Some days I don't have it. Some days I almost do.

Been riding pretty regularly lately. That doesn't really mean much, since it means I regularly ride 15 or so miles per day, three days per week to take the little ones to school.

But I also get out to the track with Noah once a week, and that is starting to be more of a workout. I do some pacing or some sort of set of intervals with him, and as soon as we finish his set, I'll take off on a two lap "flyer" of my own. It is something, I guess.

About two weeks ago I went on the Sunday ride for the first time in months. My goal was to simply make it with the group to Hilltop. For whatever reason, I bridged across to a break just before the hills. The break was brought back, but the effort I made to get there didn't allow me much recovery time as the hills came. But I did make it to Hilltop, and proudly sat up and let the group ride away. I have no idea if I could have stayed with the group.

That's not true. I would have been dropped like Buddy would drop a brussel sprout if Mama brought cookies to the table.

Anyway, I suited up for the Sunday ride again today. No real reason to expect anything more, but I made the goal of getting over Hilltop with the front group today. And that is what I did. Though, I was caught behind some folks who let gaps open up or who were being dropped, so getting over with the group was dang hard. In fact, I spent about half of that hill chasing and just caught the tailings as we crested the top. Then I let it loose on the downhill section to put myself in a more respectable spot.

When we got to the stop sign at the bottom of the hill, I thought about carrying on with the group. I started planning where I could realistically hang on and thinking about where I would realistically have trouble if I kept up with the better end of things.

But a washed out bridge and road construction sent us on a detour. And that detour took in a hill that I wasn't ready to roll over. Oh, I probably would have made it with the group, but Hassan attacked there.

I was faced with two options as I saw it. Both options required me to shift gears. The racer in me wanted to shift to a harder gear and go. The other option required shifting with the left hand (to a much easier gear in the little chainring).

The wuss won out.

I saw Hassan carry on up the road, and the first person to go after him was wearing a Texas Cup Champ jersey.

Lazily over the hill and the rejects started coming by me. Then I started to feel all bad about myself.

Suddenly, I was inspired. I could see the leading group, and if I got after it right then, and if I could enlist some reject help, and if the leading group would let off the gas just a little, I knew I could get back in there with the real racers.

So I got the bike in the big ring, stood up, and made about 10 revolutions of the crank before I went to the little ring and sat back down.

I rolled in with a few folks who talked about how Hilltop didn't seem as hard today. Thanks.

Something ate at me about sitting up (twice), so I tried to guess where to meet up with the group to ride it in and get more "racing" action. I guessed the wrong way and assumed I missed them, so I simply head towards the house (we live just after the "finish" of the "race" part of the ride).

About two miles from the finish, Hassan and a sometime riding buddy, Mad Dog Thompson came flying by. They were off the front of the race group, but none of the four or five people limping in with me believed me. Especially since the pack wasn't in sight at all. A couple minutes later, though, the pack did come by, and they were going twice as fast as the two leaders.

So I took a short cut so I could see my boy win the sprint. He did stay away with Mad Dog, but they rolled across the line holding hands, sharing the "win." No, Hassan is not gay. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Nobody should get too worked up about some group ride "win," but this is the Sunday Ride, and it is one of the bigger deals of such rides. Maybe it is a Metroplex phenomenon, but the fact is, The Assassin raced well today. No upgrade points, and no cash payout, but it for sure shows that he's been doing his homework.

Our home routine is pretty established. I'm not likely to get away with evening group rides in the near future, if ever, but knowing that Hassan went from training and racing very well to very nearly losing a year of racing, and then coming back again...I'm insprired.

I may have to ride at 5am to get it done, but I want to be back with the front group again. Mostly because I don't want to have to argue with the dropped people about who is in the break.