"Don't get cocky!"

I was reminded of a line from Star Wars this weekend. You know the one, Han and Luke are in the little gunner areas in the Millenium Falcon. Luke takes out a ship and starts to celebrate and Han says something like this: "Great shot, kid. Don't get cocky!"

So, when I started out my ride on Saturday (road), my legs were a little stiff, but I felt pretty good. As I turned from a side-road on to a main street, I noticed that there was another cyclist ahead of me. I set out to catch him, thinking there wasn't any way I'd be able to. Before long, I was passing him. I felt pretty good, pretty confident. Then I came to an intersection and had to stop. He caught up to me and started to talk. As we both moved off the line together, he started telling me about the rides he's been on, including the LOTOJA 5 years in a row. He then told me, conversationally, about a really hard ride (for me), that he'd done "half a dozen times this year." He said none of this in arrogance, or showing off, just making conversation. Before we part ways, I found out that he was on his way home from a long ride, with a bunch left to go. Did I mention how much older than me he was? Suddenly, I didn't feel so hot anymore.

Don't get cocky, kid.