Over heated and blown up!

Today I went for a lunch ride with the local fast guys. Bruce and Sergio are a pair of managers from here at work that have done a bunch of Iron Man races, Xterra races, La Ruta, BC Stage Race, and countless other races. Needless to say these guys are serious motors!

I went out with the goal of getting a high intensity workout. I should have gone out with the idea of just hanging onto their wheels. They were happy to let me go on the front any time I wanted on the way out to the real hills. There was a pretty stiff headwind and I probably should not have pulled at all.

(Begin aside)

Why is it that when I ride with someone faster than me I for some reason feel like a total slacker idiot if I just sit on? I mean really, I can't keep up with these guys with a rocket pack shoved up my ass! Yet there I go, pulling on a slight incline with a stiff headwind with two of the biggest cardiovascular monsters in a 30 mile radius on my tail! WTF was I thinking? I am the dumbest person to ever wear SPD shoes!

(Back to the story)

We got out to the hills and Bruce pulls up next to me and says, "Now do your intervals, we have four hills up ahead." I put my head down and cranked hard. I think I made it over the first two hills OK. My memory is a little fuzzy now though because it was almost 100 degrees out there and I cooked myself big time! By the time I got to the top of the fourth hill I could no longer see the two of them up ahead. I had goose bumps all over, was shivering a little, and had maxed out my HR twice, maybe three times. I was tapped! Cooked! Blown the eff up!

Bruce and Serg waited for me on a side street, and then they expected me to tuck in behind them on the flats. I couldn't even hold on. I dumped some water on my head and was able to hang within 30 yards or so... they wound up waiting up again to let me catch back on. The rest of the ride I did my best not to hold them up, but I felt like crap.

Anyway, it was really cool to see what real cyclists can do. I have a long way to go to even hold on to the wheels of real riders. After the ride in the locker room I did ask if they were going to come out and try DH racing. :) I think it is only fair, right? :) Not sure if I will ever have a big enough motor to hang onto the likes of those guys on their turf, but we all have our strengths.

Tomorrow I hope to get a nice long ride in. Should be different to be out there riding by myself for a change. Not sure how I will feel after blowing up today, but I definitely need the hours on the bike to prepare for the upcoming races. I hope the wife is ready to get back on the bike soon. I miss riding with her!

Maybe next week I will get bored at some point and do another installment of my gear selection stuff.