Chapter 26

Typically, Sunday morning is the one day I get to sleep in as there is no ride with the cycling team. I anticipate not being able to sleep in since I promised to spend the entire day with Carol.

You would think, if a girl is going to wake you up with sex, she would do it slow and sensual, not Carol. I wake up, and she is bouncing on me like there is no tomorrow. I expect half the house is awake with the screams of passion. At least she has learnt that when she is finished and collapses on top of me, she is to tilt her head to the side, so we don’t bang heads. It only took her breaking my nose and receiving a goose egg on her forehead to figure it out.

After she is finished and regained some energy, she asks, “Do you want to go again?”

“You will need to save your energy for today. I know you well enough to know not to plan a romantic date. You want to have fun.”

I look at the clock, and it is just after 7:30. I sit up and tell Carol, “Come on, get up. I wanted to be at the park when it opens, and that is in half an hour.”

“Which park? What are we doing?”

“Never you mind,” I say as I get up and drag her out of bed. “Come on. We need to shower. I’m not getting in my bike clothes all sticky.”

She is excited for the day to begin, so in the shower, she is all business. We wash each other, but it is more mechanical than sensual. Stepping out of the shower, I tell her, “I bought you a new cycling outfit. Put it on under your clothes.”

“Oh, goody. More birthday presents.”

We head to my room to get dressed. After this, we head to the dining room, where Dahlia has laid out a scrumptious breakfast. Everybody has been told to stay away from the house until after 8:30 when I know we will be gone.

“So, you get one girlfriend to set up a romantic meal for another. You have some nerve.”

“Stop teasing, and get eating. Just don’t eat too much. you are going to be sweating your ass off in less than an hour.”

“I asked if you wanted to get more sweaty while we were still in bed, and you said no.”

The rest of breakfast, we bantered back and forth. It is partially flirty and partially slinging shit at each other like you would do with the guys.

After breakfast, we get into the SUV, where Gun is waiting to drive us. On the back of the vehicle is a bike rack. Carol notices the rack, but she doesn’t see that the bikes on it are not the bikes we usually ride.

Getting out of the SUV at Goldstream Provincial Park, we head to the back of the vehicle to retrieve our bikes. Carol looks a bit confused as she says, “Those aren’t our bikes.”

“They are now.”

“Are you telling me that you brought us out here to trial a new road bike? Where the hell are we going to ride? You don’t go to a mountain to ride a road bike.”

“It’s a good thing they aren’t road bikes.”

“They sure the hell aren’t mountain bikes.”

“True, they are cyclocross bikes.”

“Cyclo what?”

I laugh, then reply, “In Europe, during the offseason, cyclists put their road bikes away and bring out their cyclocross bikes. That way, they get to practice without wrecking their good bike. The thing is, now there are races, and so, they don’t use cheap bikes anymore.”

“Are you trying to tell me that people take road bikes to mountain bike with?”

“Hardly, a cyclocross race is a bit of an obstacle race for cyclists. There are usually segments of the race that are uphill, downhill, road, off-road and obstacle. Part of the obstacle you carry your bike. You will notice the tires are slightly wider than on your road bike, and the bike is a little heavier. If you took a road bike on a cyclocross track, you would wreck it.”

Carol helped me take the bikes off the rack. Having pushed her bike to lean it up against the SUV, she comments, “This bike is as smooth as our road bikes, but I don’t see a hook up for the battery. For that matter, you said the bike would be heavier, but it is about the same weight.”

“The frame is heavier, but there is no battery. It’s an aluminum frame, so it is stronger. The bearings are neo-magnetic, so they don’t need batteries.”

“What is neo-magnetic?”

“Magnets made from neodymium. It is a rare earth magnet that is capable of forces over a thousand times its own weight. I had to make a deal with Sumitomo Special Metals. They developed the magnet in 1982, but I gave them a new way to make it. Their formula limited their magnets applications under 310 degrees centigrade. I gave them a way to better bond the metal, enabling it to remain unaffected up to 480 degrees. In 2033 they began using it in engines, but the formula for that version of the magnet was highly guarded, and I have no clue how to make it. Imagine an engine where the only friction is from the piston rings and the aerodynamic link within the labyrinth seals. You would get more work for the same amount of fuel. It also reduces engine temperature, increasing the efficiency of the engine.”

“I love it when you get all sciency like that, but we are here to have fun. You said this is an obstacle race. Show me the track so I can kick your ass.”

“I know that you don’t like wearing the helmet, knee and elbow pads when riding but I must insist you get geared up first. Part of the track is a downhill route. That means we are doing downhill on a bike with no suspension and relatively the same design as a road bike. We are going to crash a few times before we get it right.”

Reluctantly she agrees, and I pull two duffle bags out of the back of the SUV.

“A chest protector, really!!!”

“It is either that, or we pack everything back up, and you don’t get to be the first one to smash up one of our new bikes.”

