Apparently, I was mislead about these vax superpowers. To the contrary, the vax served more of a Kryptonitic role today…

I woke up and my first thought was “Fuck,  I don’t even remember drinking last night. I feel like shit.”  I did not drink last night. It was the anti-superpower vax dose from yesterday. This was the reaction people talk about. I moved on quickly in my mind to today’s ride wondering how I was going to pull it off feeling like this.

Me and my special lady friend had a cup of coffee. Among other things, I ruminated on what would likely be my inability to ride today. She instructed me to just take it easy.  Do not ride. Man, this hangover sucks….

Then it dawned on me. Of course I could ride today. When I was actively drinking I often showed up to group rides wildly hungover. I remember hoping others would be hungover too, to even the playing field. (It was probably just me and one other guy.).

Nonetheless, I did the rides. Hung in there. Suffered. Sometimes secretly a little pukey. So this ride today would be nothing. 

And, as it turns out, my extensive hangover cycling training paid off! I had a great hangover ride with none of the booze. (I think that’s good.) 

In fact, by ride’s end I had burned off most of the vax hangover, just like the good old days. (John, shall we talk about the good old days?).

Oh yeah, what do you guys think of this?  You’re out on one of those windy rides where you’re just kind of getting pummeled. Really loud in your ears for a long time. So much so you find yourself a bit untethered, starting to get pissed at the guy controlling all the wind. He really has it in for you today.

Then, you turn that one corner where you weren’t even expecting it, and all goes silent. The guy turned off all of the wind instantly. For a second I consider whether I’m dead. Did I get hit by a car and this is eternal bliss, a perfectly paved, perfectly flat, windless stretch of road?  I didn’t die as it turns out, the guy just turned off the wind for about twenty seconds.