I'm having a dilemma re:Century Ride this weekend and group

[Nole Girl]

So I have been training for a century that is going to take place on this Sunday. I have been riding with a group of women and the plan was for us all to ride together on Sunday, but I am having a dilemma that I wanted to run by you ladies. Here is my dilemma...I am the slowest person in the group. I can keep up with everyone on the flats but when we hit the hills, I fall waaaaay behind. I have also missed the last two training rides because I was out of town and to top it all off, I caught a cold and have been sick this week. Perfect timing, right??? Anyway, I'm really down in the dumps because I don't want to ride the century by myself, but I don't want to hold the rest of the group back. At this point, I'm not even sure I can complete the 100 miles because I'm not feeling 100% health wise.

I did the same ride last year and finished the 100 so I know that I can do it, but I am really worried that if I push myself to keep up with the group, I will completely crash and burn especially since I'm battling a stupid cold. I also know that I can draft for a lot of the ride, but I'm not sure that I can lead the paceline for any extended amount of time. Kind of rude I think, yeah?

I know if we ride together they will wait for me, but I don't want to put them in that situation if they want to go at a faster pace, and I HATE having them wait for me.

Thoughts??? Opinions???

[jobob]

I don't want to ride the century by myself, but I don't want to hold the rest of the group back.

I know if we ride together they will wait for me, but I don't want to put them in that situation if they want to go at a faster pace, and I HATE having them wait for me.

Thoughts??? Opinions???

Well ... perhaps one or two others in your group might also not feel up to going full out. At least then you'd have someone to ride with.

If not, seems to me you will either need to ride it by yourself, or your group will have to wait up for you.

Or maybe you could sweet-talk someone who's not doing the ride into giving you a lift over the hills (that's farfetched, I know).

I see this is your first post. Welcome to TE.

[OakLeaf]

There are stronger and weaker riders in every paceline, and everyone has bad days now and then. No one will think it rude if you take only token pulls (i.e. peel off as soon as you get to the point). Surely you've seen people do that in your training rides with this group.

But if you don't feel up to sitting in, how big a ride is it? Is it the kind of ride where you will always have someone to ride with, even if it isn't who you started with?

Is it only a century, or are there shorter distances you could do?

[idak]

When I set out on a long group ride I always know there's a good possibility I'll ride part of it, maybe even a lot of it alone because I ride with people faster than me. I plan on enjoying being by myself and I know if I keep my own pace I can finish. I learned this the hard way this past Feb. trying to keep up with my group on a double century. I pushed too hard and had nothing left by mile 160.I was much smarter on the next one I did a month later. I rode my pace and finished by myself and had a very exciting ride trying to navigate alone in the dark&rain. So, my advice is do the ride. Make clear to your group that you prefer to keep your pace and don't want people hanging back waiting(that always makes me tense).Enjoy the scenery and your bike and finish strong.

[Grits]

When someone I ride with has not been well, I always offer them the option of only drafting that day. I don't think your group would have a problem with that, and if they, do, well...maybe time to find a new group. Just address the issue up front so everyone knows what to expect.

[radacrider]

Back in the day, we never climbed hills at the same rate. We did regroup at the top, though. We had some really strong riders who would hammer to the top and then come back down to give encouragement and support.

So, like the others have said, let the group know ahead of time and talk about how the group will deal with hills.

[pll]

At this point, I'm not even sure I can complete the 100 miles because I'm not feeling 100% health wise.

I did the same ride last year and finished the 100 so I know that I can do it, but I am really worried that if I push myself to keep up with the group, I will completely crash and burn especially since I'm battling a stupid cold.

You are battling a cold, so your body needs energy to recover. Perhaps take a shorter route (if offered as part of the organized ride), so you ride at your own pace, enough to break a sweat but without over exerting, which might result in dragging the cold along much longer than you would like.

[Nole Girl]

Thanks for the welcome and the replies. Right now, I am just being a big whiney butt because I WANT to ride but I know that I am just not up to it. The ride is broken into 25 mile segments so I can do whatever I feel like, but I was so excited to be able to ride with a group this year. It just sucks.

[Biciclista]

there are many more rides in your future. Take care of yourself now and keep riding. I hope you get to go out and ride with them even if it's only 25 miles of it.
take care. (I'm the slow one too)

[Velocivixen]

@Nole Girl....well, what happened? It's Sunday, so I presume you either are riding at this moment or you already finished. How did it work out? How do you feel? Were your riding buddies understanding? Whatever happened I hope you enjoyed yourself and do get well soon.

[Nole Girl]

Thanks for asking. I decided to ride by myself (well, there were 2000 other riders so I wasn't really "by myself"). I didn't want to put the group in the position to wait or not wait for me. I was also kind of embarrassed to even ask 'cuz it makes me feel like a slacker.

Anyway, I was planning on starting and at about mile 20 there is a Starbucks so I figured if I was miserable, I would head into the 'bucks and chill. I ended up feeling really good once I started riding. I finished the half, thought about riding to the 75 and than good sense prevailed and I quit at the 50 mile turnaround. I'm so glad I did because it was soooooo hot, and I felt good when I finished. I'm still disappointed that I wasn't up to the 100 today, but what the hell...there WILL be other rides.

Here is a picture at the top of one of the climbs. It was actually taken on a training ride but this is some of the awesome scenery I got to look at today.

[IMG]
IMG_0821 by kymberlee2, on Flickr[/IMG]

[Koronin]

That is a really cool picture.

[Velocivixen]

Thanks for the update! You did the right thing for you and that's all that matters. Great photo and breathtaking scenery. I'm like you in that I like to plan for "options" during my ride, so that if I decide I can't or don't want to keep going I can go for lunch or stop for coffee! Good going.

[turbojackie]

I think you did the right thing. There will be other rides and your health is the most important thing!

Beautiful scenery!

[sarahkonamojo]

Wow! How can you ride ANY distance with a view like that?
Hey, you did 50 miles when not at the top of your game. Nice!