All the hummingbirds were away this morning, even a recovering JayBird. That left a chance for a Hawk Hill jersey, but no order. With the hummingbirds you know it's going to be a fast ride through the Flats, whether you're the lead wheel or just hanging on. Without them, it's up to everybody else, myself included, to set the pace.
If you're going to get up at 5.50am to climb this damn hill, might as well go for it. So I set the pace through the Start. At the first turn in the False Flats, when all I'd seen for the last two minutes was my pedals, I counted the shadows on the hillside. Four, five, six, seven, still counting when I hit the turn. I wasn't soloing this one, I was leading the old State Belt Railway. Just after the Circle, Packy Bonner and Captain Fixie pulled ahead. I stayed close, telling myself I just might have enough to pass them when I needed to, and when Alec Baldwin pulled on by, I only had enough to nip him. 7.44 in the end, third place, and my 9th fastest ascent. I'll take it.
That left me wanting a little more on the Sprint, like last week, but unlike last week, I got this one right. I took the second wheel, stayed on the second wheel when a sprinter pulled on by just before the second stop sign, and jumped at just the right time, coming across the line just in front of the second group of sprinters who did what I've done so many times before, waited just a little too long to make the move.
If you're going to get up at 5.50am to climb this damn hill, might as well go for it. So I set the pace through the Start. At the first turn in the False Flats, when all I'd seen for the last two minutes was my pedals, I counted the shadows on the hillside. Four, five, six, seven, still counting when I hit the turn. I wasn't soloing this one, I was leading the old State Belt Railway. Just after the Circle, Packy Bonner and Captain Fixie pulled ahead. I stayed close, telling myself I just might have enough to pass them when I needed to, and when Alec Baldwin pulled on by, I only had enough to nip him. 7.44 in the end, third place, and my 9th fastest ascent. I'll take it.
That left me wanting a little more on the Sprint, like last week, but unlike last week, I got this one right. I took the second wheel, stayed on the second wheel when a sprinter pulled on by just before the second stop sign, and jumped at just the right time, coming across the line just in front of the second group of sprinters who did what I've done so many times before, waited just a little too long to make the move.
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