Laughter in the Rain

With heavy rain in the forecast Russ and I agreed to meet at Starbucks and check the weather at ride time. But really, it was a wink-wink agreement and we knew that we would be sipping chai and looking at the rain from a comfy chair next to the fireplace (I dislike Starbucks coffee but like their digs). Unfortunately Barry, who had said earlier that he wasn't interested in riding in the rain, and Darin, who said he was sticking close to home as to make a quick retreat, both showed up and insisted on riding in the rain anyway.

A new rider to our group, Buster, also showed up, and while there was no thunder heard during the ride Buster's presence caused a bit of lighting to fly. As you will see.

We head east into a light sprinkle with a tacit agreement to keep the pace slower than usual. This gave Buster the opportunity to share all kinds of data that he's been collecting from his new Powertap. The Powertap is an electronic device that provides feedback of a rider's power output in watts. It's the latest rage in cycling and is supposed to be a more accurate gauge of a rider's fitness than a heart rate monitor. While I find all of the data somewhat interesting, fascinating really, The Boss has no interest in technical gobbledygook when it comes to cycling. Ride hard when you can, easy when you can't, is his motto. Tear the muscles down, then let them repair and strengthen via rest.

So within five miles we had our first disagreement. What happens when cyclists disagree? Someone puts the hammer down. First The Boss, then Buster. With Darin, Russ and I hanging on the back for dear life, the other two up front were trying to out duel one another and the pace quickly went from 17 mph to 23 mph. At the top of a sharp climb Barry turns to Buster and says, "That Powertap help you up the hill?". Buster turns to Barry with a sly smile and says, "No, but with the data I saw it will help me up the next one". Barry guffaws.

More hammertime and now the rain is coming down in sheets. Every corner is a slick and scary battle trying to keep on the right side of the razor thin margin of not having the rubber lose adhesion with the pavement while screaming through the turn in a valiant effort to keep up with the group. Railroad track crossings, dangerous on a good day, become moments of shear terror as both wheels would momentarily skid and become airborne.

With every ounce of effort that I can dig down and get I ride up to Barry and Buster to ask them to slow down. Barry says, "What's the 'Tap say?". Buster rolls his eyes. The pace quickens and I fade to the back. Darin and Russ want to know what's going on. I tell them that the other two are apparently trying to prove a point of some kind or another.

Darin moves up to ask Buster a technical question in hopes of slowing him down. Much to our chagrin he starts up a power seminar without dropping a single watt. This is what I call 'on-line' education. Having heard enough, Russ tries to get the pace returned to normal by pointing out that it's getting dark, we can't see through our rain covered glasses, the roads are slick and with standing water everywhere our tires are hydroplaning at least half of the time. Safety is a good trump card. "And", he says, "the two of you will soon be alone".

With that, the tension breaks. Barry and Buster glance at each other and begin to laugh. Their smiles barely discernible beneath the layers of mud and road grime. Two sets of bright cheshire cat teeth. "I like having something to motivate me when I ride", posits Barry. "And I love the data", quips Buster. They laugh again.

Darin, Russ and I, hanging over our handlebars from the extreme effort, give each other a weak thumbs up. A good work-out, a new friend and just a few more miles until we're warming up next to the fire with a nice hot cup of chai. Where later The Boss was heard to whisper, "I still say that it's the effort, not the data, that matters".