This past Sunday I rode the Myrtle Beach Marathon Metric Century. My goal was to finish the 100K in 3 hours or less. Having finished well the last two years I aimed once again to be the first across the ‘finish’ line… It’s a timed ride and yes, I know, I’ve raced Pro-Am successfully for several years now and shouldn’t be ‘racing’ timed rides. I’m not too proud though, its good motivation and my in-laws that live in Myrtle Beach like to see me hit it hard each year.
Mind you, the last two years were indeed timed. This year not so as to discourage racing. Yeah, right… 350 cyclists in February… they’re not gonna treat it as a race… After averaging 23+ miles per hour in heavy cross-winds and 255 watts for the first 45 minutes it was clear the race was ON.
So what’s my point…?
After whittling the lead group down to about 1o guys, this one long-haired muscular kid (at first I thought it was a sick-strong girl!) kept drilling it and attacking… Finally with about 20K to go he went up the road… 3 seconds… 5 seconds… 10 seconds… more! Uh-oh…
Yes, the race was on and somehow I managed to get across (thankfully his team-mates helped in the chase; I was surprised by that!). After reaching him it took every ounce of focus and will to stay with this young stud… His acceleration as we traded pulls about popped me off every time and I couldn’t help but think… ‘If he jumps even moderately hard just once I am G-O-N-E’.
He didn’t, even though I sensed he was ready to pound and pounce my ’spot of bother’ -body into the ground… We rode to the finish together.
Was the goal of 3 hours met? Yes, 2:45… I talked with my finish companion to learn a couple very interesting things:
1) Been riding for 1.5 years
2) Cat. 5 and has never raced
3) Rides 350 miles a week ‘because I love riding’
4) Finished the 2009 Assault on Mt. Mitchell in under 6 hours
5) Going to race Hincapie Spring Series the next 3 weeks
…by the way, his name is Johnny Mitchell. How fitting is that!
Oh, God, please tell me you didn’t do this… he’s hard enough to ride with anyway, and you had to go and call him a “young stud?” (At least you threw in the bit about looking like a girl…)
Hell, the only reason we were helping to chase was so that we wouldn’t have to listen to him afterwards! Since I really don’t think it can get any worse, I might as well throw a few more logs on the fire.
He really did finish Mitchell in under six hours in his first shot… what he left out was that he would’ve done better if he hadn’t burnt most of his matches in a 3-man, 30-mile breakaway that beat the rest of us in the “lead” group to Marion by 10 minutes.
He has raced before (albeit on a 1-day license)… he actually led out of the final turn in the 4/5 crit in Walterboro last year and ended up 4th… would’ve been 3rd, but he sat up under the promotional banner thinking it was the finish line.
Although he lives in Dillon (50+ miles west of Conway,) he drove to my house in Garden City Beach the morning of this ride and we rode the 20+ miles back to Conway for the start… he then rode back to my house afterwards for a total over 100. (I skipped the return trip, as I was busy picking asphalt and spandex out of my knee after a little mishap at mile 52; I was the guy on the black and green Trek.)
There, that should do it… it will be fun to watch him try to fit his head through the door at the bike shop next week…
Ryan,
Thanks for writing me! Glad you’re okay, my wife piled up and went to hospital… Better keep Johnny in check or he’ll be burned out before April arrives. Man he likes to ride his bike! I wish I liked it half as much.
coach Jim
Jim,
Hope your wife’s OK… was anything broken? Mine was very minor, except for the fact that I was wearing a brand-new Rapha jersey that my wife bought me for Christmas.
Good riding with you… Shaun and I will be up your way for the 2/27-28 Spring Series races along with Johnny, so maybe we’ll see you there. Good luck!
Ryan
I don’t even know what Ryan’s reply was yet, but don’t you guys know? Young people are invincible and nothing bad ever happens to us. Everyone also said I’d be burned out before the 2007 MB marathon, but that went ok
Nevertheless, Ryan is a constant source of draft for me, and for that I am thankful (unlike Shaun, who will sit on you, and just before his turn to lead you’ll look back and he’s floating towards the rear 
)