Chapter 18 First Team Practice in Memorial
This chapter is from Chet's POV. Author's note: Before the comments come in, the cycling rules have been significantly adapted by the author to reflect possibilities within the Houston environment and the story line. Like the story, the rules are figments of my imagination. Don't bother with search engines. It really is fiction. Copyright 2023, all rights reserved. All individuals portrayed in sexual acts are over 18. BD
Saturday mornings in Houston's Memorial Park were the time and place for an urban happening--ten months of the year. The park wasn't wide in most places--really two extended embankments of Buffalo Bayou near downtown in the east to the far western suburbs where it was miles wide. Major east-west commuter routes were north and south of and occasionally through the park. It was also criss-crossed by north-south city streets, many tunneled. Plenty of greenery, bridal, hiking and running paths could be found--but nothing commercial (except for the fringe food and beverage trucks) which made it almost unique in Texas--where commercial interests and private property typically trump parkland and public spaces everywhere. Texas parks are typically borders of development, flood water catch basins, and islands in the midst of multi-story buildings. But not Memorial--except for a few blocks downtown, Memorial was surrounded by wealthy residential areas and very few high rises. It had been carefully preserved and sculpted with hills, streams, bridges, landscaped and wooded areas--all to create the illusion of the hill country in the city. Thus, on Saturdays, it was one of most densely packed recreational areas in South Texas--the bayou was not swimmable and there wasn't even a beach!
It was so busy that the "county fathers" of Harris County had begun to parcel out use: prohibiting most motorized vehicles on weekends, designating some areas for picnics, hosting marathons and shorter "fun" runs, and creating cycling meccas. It was the latter which was of interest to the Rice team. A cycling track (most of which was commuter road during the week) of almost twenty miles, an irregular long oval had been marked out. It was assigned to a half-dozen clubs for several hours each week on Saturday or Sunday. Rice Cycling Club, being the most prestigious in town and one of the oldest, got a prime time: 8 to 11 on Saturdays. Other cyclists could use the track before or after the assigned times (but not during the week because the horrible traffic situation in Houston had made blocking the cross streets impossible on weekdays). Otherwise, there were more than 100 miles of biking trails, mostly separated from motor traffic for casual cyclists.
By 8, RCC's tent was set up and its three vans had arrived with athletes and their bikes and gear. Mechanics, support staff, and spectators arrived separately but parked in the same location. Thus, even before 8, about 50 people were milling about, sipping at water, energy boosters or coffee. The groupies typically rolled in around 9 or a little later.
The RCC routine was set--and explained briefly to all since the club now had several new members. The twelve riders would be divided into two teams of six--by lot. Team A started promptly at 8:10 and Team B at 8:20. Each was expected to complete two circuits of the oval in about 90 to 110 minutes. Sprinting by one cyclist was discouraged--rather the teams were expected to support the captain and ride in a loose formation until the final sprint--typically the last two or three miles--essentially trying to duplicate meet conditions. Then for the next hour, the eight "regulars" would rehearse the maneuvers which had been blackboarded earlier that week--on the adjacent shorter track which was reserved for their use from 10 to 11. Coaches filmed--and the films would be watched and critiqued later Saturday morning at the clubhouse. Everyone cleared the area by 11 and the vans returned to the clubhouse. Everything disbanded before 1.
I realized that this system was not perfect. The entire team rarely was given the opportunity to practice and ride together. But more importantly, no one was required to ride the full 100 miles that made up the average competition meet. However, once meets started (in two weeks), almost every Saturday was taken up by a meet--so the Memorial "practice" became almost irrelevant after the season began.
So RCC relied on the "honor practice system"--each team member was required to ride a consecutive 100 miles at least once each week, alone or with a small group at racing speed. Times, places and distances were recorded. The Amazon vans would be very useful in transporting 2 or 3 team members outside Harris County for such occasions. Chet hoped Rice would approve their use soon.
