It was time to see if being gifted with a raven-winged Pegasus (Matt’s bike) and the blessings and trainings of a wizard (Rob Kopitzke) was enough for our intrepid band of warriors to win the day. The racers gathered, those who would be heroes, with the hollow-metallic scraping of cleats upon tarmac. There were legends of this country, with pools of water that would eat at your legs and pull your steed from under you. It was sparse and spare and some said that the land only existed as battlefield for riders and orchards of furiously blooming almonds.
By my side was my Body Concepts teammates Todd, Rob and Patrick. Or rather, Todd, Patrick and I gathered as shields to flank Rob, who would be our sword, our final death-stroke. We gathered at the start line, my legs shivering in the bitter cold, but my resolve was steady: heed the wisdom of the wizard and deliver the sword-stroke. In this race, we were instructed to have Patrick cover attacks and whether or not he could cover the attacks on his own, Todd and I would stay as shields and lead-out for Rob who would serve as our final sprinter.
As a sinuous mass the body of racers surged forward paced by a lone motorcycle rider. We were shepherded from the park twisting and undulating upon ourselves like a great, scaled serpent sliding through the sea depths. As we advanced en masse we each searched for our identity within the anonymous mob of the peloton. Some of us fought as heroes that day, some of us milled about with uncertainty and as ineffectually as the citizens of Argos, but the true star of the story was the emergent Kraken, the unstoppable monster, the uncatchable breakaway.
The Birth of the Kraken
The first breath of life for the Kraken was more like a gasp. The attempt lasted only about a quarter of a lap before being aborted by an uphill grade the lone rider could not crest on his own. He was reabsorbed into the mob and digested as food for the next attempt. The true birth of the great Kraken came upon the winged feet of the Lion of Davis: a lone rider who seemed brave but, to our eyes, too unsteady and frantic to maintain his beastly lead. Our complacency was to leak away when the lone rider was joined by three more competitors who leant their strength to the growing reputation of the Kraken. The three riders of the attacks caught up to the exhausted rider and drew him into their paceline. Together the four merged into a single, ever-escaping monster.
The first breath of life for the Kraken was more like a gasp. The attempt lasted only about a quarter of a lap before being aborted by an uphill grade the lone rider could not crest on his own. He was reabsorbed into the mob and digested as food for the next attempt. The true birth of the great Kraken came upon the winged feet of the Lion of Davis: a lone rider who seemed brave but, to our eyes, too unsteady and frantic to maintain his beastly lead. Our complacency was to leak away when the lone rider was joined by three more competitors who leant their strength to the growing reputation of the Kraken. The three riders of the attacks caught up to the exhausted rider and drew him into their paceline. Together the four merged into a single, ever-escaping monster.
“Clash of the Titans”
Within our place in the peloton I grew concerned that Todd, who was working as a shield against the punishing cold wind, was beginning to tire. As we were going up one of the hills on the course, I tried to go to the right of Todd to get around him in an attempt to keep Rob, our sword, within striking distance should our teammate Patrick launch an attack. As I first tried to get around, it didn’t work as another rider from the back had started to charge past on the right.
Within our place in the peloton I grew concerned that Todd, who was working as a shield against the punishing cold wind, was beginning to tire. As we were going up one of the hills on the course, I tried to go to the right of Todd to get around him in an attempt to keep Rob, our sword, within striking distance should our teammate Patrick launch an attack. As I first tried to get around, it didn’t work as another rider from the back had started to charge past on the right.
After the other cleared, I took a quick glance and thought it was clear to pass Todd. As I went around him I felt an arm and handle bar come at me from behind and run into my handle bar and arm (go figure this was one of the few times in the race I wasn’t protecting my bars from locking with another bike by having my hands in the drop-outs). This invading rider and I had several incursions, neither of us wanting to draw blood yet neither of us willing to give position. I kept thinking that I needed to keep focused ahead, keep pedaling, and refuse to go down because I had a mission to complete. Eventually the rider peeled off to the far right. I couldn’t see if he had gone down or not. Thankfully he re-emerged unscathed, not long after he came up and apologized for the contact. I returned his sentiment and said that I was glad to see he was alright. We both tucked back in, our eyes ever focused on the Kraken trying to escape our grasp.
Folly of Argos
A sense of urgency spread through-out the peloton as the Kraken seemed to grow in its identity and solidify its supremacy of a lead. Several times the peloton would make an attempt to rally its forces to chase down the monster before us. Our small team gamely rushed up to help the efforts to reel in the leviathan only to find that everyone that had been trying to get the chase going dropped back into the safety of the peloton and left our team out there to take all the wind.
A sense of urgency spread through-out the peloton as the Kraken seemed to grow in its identity and solidify its supremacy of a lead. Several times the peloton would make an attempt to rally its forces to chase down the monster before us. Our small team gamely rushed up to help the efforts to reel in the leviathan only to find that everyone that had been trying to get the chase going dropped back into the safety of the peloton and left our team out there to take all the wind.
At one point, after doing my pull, I signaled for the next rider to come around. Nothing happened. I pulled to the far right so that he could get around, nothing… I look behind me and everyone is just following my wheel. I slow down, nothing. Everyone seemed content to race for 5th unless someone else did the work to close the gap.
We may have been regarded as a strong team but we were not foolhardy. We realized that if we allowed ourselves to be exhausted as the sole driving engine of the pursuit, we would easily be discarded by those who hide in the safety of our wake. In an effort to try to reserve a portion of our strength for the final clash we reined in our long-standing lead, slowing down until someone else would finally take their turn pulling the peloton.
When it became apparent that we would not allow our team to be used and discarded some of the members of the peloton would make comments, repeatedly “encouraging us” to take the brunt of the work while they hid behind. When they realized that we expected aid from the other citizens of the peloton, these denizens of Argos instead fell to wringing their hands and calling out for heroes to sacrifice themselves to save them.
Andromeda Falls
It seemed there would be no special favors from the gods this day. No winged sandals, no golden shields, no mechanical owls to push the swing of the pendulum against the fury and power of the Kraken. It is true when they say, “It takes a village…” If the people of Argos had come together and gathered their arms to defend their princess there may never have been a need for a Perseus, Son of Zeus. On this day we were all just mortal men and without the combined strength of us all there would be no slaying of the beast. So in the end, the mythic beast proved uncatchable in truth and we learn that not every race can have a Hollywood blockbuster finish but I got one more race closer to Cat 4, a little more experience and a damn cold backside.
It seemed there would be no special favors from the gods this day. No winged sandals, no golden shields, no mechanical owls to push the swing of the pendulum against the fury and power of the Kraken. It is true when they say, “It takes a village…” If the people of Argos had come together and gathered their arms to defend their princess there may never have been a need for a Perseus, Son of Zeus. On this day we were all just mortal men and without the combined strength of us all there would be no slaying of the beast. So in the end, the mythic beast proved uncatchable in truth and we learn that not every race can have a Hollywood blockbuster finish but I got one more race closer to Cat 4, a little more experience and a damn cold backside.
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