation of keeping up with him would be a good thing, I ride faster with others than when I'm alone. At some point I got ahead of him, not sure how. He caught up after I stopped at the RR tracks to pick up the bottle I had dropped and we rode together for a little while longer, then I got ahead of him again. Still not sure how that happened either, he must have been tappering.

I pulled off and meandered a bit and then Dawn, Cissy and I jumped back in with the A's. I didn't last to long in the lap but I didn't feel like crap. Giselle told me how strong I looked in the attacks at the start of the ride. Yeah, unfortuantely they shelled me by lap three. Gotta stop getting so damn excited and remember to stay back in the pack.