Friday is my day off (and Saturday), so I wake up early to ride with the road junkies who must put in their mandatory 30 training miles before work. On Key Biscayne at 7:00 am you meet a lot of interesting characters. I am hiding behind a tree trying to take a furtive wizz, when along comes a small contingent of riders (8 or 9). I rush to chase them down and finally I do. In this group is the very lovely and very strong Susan on her late model Cologno. Also in this group is a man claiming to have been a Cuban National cycling champ in 1954. He is riding some brand new aluminumb something or other Giant. His riding partner is riding an Eddy Merckx mid 80's steel lugged bike that has been tortured with a carbon fiber fork and Sti shifters. Susan says " thank god you got rid of that silly fork and the those shifters on the frame". What???? Did this guy suddenly get faster, just because his ride now sports a carbon fiber fork, and a different method of shifting? Give me a break!
Well we are tooling along at a fair pace, and I am right along with the pace even though with my downtube shifters and steel fork, in their minds I might as well be dragging a boat anchor behind me. Full race pace going up the overpass is 18 to 20 mph, and I must admit that I have never been able to keep up with the early morning fast training ride that always is in that range. But today I am so pissed off that I look down and see that we are taking the bridge at 18 plus mph, and I feel today that I could, and should go for a breakaway sprint and drop this pack of high tech sprocket jockeys. Better judgment prevails, as I realize that no matter what speed I hit (21-- 22 etc) up this hill, someone faster and younger, probably riding a Titanium Litespeed, will take the challenge and one better me. I hold back, but wonder why when we crest that no one goes into shock to see that me and my antiquated steed are still with the group.
Later in the morning, a rider and local shop owner remarks that I would be so much faster with the advantages of modern technology. "Modern frames, gearing, brakes, shifting, wheels etc etc etc..... Blah blahblah ablah....... so much better, faster, more blah for the buck..... reliability and blah ."
Am I living in the twilight zone? Did the pod people come and take over, while I slept? Why do people believe all this blah without question? Ben Franklin said :" If everyone thought the same, No one would be thinking." Is it like this everywhere in the country? Is California any different? Garth Libre in Pod people land in So. Florida.