F1: The Making of a Racing God

Chapter 243 Fragrant Breeze
Not only cycling clothes, but the bike was also prepared long ago.

From the moment the invitation to Gu Ailing was confirmed before the winter testing until the start of the Miami Grand Prix, Red Bull's event planning team had been providing proposals for reference, so Shu Long had a general idea of ​​what activities would be carried out beforehand.

Of course, strictly speaking, the bike wasn't provided by Shulong himself. It was a small sponsorship brought in by Red Bull, from Specialized, an American brand whose reputation in the bicycle world is as resounding as Ferrari.

This is what they mean by "if you can get something for nothing, you might as well take it."

The key point of the sponsored special offer is not that you can get a car worth tens of thousands of yuan for free, but that you can customize a special paint job exclusively for yourself.

Shu Long had planned to take this opportunity to buy one for his girlfriend out of his own pocket, but Horner waved his hand and generously reimbursed Shu Long through the company account.

The person is actually quite nice~
Since it was Gan Mengning's first time cycling, I didn't prepare special cycling shoes for her, otherwise I would have felt bad if she fell from a standstill.

But before that
"Not wearing underwear?"

Gan Mengning held the cycling outfit that Shu Long had bought for her with a look of utter despair. It wasn't that she didn't like the style, but rather that she found the way to wear it somewhat unacceptable.

Just now, she watched her boyfriend strip naked in front of her, and then, without wearing anything, he just pulled his cycling shorts over his butt!

This, this, this
The two of them were now squeezed into Shu Long's private lounge. Shu Long had been through Gan Mengning's current embarrassment before, so he smiled and decided to tease her a little more.

"You can wear it if you want, but this thing can be used as underwear. Wearing another layer underneath will make it slippery, and you might rub your skin raw."

"Ah~ we probably won't be able to ride for much longer, right?"

"That's hard to say. The track won't be open to hot laps until the afternoon. It might take a long time to ride before lunch, and even if you only ride one lap, it's at least five and a half kilometers."

Gan Mengning stared at the tight-fitting clothes in her hand and sighed. However, she was unwilling to continue to struggle to integrate into the Shulong community as before. After much deliberation, she chose a plain white cycling outfit from the eight sets of cycling clothes she bought in Shulong. The resolute expression on her pretty face seemed to indicate that she had made up her mind.

Fine, I won't wear it then!
The atmosphere in the small room suddenly became somewhat ambiguous, but there was still a group of people waiting outside. Shu Long only took advantage of the gap while his girlfriend was changing clothes to mischievously peek over and give her a kiss on her bouncy, round peach.

Then, in a moment of surprise, her legs went weak and she was slapped in the face, and received two angry punches to the shoulder.

"Hiss—whoa~ You really went all out!"

"Who told you to be so reckless! What if you made a noise and someone outside heard it?!"

No, this small room is actually quite well soundproofed so that the drivers can rest well in such a noisy environment as the paddock.

This is the first time Gan Mengning has personally experienced such a situation, and she is clearly not used to it yet. Her mental state is obviously tense, and Shu Long also knows the importance of knowing when to stop.

He looked his girlfriend up and down, her figure accentuated by the tight cycling clothes, and clicked his tongue, seemingly still wanting more. He then grabbed a pair of athletic shorts from the side and put them on.

In a sense, wearing only cycling shorts is like walking around in your underwear. Even after all this time, Shulong still can't be as composed as Bottas. Having a big bulge just doesn't look right, so he always has to find a way to cover it up.

Compared to wearing underwear under cycling shorts, this solution of wearing a pair of sports shorts on top is also slippery and stuffy, but it is much less likely to cause skin damage. This is the compromise that Shulong has been using for some time now.

Realizing she had been tricked, Gan Mengning kicked her boyfriend again. She picked up the shorts she had worn that morning at Shu Long's strong suggestion and slipped them over her tight cycling shorts, which fit perfectly and even gave her a unique look.

