If Only the Wheelsucker Could Actually Ride a Bike …

In his long-standing but apparently in-vain efforts to become stronger, the Wheelsucker does a fixed gear ride/workout winter Sundays starting at 8:00am, in Ellicott City. As per his coach, the idea is to build leg strength pedaling up the climbs, and work on leg speed going down.

On most Sundays Jay Murphy, Marc Frazer and Rick Tyler are there, and the Wheelsucker gets a really good workout chasing Jay and trying to hold Rick on the steep climbs, and then pedaling furiously down a hill while wondering what happens when pedal cadence gets just a little too high.

On this particular Sunday, Jay, Marc and Rick were not going to make it so the Wheelsucker was on his own. After a late Saturday evening and a foggy morning, the Wheelsucker dawdled and only drove out later in the morning. And he decided to start from the BWI Overlook rather than downtown Ellicott City, and do every climb he could.

Ever conscientious, the Wheelsucker dutifully rode out the normal ABRT ride route, pedaling up Lawyer's Hill Road, Landing Road, and down Beechwood Rd. Here he diverged from the usual ABRT route and went DOWN Bonnie Branch Rd to Ilchester Rd, turned around and rode all the way up Bonnie Branch Rd, back down to Ilchester Rd, onto River Road, up South Hilltop Rd, down Thistle Rd, up River Road to up Westchester Ave, then down Oella Ave to the café.

The Wheelsucker was happy to take a break a the café, but soon got back on this bike and started his return, up Oella Ave (he was caught by two Kelly guys early, but wheelsucked, and then rode away near the top), down Westchester Ave, out River Rd to Thistle Rd, up Thistle and down South Hilltop Rd, up Bonnie Branch Rd to up Beeechwood Rd to Ilchester Rd, then started down Landing Road for the mostly downhill ride back to the BWI overlook except …

About .63 miles down Landing Road, at 25.6 mph and 126 rpm cadence, with a heart rate of 134 bpm, the Wheelsucker went down almost exactly the same way Jens Voigt crashed on stage 16 of the 2009 TdF, except the Wheelsucker’s front wheel went right (Jens’ goes left) …

The front wheel slid out to the right as it rolled over an acutely angled crack or discontinuity in the road surface, and the Wheelsucker went down to the left, at full speed.

The only exceptions/differences being:

It was not Jens.

It was not at the top of an Alpine climb in the TdF riding with just the top GC guys

It was not at 50 mph

The Wheelsucker will not back in the pro peloton in just a few months

The Wheelsucker did not black out and was not taken to hospital.

but it was very similar in all other respects.

OUCH!! That hurt!!!

The Wheelsucker slid some distance (and time) on the wet road, but eventually came to a stop, picked himself up and dragged himself and the bicycle onto the shoulder.

His kit was torn up on the left side and he could feel road rash in several places. The Wheelsucker was still some distance from his car, so he took it fairly easy down Landing to Montgomery Rd, to down Lawyers Hill, Levering, Main, Furnace, up the false flat on Race Road, up false flat on Hanover, up false flat on Ridge, Stoney Run Road to bike path on Aviation and Dorsey back to the BWI overlook. He was slightly short of 3:22:30 (recall Mike Hefner’s pro tip) as he approached the BWI overlook, so he turned down WB&A Rd for a few extra minutes, before returning to the car.

Hmn…

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Wheelsucker knew how to ride a bike!