In a rush to get home after work, I pushed this one hard. No breaks. No pics. A lot of shifting. At the beginning of Rim Trail’s punchy climb from San Diego River Crossing Trail, I upshifted to 3rd for solid go up the loose tech. I crushed it and took a moment of easy spinning to recover. After feeling good about myself, the presence of someone’s momentum from behind had me rattled. Because ego, the immediate response was an inconspicuous very obvious and loud glance to the left. Hopeful for a massive yoke and downtube to confirm the momentum was eMTB powered, I was left confused when a dude on an analog bike scooted along at mach 3 with no sweat and no passing pleasantries. Not even a glance my way. The worst part? He wasn’t an XC guy. He had the same hip pack, socks, and baggy shorts as me. Worse, he rocked flat shoes. In a desperate move to retain loosening scraps of dignity, I upshifted and picked up speed to stay close to his wheel. And I did. I couldn’t escape wondering how this was so.
A few moments ago, recovery was necessary. Now I was racing. Was it as simple as competition? The need to be seen? To be better? Whatever the reason, it made me wonder how much I actually had left to give. Was I lying to myself about the effort until this chance encounter? Perhaps the next ride I’ll find out with an under 40 min attempt.