First of all, thank so much to V, Cindy, CorsairMac and anyone else who encouraged me to do my first solo ride today. It was a great success, even though I'm totally fried!
I did start out with my friend, Beth, who is training for her first Ironman in June. We only rode about the first 2.5 miles together, though. She had a much more aggressive mileage goal and she's much, much faster than me, so she dropped me (by prior agreement) as soon as we got out of the main traffic area. I did a 36 mile loop out to Uvas Reservoir and back from my house. That's my longest ride to date, too. The rollers felt pretty good going out and I felt great at my turn-around point. I still have to stop my bike to get a drink, so I took quite a few little breaks and drank my Cytomax. Beth gave me a GU to try which I took at the turnaround. I don't know if it did anything for me, but it was palatable.
Going back was a lot harder. Had a moderate, and quite annoying headwind the whole way back. The backsides of the hills weren't too bad, but the wind didn't help. Anyway, I made it back, but my legs were pretty tired and my shoulders and neck were pretty worked over. My butt is sore, but not too bad.
So, there you have it! You guys were right! It was a cool experience and I had a lot of time to think, pray, soul-search and contemplate the beauty of our planet. I raced a butterfly for quite a while and saw huge field so full of purple/blue flowers that it looked like a lake. I thought a lot about all of you and how much you've encouraged and inspired me. And it was a huge boost to my confidence in riding. I can do it!! :) Thanks for reminding me.
