I rode with the big dogs this week--all guys who feel some need to prove their masculinity on the bike. Most of these guys race with my husband so they know who I am. But, I never get to ride with them because of scheduling conflict. As we were breaking off to groups, the leader (and friend of DH) kindly suggested that I ride with the slower group--he didn't want my feelings to be hurt if I was dropped. I pretended I didn't hear him.
We took off for a 45 mile ride and kept a pace at 23-26 mph, once getting up to 29 (YIKES!). I just kept plugging along and doing my rotations. It felt great to fly. After about 20 miles I noticed our group had whittled down from 13 to 10. And at 30 miles, we were down to just 5 of us. I guess some of the guys couldn't handle the heat. The most satisfying part of the ride was the last 10 miles, Mr. You-Should-Ride-With-The-Slower-Group dropped off the back which left myself and one other cyclist.
It was awesome to beat everyone back to the LBS. As the other stragglers arrived I was laying back sipping an ice cold beer. Suckers!!!!!!
