I am co-leading some Cinderella training rides in my club in San Jose. Today I was designated sweep. The bulk of the riders took off, I stood waiting while one guy made sure his ensemble was just right "Oh, are you waiting for me?" Finally take off, only to have him stop about 2 minutes later. I can't decide if he's a new rider that thought "riding with girls" would be easy, or just having bike trouble. He tells me to go on without him....byeeeee! I end up riding the first 10 miles by myself, which was great. Buzzing along, not having to worry about the people behind me, or if I need to keep up with those in front. It's a nice day out, it appears there are pelicans on the pond!

I catch up to the group at the model airplane field, after a quick snack and water refill, we take off again. We turn at the 14.5 mile mark and head back (it's a 25 mile ride today) I have a small group at the back, which will be good, the headwinds coming back are usually pretty good, we can help each other out. This is not to be, the majority of the group pull ahead, I am in the back with a lady who appears to be struggling.

From our conversation, she is an experienced rider, she's done a number of local organized rides in the state. So, I'm not sure what her problem was, not enough water, not enough snack (she was nibbling on a box of raisins), off the bike longer than me, or just plain tired. We hobbled back to the start, very slowly, with two or three stops so she could stretch.

I'm exhausted, my legs are so sore! They've never ached like this after a ride. It's tough work when you have to keep a slow pace! Whoda thunk it?!