Courtesy Returned with a Turn at the Front

[Ab Enhancer: After using this medicine, the host's abdominal muscles can be strengthened, boosting core strength and keeping the upper body stable during long-distance rides, maximizing aerodynamic efficiency.]

Huang Chong's expression stiffened, but he quickly recovered.

A one-minute plank?

There was practically no difficulty in completing that task.

However, he had only just begun losing weight and was still slightly chubby. With that somewhat bloated, sponge-soft belly of his, it was nearly impossible to earn the doubled reward through this task.

He was extremely familiar with planks.

For someone who had never trained their abs, holding one for a minute was easy. But increasing it to two or three minutes was as difficult as scaling the heavens.

Once they exceeded the limit they could endure, their lower abdomen would feel as though it were being torn apart, making it impossible to continue.

So, while the task looked simple, reaching a decent level with it was actually incredibly difficult.

Of course, he was currently enjoying a steady draft. It was rare to have such a nearly professional three-man group breaking the wind and pulling him along, making this the perfect chance for long-distance training. He had no intention of interrupting the ride just to claim a new task reward, so he directly ignored the system prompt.

In any case, once a detection task appeared, it would not disappear unless he actively canceled it. It would remain stored in the background for a long time.

He could complete it after finishing the ride.

Time passed bit by bit. The rapidly spinning wheels rolled across the pavement with bursts of friction, while whenever the riders stopped pedaling, the rear hubs gave off crisp, pleasant clicks.

Although he had drafted behind others for the entire ride, cutting away most of the wind resistance and allowing him to maintain a higher average speed at lower power while conserving energy, following them for fifty kilometers at an average of 33 km/h was still quite difficult for Huang Chong.

Without anyone pulling him along, there was no way he could have reached that speed riding alone.

"We've gone far enough. Let's rest and adjust here. We'll start heading back in ten minutes!"

As soon as they reached fifty kilometers, the three riders responsible for breaking the wind immediately stopped to rest. While drinking water, they smiled at the red-faced Huang Chong and said,

"Brother, the level you showed tonight doesn't look like that of a beginner. Keeping up with us for an hour and a half at an average of 33 km/h is no small feat. Tell us, how long have you been riding?"

"That's right, come clean. Are you really an experienced rider? Why were you deliberately pretending to be a newbie and drafting off us?"

By then, the three of them were completely certain that Huang Chong was no beginner.

How could someone who had only just started cycling possibly keep up with veterans like them, who had been riding road bikes for three or four years? That was complete nonsense!

Huang Chong smiled bitterly as he drank some water.

Naturally, he could not tell them the truth. Showing such stable ability right after getting started would be far too exaggerated, so he casually made up an excuse.

"To be honest, I didn't just start riding, but I really was just riding around blindly on my own before. It's been almost a year, I guess.

"If you guys hadn't given me some pointers the day before yesterday, I wouldn't have gone home and looked up a bunch of information about professional cycling. I had no idea road cycling involved so many systematic techniques.

"While following you just now, I deliberately watched your cadence and rhythm. I realized that riding the way you do is much easier than blindly pedaling on my own, especially over long distances. That's the only reason I barely managed to keep up with you!"

"So that's how it is. I was wondering why you looked like such a newbie but had the stamina for long distances. Turns out you've been riding for nearly a year. There are quite a few riders like you, though—they've been cycling for a long time but know nothing about the theory. Do you usually ride alone for fun? Have you joined any local cycling teams or clubs?"

Across both his lives, Huang Chong had never joined a cycling team. Normally, he only rode with Du Wei.

In his previous life, he had participated in quite a few cycling events and amateur races. Although he had never won a championship, nor had he ever even placed in the top three and stepped onto the podium, he was no stranger to group rides.

He answered frankly,

"I haven't joined a team or club yet. Usually, I just ride around with a friend of mine. He owns a bike shop, but he had the day off today. The shop is called Flying Speed Bicycles. I wonder if you've heard of it? I'm working at his shop now!"

"Flying Speed Bicycles? I know that shop. It's probably the most high-end boutique bike shop in Hangzhou, right? Our captain's Colnago V3RS was customized through your shop."

"Your friend is actually the owner of that bike shop? Then he's loaded. From what I know, your shop mainly customizes top-tier WorldTour race bikes for rich guys and rich ladies, right? You must be making a fortune every year."

"Brother, what do you do at the shop? Your job is awesome. You get to play with bikes at work and ride after work. You're way more carefree than us IT slaves!"

Huang Chong had not known that Du Wei's bike shop was actually fairly famous. The other three had all heard of it. Still, he had deliberately brought up the shop to give his friend some free advertising.

He replied with a smile,

"I'm a mechanic at the shop, but we're not as exaggerated as you make us sound. We also handle entry-level bikes and upper-midrange bikes.

"For example, De Rosa and ELVES Falath. Owners can choose their own component setups, whether it's 105 electronic shifting or UT electronic shifting. Of course, we also have SRAM groupsets. Even the grade of carbon wheels can be selected according to the owner's budget.

"Besides building bikes, our after-sales service is also very good. If you have any minor mechanical faults or shifting issues, you can bring them to our shop for repairs. As long as it doesn't require replacing parts, we provide free repairs for small problems."

"Damn, you're actually a mechanic? You look like you just graduated from college. Are you really that skilled?"

Huang Chong could only laugh it off and vaguely replied,

"I'm decent. I've always been good with my hands since I was young, and bicycles are pretty simple mechanically. Put together a few more, and you'll learn."

"Alright then. Since you're a bike shop mechanic, we'll stop by your shop sometime when we're free."

"That would be great. Our shop will welcome all you big pros anytime!"

Judging by their appearances, Huang Chong could not tell their exact ages, but they were clearly somewhat older than him.

Naturally, he was polite when speaking to them. If they could bring some business to Du Wei's shop later on, that would be a nice bonus.

When doing business, it was always good to make more friends within the industry.

"Alright, we've rested long enough. Time to head back. It'll take another hour and a half!"

After chatting there for ten minutes, they got back on their bikes and prepared to return to the city center.

However, they had only just started riding back when someone in the group smiled and suggested to Huang Chong,

"Brother, I'd say your individual ability is pretty good. How about you lead us for a stretch? After all, riding at the front requires more power, and long-distance training is more beneficial for endurance when you switch back and forth between different heart-rate zones."

Of course, Huang Chong knew about that training method of shifting between different zones. It was not that he knew nothing about the theory; he simply had no choice but to pretend to be a theoretical novice.

So, he knew that what the other man said was highly scientific.

He did not refuse at all. After drafting behind them the entire way, leading them for a while was only right as a matter of courtesy returned.

"Of course, no problem. I'll lead you three big brothers for a stretch. I'll try to keep the average speed around 30!"

After Huang Chong spoke, both his legs suddenly exerted force. His speed immediately surged, and he rode to the front of the three men.

The moment he began leading the ride, system text appeared before his eyes again.

[Detected that the host is breaking the wind and leading teammates. Please maintain the current average speed and complete a 10 km ride. Reward: 2 Beginner Optimization Points, Fast-acting Recovery Energy Bar ×1.]