Mithrandir

So last weekend I had my very first group ride. My local bike shop was holding a training run for the Ride for Roswell, an annual bike/benefit event. Since I'm participating in that I decided to try out the group ride as well. When they announced it on facebook, I wasn't initially going to bother, as I'm more comfortable being a loner, but then I inquired about what the expected skill level of the ride was, and the bike shop owner (who knows me, knows how much I weigh, and knows approximately what I'm capable of), said it would be a perfect ride for me and would love to see me there.

So I decided I'd try it. The starting point was 7 miles from my apartment, so I decided to "warm up" by biking to the meet. Got there and socialized for a few minutes, and eventually noticed I was the only one with a steel bike. Started feeling nervous almost immediately. The ride was 28 miles in places I knew by heart, so at least there was no chance of getting lost when I inevitably got dropped. I was easily 200 pounds heavier than anyone else who showed up, too.

The ride started off nice. We were basically doing 14 miles into the wind and uphill, then 14 miles back, with the wind and downhill. I kept up for the first 5 miles, thinking "Hey, this isn't bad!". The group was only doing 15 mph which was slightly above my solo average speed, but not nearly as fast as I expected them to go. That changed, however, as I realised that was just their warmup pace, and I was putting in everything I had (and I was already warmed up from the 7 miles). From miles 5 through 7, I got dropped... badly. I noticed there were at least 4 people who did not pass me, however, and when I looked back at mile 7 I could not even see them anymore, so at least I wasn't last.

My performance wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be. I had done a strenuous 20 miles the day before so I was tired from that. Additionally I hadn't really eaten well that morning either, just some cheerios and ham, and a lot of water. By mile 10 I had lost sight of everyone in front of me and was expecting to see the main peloton come whizzing by any minute now. Luckily I brought some granola bars so I scarfed down both of them and put my headphones back on (since I could no longer delude myself into thinking this was a group ride, decided to get some music to try to inspire some more athletic feats). The food and the music seemed to do the trick. By mile 12 I actually ended up catching up to two people and passing them, and when I hit mile 13.5, the main peloton finally came whizzing down the hill, many cheering me on or giving me thumbs up as I struggled up the long hill. I was quite frankly amazed that they were only a mile ahead of me at this point; it had been so long since I had seen the group I figured they changed the route to extend it. Part of me wonders if they took a break or went further than mile 14, but my ego won't let me believe that.

Finally I reach the apex of the route, and turned around to go downhill and into the wind. Unfortunately the group must have really hit the hammer because I had a clear view of the road from the top of the hill and I could not see anyone for at least 2 miles ahead. I told myself that I would continue on of I ended up catching up to anyone, but turn and ride home at mile 21 (which was only 2 miles from my apartment) if I did not see anyone.

Sadly, I did not see anyone; not even the 2 people I passed or the 4 people who never caught up with me (I guess they all gave up and turned back early?), so at mile 21 I threw in the metaphorical towel, turned left instead of going straight, and made it back home.

I ended up with a 13.1mph average speed. Better than I thought I did, but nowhere near what I wanted to do. It was a strange experience because you know there's lots of riders around, but disappointing in that you didn't get to spend much time with any of them. I seem to be stuck in this no-mans land of cyclists; too slow to match roadies, but too fast to match casuals. I don't know anyone with the same performance level as me.

Lessons learned?

1) Don't bike 7 miles to get to a group ride unless you're significantly more in shape than you think you are.
2) Don't hammer the day before a group ride and forgo the proper recovery routines (still learning what works for me to be honest)
3) Don't skimp on eating breakfast.
4) Lose a lot more weight before attempting to match the skills of people who have been cycling for years.


Will I do this again? I don't know. I really am intrigued by the social aspect of cycling, but at the same time if I cannot match most groups' speeds, what's the point? Baring the 5 mile warmup at the start, this was a solo ride. I had fun regardless, however. It was interesting trying to guess where other people were along the course.