I have been enjoying a few quiet rides on my own lately. I cruise mostly northeastern Pensacola but on occasion wander west. These days I have some extra time that I wouldn't normally have to ride. So, I have been riding when the day is at it's warmest...nice! Another benefit is I run into riders I would not usually see out on the road. Guys like Chung, Myron, Happy and I actually saw someone that I was sure had moved to another area. Yes, I have two confirmed sightings of the Senior Games Silver Medalist himself, Dave "Retro" Henderson! It appears to me that he may be doing the Double Secret Workout Regiment. I would not be surprised to see him at our first Hammerfest in March.
And, speaking of Double Secret Workouts; what is up with Harland "Happy" Williams?! On our ride this past Saturday, (group fave Pine Forest Loop), Happy amazed everyone with his sprinting prowess. This is remarkable considering he is more renown for his climbing abilities.
You see, there we were rolling down Long Leaf with our turn to the north on Interstate (not 10, just the name of the road), and the pace quickened substantially in anticipation of the sprint at the end of Interstate at Pine Forest Road. Happy was pulling for a good kilometer or so and then the bodacious Brit himself Keith "Big Motor" Irwin took over. At this point the peloton was pretty much shredded with only Left Lane, Gianni Bugno, Happy, Big Motor and myself left as the road curved westward. The Bodacious Brit had the hammer down!
With about 2k left, the Big Motor decides he wants some relief and pulls over to drift to the back of the now mid to upper 20s paceline. However, it appeared that he wasn't the only one wanting a rest as the pace quickly dropped as the group spread across the road. The drivers in this race were eyeballing each other to determine whose motor had the highest octane fuel for the ride to the line. Just then Left Lane took off with Gianni on his wheel followed by the Brit, myself and then the albeit too quiet Happy at the rear.
Left Lane gave up the ghost with about 500 meters to go, (showing us how to do a suicide pull), so Gianni had a go and so did the Big Motor himself...uh, I try not to go into the red zone when the weather is chilly...it's an upper respiratory illness thing, besides I was really enjoying watching this sprint develop. Gianni, Keith and Left Lane were throwing it down with my money on the Bodacious Brit when out of nowhere comes one of Snow Whites very own! Happy took off up the left side with a jump that would have impressed Mark Cavendish himself. He crossed the line a good 40 meters ahead of 2nd place Keith, Gianni and Left Lane.
And, thus confirming our suspicions that Happy is, in fact, doing Double Secret Workouts!
Good fun! However, if you missed it, don't fret yourself...we have another ride planned for this Saturday! Although, I think it will be delayed an hour or two because of the chilly temps forecast. Stay tuned for updates on the start time. I''ll post it on the Rides Calendar as well as send out a mass email when we decide a time. And, until then I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
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