43 miles at 17.6 average speed. Whew, rough ride today. It is really rough riding with riders that weigh 100 less and half your height. If you know me and my style, I like to ride steady and smooth. This allows the riders behind me to get good recovery. Maybe I think too much about making it good for my ride partners as I do what I can so they can get a good draft and recover properly.
I see Joaquin to my right so I move left a bit so he has room on the ride side to sit in my draft safely and comfortably. I hold it steady and because I am like 100 pounds bigger, he gets a good draft. He tells me often how nice it is to sit in my draft and how easy it is for him to recover and get rest. OK, sounds great!
But when it's my turn? I have to say I get a little frustrated. I have mentioned it several times but still this happens to me. Into the wind, I'm pushing 17-17.5. Doesn't sound fast to some of you non locals but if you know the wind on the trail nearing the coast, you know it's pretty tough to hold 17. There have been times I have had to push hard to hold 15, and passing several other riders ha ha ha! That is how tough it can be. So on a big headwind day like today, holding 17-17.5, and holding it steady, I know he is getting good rest. But when I move off the front, he flies by so I have to work hard to get on his wheel. Then because he is well rested, he works hard to lift the pace to 19-19.5.....WTF!!!!
I have to push hard to get on his wheel then lifting the pace but almost 2 MPH, trying to recover? Yeah, doesn't work very well. So I spend my time trying to close gaps and keep a higher speed after I just pulled off the front of a one mile pull. One time I worked hard to get on, he lifted the pace to 19+, I had to work to stay on, he slowed a bit to 17 like I was doing, then last 1/8, he lifted it back to 19+. So I'm killing myself in between trying to recover then lifting the pace again right before my turn? My legs are already frying! But I mention it several times and it seems to be the same.
I'm just not sure what it is with other riders, do they not want to work together? Are they always trying to drop me? Why? I don't understand how they can not see what goes on. Not sure if they get excited because I'm getting tired? Why, after I gave my partner good rest and recovery do the seem to want to punish you? I don't get it myself. I have had very few good ride partners over my 25 years of riding who get it. I'd like a chance to recover in return. Then we can lift the pace but this gets old.
Not to mention, starting off, someone 100 pounds smaller and far shorter, I don't get much of a draft anyway. Then I try to take the right side of his bike and he moves over to the line. Wow! Sometimes I think other riders do these things in an attempt to tire you out. Just not good partnership imo.
So we run into the other Tony, Tony B at the coast. He plans to ride back with us. Cool. I hold the front for the first mile and a half to warm up the legs again. I move over after Joaquin says he is ready. He goes by and does his turn then moves off. I know Tony doesn't know our plan, so when he goes up front, he lifts the pace. Oh my God, I was taken by surprise as he was the ride in front of me. I was watching Joaquin pull off to the side then Tony surged up. I had to work hard to close the gap. I'm already tired from riding with Joaquin.
But I close the gap and sit on his wheel doing 21 or so. We're rolling pretty well then we rotate a couple of times. When I pull off my turn, after my mile, the guys go ripping away as I tried to fade to the back. But the surging got me thinking, Fuck this! I'm doing my own pace for a while so I can get my own rest.
Again, I don't understand this mentality myself. I guess it's fun if you want to do the race personality thing. But that is not me. I always tell my partners that I'm trying to ride together an hold it together so we all benefit.
Can't blame anyone if they don't like my style of plan. But I drop back and capture my breath. I see them about 100 yards ahead now. I slow a bit to recover then try to regain my pace. Later in the ride, I'm catching back up to Tony who fell behind Joaquin as things got really fast from what Joaquin said. They were doing 23-24. Ah, I could not take my turn for a mile then pull off the front, latch on the back, then sprint it up to 24.
So good thing I fell back to do my own thing. My average on Strava on that section was 21 MPH so that is not too shabby. I guess they wanted to go faster, race each other, I don't know. I was planning to ride together.
No my thoughts. I caught back up to Tony. So this says that if we rode together, we would have finished together and more than likely faster if I had a chance to recover. Joaquin got to the finish first and said he was there for not even a minute.
My thoughts? Why break it up, only to have one rider catch back up, even pass when we could have all worked together. To save a minute? I guess I just don't get it, we could have all finished strong and together vs breaking up the group for no reason.
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