the sight of the peloton riding away from you on a sunny day over rolling terrain is a beautiful sight. sad, of course, but beautiful. although it is kind of nice after being spit out the back to be able to sit up a little bit and watch em ride away. just observin.

dan

yeah.....seems like I go thru that every Sat morning. But I really don't have time to enjoy the sight the peloton disappearing as my heart rate's at 200......and cannot concentrate on anything at that moment.

me too. saturday's morning ride is tough. it's not a matter of if i get dropped, but when. fun while it lasts though.

just joined a club and i have a feeling my saturdays might be spent watching everybody ride off...haha. my goal is to at least keep them in sight.

Yeah. My Saturday morning group ride is an out-and-back to the county line. At least if I get dropped on the way out, I get another shot at it.

I'm too scared to do those rides when I think I'm not fit enough.

Way, way back, before I did my first ever track race, I spent a whole track season hiding in the bushes at the velodrome with a stopwatch, then spent the following off-season making sure I could get close to the required times. I was too scared to go down there and be embarrassed

am i missing something here? it is never beautiful when all your hard work....all the early mornings....all the pontificating over diet and bike weight and training....ends up for naught, and you are rearview mirror candy.

i know....i know.....you get better when you ride with better riders>keep plugging away and you'll eventually hang on....

but i am a no excuse guy. it temporarily drains me of my love for biking and competing. it is mentally draining as it is physically so. i don't care if i am riding with the USPS guys or another quick ride with local legends.

there are several moments of truth on these rides. are you in it to win it?

It's a fine line between sport and recreation. I agree you almost have to commit to participate in the suffering or be relagated to riding alone. If you're not agressive, if you're not fit, then you need to be or else you're gone. There are only so many time one can start a group ride and not finish before you lose face. The older you get, it becomes less about being with the "in" crowd and the more about pride. However, the other way to think about group rides is as a surrogate for actual races. If you never plan to race, you can at least enjoy some level of competition without the risk of crashing in a fast-paced group ride.

-mark

I know it's not the end of the world, but I've gotta agree; I'd be devasted. Maybe I've gotta broaden my interests.

Years ago I did a criterium on a very, very tight circuit through a shopping mall with short straights and narrow roads. I had no warm up. They took off like a shot, and I just couldn't corner at the required speeds, or get my gear changes happening for the short straights, or get my legs happening without a warm up. Needless to say, I got dropped, and I felt sick having to return my number to the organizers in front of all those people after only 10 mins. Infact, I vaguely remember hiding at the back of the course for a while before returning it.

I agree, it is a beautiful sight! I like to win as much or more than the other guy but that's only part of it. You can always come back to fight another day. Train smart, have fun, keep it in perspective.

Nope..... those days are over for me. I'm in it just for the fun.....even if the ride in the peloton lasts only a few measly miles.

you=missing my point