This was something Shu Long insisted on buying when they went shopping together that day. She even said that since he wanted to see it, she should wear it for him. It turns out that she had already been tricked back then.
No wonder many drivers in the paddock say that Shu Long drives extremely cunningly, and that you have to be extra careful every time you race against him. Today, I finally experienced it firsthand.
To avoid misunderstandings, the two didn't linger in the lounge. After changing their gear, they held hands and went outside to meet up.

Just like this perfectly fitting cycling outfit, the Specialized S-WORKS TARMAC bikes that Shulong provided for his girlfriend also fit her body perfectly.

Given Gan Mengning's height of 155cm, a 44 frame would be the best choice for her. However, because of her naturally perfect proportions with high hips and long legs, a 49 frame would actually be more comfortable for her.

Now that I see it, I was right. My eyes were the ruler!
There was no way around it; with his photographic memory, Shu Long knew every part of his girlfriend's body like the back of his hand.

As for Gan Mengning's car, the paint job transitioned from blue ice crackle to blue and white landscape, giving it a cool and beautiful look that the girl fell in love with at first sight.

nice! You love it.

Shu Long was worried that she wouldn't be interested in this at all, and if he wanted to get her to exercise with him, he would have to come up with some other projects.

His own car, on the other hand, features the classic Red Bull color scheme, with a black frame covered in crimson flame patterns—in short, it's packed with Shu Long's personal touches.

The good thing about this sponsorship is that it not only allows you to get a few bikes for free, but also gives you a 15% cut of the revenue from the subsequent release of the same color frame.

If Gan Mengning were willing, she could actually obtain similar conditions.

After all, they have a following of several million in China, and their interests are closely tied to Shulong's. They still have some market appeal. Perhaps their profit-sharing ratio isn't as generous as Shulong's, but it's not unreasonable to give them face.

After all, the paint job on this Shulong model, which was specially commissioned by Lao Mi's art team, is really beautiful and should be quite popular with female cyclists.

Unfortunately, Gan Mengning was not very willing to do so.

Shu Long's original intention was to give his girlfriend a unique gift. If the same car becomes a common sight on the streets, the special sentiment behind it will likely be lost.

That's all in hindsight. After Gan Mengning test-rode the bike twice to make sure there were no problems, Shu Long started attaching filming equipment to his body, preparing to start Red Bull's joint project for today.

Many DJI products also come from the support of major sponsors.

As the saying goes, not taking pictures is the same as not riding. Such a rare opportunity naturally requires capturing as much footage as possible from various angles. Even Gan Mengning herself hung a small action camera on her helmet.

Didn't you say you wouldn't have any daily vlogs featuring interactions with your boyfriend?
I'll take as many photos as I want for you today!

Gu Ailing, who was also straddling a Lightning S-WORKS TARMAC, was already impatient. Although she was more than three years younger than Shu Long, she had the demeanor of a mature older sister, not to mention Gan Mengning.

The sweet, cloying display of affection between high school students almost made one's teeth ache from the saccharine sweetness. The energetic Xiao Gu quickly showed an expression of utter unbearability and began waving enthusiastically from the front.

"Let's go!"

After watching his girlfriend shakily regain her cadence and confirming there was no risk of falling, Shu Long hurried to catch up, intending to ride a lap to warm up.

However, unnoticed by him, Gan Mengning also had a somewhat inscrutable expression as he watched Gu Ailing's back.

Wearing the same cycling outfit, this beautiful woman chose a light pink patterned set, while her lower body was paired with a pair of dark gray tight-fitting cycling shorts.

There is nothing else!
Before going into the room to change clothes, Gan Mengning didn't think anything of it, but now she found it hard to control her thoughts from wandering to that direction. Could it be that the other person wasn't wearing anything underneath either?

Especially when Gu Ailing crawled on top and began to use a pneumatic posture to sit and pedal hard, the flesh color that was faintly revealed after the elastic fabric was stretched made the girl confirm her previous guess.

