Surferbruce

decided to step it up and sit in on the local fast-guy tuesday group ride. i was fine till the sprint zones in the middle then...my train just left the station.
speeds were over 30 (closer to 35) in spots, and i went from being comfortable to straight up red-line in an instant. after bridging the elastic 3 or 4 times, it just snapped and my day was done.
just figured i'd share my smack down for you all to enjoy.

brians647

Thank you. I enjoyed that! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who gets slapped around on the local hammer-fest ride.

It's the hills that kill me...

asmallsol

Nice, keep it up. Those rides are a ton of fun.

mollusk

You did fine. Keep going back and read the "New to racing? Here's a tip or two" thread stickied in the Road Racing sub-forum.

Surferbruce

actually it was a ton of fun, while it lasted. i kinda tripped when we went by one of those traffic speed displays and it was flashing 35.
i REALLY need to do more race pace rides like this...

ehidle

^^^^

I LOVE those things.

To the OP - kudos man, you have more guts than I do.

waterrockets 

Cool, just keep going back. You'll get more efficient and more fit over time.

Allegheny Jet

I started to do much better on those kind of rides when I left the HR monitor at home. When I saw zone 5 all the time I'd freak out.

mikesbikester

interval training ftw

mcoomer

Got droped, eh?

As the others have said, there's no shame in getting slapped around a bit when you join a fast ride. Keep at it and you'll gain skill and fitness to the point that you'll be able to chase guys down, get into breaks, and pull. Playing like that in a fast group is what it's all about.

JaRow

I got dropped quite a bit in those fast rides. I kept up today for the first time. I felt fast.

bruin11

Felt good didn't it. I haven't been able to keep up the whole way yet on our Thursday night ride but I am getting closer. And it sure is fun hanging on to the train.

caloso

"My train left the station."

Beautiful. Well said.

carpediemracing 

+1. Even on "easy" rides is there's a speed trailer thing on anything that's not uphill or a massive headwind I'll do a big jump. Last one was 37 or 38 mph, I forget what it said, I peeked at my computer and it said 39.7 mph. I was a bit bummed. Guy in a black first generation 'Vette (1957 ish) held back until we finished our sprint then meandered past us. Double bonus - sprint at the trailer and then see this nice Vette.

For the OP - the max speed is what killed you, so you can work on that. If your max speed was 35 mph, and the group was going 35 mph, it's going to be foreign and uncomfortable to go that fast. If your max speed was 45 mph, 35 mph is a comfortable cozy place. I've since learned that if your max speed *was* 45 mph, 35 mph is still a comfortable cozy place, it's just closer to your actual top speed.
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...sprinting.html
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...imum-rpms.html
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...sprinting.html

cdr

prendrefeu

Let me guess... Rosebowl?

Surferbruce

nope, la grange's tuesday marina ride.

umd

Those kinds of rides are fun, and a sure way to get faster. I was looking at the data from today's lunchtime hammerfest and we averaged 29mph from the last turnaround to the sprint, for 8.5 minutes, and my HR was 90%. At one point a few riders had broken away and I was second wheel behind one of our cat 1 riders as he closed the gap at over 35mph.

patentcad

Who were the guys driving that train? Cat 2? Cat 3/4? Older guys (35+)? Speeds above 28mph are fast. Over 30 is very fast.

caloso

A great way to get faster. The trick for me was to learn how to recover. I'd feel really strong and want to contribute but I would do too much, get out in the wind, and the train would chug on by. It takes practice.

dsilver668

lol I was just getting to be able to hover around 20 mph on the flats and overall for my ride get to 16 mph. then I took a week off when my wife had our third child. I went back out yeterday, and it was like starting over! ugh, hope my legs get back faster then it took me the first time.. I want to get to 20 mph average..
yeah 30 mph sounds fast even for PCAD.. I couldn't imagine keeping up with those speeds.. I wouldn't feel bad, just stick with it, and it will get there.

Surferbruce

no idea, but it's known as a FAST ride. i've been feeling like i can barely catch my breath all afternoon.
note to self-HTFU....

mollusk

With enough people 30+ mph isn't hard if it is steady and the folks in front of you are up to the task. It gets to be a real b*tch if you are getting gapped over and over again and have to sprint at 35 mph+ to latch back on. After about six of those you get pretty toasted!

It really doesn't matter what "cat" you have driving the train. Folks show up to do their own ride on our local hammerhead ride. Sometimes we have junior national champs and domestic pros show up and all they do is sit in and that is cool. When they show up "in anger" it is uber cool! Sometimes we have Cat 2's that when they get to the front they are doing their weekly interval training, and that's cool too. Even my ancient self have stretched the ride out single file for a couple of miles.

Motman320

I got one of those outside my house across the street right now.

I looked up on my way home one day and just hit it, unfortunately it was a little late... I still hit like 20 with a bent axle/hub though.

Thirstyman

same tuesday night experience today on the east coast. Damn. Someone woke up angry today!

mikesbikester

i race juniors so my bike tops out at 31, 32 max. block out your top 4 gears and try to keep up. itll be fun.