My first group ride.

Yes, my first. I have been riding forever (over 10 years...seriously the last three) and I train on my own or with a friend or two. When I was married I rode with my husband, and I ride with the guys from the PD. I have done many rallies, but always wind up riding on my own rather than hooking up with a group. So a friend (a guy who likes me a lot and I am warming up to) convinced me to come and try out his LBSs Sunday morning ride. I was reluctant, I like riding on my own. But I agreed and showed up at 7:45. It turned out to be about 10 men and two women plus myself. One of the women was a bit older, she said she had done several centuries, but this was her first time with this group. The other woman had just bought a Blue and I swear I am not sure who put that thing together for her but it was set up very badly. Anyhow, she had never done 30 miles before (the distance for this particular ride) and was basically a novice. It was a no drop ride....sort of.

And I loved it! The guys were nice, and once they figured out I could hang, they were very chatty and conversational. We wound up dividing up into two groups, one with me and the better guys, one with the other two women and the slower guys. My friend stuck with me. The second group was struggling with the hills and seemed to prefer that slower pace. I found that it was so much easier sitting on the wheel of the guy in front of me that I had no trouble at all with the 18 mph average the first group maintained, and, at one point, on a long, flat well paved stretch we pumped along at 27mph...way faster than what I do (except for going downhill or with a tailwind) on my own. It was awesome. The guys were happy to pull, although my friend and one of the other guys sat on my wheel. I am a good climber, and on one incline I passed the strong guy in front of me! Yay me!
Felt great and got the 30 in. We slowed down the last 10 miles to let the slower group catch up, and I talked bikes with the group leader.

I'm hooked.

AWESOME!!!!:D:D:D

You kicked butt out there! Nice to know you can hang with the big boys (not that you ever questioned it to begin with). ;)

What a great first group ride! It can be a lot of fun riding with a group. You find yourself going faster sometimes for two reasons: #1, the draft obviously helps - #2, it's easier to push your limits when you're with a group that might be a little faster than you to inspire you. I, too, was elated to see 27mph on my Garmin recently as I hung on for dear life on a group ride recently. What an adrenaline rush! Sadly, I am NOT a great climber, so that's where I get dropped by almost everyone. But since they regroup at the top of the bigger climbs, I can descend with them, which I'm good at, and try to hang on as best I can on the short climbs or catch up after. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't, but it's great motivation to push myself.

I'm usually one of the few women on group rides, too. It's a great feeling to keep up with the boys. Yesterday, my girlfriend and I did a beach ride, a 44 mile ride on a river trail to the beach and back, mostly flat. Twice we dropped a guy we had hooked up with and took turns drafting with for a while. We LOVED it!!! :D

Glad you had a great first experience. Good for you!

Happy awesome story, and, I am impressed!! Thanks for sharing this!