Sunday, a day of rest.

The plan: Meet Dominic at 8:00am for a 50+ mile training ride. Nothing too serious,just some miles in the legs. The plan comes apart: I'm LATE, its 8:10am, I see Dominic a 1/4 mile up the road already; NEW PLAN, see if I can catch him. After 15 miles averaging 24 mph, SOLO (nice east tailwind) The "Dominator" has increased the gap to about 1/2 mile and is ACCELERATING, I'm going 27 mph thru middletown past the ammo plant, STILL losing ground! Can't hold at 27 mph for much longer. When my heartrate monitor starts blinking,its cause my max. rate is above 190 BPM's, or I'm in cardiac arrest. My "base miles" ride has become a TT! Did I mention that I am in winter clothes? Cause its 52 degrees, but now I'm sweating like a horse! New Plan: Dominic heads thru Geode State Park, I take the "short cut" around Geode to the dam. Now I'm waiting for him and FREEZING, we head for Hwy 218, still have a nice tailwind and I have a wheel to follow now. We meet "Farmer Bob" at a gas station, he remarks "I hope you boys get wet, we need the rain" ,he gets his wish, its starting to sprinkle now. Dom hits the gas and while I'm coughing up blood he's checking cell phone messages. The sky opens up, 35 miles left after the turn around, riding into the now 12-15 mph headwind, driving the rain into our faces, along with the roost from the bikes, SOAKED! GASSED! FREEZING! I'm about to get dropped on the flats of hwy 34!, My CAT-EYE shorts out with all the water, we had been doing about 21 mph when it died, Heart rate has been between 181 to 192 for 1/2 hour now, its all I can do to hold Nick's wheel. Hardly a drop of rain in Burlington, I'm wearing 50 pounds of cold soggy clothing and I can't feel my feet. An EPIC road ride???? For me, YES!