Just before 8 a.m., Teams A and B were announced. By tradition I would captain Team A. The next best time holder would captain Team B--the current holder of that title being Jean Marc, an excellent rider from France, by way of Southern California. Lots were drawn. Janet ended up on my team. Both Peter and Reg ended up on Team B.
I had concluded that Reg was going to go after Peter, but I didn't know exactly what that meant. I hadn't had time to warn Pete. We might know more in a few hours.
We started at exactly 8:10 to the sound of the gun. I felt good and set a pace of just under 22 mph. No one should fall back at that speed. It was a cool overcast morning and we made excellent time. We were about half way down the north side of the oval when we heard the second gun. Everything seemed to go as planned. Just about 87 minutes later, I crossed the line--not my best time, but pretty good: 23.7 mph. Every member crossed the line within the next 60 seconds--which meant our team score would also be very good.
Just about ten minutes later, Team B reached the line--but the front sprinter was not Jean Marc, but Reg, virtually tied with Pete. Reg finished at 23 flat Pete at 22.8 and Jean Marc at 22.6--all terrific times. The entire team score was slightly better than Team A.
(Some will find the scoring a bit confusing: In cycling, at least in our conference, the fastest mph (or kph) over the entire course is best. This permits staggered starts and multiple heats. The individual score is the length of the course divided by the time in minutes and seconds to complete it.)
The groupies had descended on us. Nicole was there and came up and laced her arm through mine. "Great performance, babe." She reached up and kissed me on the cheek. With her hand concealed by her embrace, she palmed my dick outside my compression shorts--so I had to embrace her to cover my responsive semi. Last year we had been an item, but the intensity of our relationship had just fallen off. We didn't break up; just stopped "seeing" each other, and I had heard she was after a graduate student in French literature.
So I was surprised with her approach. "How have you been Nicole? Thanks. I've been working hard."
"I can tell--and so can the timekeepers." Backing up and staring down my body to my crotch, she added, "And your body is even more cut than it was last spring and more tempting, I might add."
"That's mostly lack of food--that happens when you run out of money."
"I don't believe that for a minute. You look great and I know you spent the summer with Rebecca. But I do like the hungry look."
"Just so there is no rumor starting here. I did not spend the summer
with
Rebecca; she's engaged to my former roommate. She is just a friend and her family had a garage apartment they let me use for the summer. We haven't dated except a few times freshman year. We are not a couple."
"Hey. Don't get excited. I'm just joking. But, you do look really great. Can we get together?"
"Sure, but I'm still trying to figure everything out. Rice bumped me from Wheeler and I had to find a roommate and an apartment. I'm just moving in now. Then we had to reconstitute the team, and Nelson resigned. I've got a lot on my plate--and it's not food. Let's give it a few weeks."
"Well, I plan to be in San Antonio--and I will have a hotel room. It's been too long. And you're one year closer to the French Gran Prix."
"I've got to run--I'm expected at the clubhouse to run the replays. No promises about San Antonio. As captain, I'm expected to bunk with the team."
"We'll find a way."
It had been a great start to the cycling year. The coaches were glowing. Reg looked over at me, deliberately sucked a few fingers into his mouth and adjusted his dick in his shorts, running his tongue over his wet lips--not very subtle, but I don't think anyone else caught it. Later I heard him tell Pete that they both would have beaten my time if they weren't in supporting formation behind Jean Marc for most of the race. It was obvious he waited to speak until he knew I could hear--and spoke loudly enough that several others did as well. Dissing a champ like Jean Marc was not done. Pete was silent. I presume both of them had witnessed the scene with Nicole.
Later at the clubhouse, we reviewed the films, and the coaches pointed out some potential fouls and some strategic missteps. It was obvious that Reg was responsible for several, but no one used names when critiquing. As we finished up, we headed for the lockers. I pulled Pete aside and asked to speak with him alone. He said he was going to lunch with Reg, but he would call me later--unless it's urgent. "No. I'll talk to you later. Be careful of Reg." He looked at me with a quizzical expression before turning to the showers. I skipped the shower and rode the bike to the condo, knowing that Geoff was probably waiting.