Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

"Old Huang, you lucky dog, you struck it rich! You’re treating, you absolutely have to treat me!"

"I didn’t think that Zhou Ming kid would be so on the ball. It’s not like those official races where the winner’s prize money looks so tempting, but it turns out to be all pre-tax!"

"So, spill it. Where are you planning on taking me to splurge once we’re back in the city?"

...

Unlike Zhou Ming and his group, who turned around and went back the way they came, Huang Chong and Dewey continued on from the finish line, planning to complete a full loop around Qiandao Lake to get back to their hotel before returning to Hangcheng.

Although it was getting late and the midsummer sun was starting to beat down, Dewey would rather endure a longer ride than face another 50 kilometers of rolling climbs on the way back.

The reason was simple: after the finish line, it was all Daping Road. That was his comfort zone.

Huang Chong heard Dewey just messing around and knew his friend was joking. Otherwise, knowing Dewey’s spending habits, if he really let loose, he could blow through this bit of prize money in a single meal.

He vividly remembered how, when they graduated from college the month before last, Dewey had generously treated all six of his dorm mates to a geoduck feast, and the bill had come out to over 30,000...

"Old Du, your intel was completely off. It’s a good thing I didn’t take you seriously. Zhou Ming’s cycling ability is nowhere near as bad as you made it out to be."

"You said before that his average cruising speed on the flats barely hit 30 km/h, but did you have any idea that his average speed on this 50-kilometer climb was almost 30 km/h?"

"You’re unbelievable, using his data from last year as if it’s his current level. You think everyone is like you? That after seven or eight months, they’d still be stuck in the same place!"

Dewey’s chubby face flushed red at Huang Chong’s teasing.

He had, in fact, been using himself as a benchmark when describing Zhou Ming’s ability.

From last year’s Tour of Qiandao Lake until now, while he had gone riding every now and then, it was never systematic training, so his power output had barely increased.

In fact, because he’d gained weight, his climbing was even worse than last year. That’s why he’d been caught off guard by Zhou Ming and gotten dropped so decisively.

"Sheesh, how was I supposed to know that Zhou Ming kid would actually take cycling seriously? He even has a whole team helping him train."

"I thought a rich kid like him was on the same level as me, just riding for fun."

"But you won, didn’t you?"

"Anyway, between the two of us, as long as one of us beat him, we saved face. Don’t sweat the details!"

Dewey’s laid-back personality left Huang Chong at a loss for whether to laugh or cry, but on second thought, his friend wasn’t wrong.

The two of them were very close, so by entering the competition together, it was as if they shared in the glory and the disgrace.

For Zhou Ming, losing to him was still a massive defeat.

"By the way, your current strength is something else."

"I saw the jerseys on Zhou Ming’s domestiques. They’re all team members from the various road bike shops in Hangcheng. Their skill level is nothing to scoff at; they’re pretty much the cream of the crop among amateur cyclists."

"The next step up from them is a Professional Cyclist. How did you actually manage to beat them all?"

"Doesn’t that mean you’re already knocking on the door of becoming a Professional Cyclist?"

"You’re improving way too fast. Fess up, how did you do it?"

"Don’t tell me you’re like Sun Wukong and stole Tai Shang Laojun’s Immortal Pills?"

Though Dewey was joking, deep down he was filled with sincere admiration for Huang Chong, almost to the point of worship.

After all, no one knew better than him just how self-disciplined Huang Chong had been ever since deciding to become a Professional Cyclist.

He had tried to tempt him with delicious food more than once during that time, failing on every occasion.

Not only did Huang Chong refuse to touch a single bite of high-calorie food, but he also hadn’t had a single sip of a sugary drink.

His three meals a day consisted of only low-fat meals and plain water. He was practically a modern-day ascetic living in the city.

Huang Chong couldn’t explain his situation to Dewey in detail, but after a moment’s thought, he decided to give the most scientific answer he could:

"Old Du, if you want to improve your climbing, you have to control your weight. Nothing is more detrimental to climbing than being overweight."

Although Dewey had already guessed as much, he had no instinctive desire to experience the self-torture of losing weight, a process that required an ascetic lifestyle.

After all, from his perspective, what was the difference between Huang Chong’s recent lifestyle and that of a monk? He gave a haughty snort.

