May 08, 2021

THE RISE OF PETER THE GREAT AND NEAR FALL OF YOURS DIESEL

AS I HUSTLED MY WAY UP GMR TODAY I WONDERED IF THE GREAT PETER SAGAN hadn't put his stamp on the Tour of California his first year as a pro, would he have had the support to do all he's done as a pro...

... did they know what a gem they had in the young MTB Champion? That he would go on to win the ToC on this very climb a few years later, and so much more?

All I remember is here is this 20ish year old kid whacking the pros day after day for the sprint finishes... and as I recall, smashing the final climb up to Big Bear.

I mean, who decides if a young star is going to be a superstar or an incredible domestic?

What if he'd been told to haul bottles back and forth every stage?

Was he hauling bottles and still stomping it at the end?

I dunno...

... but I do know, watching Tadej and Remco gives me the same feeling.

These bright, young talents have unlimited power and recover in the shift of an e-tap.

Which explains why I had so much to mull all this over, because when the 8 of us took off together I was quickly shot out the back...

... how could I fall for the old It'll be fun, we'll just cruise it?

I shoulda known, these are my friends and this is what we do. Lie like helk just to make sure we'll all do the ride.

Quickly my list of excuses grew: end of giant week, at end of big block, riding the gravel bike with road wheels is still slower, poor sleep last night...

... oh it was a long list, and total utter bullshnyte.

All things considered, it was actually a respectable time.

But, here's where we need to take a moment and consider how things went the rest of the ride and make a few notes for next time.

First, the wind was really howling at the top. The road wheels are ENVE 5.6's and I was being pushed all over the place. Exiting a fast sweeper...

... I was blown onto the shoulder and into the gravel, at speed! Gotta be careful when it's blowing like that when running the deep dishes.

Second, right after that one of the guys yells Todd, you're wheel is spraying sealant all over. This is good and possibly bad. Good that I had plenty of sealant, coulda been bad if it didn't seal. I stopped to check. Plenty pressure, hole sealed...

... however, I noticed I was missing a chunk of tread. I'd checked the tread a few days before, it was fine. But now it was clearly not fine. In fact, potentially fatal if it blew in a turn. I ignored my cyclesense last night that was telling me to check the treads again.

I wasn't going to ignore my cyclesense anymore...

... with that shoddy tread and wind blowing me around I kept my speed in check the rest of the way.

Peter and Remco will be tearing up the Giro... and I'll be replacing my worn out after many miles Pirelli rear tire, and adding Orange Seal sealant.

https://pedalindustries.com/collections/giro-specials