Wouldn't that mean Shulong would just follow along?
No!

Use your strength! Use your strength! *Whoosh*
Damn it! What kind of vegetable leg is this?
Once on the track, Shulong couldn't shake his habit of looking around. He quickly noticed his girlfriend's panting and embarrassed state behind him, so he slowed down and came to her side.

"Let's adjust the gears. Move the rear suspension up two notches and try to maintain your cadence; it should make things a bit easier."

"But wouldn't that slow things down?"

Oh, you're quite competitive?

"If you ride a big disc with a small fly too hard, it can make your legs bigger and thicker."

Sure enough, no girl is indifferent to the shape of her legs. Shu Long's words hit the nail on the head, scaring Gan Mengning into quickly adjusting the gear as advised.

Shu Long strolled leisurely around with his girlfriend in the back, barely out of breath, while Gan Mengning's face was flushed.

He gave the girl a couple of sips of the electrolyte drink from his water bottle, then tucked the sweaty strands of hair from her forehead behind her ear, and raised his hand to feel Gan Mengning's heart rate against her side of her neck.

"How are you feeling? I don't recommend going too hard on your first workout. Would you like to rest for a bit?"

Gan Mengning glanced at Gu Ailing, who was also hydrating in front of her.

As expected of a professional athlete, after riding such a lap, he only broke out in a light sweat and his chest heaved slightly.

"No need to rest. Apart from my wrists and buttocks being a little sore, I find cycling quite enjoyable."

"Right? After you finish your graduation defense, I'll take you out to have more fun this year."

Gan Mengning seemed to be in pretty good shape, so Shu Long let her be, only asking Elena, the physical trainer who was following behind and helping with the filming, to keep an eye on her.

Miami's track is definitely one of the most beginner-friendly tracks. Except for the significant undulations between turns 13 and 16, the rest of the track is quite flat.

Otherwise, it would take the little girl a few long slopes to realize what real strength is; the muscle fibers in her calves can really start arguing with themselves.

After a round of warm-up, Shu Long didn't have time to pay close attention to his girlfriend's situation anymore. Although the entire project didn't have a specific script, there was still a framework for the process.

Today's main character is, after all, Eileen Gu, who was invited by Red Bull. Now it's time to proceed as planned.

Faced with this situation, Shu Long didn't know how to start a conversation, while Gu Ailing was quite adept at handling the situation and didn't seem like the guest at all.

"I heard that your drivers do a 'track walk' activity every time they arrive at a race location. Is that what it is?"

"Yes and no." Shu Long greeted Zhou Guanyu, whom he had ruthlessly overtaken. Zhou Guanyu was currently surrounded by a large group of Aro mechanics and was slowly strolling along the track.

“Most people who drive on the track are like them, constantly discussing track details and possible car settings with their crew members. I guess I’m just slacking off.”

Of course, there are even lazier ones. Not all of the twenty drivers in the paddock have the habit of driving on the track, such as Verstappen.

Except for the most intense period of his championship battle with Hamilton, that lazy guy always felt that walking on the track was a complete waste of time, and that it was too hot and tiring to just roll the wheels around a couple of times.

"But I heard that this is a brand new track in Miami. Shouldn't we be preparing more carefully? Or is riding a few laps like this enough for you?"

"Pretty much. Actually, if it's just about gathering information, one lap as a warm-up is enough."

"Really?! Can you tell me how you do it? I mean, I certainly won't leak any information, but if it doesn't have any impact, I'd like to know what your work routine is like."

Shu Long raised one eyebrow and slowly lowered it.

"Actually, it's nothing. Learning about the track is a very general process. We have practiced every type of corner thousands of times. Even if it's a brand new track, we can always find a familiar image in our minds."

As he spoke, Shu Long looked around at the surrounding layout, preparing to pick out something simpler to fool people.

