40km and how patience ends in gold
Early in the Alabama Senior Olympics road race the voice behind me said, “Hey guys: we’re it.” I looked back down the half-mile flat and couldn’t see anyone. Unintentionally we had built an insurmountable gap. Then the race got really small — me, Kurt (who set a world record by riding 76,076 miles in one year), and Kevin. On a small rise I drifted back; Kurt noticed and let me catch up. Three against the wind is better than two. In the last mile he was looking back again, this time wondering if I would attack. I didn’t; he did. I came around and won. We replayed the race. Had he attacked on the last hill he probably would have created a winning gap. But he didn’t. I was the beneficiary of that decision and his earlier help.
You race your race, but decisions others make can decide the finish.
