Fifty Plus (50+) - Thursday night club ride stepped up the pace.

Since joining the Casco Bay Bicycle Club I have joined the Thursday night ride when I can. Last night there were no members riding at my level and it was a definite challenge to keep up. Of course they always stop and regroup but that usually means that as soon as I pull up we all head off again. Have learned to engage in conversations about their bikes, etc. At least that gives me a bit of rest. It's tough keeping up with these younger folk! It does give me hill training which I tend to ignore when on my own.

It is easy to get in the same boat as you are. I have been in the B group for at least two years now and in truth I am inbetween the A and B group in speed for 40 miles. The problem is I am more B group in climbing than anything else. If the climb is short enough I can hang on and draft till I get my breath back on the other side. But if it is a long grade I am toast. I have been lucky in that our A and B group tends to regroup at the same spots so if I can't hang I can simply wait till the B group get there and finish the ride.

... The problem is I am more B group in climbing than anything else.

That pretty much describes me. I can easily keep up with the A riders on flat ground. But this year they added 5 miles of almost continuous hills, and they're not afraid of shedding half of their own numbers in an attempt to drop me. It's rare when I can actually avoid getting gapped.

One tip I found out is that if you have been dropped and the rest re-group for you-----Then just before you catch the group slow down a bit. Then as you meet the group- keep cycling. If you do stop when you regroup- then you have to re-start again and that can be hard.

Plus the fact that some of the group may be cool or cold and it forces the re-start on them. Play to your advantages.

We had pretty much the same situation as the OP on our Thur. night ride last night. The "A" group hammered up the climbs at a pace I couldn't begin to match, so I dropped back to (and finished with) the "B" group.

The bad news is that meant I had to (help) fix 2 flat tires, one a massive blow-out that required a boot and the other a kind-slow leak that took awhile to locate the dastardly thorn.

Overall though, a much more relaxed pace and more conversation in our "B" group, whereas it's usually a tad more aggressive in the "A" group, but that's a matter of who's there on any particular ride and how everyone is feeling available power-wise too.

Rick / OCRR