Le Peloton

This past Sunday, I drove to Yountville in Napa County to partake on the 2007 Tour de Napa Valley cycling ride. There were a number of ride options available for people of all skill levels to choose from including an easy 30-mile beginner course to the super crazy 100-mile course that took cyclists to the very steep hills in Napa's backcountry. Though it would have been cool to ride the 100-mile course, I knew better not to push my body too much since it had been a long time since I did anything serious on my bike. Eventually, I chose to ride the metric century course which was 100 km or 65-miles in length with about 3000 ft of hill climbing. The hills were really tough. Not the toughest climb I've ever done but certainly up there in terms of difficulty. They grade progressively got tougher and tougher to a point that even I had to step off my bike and just walk up the steep hill. I know, shameful, but in my mind, I felt like I had nothing to prove. hahah. Nonetheless, I kept the walking time to a minimum because I didn't want people to think I was a *****. Anyway, it was certainly a struggle to the finish line with the hills and the hot weather. In fact, it got so hot that my face was covered with these really small grainy particles which I think were salt pockets left behind from my dried up sweat. Yes, I was perspiring profusely, and was losing way too much body fluids which I think contributed to the cramping of my thigh muscles. Well, after all was said and done, I eventually made it to the finish line thanks to the efforts of the Peloton. For those who don't know what a Peloton is, it is basically a group of riders riding together in single file so that the group can go faster as a whole than one could do individually. The person at the front uses the most energy because s/he is putting the most effort to fight wind resistance, and every one behind is following really close (inches apart wheel-to-wheel) to draft off the person in front so as to take advantage of the wind disturbance created by the person in front. Pretty cool stuff and let me tell you it really does work! At one point I was going 9 mph, but I managed to get behind this group of 10 cyclists and in a matter of seconds, I was going 22 mph with almost no effort on my part. Sweet! When it was my turn to be at the front of the group...well...let's just say I wasn't there for too long. heheh.