Spencer and the Wheelsucker Exact Their Horrible Revenge on Unsuspecting Civilians

The Wheelsucker is slowly coming to accept his mediocrity. In most races he is really just pack fodder, and that is if he picks the race (course and field) carefully and is not dropped. But this is something most racing cyclists have to accept; there are always better and stronger riders.

Spencer appeared to be working through these same issues after a tough 40+ race at Turkey Hill and an even tougher cat 4 race at Poolesville.

But if there always being better stronger riders is the great truth, it is also a truth that there are always weaker riders. And if one is frustrated with being pack fodder against a group of better bike racers, there is always a group somewhere where one can be the alpha rider, and feel like Ace McDermott for a few minutes.

And for Spencer and the Wheelsucker, that group is the Monday evening shop ride.

The non-racing cycling enthusiasts waiting for rollout in the parking lot had no idea what their fate would be. There was no advance warning, no sign, no nothing. They must have thought it was a lovely evening for a nice friendly no-drop ride through scenic parts of Anne Arundel county.

One unsuspecting innocent even asked the Wheelsucker very early in the ride who the strong riders were. The Wheelsucker looked the group over and responded that Iain Banks on the tri bike was probably the strongest, but while the truth, this was not "the whole truth". After all, Iain was representing the shop and was riding sweep, so was not going to be driving the pace. Sure, Ace, Eric and Nick were not there, but still ...

Oh the poor innocents …

Spencer – probably still bitter over his recent racing experiences – was already off the front at the right turn onto Muddy Creek road. He only slowed briefly to tempt the group back to his wheel, so he could accelerate again. The innocents tried to hold his wheel. Everyone now and then Spencer would rotate off the front and – like lambs being led to the slaughter – the innocents would get on the front and ride as hard as they could to keep the pace up, all while Spencer recovered, and they burned their few matchsticks (as per officer Harry Callahan, "A man's GOT to know his limitations." And even worse, the Wheelsucker was at the back for most of this period, waiting for the climbs and false flats on Owensville road.

The Wheelsucker finally rotated to the front towards the end of the Muddy Creek Road stretch. He put his forearms on the bar tops and drove the pace up higher and higher. Ace would have been comfortably in zone 1 chatting while holding his wheel, but the speed was enough to split the group, leaving about six or seven riders together at the turn onto Owensville road (three of them in ABRT kit). The rest were scattered behind on the Muddy Creek road shoulder.

The Wheelsucker pulled off at the turn to let Spencer drive the pace again, and tried to get on the back. But some of the exhausted innocents were learning and opened gaps in front of them for the Wheelsucker, so he did not make it all the way back.

Spencer drove the pace up the start of the false flat climb.

The surviving innocents hung on grimly.

When Spencer pulled off one of the innocents got on the front and gave it everything he had. But Owensville Road trends uphill and he was also going hard into the wind (this was precisely why the Wheelsucker was as far back as he could get). The Wheelsucker and Spencer waiting for this rider to finish his book of matches completely. The one rider pulled off spent, but another innocent took his place and did exactly the same thing. Then the Wheelsucker rotated to the front, put his forearms on the bar tops and simply pushed the highest power numbers he could sustain to the top of the climb at the right turn onto Owensville Sudley road. And those who were out of matchsticks were left scattered behind.

There were only three or four riders left at the turn; the Wheelsucker was surprised it was that many.

But Spencer and the Wheelsucker were not done yet. Rather than simply letting a group form behind them so that everyone else could ride at a reasonable pace, Spencer and the Wheelsucker sat up to let some of the desperate lambs rejoin the lead group. And they did.

After soft pedaling for some time and letting these stragglers back into the lead group, Spencer and the Wheelsucker picked the pace up before letting the civilians back on the front to tire them out again. And Spencer and the Wheelsucker just sat in, waiting for the next climbing section.

James was on the front for the climb out of the dip. A civilian was feeling frisky and pulled past him. That was all it took to trigger Spencer and the Wheelsucker; they jumped 2/3 of the way up and immediately dropped James and the frisky civilian.

The gaps opened immediately, but to tempt the civilians back on, Spencer and the Wheelsucker sat up again, after just a few seconds. The steady pace up Queen Anne Bridge and early on 214 lulled the surviving civilians into thinking they might make it back to the store with the lead group.

But Spencer and the Wheelsucker were simply letting the group make it through a couple of traffic lights on 214 at an easy pace, so they could attack after the last light and get a gap without risking losing it to a red light.

Once again the move was triggered by a frisky civilian who drove the pace on a small downhill section. After he had burned his matchsticks on a short effort he pulled over and the Wheelsucker jumped hard, even getting out of the saddle and sprinting up a short climb.

The lead group shattered. One strong civilian managed to hold the Wheelsucker's wheel, and then rolled by just before the top, got a two bike length gap, then sat up completely shaking his head, a spent force.

The Wheelsucker looked behind. The rest were scattered in ones and twos; the Wheelsucker rolled up to the left turn onto Pike Ridge road and soft pedaled for the store. After crushing defeats at recent road races he had found a group he could beat up on. For Spencer and the Wheelsucker it is good to be an alpha rider.