Monday, November 15, 2004
Flagstaff and the Monkey - Rare Sighting on Ride!
Today on Flagstaff I witnessed something I had only heard rumors of
before, never having seen it first hand. I saw Matson ride up Flagstaff
without attacking. I'm not saying it's never happened, but I hadn't seen
it. Sure, the last time we rode Matson went back for Ed, but only after
going hard with Mark Schwab for the first 4+ minutes. Unable to break
Mark, he turned down to ride with Ed. Today he didn't even try to break
me, but didn't turn around either to find his buddy Jay.
Okay, attack is a bit strong. Let's say he didn't even ride his "tempo"
pace. We rode a very reasonable 18:30 - my first time over 17 minutes
since the spring. He was telling me about how he and HC had ripped up
Carter Lake the day before and about his run early that morning, so maybe
that's what it takes for Matson to ride at pace where a mere mortal can
ride with him and not hurt too badly. Seriously. How often have any of you
ridden with Matson and kept up without hurting? This was the first time
ever for me. Could he be mellowing? Doubtful. Best bet is to catch him on
his second workout of the day!
His buddy Jay is about Matson's size, maybe bigger. I look like a hobbit
next to these two. Jay apparently doesn't like hills and has never ridden
Flagstaff before. He hits it hard right at the bottom and leads Matson and
I for the first minute or two. I'm thinking he's either a complete sandbagger
or he's a very optimistic rider. Or maybe he thought Flagstaff was only a
two minute climb? Either way we didn't see him again after those two minutes
and Matson suspected he turned around and bailed at some point since we didn't
see him on the way down either. It turns out he did go by ust at the Amphitheater turn-off and he ended up doing SuperFlag! What a stud! Jay might not love the hills yet, but he clearly has the mentality for it.
I was just barely able to send the Monkey Traverse today. Sort of a low
energy day. Man, it was beautiful out and so warm at the Monkey! Of course it
was a bit chilly riding down Flagstaff, but a fun lunch outing.
before, never having seen it first hand. I saw Matson ride up Flagstaff
without attacking. I'm not saying it's never happened, but I hadn't seen
it. Sure, the last time we rode Matson went back for Ed, but only after
going hard with Mark Schwab for the first 4+ minutes. Unable to break
Mark, he turned down to ride with Ed. Today he didn't even try to break
me, but didn't turn around either to find his buddy Jay.
Okay, attack is a bit strong. Let's say he didn't even ride his "tempo"
pace. We rode a very reasonable 18:30 - my first time over 17 minutes
since the spring. He was telling me about how he and HC had ripped up
Carter Lake the day before and about his run early that morning, so maybe
that's what it takes for Matson to ride at pace where a mere mortal can
ride with him and not hurt too badly. Seriously. How often have any of you
ridden with Matson and kept up without hurting? This was the first time
ever for me. Could he be mellowing? Doubtful. Best bet is to catch him on
his second workout of the day!
His buddy Jay is about Matson's size, maybe bigger. I look like a hobbit
next to these two. Jay apparently doesn't like hills and has never ridden
Flagstaff before. He hits it hard right at the bottom and leads Matson and
I for the first minute or two. I'm thinking he's either a complete sandbagger
or he's a very optimistic rider. Or maybe he thought Flagstaff was only a
two minute climb? Either way we didn't see him again after those two minutes
and Matson suspected he turned around and bailed at some point since we didn't
see him on the way down either. It turns out he did go by ust at the Amphitheater turn-off and he ended up doing SuperFlag! What a stud! Jay might not love the hills yet, but he clearly has the mentality for it.
I was just barely able to send the Monkey Traverse today. Sort of a low
energy day. Man, it was beautiful out and so warm at the Monkey! Of course it
was a bit chilly riding down Flagstaff, but a fun lunch outing.
