Don't give me that look

I got a call last night at 9:30 PM from Mark - Mr. "It's time to bleed" - asking me to take a ride with him and a few guys. Riding with a group is always better than riding without one, especially when the SAG wagon is out of town. We hooked up at 6:30 AM and headed out. I am not a large guy but bigger than the normal cyclist (208 lbs). It is all the weight training I did for football and while bored in the Army during deployments and field problems. I have not been able to lose some of my bulk. I get this look every once in a while from people who have not ridden with me. You know the look - it is the one like "you, on a bike, yeah right." I got it today. All I can say is the pain train left the station with a purpose today. The purpose - rip their legs off. Phase one happened early in the ride on the first climb, a short one mile 5% hill. Mark goes and I stay on his wheel. After the first quarter mile, it is just us two. Mark is a triathlete and I had not ridden the hill before and could not see the top so I stayed on his wheel. At the top, no one in sight so we ripped down the back side. We put up a high pace and stopped a few miles up the road to wait for the others. A few minutes later they come around the corner and we chat a bit. I got on the front and set a blistering pace. Mark came to the front and held the pace. All held on put were in pain. The next 40 miles were uneventful. Phase 2: With about 5 miles left we hit some rollers and before I knew it, I was all alone. Just me and the trees, grasses, and asphalt. Mission accomplished.

After the ride, Mark and I went by his practice and I got the tour - a different type of pain goes on in that dental office.

Last Saturday something similar happened to Christine and I while riding. We were finishing up, about to come across the bridge over the Willamette and two cyclists came up and sat on my wheel. Christine is pulling and I following. They don't say anything and don't come around us. On the hill on the other side, they decide that they don't want to stay behind us any longer and come around. No "thank you", no "nice pull" or even a "thanks for the lift." After they get up the hill a little way, I stand up and track them down, passing one, and getting to the wheel of the other. I then sit on his wheel all the way up the hill. At the top, he looks back and sees me and not his buddy. "Hello!" I then sit up and wait for Christine. I need to teach bicycle etiquette but at the same time, it is nice to do what others don't think you can do.

What does all this teach me? Don't stereotype people due to looks. I get it and I know how I feel. I need to be better and be sure to not do that to others. I'll put it on my 2008 New Year's Resolution list.

All told, today's ride was 64 miles for a total of 132 miles for the week. A good week of hills and prep for the next century in two weeks.