The ride tonight shaped up to be a great one with great company. CLMers Mitch, E-rich, Chancey, Sirena, Duane and I met at the PL for a fair weather evening in the saddle. It's always amazed me how cohesive we are as a group, we've gotten to know each others styles so well, that we can almost anticipate what each will do next. However, every once in a while, someone throws a wrench in the proverbial gears. Tonight was one of those times. After climbing into the West End, we started the descent back towards Runnymeade.
Chancey turned to me and asked, "What next?" My response, "I'm up for anything!" Here's where the curveball was chucked, he made a left which indicated he was opting for a climb that is the stuff of legends...FORSYTH STREET! 20-23% grades (albeit short, but still steep as crap). After the suffering, we headed back to Country Club. This is the point in the ride where things get a little chaotic. The ride, inevitably, starts to fracture when things get in the neighborhood of 27-30mph on the flats. Duane and E each had heroic pulls, with a blistering pace up the last climb to the old Paceline.
At this point, the group split. E and I decided to stick around and do another, abbreviated, CL. Instead of going all the way into the West End, we cut back up Stratford. We hit it pretty had up Peace Haven and Polo. Towards the end of Polo we let up a bit and cruised through Wake. We discussed upcoming races, and strategies thereof. He mentioned the fact that in most races, there is an extensive amount of surging. So on Stratford, he introduced me to this "style." Cruising along at about 20-21 then blasting up to close to 30 for short little intervals as we chase down an imaginary attack. All the way back Country Club, we were working pretty hard, Paceline was a welcome sight at the top of the hill. Back home, to let out the slightly erratic and psychotic dog, drink a protein shake and hang out. What a great ride, thanks everyone for coming along!
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