After working in the office all day at the dura office in Darmstadt, I couldn’t wait to get outside. I had been continually looking out at the brigh sun and the blue skies, and feeling the warm wind blowing through the open windows in our office. At around 6pm, I snuck out of the office, and…the heat from the sun felt great on my arms- it was warm, but not hot. There was a soft breeze blowing, but not too much. It was one of those perfect days.
Mountain bike (the
I drove the 1km back to the hotel from the office, and practically ran upstairs to my room. I changed into my garish orange Sette Nove kit, and went back down the parking garage to get my rental bike out of the rental car. Out of the dark parking garage, I rode the steep, slick cement into the sun and light. It felt … good.
Out into the brightness and heat I pedaled. I quickly covered the first 10 minutes past the Polizei office and the T-Mobile forest.
T-Mobile forest is still beautiful
My first decision – stay in the forest, or head out across the open fields? The sun on my shoulders made that choice easy – stay in the sun as long as possible, and as much as possible. I pedaled towards Gernsheim. It was the right choice – I just enjoyed the warm wind, the hot sun, and the cranking of the pedals. As I made it to the outskirts of Gernsheim, I decided to try to head south and go towards the Alsbach Schloss. There is a nice trail alongside the road, and I followed it, turning my cadence up higher and higher, still feeling very good.
One of the highligts of this ride was when I passed 2 guys on time-trial bikes and skinsuits and in full TT positions! I came off of a small side trail and started riding from Gernsheim towards Alsbach alongside a perfectly smooth road on the berm. It was with the wind, and slightly downhill, and I was beginning to worry about beating the sunset home, so … I upped the cadence, the gears, and my speed. I didn’t really pay attention to the 2 bikers in front of me until I went past them, and noticed first that they were on road bikes, and then realized they were on TT bikes! Wow, now that is embarrasing…getting pass by a guy on a softail MTB with running shoes and regular pedals on.
Both of them came after me immediately. One passed me, and as I jumped into his draft, the second guy got into my draft. After about 500 meters, I couldn’t stay with #1, so I left go. Now, #2 was still trying to draft off of me, so I zigged and zagged, making it impossible for him to do so 
.
Pumpkins or Zucchini?
After this hard effort, I ended up slowing down and just enjoying the rest of the ride at an easier, comfortable pace. All-in-all, it was a great 50+km ride and 2+ hours.
Filed under: Cycling