It does look a little funny. We put on chest protectors, knee pads, shoulder pads and a BMX helmet over cycling spandex. Carol’s biggest complaint is the helmet. It is many times heavier than a road bike helmet and more cumbersome. When she is on her bike and ready to go, I hand her a pair of motocross goggles.

“Come on. Do I have to wear these things?”

“Part of the track is ungroomed deer trails. If you don’t wear the goggles, you will get branches in your face, and I don’t want you to lose an eye.”

There is a marked difference between kids today and those from the 2030s. In the late 80s - early 90s, kids don’t want safety equipment, often complaining that it is restrictive and won’t let them do what they want to do. In the 2030s, no kid thought about getting on a bike without at least a helmet. If they were riding on a mountain, they wanted as much gear as we are wearing.

I put my goggles on and mount my bike, saying, “Follow me.”

We turn right, off the road, onto the first trail heading up the mountain. It is a groomed hiking trail. Thankfully, these are likely the lightest bikes that this mountain has ever seen. It is the only reason we last any distance riding up the hill. After a short bit, I hear Carol yelling behind me, “I can’t go any farther.” The mountain trail is too steep, even for these bikes.

I get off my bike and put it on my shoulder before yelling back, “I guess that means we are carrying them the rest of the way.”

“You have got to be kidding.”

“I told you it is an obstacle course.”

A few more yards up the mountain and a mountain biker comes racing down the hill. As he passes Carol, he calls out, “You are crazy.” He thinks he sees a couple of road bikes. People here have no clue what cyclocross is.

At the top of the mountain, we stop to take in the view. I ask, “Do you want to sit and enjoy the view or do you want to get on with it?”

“Hell no. We are going. I didn’t carry the bike all the way up here to be miss prissy and sit on my ass.”

We start heading along the top of Mt. Finlayson. It is semi bike-friendly for a short bit, but the first leg of the downward trek is all slippery rock, and there is no way I would do it on a mountain bike, forget using a cyclocross bike. With bikes on shoulders, we head down.

I hear a scream behind me, and I turn just in time to see Carol sliding down beside me. I reach out and grab her. Thankfully, I was in a place with sure footing and can stop her. Her arm is wrapped in her bike, and there is no damage. She complains, “I wouldn’t have slipped If I wasn’t wearing all of this stuff, and I could see better.”

It isn’t long, and we are back on our bikes, speeding down the hill. I hear the sound of branches crashing behind me and then Carol screaming again. I hit my brakes and almost have an accident myself. Heading downhill, the centre of gravity is almost above my front wheel, and it wants to flip when the brakes are applied.

I am almost at the bottom when I get stopped.

Putting the bike back on my shoulder, I climb the hill to where Carol veered off the path. Looking down, I see her bike partway down with the front wheel beyond salvaging. I don’t see Carol.

The trail itself doesn’t have a place for me to leave my bike, so I take it down the hill a little way, and leave it in a tree, hanging by its front wheel.

When I get to Carol’s bike, I spot her wrapped around a tree, near the bottom of the hill. I call out to her, but all she does is moan back. Worried that she is hurt, I descend the hill as quickly as possible.

I get to her and ask, “Are you hurt,” as I start checking for injuries.

“Of course, I am hurt. I rolled down a mountain.”

She pushes me away, complaining, “What are you doing? I’m fine.” She sits up and takes her helmet off. She is wearing the biggest shit-eating grin I have ever seen as she asks, “Can we do that again?”

“I’m afraid not. We don’t have the parts to fix your bike.”

“Next time then.”

“Can you stand? We need to get out of here before Gun sends a search party and calls in the army.”

“Just give me a sec.”

“I told you, you would love it.”

She laughs then moans, complaining, “Don’t make me laugh.”

“I think our next project should be helmet cams. I want to see it from your perspective next time. You sure do know how to crash spectacularly.”

She laughs again but ends with an, “Asshole.”

After a few more minutes of rest, I get her up, and she can walk on her own. Being the gentleman, I grab her bike on the way up and carry it for her, but only until we return to the trail.

“I’m not carrying both bikes. Besides, you broke this one. You are responsible for it.”

I hand her the bike and retrieve my own.

“We are on the backside, so we have a 3km walk to get back to the SUV.”

“It was worth it, but next time, we should have bodyguards on route in case something happens, so they can carry my bike.”

“We should have had them anyway. What if somebody wants to take revenge for sending their brother or son to jail? I figured we were here early enough, and nobody knew we were coming.”

We get back to our usual banter, trash-talking each other. Carol curses each time I make her laugh. Given the terrain and carrying bikes, it takes just over an hour to get back. It was supposed to be the easy and fast part of the track.

By the time we get cleaned up, changed and have the bikes mounted on the vehicle, it is after 11:00, so we head to the restaurant.

Once we are seated, Zlata comes out to greet us. Taking one look at the scratches on Carol’s arms, she asks, “What have you done to the poor girl?”