screw you and that fancy ass horse you rode in on

last night was my first ever big group bike ride. there were about 40 people who all met at a park and took off on an hour long ride. when i first got there, i meandered around asking people if there's anything special i need to know. it turns out that there are really three groups that ride together. the "take no prisoners A group", the "b's", and finally the "c's". the lady in charge asked me how fast I was and i gave her my honest answer. "i have no idea." she suggested that i start with the b's and if i get dropped, i'll join up with the c's later on. sounds like a plan.

i start in the back of the pack with the b's and quickly get bored. so i jump out in the lead to see if i can't pull everybody around with me for a while (in cycling the guy out in front has to do about 20% more work than those behind). we get about half way through the ride and i see the 'a' group about 3/4 of a mile ahead. you know that switch that i talk about that puts me in 'hunt and kill mode'? well, it flipped on. so i punch it as hard as i can for about 5 minutes and finally, with the aid of a stoplight, catch up to them and lose the 'b' group in the process.

i hung with them for about 10 more minutes before i finally found out why they are called the "take no prisoners a's" instead of just the 'a group'. these guys are just as competitive as i am. if someone jumps out in the lead, well, fuck that. it's on. somebody else is right there challenging them for the lead. and yes, i got sucked into this little competition as well. my legs hurt like hell when the ride was over.

as we are coasting into the parking lot, one of the faster guys starts ribbing us on going for a run. this is the same guy that took the lead from me on the bike on 3 different occasions. screw him. "i'm in", i say to him and he gives me the doubtful look and starts telling me how i need to be faster in the transition as we are "losing valuable time". i made him pay for that one. i normally push myself pretty hard on a run, but rarely as hard as i was pushing last night. i lost him in the first 1/2 mile and posted 7:02 miles (yes, i was ready to puke). he came into the parking lot almost 15 minutes behind me.