Hi, everyone:

I am brand new to cycling. I rode as a kid, obviously, and did a bit of mountain biking with the boys in college. But I really am starting from nothing.

My husband used to race and is one of those guys that hogs up the Tivo during race season AND also subscribes to internet feeds He has been attending Robbie Ventura's training group and I offered to go to one of their once a week for 8 weeks training "camps."

I'm not sure what I expected but, I am used to punishment - heavy weight lifting, serious martial arts, boxing - and this just kills me. I mean I feel practically crippled. The classes last an hour and a half and I think I'm the weakest one there...they're mostly triathletes. It feels kind of discouraging, but I don't want to quit.

Sooo...any way I can accelerate my recovery? I literally hurt for a week right now and I can't ride very much in-between classes. Is this normal? Am I just a pathetic weakling?