Thursday, August 16, 2007

talent vs. experience

rode the flats with the Penis Brigade last night, the lone female representin' among a bunch of burly-chested, hairy-legged macho dudes who require constant attention because you never know when one of them will miss the curl of a turn and ride right off the road. most of them ride for fun, not competition, so it's a refreshing change of pace. you better hope that none of your teammates see you on this ride - LAF said to me - you'd get so much shit. that's why i wear an old kit - i told him, and then watched paulie walnuts ride into somebody's backyard. but they're all mountain bikers so their saves are pretty good.

flatlands suck the life out of me, so when we hit summit bridge coming out of chesapeake city i got to the front and found wings, riding everyone except LAF off my wheel. summit's a long gradual incline, and if you find the right gear and rhythm you can really fly up it -- and if you're used to time-trialing, you crest the top and hold the effort steady, clicking through gears as you hit 30, 33, 35mph. it felt SO good -- smooth and fluid and simple.

- you're so talented - LAF said as he pulled alongside me.
- what?
- you didn't change position that whole time. you didn't move. - he means my shoulders & hips don't rock.
- that's not talent. that's hours in the saddle while your body figures out how to be more efficient. it's experience and laziness. why do any extra work?
- i guess. i always learn something when i ride with you.

it's all relative, isn't it. the next time i do the barksdale ride i will marvel at how L manages to stay with us when i would be off-the-back on the first hill if i were carrying those 30 extra pounds. but she's been riding for so long that she knows how to survive in a peleton. that said, it's also gratifying to have your "talents" called out.

i have fallen in love with swimming again too.

8 comments:

fatmammycat said...

Sounds like you're hitting your stride all round.
I wish to god I was, I was up and at 'em early this morning and on the road for a run. Ankle felt sore on the way home and after closer inspection I find that above the ankle- on the line- is bumpy and bobbly- my expert names. Am waiting for the GP to call me back and see if she can fit me in for a look at it today. It's not swollen and I did run home- albeit slower, but this sucks. Most cranky.

FINN said...

not exactly all round, FMC -- hammie is still querulous and i will drop everything should rudy return my call and say Come Right Now.
so we're in similar boats.

it wouldn't be a bad idea to have that ankle x-rayed. bumpy and bobbly bone-wise, or soft tissue? have you visited the virtual sports clinic?

fatmammycat said...

I haven't, but I'll give it a gander.
I can't say if its on the bone or on the tissue because it's EXACTLY on that bony line. Doc's given me an appointment for 4:20, so I'll see what she has to say about it.
It's a weird one, because there is really no real swelling and no sharp pain. But it hurt like a bitch on the last KM today and weirdly it hurt more when I walked and less when I jogged. So I jogged home cursing and swearing like a trouper.
That Rudy sounds like a busy man, can't you bribe him to take you? I don't know, offer him your eternal soul or something?

FINN said...

when in doubt, ice. ice on the painful spots and ice in the tumbler, with gin.

i now have a date w/rudy tomorrow morning. he's already got my eternal soul, and my first-born (8 times over), so it looks like i'll be baking tonight.

good luck w/the doc. let me know what she says.

Subhangi Arvind said...

Always good to be told when you're in top form.

Moi buried under work, eating all sorts of nonsense,just about managing to sleep well and avoid falling sick. I sorely miss some good exercise.

fatmammycat said...

I really don't know much more than when I went in. She thought there might be new bone growth, but she couldn't be sure. She wondered aloud why it wasn't swollen yet was sore to touch( I told her there was no swelling). She also wondered aloud if maybe my achilles hadn't 'come away' and taken some of the bone with it. (unlikely, I"m sure that would hurt a whole lot more and there would surely be some swelling then) Oh and she noted my fibula was 'lumpy'. (at least now I know the correct terminology)
Then she wrote me a note, told me to get an x-ray and charged me 60 of my finest euros.

addon said...

it's also gratifying to have your "talents" called out

yes, good feeling. also after decades of managing complex projects, I used to spend ages working out the easiest way to do stuff. I once said to a client and good friend "Well, that didn't take long - coupla hours". "40 years plus a coupla hours he said." And there's the truth.

oh, i am so good.

FINN said...

ur preaching to the converted adam. :)