Monday, April 21, 2008

Mountain Goats and Saddle Sores

Two days after getting hit with a 24 hour bug, what should one do to recover?
a) Rest and drink plenty of fluids
b) Go out drinking
c) Ride 130 miles with some fast dudes

Rest isn't all that much fun. Drinking is fun, but expensive. Where does that leave me? Well, I chose the last option and embarked upon an epic ride on a beautiful Sunday with three FAST team mates. It wasn't Bailey's Rhode Island Ride of Thunder and Friendship. No, it was much more epic.

I could go into the details of our route and bore you with that minutiae. It suffices to say that we rode from Belmont to the white slopes of Wa-wa-chusetts and back. Along the way, our two mountain goats found just about every incline that existed. I'm not sure we ever descended.
More importantly, here's what I learned after 130 miles in the saddle:
- Lips can (and will) get sunburned
- The pain of burnt lips is surpassed by sore ass at mile 90
- Not even the dirtiest, funniest joke can solicit a chuckle after mile 100
- Donuts = fuel for the body and soul
- Mountain goats can get up hills fast
- Know how to get home in case you lose your teammates

Next question: How does one recover from said epic ride?
a) Rest and drink plenty of fluids
b) Go out drinking
c) Participate in an utterly awesome BRC slugfest at Wells Ave

Again, I chose C. Why not? All the really fast guys were out racing elsewhere, so Wells a combined A/B field comprise of BRC, a fast NEBC womens squad, and a few other folks. The race was hot from the start; people flying off the front, primes, crashes, and more. Attacks were fast and furious, the breaks were strong. I even threw my hat in to go for the big W. Alas, we were caught as we hit the finishing straight.

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