Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.TheRCF
04-30-06, 07:41 PM
I have usually ridden alone and when I do ride with someone, it is usually a small part of the day's ride with one or two others.
Today I did my second group ride - a metric century (I did a regular century last Sept). The winds weren't as bad as normal, but it was raining at the start and that lasted for all but about 13 miles of the ride. I did bring a rain coat - I was probably the only one and I guess a lot of riders thought it odd. My bike, even though it is a racing bike, has a rear fender I added as well. Well, at least I wasn't covered in mud like most people.
First thing I noticed was that my HR wasn't registering at all! In fact, it never did - first time that happened. I started out the ride okay, just cruising at 15 or so, but within 4 miles I had a flat! When I got going again, I just didn't feel strong and mostly rode a little below 15. At 12 miles, I really didn't feel strong at all and really only kept going because I was riding with someone else. I was also frustrated by the fact that darn near everyone was passing me. Other than the very beginning, I think I only passed 2 people on the outbound half of the ride.
That probably isn't as bad as it sounds. I didn't want to get caught in the big mob like in the century ride last year, so I started off early as many others do as well (it's not a race). So this probably put me way ahead of most of the rides I could have passed plus the delay to fix the tire probably put me way too far behind other early riders that I could have passed. Still, psychologically, it was a killer.
When I got to the turn around point, I saw the odometer only said we had gone 27.4 miles! So I knew it wasn't going to be a true metric century. Well, okay, I've done many others by myself and with how I felt and the rain, getting done about 7 miles early was probably just as well.
After about 10 miles with no rain going back, it rained heavier the rest of the way. Once I had gone 39 miles, I found my computer was not working at all! Not even the timer part which runs whether you are moving or not would activate.
Then about 5 miles from the end, as I tried to shift to the big ring going downhill, the darn thing wouldn't shift! I tried over and over and was just about to give up when it finally did with about 4 miles to go.
That's when things actually got good, though I have no clue as to why. I suddenly seemed to have a lot more energy and, while I can't tell how fast I was going the rest of the way since the computer didn't work, I know I was MUCH faster. If I had to guess, I'd say at least 17 - maybe 18 or 19 on the flats (for me, that's flying even early in a ride). I just felt really strong. For a moment I thought the wind had shifted, but then I realized I was EASILY passing people who had easily passed me about 3-5 minutes before, so it couldn't be the wind. Even going up small hills seemed easy.
If the whole ride had been like that, I would be one happy camper!
Today I did my second group ride - a metric century (I did a regular century last Sept). The winds weren't as bad as normal, but it was raining at the start and that lasted for all but about 13 miles of the ride. I did bring a rain coat - I was probably the only one and I guess a lot of riders thought it odd. My bike, even though it is a racing bike, has a rear fender I added as well. Well, at least I wasn't covered in mud like most people.
First thing I noticed was that my HR wasn't registering at all! In fact, it never did - first time that happened. I started out the ride okay, just cruising at 15 or so, but within 4 miles I had a flat! When I got going again, I just didn't feel strong and mostly rode a little below 15. At 12 miles, I really didn't feel strong at all and really only kept going because I was riding with someone else. I was also frustrated by the fact that darn near everyone was passing me. Other than the very beginning, I think I only passed 2 people on the outbound half of the ride.
That probably isn't as bad as it sounds. I didn't want to get caught in the big mob like in the century ride last year, so I started off early as many others do as well (it's not a race). So this probably put me way ahead of most of the rides I could have passed plus the delay to fix the tire probably put me way too far behind other early riders that I could have passed. Still, psychologically, it was a killer.
When I got to the turn around point, I saw the odometer only said we had gone 27.4 miles! So I knew it wasn't going to be a true metric century. Well, okay, I've done many others by myself and with how I felt and the rain, getting done about 7 miles early was probably just as well.
After about 10 miles with no rain going back, it rained heavier the rest of the way. Once I had gone 39 miles, I found my computer was not working at all! Not even the timer part which runs whether you are moving or not would activate.
Then about 5 miles from the end, as I tried to shift to the big ring going downhill, the darn thing wouldn't shift! I tried over and over and was just about to give up when it finally did with about 4 miles to go.
That's when things actually got good, though I have no clue as to why. I suddenly seemed to have a lot more energy and, while I can't tell how fast I was going the rest of the way since the computer didn't work, I know I was MUCH faster. If I had to guess, I'd say at least 17 - maybe 18 or 19 on the flats (for me, that's flying even early in a ride). I just felt really strong. For a moment I thought the wind had shifted, but then I realized I was EASILY passing people who had easily passed me about 3-5 minutes before, so it couldn't be the wind. Even going up small hills seemed easy.
If the whole ride had been like that, I would be one happy camper!