Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

"Damn, are you serious? I’m offering to take you for a massage and you’re turning it down?"

Dewey was stunned when Huang Chong politely declined his invitation.

He glanced at the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd around them and deliberately lowered his voice, looking all shifty-eyed. As they rode back toward the bike shop, he continued:

"You’ve really changed, Old Huang. Is the allure of being a Professional Cyclist really that strong? It’s like you’re a completely different person."

"Of course!"

Huang Chong headed back with him. He was the type to go along with what others said, so he immediately replied with a self-righteous expression:

"If I’m going to be a Professional Cyclist, I have to be disciplined. Otherwise, with so many Road Cyclists in the world, how could I ever become number one?"

"Pfft—Old Huang, I’m not trying to pick a fight, and I totally support your dream, but isn’t it a little early to be talking about being number one in the world? How about you start by becoming number one in the country—no, how about number one in our Hangcheng first!"

Dewey was speechless for a moment, then laughed. He felt his friend’s grand ambition was just a bit too far-fetched.

However, Huang Chong just smiled faintly and didn’t argue.

After they returned to the bike shop, Huang Chong sat down to rest and drink some water. He silently chanted in his mind:

’End mission!’

[Congratulations! You completed a total of 40km of follow riding, exceeding the mission requirement by 4 times. Rewards doubled.]

[Rewards Acquired: 8 Basic Optimization Value points, 4 Rapid Recovery Energy Bars.]

[Rapid Recovery Energy Bar: Consuming this item during a ride will instantly replenish all of the host’s energy, not only raising blood sugar levels but also alleviating exercise fatigue.]

[Note: All items provided by this system are purely natural and harmless, with no side effects. They will not cause the host to test positive for any banned substances by anti-doping agencies.]

...

Seeing that the system had doubled his rewards, Huang Chong thought to himself that it was just as he had expected.

For certain specific missions, exceeding the requirements would result in double the rewards.

It was just that getting these missions to appear was a matter of luck; he couldn’t choose them himself.

’A Rapid Recovery Energy Bar can instantly replenish all the energy I need—’

’All items have no side effects and won’t be detected as banned substances. This is so user-friendly!’

’As expected of Father System, it only gives the good stuff!’

The more Huang Chong looked, the more excited he became.

In his previous life, he had been cycling for three years. Whether participating in amateur races or just training, for long-distance rides he would always buy functional drinks with electrolytes, Energy Gels, salt pills, and the like. He knew full well that cyclists couldn’t do without the help of these supplements.

But the stuff sold online could in no way compare in effectiveness to the supplementary items provided by the system.

He had already tried the Basic Training Recovery Energy Gel and knew how potent it was, so he didn’t plan on testing this newly acquired Rapid Recovery Energy Bar to avoid unnecessary waste.

After all, it was a one-time consumable that only provided a temporary boost, unlike a divine medicine like the Heart and Lung Strengthening Pills that could permanently enhance his body. Naturally, he wouldn’t waste it for no reason.

Besides the new item, he also received 8 Basic Optimization Value points. Adding the 4 he had in stock, he now had a total of 12.

He saw no need to save the Basic Optimization Value points for long. So, while taking a Basic Training Recovery Energy Gel from his storage space and eating it, he chanted in his mind again:

’Allocate all my Basic Optimization Value points to FTP Power!’

[Allocation successful! Your FTP Power has increased by 12 points. Current value: 185W.]

...

The number wasn’t what he had expected, but Huang Chong wasn’t surprised at all.

Obviously, besides increasing his FTP Power by allocating the system’s Optimization Value points, he could also improve it through regular training.

The extra 3W of power was the natural improvement he gained from his training.

’At this rate, it shouldn’t take long for me to become number one in Hangcheng!’

Feeling the changes in his thighs and body, which had been strengthened again after using the Optimization Value, Huang Chong couldn’t help but glance at Dewey, who was quenching his thirst with an ice-cold Coke nearby.

How could Dewey have imagined that in the instant he was drinking his Coke, Huang Chong’s FTP Power had already caught up to a year’s worth of his own training results?

’Life with cheats is just too awesome. Oh, Old Du, Old Du, next time we ride, I’m going to totally drop you. I wonder what you’ll think then?’

Huang Chong couldn’t help but feel a secret thrill at the thought.

After a short break at the bike shop, he and Dewey went home to wash up.

Since he wasn’t going for a foot massage, Dewey, after some internal struggle, ultimately decided not to go enjoy it alone either.

Things like that are more fun with company, after all.

It’s better to have fun together than to have fun alone!

After showering, Huang Chong didn’t rush to make his fat-loss meal. Instead, he took advantage of his empty stomach to stand on the digital scale and weigh himself.

