Chasing

Today was the hardest ride of the XC for me.  I just don't start quickly and began the day chasing Denis and the gang away from the Holiday Inn Express.  However, after 30 minutues maybe 8 of us rode together and chated for hours.  Lunch was fun (peanut butter and banna sandwich for me).  Then, everyone cruised along for 25 miles telling stories.  Everything suddenly changed when Rustin got the lead and hammered out 7 miles at a very fast pace, which began to hammer me.  I just couldn't keep up.  The wind was quartering with us, but I slowed to 22 mph and fell off the back.  The past week or so Denis and I would just let everyone go, but he's been riding stronger and stayed with the group.  I continued to chase.  Eventually, he slowed for me, but I was still working much too hard.  Finally, we missed a turn and didn't figure out we were heading in the wrong direction for a few miles.  After turning around and finding the van to fill up bottles, I left early to ride my own pace.  Luckily for me, Denis got caught by the train and I enjoyed another 18 miles by myself.  It puts pressure on me to chase and it puts pressure on me to make Denis slow down because I can't keep up.  I'm also having a devil of a time with my Garmin.  It won't hold distance and mileage, which makes it hard for me to follow the printed directions.  I was in a foul mood and my back was getting stiff as a board.  We rode beautiful country roads, but the was a significant pavement seam all day long that just hammered my crooked back.  Finally, things improved.  I stopped at Braum's for a  burger and shake and was surpriseded to see my darling wife and two best friends, Mark and Chris Hansen, waiting for me in the parking lot.  Add a much needed massage from Tara and some good Mexican food and I'm a happy camper again.  I got to figure out a new strategy tomorrow.  It just takes too much out of me to chase.  I'm not sure why I can't keep up.  Maybe I'm slow, old or the cancer is limiting me.  All I know is the it's no fun to chase people all day.

Below is a shot of me chasing, a typical picnic lunch, a good shot of Denis, Kevin with his ever present Butt Butter sticking out of his jersey pocket, and a cemetery sign.  Oddly, OK marks every single one with an official highway sign.