It is said that weakness is pain leaving the body. After my ride on Saturday morning I have determined that I must have a lot of weakness in my body.....but I got rid of about three hours of it. Jay B., Dan S. and I headed out to get some Barry Roubaix training Saturday morning. A high wind advisory ended at 7am, but it was still super windy. Temps were in the low 30's and snow was in the forecast.
I got to the meeting spot at 7:50 and Jay was already there. It has snowed some, but the roads were not slippery. The wind was making the trees sway and make eerie sounds. Once we got started I thought I was having issues with my bike, but it was just the trees making strange noises.
The ride started innocently enough....pavement for a few miles. The problem is....there is not really any flat ground on the Barry course. Either rolling hills or BIG hills. After about 5 miles I was still not feeling warmed up so I stopped at the top of a hill. Jay and Dan were out of sight over the next hill, but I had to try to get my heart rate under control. I stopped, took a gel, and gained some composure back. I was hurting 5 miles into a 30 mile ride. Legs were just heavy. Not really hurting.....just felt like I had no energy. Press on.
The snow was falling off and on for the next two hours. It would fall heavier when the wind would get really blowing, but it wasn't terrible....until later. I soldiered on. Long climb, steep climb, long climb, long climb. Legs wanting to quit after every pedal stroke. I started to feel a twinge in my left knee....on the back of the leg. As the title of this post state....I considered it to be weakness leaving the body. Pressing onward and upward I was feeling better. The middle part of the ride was not too bad. I just rode my pace and figured I would catch Dan and Jay whenever they needed a rest. I would see their blinky lights off and on....then nothing for periods of time.
The ground was mostly frozen, but there were those times where it felt like someone threw out an anchor. The ground would be just soft enough to grab the tires. It felt like we were riding through pudding, or peanut butter. Blah. On one stretch I realized I was approaching my little donkey friend. Last year on a training ride I was with Jon and said "what are you looking at....jackass" when we passed this farm that has a little donkey. Very funny at the time.....but I think it was a "you had to be there" moment. Anyway, in the snow this little guy looked so sad. He was just standing there looking at me with a sad face......kinda like Eeyore. I just couldn't call him a jackass....but I nodded hello to him.
The last few miles were awful. Strangely enough....it was kinda fun too. This stretch of pavement has a few long climbs and a few medium climbs. Tough enough on their own...but then add in a huge headwind and blinding snow.....weakness has no place here. I was climbing the longest hill out there....out of gas....in a blizzard. It was snowing so hard that I could not see Jay and Dan's tracks anymore....and they were only a few minutes ahead of me. I had the thought about weakness at this very moment. I was slogging up a climb, blinding snow, trying to get my glasses back on. By the time I got to the top of the hill I had snow built up on my arms and bike. It was like riding slow enough to get bitten by a mosquito......slow. The thing is....I kept going.
I may be fat. I may be slow. But I was out there Saturday in terrible conditions doing what I love. Just ride man. I had a lot of weakness leave my body Saturday.....but there is still some in there. Eventually I will get rid of as much of it as I can. The problem is......it doesn't get any easier.......I just go faster.......
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