"Old Huang, seriously? It’s only been one day of dieting, what kind of change could there be? You’re too impatient!"

After his shower, Dewey was sprawled lazily on the sofa, using a toothpick to pick at and eat some iced watermelon.

Seeing Huang Chong acting like a girl, weighing himself in the morning and at night, a mocking expression appeared on his face.

Huang Chong carefully looked at the number on the digital scale, then glanced at his system panel. Seeing the numbers were exactly the same, he breathed a small sigh of relief.

He turned to look at Dewey, who he knew would soon become pot-bellied and greasy, and grinned.

"Old Du, I’m afraid the results will disappoint you. I’ve lost 2kg!"

"What? Lost 2kg in one day? You’re bullshitting me! It’d be more believable if you said you went to a plastic surgery clinic for liposuction!"

"It’s true. If you don’t believe me, look for yourself. When I weighed myself yesterday, I was 75kg. Now I’m 73kg!"

"Holy shit, it’s actually true?"

Dewey, holding the fruit platter, stared at the irrefutable 73kg on the digital scale, completely dumbfounded.

"So eating all that grass is really that effective for weight loss? Then how come Wu Fang’s been clamoring about losing weight for almost a year and hasn’t lost a single pound?"

Wu Fang was Dewey’s girlfriend and also their university classmate. It went without saying that her family was well-off. After all, business families in Zhejiang Province were quite traditional and practical, and the older generation liked to stress the importance of matching social status.

Huang Chong chuckled. He couldn’t be bothered to expose Wu Fang’s useless weight-loss method of doing exercises while sneakily eating snacks. Instead, he made himself a fat-loss meal, and while enjoying his dinner, he turned on his phone’s screen mirroring to watch the live broadcast of the Tour de France.

Just as he’d thought, Stage 12 of the 2022 Tour de France wasn’t over yet, and the camera had just focused on the Ineos rider who was attacking on a descent: Pidcock.

"My god, who is this guy? That cornering is so silky smooth!"

"Damn, his downhill speed is 105 km/h? Am I seeing things? This guy is faster than me on my motorcycle!"

"Who was that he just passed? Was that the four-time Tour de France champion, Froome? I’m shocked. Compared to this guy, Froome’s cornering looks amateurish—"

"Holy crap, after finishing the descent, he’s actually peeing while riding? That’s badass!"

"The atmosphere at the Tour de France is really incredible. Look at this guy, he’s about to win the stage, and the fans on both sides of the road are a sea of people, all celebrating wildly for him. I really have to go see a mountaintop finish in person once in my life to experience this kind of thrilling atmosphere."

"Dude, I’m starting to get why you want to be a Professional Cyclist. If you could win a Tour de France stage like this guy, even just one, it would make your life worthwhile!"

"It’s a shame Pogačar completely took it easy on this stage!"

... 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The motormouthed Dewey was always endlessly chattering when watching competitive sports, seemingly forever full of passion.

Huang Chong, by comparison, was much calmer.

But even though he already knew the result of the race, rewatching Pidcock’s god-tier downhill breakaway to victory and then crying tears of joy still made his blood boil with excitement.

This was undoubtedly one of the reasons he wanted to become a Professional Cyclist.

After all, his victory on this stage was so special it could be called a textbook example of "winning on a razor’s edge."

Moreover, Huang Chong knew that this stage win not only became the most glorious victory of Pidcock’s career but also brought him an annual salary of several million euros afterward.

"Old Du, you’ll definitely have the chance to be there in person!"

Huang Chong said with a smile on his face, but his eyes were extremely serious.

"What do you mean?"

Dewey asked subconsciously. He was still immersed in Pidcock’s miraculous victory, his excitement yet to subside.

’Good thing I didn’t go get a massage from one of the girls tonight,’ he thought. ’I would have missed such an exciting race. That would’ve been a real shame.’

"I mean, when I’m competing in the Tour de France, you can bring Wu Fang to the Beautiful Maiden Highlands or the mountaintop finish on Fengtu Mountain to wait for me. Won’t you be able to witness my glorious Tour de France victory then?"

Dewey was taken aback by his words. He couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up, but, uncharacteristically, he chose to remain silent.

’To be honest, winning the Tour de France is incredibly difficult, especially after seeing tonight’s race.’

’Never mind wearing the overall champion’s Yellow Jersey; just winning one of the 21 stages is already as hard as ascending to the heavens!’

’Could this classmate of mine really do it?’

’Well, he’d first have to break out of Asia and successfully join one of the 18 World Tour Teams.’

’That’s a long, long way off!’