Vwone

Well I have just started riding, I have had my Trek 1500 for about three months. My lbs has invited me to their Saturday morning rides here in south Charlotte. They said the beginner ride would be 25 miles at 17 mph avg. So I have worked my way up to 5-6 bike rides a week riding 20 miles on weeknight and 25-30 on the weekends. I also worked up my avg speed to 16 mph with traffic. Lastly, my 10 mile TT speed is 18.7 mph. (I don’t have any special tt stuff just me and my Trek 1500.)

So today was the big day, I just wanted to see what it was like to ride in a group and to see where I stood with others.

I almost missed the morning meeting. Then we pulled out and the first 5-10 miles was great. I stayed in the back just because I was new and I was trying to get a feel for this whole thing.

Well we started to get dropped, so before the lead group pulled away I would sprint back up there. I did this twice and once I was with the first five or six riders.

However at the 12.8 mile mark our avg speed was 18.6. I was surprised but worried, I knew I wasn’t going to last for long. I am 6’2 @ 235 and the hills started! I noticed that my hill climbing sucks but of course my down hill is a real treat.

At the 20 mile mark we hit a good size hill and that was it, I was dropped. There were riders .5 mile ahead and .5 mile behind, so I just plugged along.

Then I made a wrong turn, found the last group of riders and made it back to the shop.

So it was great to ride in a group. This whole drafting thing is fun. I attacked a couple of times to catch back up to the lead pack and that was rewarding. It sucked to get dropped. I should have been a little more reserved, I think I would have had a little more at the end. So I ended up riding 27.1 miles with an avg speed 17.7! That’s a new record for me!
Dean

Smoothie104

Solid Dean!

Keep at it, it only gets better!