If you’ve been reading my blogs on any kind of consistent basis, you know that I have a bit of a competitive streak - okay, a little more than a bit. That being said I have to gloat just a bit, because the times I can are few and far between.
Today without really meaning to I was involved in a good old-fashioned road rider smackdown! And it happened, of all places, going up Stillwell.
As I was turning on to Cold Spring Harbor Road I noticed a guy on a road bike about 50 or so yards ahead of m. I was doing about 25 miles per hour so I thought, “Okay, I’ll catch him at the bottom of the hill and just ride with him a while and try to hold on. I won’t ‘race’ I’ll just try to maintain and ride my own ride.” As I drew closer I saw he was on a shiny Trek wearing riding tights, a CSC team jersey and aero shoe covers. He looked pretty hardcore so it was going to take some doing. I figured I’d just try to hang on to his wheel up the first bend and he’d probably drop me before the first stop sign.
I caught up to him at the base of the climb and I held on to his wheel. When I checked my odometer I realized I was only going 8 mph, so I decided to just ride my ride and see what happened. I figured he’d probably blow by me and leave me in the dust like that other guy did before.
Well he actually latched on to my wheel for about fifty feet until I started cranking it at about 14 mph. I don’t know if it’s the new frame, but it felt like nothing!
After a while I looked back and he was way behind, and when I checked again at the top of the hill I couldn’t even see him. I have to admit I felt good. Here I was on a no-name brand of bicycle that I (and the boys from Adams Cyclery) had put together and I left his nice shiny Trek way down the hill. It made my day! Of course, as my in-laws would say, “Not racing”.
To cap it off, when I got home my odometer read 1,274! I have one more day of riding and then I have to stop logging until September. I’ll definitely take the long way home tomorrow!
Stay well and peace to you all.
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