"No way. Losing weight is impossible. If it comes to that, I’ll just never ride hills again. I’ll stick to the flats!"

...

After returning to Hangcheng, Huang Chong maintained his routine of work and training.

However, when he met up with Wang Qiang and the other two to resume their usual training rides, the men were stunned the moment they saw him.

"Holy crap, Brother Huang, we haven’t seen you in a week! What happened? Don’t tell me you went and got liposuction to lose weight?"

Liu Junjie was truly shocked. Previously, at 75 kg, Huang Chong had been slightly chubby. Now, thanks to the drastic effects of two Fat-Burning and Muscle-Preserving Pills, his weight had plummeted to 62.5 kg. To say he had slimmed down would be an understatement.

It could be said that, apart from his essential muscle mass, almost all the fat in his body had been consumed.

Once he completed the third stage of his fat-loss goal and reached 60 kg, he would be as skinny as a rail.

"Brother, this weight-loss method of yours isn’t good. If I’m not mistaken, the reason you wanted to lose fat so quickly was to increase your Power-to-Weight Ratio?"

Wang Qiang was also concerned about the change in Huang Chong’s physique. He frowned and reminded him,

"Even though your weight is down, the price is that you lose muscle mass along with it. Now that you’ve suddenly gotten this thin, what’s happened to your power output? Can you still maintain your previous 200-watt output?"

Although Huang Chong was almost as skinny as a monkey—his upper body looking terrifyingly gaunt without the support of pectoral and back muscles—his legs and abs were actually rock-solid.

It was just that Wang Qiang and the other two had their attention focused on his upper half.

He smiled and replied,

"Thanks for the concern, Brother Liu and Brother Wang. I just wanted to test out the effects of dropping to 60 kg. It looks like 65 kg is probably more suitable for my height."

"But don’t worry, my power output hasn’t dropped. I can still maintain my old speeds. In fact, now that my weight is down, my Power-to-Weight Ratio has actually increased significantly!"

"At the same 200-watt output, my average speed used to be only 32 or 33 km/h, but now I can average around 35 km/h."

Hearing this, the three of them couldn’t help but exchange a glance and shake their heads in resignation.

It was true. With the same 200-watt output, a 60 kg cyclist and a 70 kg cyclist would ride at completely different speeds.

The 60 kg cyclist would definitely be much faster, as they would be less affected by both gravity and wind resistance.

When it came to climbing, the advantage would be even more pronounced.

Only on descents would a heavier person have an advantage in speed.

But road cycling has no downhill-only race segments; those are reserved for mountain bike downhill courses.

"Talk is cheap. Let’s see what your actual condition is first. Honestly, Huang Chong, you’re being a bit too extreme. Health has to come first. We’re not Professional Cyclists; there’s no need to push yourself this hard."

Chen Guangming was a simple, unpretentious man, a fact reflected in both his appearance and his way of speaking.

But it was precisely people like him from whom one could feel the most sincerity in any interaction.

Huang Chong could feel his genuine, straightforward goodwill.

However, he knew he was perfectly healthy. He also did, in fact, plan to get his weight back up to 65 kg after completing his systematic fat-loss program. At that point, he would also start specialized upper-body training to strengthen his chest and back muscles and improve his Sprinting Burst.

He nodded, not offering much of an explanation, and simply smiled back at Chen Guangming with equal sincerity, replying,

"Okay, Brother Chen. I’ll take good care of myself!"

Afterward, the men exchanged a few more pleasantries and then said no more, beginning their daily training on the greenway as usual.

However, when Huang Chong moved to the front to pull for them, he was only maintaining a normal, Zone 2 aerobic pace, yet their average speed shot straight up to 37 km/h.

This instantly blew the minds of Wang Qiang and the other two, who were drafting right behind him.

This was the kind of average speed they only ever hit during an actual race.

Even though they were just drafting, their heart rates were skyrocketing. They quickly hit the peak of their Zone 3 endurance range and were on the verge of breaking into their Zone 4 threshold.

Thus, after riding behind Huang Chong for a little while, the same thought spontaneously occurred to each of them:

’This is just a normal training ride. Does this kid really need to pull the pace this high?’