While I pride myself on not being a charity ride junkie, I must go on a tad about today's metric century held in the hills of Central PA near Chocolatetown, USA: Hershey.
The ride was well organized complete with Trooper cadets serving up refreshments, PSP Helicopters and those $30K plus Harley's used by the lucky motor patrol troopers.
The Metric century sprawled over the very mature, green countryside with breathtaking views only to complimented with paths through wooded sanctuaries concluded with a beautiful loop around Memorial lake.
I was lucky enough to ride with some fellow enthusiasts who, like me, couldn't resist that 30mph+ pull, that wicked descent or the joy of slurping down blue Gatorade at the rest stops. Of course all of this 2 wheeled bliss came with a dear and bitter price...
While soloing in the 2nd loop I was nothing less than gobbled, chewed up and spit out by the red, white and blue train known as the World Cup Team. It wasn't until later that I was able to verify that while I was redlining at 190bpm (on rollers) it was Cats 1-3 that were pulling away from me like a V12 cigarette boat while I was in a dingy with a broken oar. As my other riding partner who pulls me around PA says, "on the other side of that is fitness". Fair enough but also on the other side is motivation.
You know you're a cyclist when something as well intended as a memorial ride honoring 100 yrs of police service turns into a primal contest of wills, suffering and fortitude all in the name of passing the next unsuspecting victim.
Thank God for it.
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