The Break

Hockey was much better on Sunday night this week. We had more of the regulars there, so the teams were more evenly matched. I didn't score this week (although I got close, from almost the same spot), but I played much better. Last week it seemed like I could couldn't catch a pass or handle the puck to save my life. On the topic of puck handling, a guy at work pointed me to this website. The previews for his stickhandling DVD's are worth watching.

Last night was one of my only nights this week with no commitments after work, so I went out to the track to ride with the Rhinos. My plan was to go easy, since I had a lot of time (and go hard on other days this week when I don't have as much time). For the most part, I accomplished that. I didn't do the time trial at the beginning of the formal group ride, and I generally just rode around at a pretty easy pace.

At the end of the night though, we did a short race. I lined up with the "A's and fast B's", since that's really where I belong (given that we split into only A's and B's). My plan was just to sit in the whole race and not contest anything. So, the race was 4 laps, and we were in neutral for the first half lap. I ended up around 6th or 7th position when we really started, and I just tucked into the group. My plan was working fine. Rob attacked about 2/3 of the way through the lap, and no one went with him. Once Rob came back, Matt made a little attack, but he didn't get far either. The pace was gradually picking up and the group was stringing out as we finished the first lap, but it was still reasonably comfortable for me.

When we hit the hill on the second lap, Mark W and Matt went hard. It sort of looked like it wasn't going to be a big attack at first, but it was. Being the scrawny guy that I am, I got up the hill pretty fast without much effort. At the top of the hill, I looked out and saw Mark and Matt were opening a big gap. There was one other guy with them and a 4th that looked like he was bridging the gap. I was at the front of the rest of the group. Since Mark and Matt were arguably the fastest guys out there, I decided that this was probably "the move", so I buried it to try to join the break. (What was that about taking it easy?) It was a pretty big effort, but I bridged the gap. I also did the right thing in the process by not stopping when I made it to the 4th guy, who hadn't quite caught on, but by continuing until I caught the break myself. That 4th guy never did catch on. I knew I was in trouble almost immediately after I caught the break. The other 3 guys had a little paceline going, and every time someone would pull through, there'd be a tiny surge that threatened to drop me. I hung on for the rest of the second lap and for the start of the third, but I knew there was no way I was going to hang on to these guys much longer. At this point, I remembered how this was supposed to be a relatively easy day, so I sat up, pulled off and did a little cooldown in the infield.

It would have been fun to hang on to the break a little longer (although I suspect they could have ratcheted up the speed a few more notches), but I just wasn't close to being strong enough to do it. Still, it was a good way to open up the legs a little, and I felt somewhat gratified that I correctly identified and responded to the winning move, even though I couldn't really do anything once I got there.