Yesterday on my 20mi daily ride my riding partner Bill and I head out into a strong 15-20mph wind. Bill says let's take it easy today and I agree, we rode hard in the same wind yesterday and my legs are tight. We finish the first of two loops and as we come around a corner we see a lone rider about 1/2 mi ahead. We have the wind to our backs and are warmed up and Bill who is in the lead says he is going to chase. We spin up to 23/24mph and start closing the gap. The rider looks behind and sees us, he does not want to be caught and starts to speed up. He is strong and starts to pull away but there are two of us and we know that when we turn into the cross wind we will have some advantage. We make the turn and I swing to take the pull, the rabbit has slowed a bit and at 21/22mph I am starting to close the gap, I swing to the back and Bill takes the front, he is stronger than me and increases the speed to 23mph. Now we believe in the next mile we should catch the rider and as we are feeling good a glance to my left and a lone rider goes past us like we are standing still! The chasers were being chased and have been caught and dropped like anchors.

But we don't get dropped easily we go after this guy, I look down 24, 26, 28mph and we have his wheel. My mind is screaming at me, 'you have the next pull and it is directly into the wind, you are going to die'. We make the next turn into the wind and like a wall it stands me up, the rider that passed us moves away and we all catch the rider we were originally chasing. He sees his chance and grabs the wheel of the guy as he goes by and the two of them ride off leaving Bill and I to suffer the wind. We all come together at the next light they are heading left, we go right. We all wave and the game is over, we loose, the Agony of Defeat it is.