We were both sitting at the light on a fairly quiet four lane street (late evening, not much traffic) and I saw him look over at me... I knew he wanted to go for it and since I hadn't had any serious action yet, I gave him a nod.
"Sure, cupcake... let's go" ran through my mind. He just grinned... and shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care one way or another. Or, as if he knew something I didn't... Hmmm....
Nice lookin' car, I thought to myself as we waited. A lightning bug flickered over near the street lights that would be lit in a matter of minutes... the song 'Welcome to the Jungle' began to play in my head...
It was one of the classic notchbacks of the early '90's, about a 4" cowl that really looked tasteful on the car, bigs and littles, gorgeous dark red paint, and a very healthy exhaust note to go with the serious whine under the hood. Couldn't really tell if the whine was a blower or a gear drive set up but it wasn't going to matter...
He just looked like fresh meat to me.
So, we're both eyein' the light... He revs it a bit and I hear him working the shifter to make sure he was in 1st. I lean into it some myself, ready for the launch that was only a second or two away. Thankfully, I didn't see him purging any NOS lines...
GREEN.
Man, I lit into it and we were off, pretty much neck and neck for about half a block but then he began to ever-so-slowly pull me.
WTF???
I shifted manually at max power but he still walked me like I was his pet dog. Each of my shifts really hit HARD and snapped my neck and I thought the nose was lifting some with each one but it was to no avail... :frown: I just had to back out of it... no sense risking life and limb or an innocent bystander. I just let it coast back down...
Hate to admit it but dude, he beat me like a rented Grand Canyon mule...
Sheesh...
But, being the good sport I am, I had to give him props at the next light as I pulled back up next to him.
"You gave me a better run than I thought you would!" he grinned, happy with his victory. I gave him a solid thumbs up and in blink, the light changed and he turned left. I was going straight...
I then realized that my face felt flushed, my breathing was heavy, and my heart was pounding.
I HATE to lose.
But hey, I was still proud of the run. I began to think about what I could do to wax his azz the next time we crossed paths.
The hot summer sun was slowly going down, casting long late-evening shadows across the road as I pulled away from the light... More lightning bugs flashed their little bottoms searching for a mate...
My mind was still racing... what should I do?
Hmmm... he obviously had a lot more mods than I do. Still, the loss stung - a LOT.
Then - it hit me! Maybe some grippier pedals? Yeah - that's the ticket. I'll get some new pedals for my Cannondale 24 speed bike.
I felt better now that I had a plan... I hope I see that Twinkie again, hopes of a rematch flitting through my head as I shifted into 19th gear and turned right at the next intersection, going back home... my evening ride in the bag.

"Sure, cupcake... let's go" ran through my mind. He just grinned... and shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care one way or another. Or, as if he knew something I didn't... Hmmm....
Nice lookin' car, I thought to myself as we waited. A lightning bug flickered over near the street lights that would be lit in a matter of minutes... the song 'Welcome to the Jungle' began to play in my head...
It was one of the classic notchbacks of the early '90's, about a 4" cowl that really looked tasteful on the car, bigs and littles, gorgeous dark red paint, and a very healthy exhaust note to go with the serious whine under the hood. Couldn't really tell if the whine was a blower or a gear drive set up but it wasn't going to matter...
He just looked like fresh meat to me.
So, we're both eyein' the light... He revs it a bit and I hear him working the shifter to make sure he was in 1st. I lean into it some myself, ready for the launch that was only a second or two away. Thankfully, I didn't see him purging any NOS lines...
GREEN.
Man, I lit into it and we were off, pretty much neck and neck for about half a block but then he began to ever-so-slowly pull me.
WTF???
I shifted manually at max power but he still walked me like I was his pet dog. Each of my shifts really hit HARD and snapped my neck and I thought the nose was lifting some with each one but it was to no avail... :frown: I just had to back out of it... no sense risking life and limb or an innocent bystander. I just let it coast back down...
Hate to admit it but dude, he beat me like a rented Grand Canyon mule...

But, being the good sport I am, I had to give him props at the next light as I pulled back up next to him.
"You gave me a better run than I thought you would!" he grinned, happy with his victory. I gave him a solid thumbs up and in blink, the light changed and he turned left. I was going straight...
I then realized that my face felt flushed, my breathing was heavy, and my heart was pounding.
I HATE to lose.
But hey, I was still proud of the run. I began to think about what I could do to wax his azz the next time we crossed paths.
The hot summer sun was slowly going down, casting long late-evening shadows across the road as I pulled away from the light... More lightning bugs flashed their little bottoms searching for a mate...
My mind was still racing... what should I do?
Hmmm... he obviously had a lot more mods than I do. Still, the loss stung - a LOT.
Then - it hit me! Maybe some grippier pedals? Yeah - that's the ticket. I'll get some new pedals for my Cannondale 24 speed bike.
I felt better now that I had a plan... I hope I see that Twinkie again, hopes of a rematch flitting through my head as I shifted into 19th gear and turned right at the next intersection, going back home... my evening ride in the bag.
