Never Not Chasing
The silence was split by the deafening hum of the rubber tires against the smooth pavement. The sun was hot on his back as he crested the top of the arduous, hour-long climb. The fat beads of sweat stung his eyes. He squinted and groaned, feeling as if he’d lost time. He’d been chasing the entire afternoon.
The lactic acid ate away at his thighs and his lungs desperately demanded oxygen, a constant line of feedback that this chase was more than just a mind game. His legs longed to stop, but his heart ached to gain ground. To go a little faster. Further.
He pushed on. This couldn’t be his limit. It can’t be. There was still more to give.
As the grade of the road began to relent, he found his mind and body at odds once again. A quick glance at his drivetrain told him to shift into a harder gear. To close the gap, The sensation of pain in his legs told him to slow down. To ease off.
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He removed a bottle from its cage and took a small sip before moving his rear derailleur into a harder gear. The chain rattled before falling into the sprocket and the hum of resumed. He took another sip of the tepid water. He’d have to be careful. His other bottle was empty and there was still a long way to go. Still a considerable gap to close.
The descent came into sight and he moved his hands down into the drops of his leather-wrapped handlebars. The wind whipped by as he picked up speed, cooling the pools of sweat across his jersey. His chain rattled again as he shifted into his heaviest gear, quickly pushing himself into maximum speed as he weaved between the trees, watching the short white strips meld into one continuous line for him to trace all the way down. There was no telling how big the gap was now.
His pedal strokes became meaningless as he became lost in the flow of the descent, tucking his body into the position offering maximum speed. He knew the last stretch would offer a series of challenging rolling hills that would push him to his very ceiling. Or was it his floor?
That’s the curiosity of limits. He was never sure if he was asking for the very best of himself or the very last drop. There were moments where he felt like a child, coaxing himself to reach that last little bit to touch the bottom of the pool before desperately clawing to the top for air. Other times, finding his limit breaking through a series of ceilings before finally realizing there were no more ceilings to breakthrough. At least, no more ceilings on that day.
As he reached the bottom of the descent, he looked out and saw the series of rolling hills laid out before him. As he coasted out from the tree-covered descent, his shadow reappeared, just ahead of him, as always.
He stood on the pedals and sprinted into the first hill. The gap was as wide as it always was. He would always be chasing.
