May 1 ride

... It was a rabbit ride!!!

I rode my Gazelle to the level 1 "Pedaling for Pleasure" ride... except that the vagaries of the weather (storms in the afternoon) meant it was just 3 of us... 3 who had been sneaking out to ride Tuesday nights together faster than level 1.
On the Gazelle (45 pound Dutch commuter bike) I got to draft (behind some nice scenery) and still work hard... and then we turned to come back and this spandex-laden fellow is coming towards us but turns down the same road we're going to head down. Rabbit, rabbit indeed!!!!
We've got a half a mile between us ... but we start inching up. I find the best drafting position, throw her into seventh gear, and the three of us are chomping up the real estate until we absorb this guy and spit him out behind us. Not sure how he felt about being passed ... well, except that when we turned back into the tailwind he found the strength to blast by us at 25 mph or so, and then we turned so there was no chance of a remix (which would have been possible 'cause he didn't keep up *that* pace).
We got up to 21.3 mph with the tailwind (tho' they could have been doing 28, prob'ly)... and I got an extra 16 miles of workout instead of level 1.

I went out for the first of the Tuesday night women's rides sponsored by NEBC. It was a blast and I plan to attend regularly. We did a 20 mile loop at a pace of around 16+ mph, but there were 2 or 3 other groups so everyone could chose a comfortable pace or get instruction in pacelining. As someone who doesn't ride in groups very often, this was a low-key comfortable way to ease into group riding. SheFly led the group of 8 that I rode with. It was beautiful to see her lead the group, then drift to the back and pick up stragglers, then charge back to the front in a burst of power. The route was nice and took me to a lovely hill I hadn't been on before. Looking forward to future rides and gaining confidence at working in a group.

DebW - so glad to hear that you had a good time last night! I think the group worked well together, and I had a blast meeting new people. Also glad that you will be coming out regularly - that was the overwhelming feedback that we received!

For anyone else in the Metro Boston area - Tuesday evenings at 6:00 pm on the Lexington Green. This is a WOMEN'S ONLY ride that caters to all ability levels with different distance routes and coaching on paceline skills etc.

Hope to meet some more of you as the season progresses.

SheFly

I had a good 22 mile ride. Temps were in the 60's with light wind. I explored a new rode that was smoother than most chip and seal I travel with almost no traffic. I passed several dead pheasants on the road. A farm that was close by probably raise pheasants for hunting season. Farm grown pheasants are very tame -not savvy so become road or hunt kill very easily.