Q: What time will we start?
A: Six @$#% Thirty in the morning. Luckily as temps cool and the sun rises later, so will we.
Q: What will a paceline feel like?
A: Odd…at least at first, to get so close to other bikers going 15mph or more. I know it will get easier with more miles. Loud…lots of yelling out commands, “hole, slowing, take the lane, g
oing, one line, debris on right, car back” With 6 adrenaline pumped alumni and 5 nervous rookies it was loud and confusing at first, people yelling at every tiny thing. Challenging…It took concentration! To not run into the person in frontof me, at least. I am sure it will soon become an intuitive way to ride.Q: Will we crash?
A: Yep. Some poor clip management at a stoplight led to our first crash of the season just 10 miles into group training. It happened in the middle of Douglas and involved our “guest rider” whose 3 yr old son is a Leukemia survivor (she rode for TNT a year ago). Only two people went down, none really hurt. I was told no one has broken a bone in a TNT crash, not in recent memory, at least. I said the paceline took concentration!
Q: How will the team dynamic be?
A: Good. Very good actually. Quality people with very different personalities. It was a fun day of first impressions. There are so many alumni (riders with at least one TNT century to their credit) it feels like us newbies will just be carried along.
Q: What will it mean to have a coach?
A: A pre-ride pep talk and a team cheer. Yep, a team cheer. I am not really a “cheer” kind of girl. You can imagine the suppressed smirk on my face the first time it happened. Of course as the pep-talk and testimonies got going before the ride I kept thinking what we needed to do was pray. Whoops! Guess who's been ensconced in church a little too long! Don’t worry, I was yelling away by the end of the morning.
Q: Is that all Coach Travis does?
A: Lord, no. He is organized and confident and in control of the ride. He’s a good teacher, passionate about TNT, and can yell really loud. Today he was constantly moving up and down the line checking in, giving instructions and encouragement. A great comfort to me, already.
Q: Is it possible to get “runners trots” on the bike?
A: Yep. This is an affliction that often affected my sensitive stomach after long runs. I always contributed it in part to poor hydration, and I think that was a factor today. Even though we started early it was humid and hot. I was concentrating more on not crashing than on drinking water. I’ll have to work on that.
Q: What will be the worst part?
A: Waiting a whole week before we do it again :)
5 comments:
Q: What would be the most insane thing Coach Travis could do at this point?
A: Appoint Amy head cheerleader and require her to use pom-pom's!
Q: Now really - how badly could Amy actually punish Coach Travis for doing such a cruel thing to her?
A: Runners trots? Well, that would be the least of Coach's worries!
(Way to go, kid! Keep up the good work!)
It so happens I do have some pom-pom skills.
Just can't quite get the high leg kick down.
Hey, with your determination, I'll bet you could get the high leg kick down, too! I can't think of much you can't tackle, my friend!
Of course as the pep-talk and testimonies got going before the ride I kept thinking what we needed to do was pray.
Hehe. That's awesome.
Thanks for your confidence, Faye. But I think I'll focus on some other projects requiring my determination at the moment.
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