Assert your domination

How many times have you heard this saying. Or something close to it such as "imposing your will".....anyone? Well, an alpha male will always assert his dominance. As cyclists, to active dominance is to be "King of the Mountain" or be wearing the Yellow Jersey. You are seen as a dominant person, and must defend your position with more dominance. That brings me to today's ride....

I did not want to get out of bed today....but I really needed to ride. I haven't been on the bike since last Sunday and I have missed some opportunities to ride....which then makes it easier to just say "piss on it" and find something else to do. I was up about 6:30 and out of the house at 7:15. Bill showed up and right away I knew I was going to have to work hard to keep up. Off we went.

Lots of wildlife out there today on the Kal-Haven trail. We saw a raven just over the trees, Dan had a near miss with a raccoon, chipmunks everywhere, and a snake. Dan hit it first, I hopped over it and Bill got it again. Huge snake stretched out across the trail.....yuk. I hate snakes and seeing one with teeth bared ready to strike did not make it any easier. It was a nice boost of adrenaline though.

The ride was going pretty good. We were in a pace line and I was doing my best to hold onto their wheels. The time came when it was time to figure out distance. We were 20 miles out and I felt like I could keep going but we stopped at Lake Eleven and then turned back. We were holding a decent pace but I was running out of steam. We got to about 30 miles and I couldn't hang anymore. Slowly the gaps started to form and I was by myself again. Being Kal-Haven I have no desire for these guys to wait.....I know where I am going. So, slowly they disappeared. This is when I started to think about asserting dominance.

I was riding solo....plugging away and pleading my legs for any power they had left in them. Dan, once again showed me that he is the dominant rider between us, but not in a bad way. He simply says "when I smell the finish area I need to go fast and get off my bike". It made me think more about what I am dominant with.

I am dominant in the fact that I don't quit. I may be the last person to get back to the car. I may be the weakest link.....but I still try. Is trying my dominant feature? I suppose so. I guarantee I tried harder today than the other guys did.......just to hold onto the wheel. I asserted my dominance........how about you?