Earlier this morning:

Mile 3 of 9, Glendora Mountain Road. Mid-climb. 9mph. Heart rate at 165bpm. Was working, but not too hard. I told myself to take it easy today; to just stretch the legs. I was feeling meditative. I was thinking of taking my friend out on this same road to do some climbing. I can hear the steady rhythm of my breathing. The sound of the wind and the birds. The peace was suddenly broken by the sound of whizzing chains of a bicycle. I look left and I saw a rider all clad in black. He was riding a beautiful Bianchi. I yelled “nice!”, referring to his bicycle. He nodded his head and continued to pass me effortlessly. Now, I didn’t know what got into me but I got on his wheel and tried to follow his pace. My average speed went up to 10mph. My heart rate was up to 175, and my breathing became hard. He stood up and danced on the pedals. I did the same. He sat down and spun. I did the same. This went on for maybe a good 10 minutes. I tried to do everything I can to keep up with his pace. But it proved futile. He was like a locomotive. His legs spinning consistently at a high pace. Before I knew it, he was 10 feet away from me and a few seconds later, he just vanished. Then I was left by myself again. The sound of the my breathing, the wind, and the ticking of my freewheel keeping me company.