"For example, here we are now, which is Turn 4 on the track. What kind of feeling do you get when you look ahead?"

"Hmm—a winding S-curve?"

"In our concept, it is a typical combination of high-speed corners, but depending on the specific details, it can produce completely different driving styles."

After riding past Turn 8 and onto the first extremely long stretch of full-throttle road, Shu Long continued his summary.

"The word 'high speed' doesn't mean the throttle is locked. In classic high-speed combination corners like Suzuka, we usually adjust the throttle opening to slightly shift the center of gravity to ensure the front axle grip of the car. But do you feel anything different about Turn 6 here?"

"Uh sorry."

"Oh, I should apologize. I got carried away."

Shu Long quickly waved twice to the photographer riding behind him, signaling him to turn around and cut out that short clip.

"Hey, don't you feel that the transition between Turn 5 and Turn 6 is too tight?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, I do have that feeling. It might be okay for road bikes, but I remember the race cars in your pit garage are actually quite huge, right?"

"Indeed, the increased size of this year's race car will make this problem more prominent. So, based on my observation and judgment just now, we should apply some braking in the middle of Turn 5 and adjust the angle of attack for Turn 6 in advance."

"I think I understand. So, in order to achieve a faster overall cornering speed, sometimes you have to sacrifice speed on some corners, right?"

"That's right, no wonder he's a top athlete, he's truly a master of everything!"

The last word, "Shulong," was spoken in Chinese, but judging from the other person's reaction, they seemed a little stunned. They probably only guessed the meaning based on the first half of the sentence.

Of course, Shu Long's statement wasn't entirely flattery. Even taking the other party's snow sports as an example, sometimes, in order to maintain the overall flow of the process, they might have to strategically abandon some less valuable technical movements to readjust their body posture.

Many sports share commonalities, and anyone who reaches the top of their field is undoubtedly a genius.

The 5.41km course is long, and it was indeed a bit long for the fragile college student behind me. But if you chat and pedal at the same time, ten minutes or so will pass in the blink of an eye.

There weren't many new topics to discuss later, so Shu Long went around to the back to pick up his girlfriend, who was almost exhausted.

"Are you even capable? Stand up and shake yourself a few times, so I can also inhale some of your fragrant trail?"

"What do you mean by 'fragrant breeze trail'? Are you a pervert? Would you smell it if I farted for you?"

"smell!"

Gan Mengning was so angry at her shameless husband that she almost couldn't catch her breath. When she tried to exert more force, she found that her legs were no longer under her control, and her head was spinning.

I wasn't too tired on the first lap, but now that I'm at turn 14, I realize that when you're really exhausted, even a cute little bump can be deadly!
Shu Long immediately noticed something was wrong and unlocked the car, getting out in one smooth motion.

Before the little idiot, who was clearly not wearing cycling shoes but almost crashed at zero speed, started crying loudly while clutching her leg, he pulled her into his arms.

Okay.

Although she didn't wail loudly while clutching her aching leg, she still clung tightly to Shulong's neck and cried uncontrollably.
Her soft, boneless body was like a small, hot stove; even when at rest, it quickly produced a large amount of sweat, completely soaking their clothes and bringing a slightly pleasant coolness.

"It's okay, it's okay. Take deep breaths. My average speed was around 30+ just now, which is already pretty good."

She was mostly unharmed, but was still shaken by the feeling of helplessness she had just experienced in the critical moment. After testing the girl's legs and finding that they seemed to be able to support her weight, I helped her take a few steps.

This amount of exercise is nothing for Shu Long, but it would definitely be considered strenuous exercise for Gan Mengning. It is important to avoid suddenly stopping completely.

Now, keep moving around a bit to get the blood flowing back into your legs. Later, ask Elena to help relax your muscles and reduce lactic acid buildup.

She probably won't be able to run tomorrow because of her leg pain, but at least it will lessen her suffering.

