Treeman: Are We There Yet?

It's a little over a week until the first race of the Georgia XC Series, I'm on Scratch and Endurox, and I followed the plan (mostly). I've lost some weight and I've worked on my skills. I would have loved to update my ride but other things have dipped into my bike pool so that will need to wait.

So when Jim asked me last week if I thought I was ready I had to pause before I answered. To tell the truth I'm not really sure. That's what makes the first race so interesting. It is what the plan calls a "B" race so I'm not supposed to be in peak form just yet. I don't know who will show up or how much work my competitors did during the year. Did I do enough? Did I go hard enough on the hard days? It may seem silly for an old guy to prepare and plan for a sport level bike race, after all, why spend so much time, money, and energy chasing a little plastic medal. But look at it this way, worst case, I am in pretty awesome shape. I look amazing in my kit, and for the most part, I've enjoyed the training.

It's Cold

Which brings me to last Sunday's ride. The motivation level was low on Saturday night. Zac, the Kid, and I had ridden Tom Brown that day (high in the low 50's with a 20 mph wind), then gone by Higher Ground for a couple of beers (just Zac and I, not the Kid). Afterwards I succumbed to the aroma of Momos and got a slice to go. I built a fire when I got to the house and devoured the pizza. The wind was still blowing hard outside after I finished a hot shower and had settled in on the couch. There were two rides already planned for Sunday one going off at 9:30 and another forming up at around 12. I was having a hard time committing to anything. I figured rather than ruin someone else's ride I'd just do my own thing after church.

Sunday morning dawned cold and cloudy. I had three cups of Jumping Goat coffee down when Jim hit me up to see what I was doing that afternoon. After some hemming and hawing I agreed to meet him at 1:45 and we hauled the bikes up to Amsterdam Ga. to go on a 3 hour (planned) CX ride.

Yes, I mislead Jim, but not on purpose. I had mistakenly assumed the plan called for one thing, but when I checked, it called for something different. I figured somebody who is in as amazing shape as Jim is wouldn't have any trouble with an hour of hard effort. After all, I'm 10 years older than he is, he should be able to cruise along while I labor.

Well we did the easy hour, then I picked it up a little. Jim started asking what zone I was in (like it really matters to him). He then proceeded to half wheel me at every opportunity. After about half an hour he started acting like he was getting tired and maybe the pace was more than I had advertised. He had "done the Chaires ride the day before bla bla bla." He was getting hungry so he started fumbling around in his new roadie vest for food. I just kept on pedaling. All of the sudden I hear "All right you son of a bitch I'm fed now, let's go". Why all the hostility?

We finished the hour of pain (for me) and started rolling down the road toward the truck. Jim was still accusing me of all kinds of sneaky things. I had planned on doing another hour at an easy pace, but as we turned into the north wind, it seemed to go right through me. I lost all my will to continue. My hands were suddenly freezing and I just wanted to get to the warm truck. Fail. I just did not have the spark to keep riding. Jim was willing to do whatever I wanted to do but I just could not face another hour in that cold. I guess that's what separates good cyclists from the rest, the ability to suffer. I was bummed.