Here I go....

[Hammer]

Well, I'm off to my first organized group ride thingy... I wanted to try to ride the 35 mile loop... but I just don't know.

Winds: From the South at 21 Gusting to 28 MPH

I may bail and do 15 instead. Hmmm.

I am nervous though. I guess that I'd better eat my Wheaties.

Have a good day!

[latelatebloomer]

Hammer, I'll be thinking good thoughts of effortless miles for you today. I haven't done any group rides, so I'm eager to hear how it was!

[Hammer]

Overall, the ride was a good experience.

However, the rides were not 35 and 45... they were 27 and 37. Apparently there was the same error last year and they forgot to change it this year. Ah well, it's a really cool route, I'll probably ride it myself again.

ALSO, The wind was HORRIBLE!! We really were fighting it for 3/4's the way. It was a SW wind, and it was a semi tail/cross wind on the way out, but then we were fighting it all the way back in to town. Miserable. So, by the time we were getting up to mile 25 or so and we're getting in to town and back to the start point part of me is like, "Wait a minute, I told people that I was going to ride 35 miles! I don't CARE if I have to fight the wind... I want to follow through, damn it!" But then the other part of me was like, "Oh thank God! I am ready to be done, it FELT like I just rode 35 miles!" So, I compromised. I went and ate my meal and then on my way home (my house was only a mile or so from the event site) I stuck in a few extra miles to finish out the route.

I found another woman to ride with. We were dropped by the pack right away. The woman I rode with had a hybrid type bike but with fatter tires than I have. There were a few times that I could've ridden on ahead a bit quicker, but it's good for morale to ride with someone else. I generally can deal with wind, at the time I didn't know that it was only a 27 mile ride (I've ridden 26) and I didn't know how I would react to the wind, distance and I didn't really know if there were many hills. So, I was perfectly content just taking our time. I was able to get to the top of the little hills quicker, though sometimes I would just zone out and plug away, I'd look back and she'd be a block or so behind me.

I was telling her about drafting, I generally just ride by myself, so I was curious to try it with this wind. I went first and she couldn't find the pocket. Then I tried to ride behind her and couldn't really tell a difference. Then when I reached the top of another incline I looked back and she was drafting behind the SAG vehicle. Good plan, I told her she was a cheater, I didn't mean it of course. I rode behind the car a little too, and it must've helped because we got above 10 mph for a bit. The driver said she wouldn't tell anybody.

But, I'm going to send this website to this other lady. She said she hadn't bothered to look for much online. She's been riding for a year or so and wants to do the MS150 next year, so I think she'd benefit a lot from the experiences of others on here.

I only just got my bike on July 23, I'm not quite to 350. I'm glad to have met a few other hobbyists in town. It was a fun morning... though it would've been an even more positive experience if we could've had a tailwind on the way home!!!

[Nanci]

What a great ride report! Too bad they screwed up the distances. That was funny, your friend drafting behind the sag vehicle. I'm slow- I can relate!

The wind was really bad for my ride today, too. I think it's from Hurricane Ophelia hanging around offshore. It's been bad all week. What I hate is, I think, ok, the wind is bad, but when I turn around, it will be better, but it never is! What's up with that?

Going on an organized ride like that, the Horrible Hundred (I only did 37) in Clermont, FL last year, totally spur of the moment, was what got me hooked on road biking. (I'd been MTBing for five years or so.) I used to love going to events like that, for running, but was having problems running, and was also really into endurance running, like in the ten hour range, so cycling seemed so much easier on my body but I could still get the same kind of enjoyment out of it as I had with running, by going to fun rides and by increasing my distance/time. I can't wait till the next thing in a couple weeks, which will actually be only my second organized ride, the Six Gap Century in Dahlonega, GA (I'm only riding [or walking!] three gaps) and then the following weekend there are century rides on Saturday and Sunday right in my home town, so I plan on doing the Santa Fe Century on Saturday, which will be my longest ride ever, and then seeing what's left of me for the Horse Farm Hundred the next day. Maybe nothing, maybe the 25 mile ride.

Isn't it fun???!!!

Nanci

[Hammer]

Winds Now: From the South at 21 Gusting to 33 MPH

It seems like the breeze keeps whipping around and isn't ever at our back today. Ah well. I did pretty well today anyway. The SAG wagon helped a bit, but I couldn't tell a lot.... But I didn't try very hard to draft. I'm a stubborn mule sometimes.

My riding partner today is chomping at the bit for a new road bike... so, we were admiring everybody's wheels. I think she'll be fast when she's finally able to switch. I think that I can still get stronger on my Trek 7200 before needing to move up. I don't really know what's necessity.

There was a heavier woman on a roadbike. Not that it matters... biker's do seem to be all shapes and ability... I'm not saying anything bad, I'm always happy just seeing people get out and do something physical and something to better themselves. That's my motivation, I just want to be healthy.

Anyway, I'm just trying to watch people and figure out what difference equipment, physique, etc makes. I'll never know how much riding people have done up to that point. The woman I was watching seemed like one of her group's newer people. She was on a roadbike and passed me on flats. I passed her going up a hill. Then she dropped me again on the otherside. I suppose it has to do with how the two of us were geared, if we were each in different ratios.

I know that I shouldn't be comparing myself to others. I look at it as observation and trying to figure out the mechanics of people AND their rides.

There's a group that rode ahead of us, but didn't really drop us until the end. If we could've ridden just a little faster and drafted with them somehow... that could've helped. Maybe. But they got to the end well ahead of us.