Once the girl had calmed down enough, Shu Long forcibly requisitioned the electric scooter that the photographer was riding, and made him help ride it back. He then personally carried the docile Gan Mengning, who was as obedient as a little animal, back to the P room.

Why bother buying a cat? There's already one right here.

The other woman's expression was somewhat complicated.

At just eighteen years old, when they have the most beautiful fantasies about love, who could resist seeing such a scene?
Previously, I was busy with studying and training, and my knowledge of Shu Long was limited to knowing but not understanding him very well. I only remembered that he had a very eye-catching face.

But there are plenty of handsome men in the world, and she has met quite a few outstanding men based on her upbringing.

It wasn't until the Winter Olympics sparked a war of words between fans on both sides online that Xiao Gu, who never thought anyone could be better than her, became curious about Shulong.

All I can say is, it's broken!

Only girls of this age know the devastating effects of a rope binding them.

Some people are like a can of cola just taken out of the freezer; the surprise is only in the first sip after pulling the tab, and once it's at room temperature, all that's left is the cloying taste.

Shulong is more like a bottle of aged wine whose name is not yet known; every sip reveals the most profound and complex flavor that one can imagine.

Good looks are just the basics. Once you truly understand his abilities and his past, you realize that you've already fallen deeply intoxicated by his poisonous charm and can't extricate yourself.

The more confident a girl is in herself, the stronger her withdrawal symptoms will be. In the end, all she can think about is, "If she can do it, why can't I be the other person?!"
Incredible
What did this girl surnamed Gan do in her past life to be so fortunate in this one?
If even a fraction of this meticulous tenderness were to emerge, it would likely attract an immense following.

After settling his girlfriend in, fearing that his brutal nature on the track would be exposed, Shu Long decided to slightly peel away a corner of his repressed disguise.

Cycling is a really great format; it gives top athletes from two completely unrelated fields a platform to make direct comparisons in front of their fans.

Because this sport is basic enough to be easy to learn, when the external equipment conditions are basically the same, then the competition is purely based on numerical values.

The last project of this cycling collaboration is to see if Shulong can catch up with the girl within one lap, even if the girl starts first and he starts 30 seconds later.

Red Bull, on the other hand, either wanted to save face for the girl or simply wanted to showcase its corporate culture with some creative antics.

A bunch of bastards confiscated the Specialized S-WORKS TARMAC road bike, and instead presented Shulong with a Specialized XC mountain bike—an EpicS-WORKS.
You can guess it from the bare frame without any special paint job, and from Shulong's "Are you kidding me?!" expression.

This is definitely a terrible idea that those traitors came up with on the spur of the moment!

The wide tires, with their exceptionally high rolling resistance, provide excellent front and rear shock absorbers that deliver superior power dissipation with every stomp, while the small chainring delivers a powerful caliper.
All these characteristics undoubtedly indicate that although this bike is ridiculously expensive, it's not fast at all!

"Scared? Surrender is actually allowed here."

"I'll let out a spiral fart like your grandpa's! I'll show you the power of a kilowatt's thigh!"

F1 drivers often need to apply a force of nearly 200 kg to the pedal when braking hard at the end of full throttle.

Of course, due to inertia, the actual force that the driver needs to output is only about 80-100KG. The key is that they also need to accurately complete the fine control of tracking into the corner under the action of a longitudinal G-value of more than 5G.

Therefore, an excellent F1 driver usually possesses considerable core strength, leg strength, and outstanding muscle coordination.

However, Shu Longqi's instantaneous output power exceeded 2400W several times in succession, causing everyone present to fall into silence.

These are numbers that only track-based fixed-gear bikers can achieve, right?
Fixed-gear riders have undergone specialized strength training to build muscle, and their calf muscles are as big as their heads. How can a "slim" rider like you generate that kind of power?

The other person is just a young girl who came to play temporarily. Just how much do you want to win?
Ha~
I don't want to explain, but when it comes to competition, Shulong absolutely doesn't want to lose!

(End of this chapter)