I went across the river with a friend for what we call the Tuesday Night World's ride. We got zero warmup, as we were running late, and right from the start we were going 28 mph. I felt like ****. I could barely hang on at the back, and every time there was a surge, I struggled to get back on. I made it about 10 miles down to the bridge before the unthinkable happened: I got dropped for the first time ever on this ride. To add insult to injury, I was on the time trial rig, aero wheels and all.

I was sucking bigtime! WTF...I pedaled along, took a shortcut and headed back across the bridge ahead of the group. So I'm pedaling along, still beating myself up mentally, and I really don't have it...I'm going SLOWWWW, like 70 year old lady on a comfort bike slow. And it still feels difficult. Finally I look at the Powertap. I'm putting out 280 watts...and going 16 mph.

I looked down and realized my rear wheel had shifted in the dropouts and was rubbing the frame. I wore a nice flat spot on the side of my tire. It took me more than 20 miles to figure this out; I'm pretty sure it happened right when we started and I had to sprint when we turned around to catch the group.

Damn, I'm a dumbass.

So I fixed it and turned around to catch the group again, finished with the front guys. I felt good without the extra 100 watts or whatever it was of tire drag. I looked at the power numbers when I got home; I came fairly close to setting a new 20 minute power record while getting dropped.