Hey, is that Chad Harris?

I've heard from a few of you about your finest moments on a bike.  Great stories, all of them.  It's not too late for the rest of you to contribute.  Now without further ado, here is number four on my list of top cycling memories...

#4  When I  found out I had a reputation

Apparently I’ve been making a name for myself at the local mountain bike races. 

I found that out last summer during the Porcupine Hill Climb, a road race to the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon.  I was working with the lead group of five or six riders in the Citizens Class.  We were about eight miles into the fourteen mile race.  I was sitting in third position and remember there were a few more guys trying to hang onto my wheel. 

About that time I heard one of the riders behind me say “Hey, is that Chad Harris?” 

And then “Oh man, we’ve got Chad Harris in our group”

I had no idea who he was so I wondered how he knew me.  I shuddered at the implications of this new-found reputation. 

I was now a marked man. I knew the others would now be watching me, trying to cover my moves.   I felt odd about this role reversal.  Usually I am the hungry but quiet shark in the water, watching the fast guys, looking for my chance to strike.  Just then I saw a few people sitting at a table at the top of a steep rise in the road.  They had a cooler with them.  I was hurting and wanted it to be the finish line.  I decided it was the finish line.  I stood up.  I threw it down.  I gave it everything I had. 

I was the first rider to reach the final neutral water station.  Four miles to go. 

I blew up.  My legs were wet noodles.  I tried to go back to my pace when I was with the lead group, hoping to hold them off.  I couldn’t do it.   They caught me anyway. 

Now there were three of us.  They could have dropped me right then but they didn’t. They were hurting from trying to cover my foolish move.  They let me sit on their wheel.  We still had three miles to go.  My legs recovered and I was ready for the real final sprint.  I won that one too. 

Afterward I talked with Tim, the one who had recognized me during the race.  He knew me from the Intermountain Cup mountain bike races.  I told him that it felt good to win, but I wasn’t sure if I liked the reputation that comes with it.