After my beatdown at the Enemy Bike Shop ride on Saturday and my overall poor performance on the bike over the last couple of weeks, Mongo was looking for something positive to get me out of my funk. I was hoping that a moderate 40 on LPE would be just what the doctor ordered. I saddled up on Sunday morning and headed for the S.C.T.
I really wasn't feeling it at first. My legs were dead from the day before, and I just wanted a couple of hours of solid spinning and cadence work. It was hot as hell and I wasn't in the mood for any smackdowns. Of course, I got passed...by a Trek.
Unless you ride for Radio Shack and are in full team kit, if you ride a Trek and pass me, Mongo will kill himself to beat you. Fortunately, most Trek riders are poseurs and smacking them down is usually just a formality. When I'm on LPE though, these altercations can become extended and exhausting before my inevitable victory.
Four miles of hammering in the Speed Bars put an end to my challenger and I was feeling pretty good about my day's efforts...when I got jumped by a dude on a recumbent. Are you kidding me? It was one of those fast deals with 700c wheels and a mini fairing...and I couldn't catch him. But he is now officially on Mongo's "list".
Mongo was feeling pretty good going into the 23/2300 Hammerfest on Monday. I was well rested and looking to redeem myself. I warmed up for an hour prior to the ride and was properly hydrated and nourished...no excuses!
I rode pretty well. The group was smaller than normal and was missing some of it's elite-level riders, but the pace was fast and spirited and the ride was contested all the way around. Mongo climbed adequately (Thanks to my "Cat 5 Domination" interval hill training), and I pulled out a "legit" fourth or fifth in the Sprint. I think I'm headed back in the right direction.
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