Tuesday April 17th Training RideThe Wheelsucker is DROPPED!!

Perhaps it was inevitable, or maybe the Wheelsucker did it to himself.

But after the warm glow from finishing Battenkill 50+ with a really solid result, the Wheelsucker wasn't sure about the Tuesday World Championship (known to some as the Tuesday training ride).

A large group of about 30 riders rolled out of the Park & Ride. Steve Owens and Iain Banks were riding TT bikes. The Wheelsucker felt shamed into taking some pulls and put in a good dig on the way to 214. As they rolled across 214 Steve O. pushed the pace on his own. Then a single rider bridged to him. The Wheelsucker was carefully watching Ace -- the Wheelsucker almost always carefully watches Ace -- and saw Ace get ready. Ace accelerated to bridge, but the Wheelsucker was ready, and on him. And apparently most of the peloton was on the Wheelsucker's wheel because almost everyone took the Ace tow up to the front, arriving there shortly after the dip where the Patuxent River occasionally floods Patuxent River Road. The trouble was that by following Ace closely, the Wheelsucker ended up almost first in line, and when the rider in front -- Steve O again -- pulled off, the Wheelsucker found himself doing another solid -- at least solid for the Wheelsucker -- pull, and the group was getting close to Harwood Hill.

The Wheelsucker pulled off and tried to hide and recover. Then up Harwood Hill there was an attack! Part way up the climb riders jumped. Ace went after them, and the Wheelsucker followed Ace!

AND IT WORKED!!!!!

Except, thought the Wheelsucker, that was a little too easy. If the Wheelsucker makes it to the front group and isn't "maxed out" it could not have been a fully serious attack. And to prove the point, the strong guys sat up and let everyone else catch on.

The Wheelsucker found himself on the front AGAIN after turning onto route 2, but got off it very quickly and got in line. He was as well positioned for the South Polling House stairstep as he could be, but it had occurred to the Wheelsucker that most of Ace, Denzil, Patrick, Iain and Eric and some other strong riders were behind him.

The Wheelsucker was riding up about fourth wheel when it happened. Ace and Eric jumped and went by at a high rate of speed, smiling. Somehow when the lights are about to go out, the Wheelsucker notices details like that ...

Others strained to follow. Riders accelerated. The Wheelsucker looked for his suitcase of courage, but it was either too small to be found, or had been misplaced by baggage carriers. Going very hard, but not hard enough, the Wheelsucker saw a group of about eight open the gap. Other riders were falling away, and the Wheelsucker arrived at the right turn onto Bayard with a small gap to the group ahead, and with Steve Owens, Mike Faber and a couple of other riders. The rest of the riders were further back.

It seemed to the Wheelsucker that time was of the essence. With so many strong riders in the group ahead, the gap had to be closed ASAP, if it was ever going to be closed. Everyone in his group chased hard. The pulls were short and brutal, riders were barely able to get on at the back, recover for a short while, and then find themselves driving the pace at the front again.

The gap to the riders ahead was not large. There it was, a large carrot, just a little further than any of them could reach. It was close all the way down Bayard, it was close at the right turn onto Polling House, it was close up the false flat climb past the golf course, though the truth is it was slowly opening.

Then part way back to the right turn back onto South Polling House, two of the chase group were gapped off the back, and it was down to three chasers. But they could still see the group ahead, though that group was disappearing up the road.

The gap was rather larger at the right turn to Sands, but the chasers picked up reinforcements as two riders apparently dropped earlier were short cutting. So the chase was back to five riders.

There was a green light at 214, but it turned to red just as the the chase started to accelerate to try to sprint across. The group had lost two riders on the climb out of the dip, but they rejoined at the red light.

When the light finally turned green the riders in the chase knew it was futile. The lead group had not been seen in awhile, and it contained the strongest riders.

And then, moments after crossing 214, the chase caught the lead group. The lead group was spread out on both shoulders waiting for one rider to fix a flat tire.

Concluding that five more riders were not going to help the seven already there assist the one rider in changing his tube any faster, the chasing five rode for the finish line.

An exhausted Wheelsucker decided not to sprint and to lead out instead. He got to the front shortly after climbing out of the penultimate dip. Calling down to the engine room for everything left, he sped across the last flat section, down into the last dip and up the false flat towards the finish. The Wheelsucker was dying. He was pushing on the pedals as hard as he could, but the bike was slowing down, and out of the corner of his eye the Wheelsucker could still read (in the fading light) the power number on his computer. And it was ridiculously low, even for an aging Wheelsucker. The Wheelsucker was just starting to plead with those following him to please launch, when someone yelled, "car back!". The Wheelsucker had to keep going until the car cleared.

What the Wheelsucker had hoped would be a nice leadout had dwindled to about 12 mile per hour when Mike Faber finally launched, with Steve Owens in pursuit.

The Wheelsucker soft pedaled for the line, and then the Park & Ride.

Wheelsucker Data:
From rolling out of Park & Ride, to crossing the finish line.
1:21:55 @ 216 watts average (252 watts pedaling, 724 watts max, 266 watts normalized)
72 rpm (92 rpm average actually pedalling)
141bpm average/162bpm max
23.66 mph average, 23.8 mph average moving