Wolfpack. Done.
A month ago I took the photo on the right after attempting my first Wolfpack Hustle ride. I wrote about it that night, about how friends told me I was insane for even considering trying it, and about how it was definitely far beyond my capabilities, but not completely out of reach. The Wolfpack rides every Monday, and in the last month I’ve gone on every one of them, including the All City Century (a 100 mile ride of which I completed about 30 miles of). I haven’t finished one of the rides, usually getting dropped after the second stop or so.
Until tonight. I and about 5 other people took a minor shortcut at the very beginning after getting caught at a light and caught up with the pack right away. We made it from Sunset and Fountain (in Silver Lake) to Washington and La Cienega in 30 minutes flat. Another rider getting a flat between there and the Staples Center gave me a few extra minutes to catch up, and catch my breath. Just north of Chinatown my luck went the other way, I’d fallen behind and lost sight of the pack, I missed a turn and rode several miles before consulting my GPS and seeing my error, and then turning around and getting back on track. At this point I was definitely dead last, cruising up Riverside all by myself when I got hit by a car. I had a green light, there was a woman in a car stopped at the red light, she looked right at me, and pulled out right into me. Luckily she was coming from a complete stop and only hit me at about 5mph, but still. She had no license plate, and hauled ass the moment she realized what she’d done. Shortly there after I called a friend who I knew was still with the bulk of the pack and he reported they were just nearing the finish now. Getting hit by a car gave me the extra shot of adrenalin I needed to book it the rest of the way back to Tang’s. If that hadn’t happened I probably would have broken off as I rode past my house. Instead I finished the ride. I came in dead last, about 20 minutes after everyone else, but I finished it. Doorstep to doorstep, total for the night looks to be 43 miles. Oh, and I did that on a fixed gear.
I’m in so much pain right now, and I couldn’t be happier.
10 Comments, Comment or Ping
Steve Woolf
jesus, man. what hurts exactly?
Nov 13th, 2007
Tom Bridge
Congrats on finishing the ride, man, but OW. I’ve been hit by cars twice on a bike, both at low speed (sub 5mph, usually someone who forgot that bikes exist…) and it’s always enough to jar me out of whack for a few days…
Ouch. Feel better. Ice & Ibuprofen…
Nov 13th, 2007
Sean Bonner
Sorry for the confusion, I don’t hurt from the car, that was minor and just annoying. It’s my muscles, thighs, chest, arms, etc that are just super pissed at how far I pushed them. Sleep = better
Nov 13th, 2007
greg cohn
I think that was your guardian angeleno!
Nov 13th, 2007
krystyn
I cannot believe you kept going after getting lost AND getting hit by a car. Ok, so let me rephrase that. I, being the woos that I am, would have definitely used getting hit by a car as an excuse to hitch a ride back to Silverlake, wander into Spaceland, and numb the pain with drinks and music. ^_^
Nov 13th, 2007
BWJones
Hey, nice Chrome bag. They make nice gear.
Nov 13th, 2007
Micki Krimmel
you are a superhero
Nov 13th, 2007
Will Campbell
Didn’t know you got hit! Glad you’re OK.
Nov 13th, 2007
Kath
SHE LEFT!!??
What a bitch. Karma will find her.
Congrats on the finish.
Nov 13th, 2007
mjk
i was reading about the new york peeps attempting a jack-move on the wolfpack hustle name, got all excited, googled “fuck new york” and wouldn’t you know it your blog comes up first with a bad video link.
i rode the hustle that night, too, and in fact i got to hear this story first-hand post ride. glad you made it back to tangs in one piece, what with all the mayhem.
see you in traffic.
Nov 17th, 2007
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