April 15th rides SUNDAY

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I had been feeling pretty confident about my riding skills and physical condition until then, but that e-mail destroyed my confidence....
I felt like I was just such an idiot who had no business on a bike by then and the rest of the climb proceded at an agonizingly slow crawl. We did finally make it home after about a hundred years, averaging only 11 mph on a ride that was very hard, frustrating and demoralizing.

I guess it is better to experience these things now rather than on the tour so we can access our (my) weaknesses and work on them

Lots of people would "rise to the challenge" of this and train HARD for that tour next month and they'd say "go for it!". But I think a little differently. If i were in your place I would try to cancel the tour based on what the email said about average speed.
I like a good workout and a challenge, and I like pushing myself to my next level...but when it becomes something that is demoralizing to me and just makes me feel BAD I might decide it is just not a positive situation for me to put myself in. Biking is supposed to be fun? There will always be plenty of rides and tours to go on in the future. Do you think your husband would support you in this decision if you explain to him how you feel about it? Many men would become annoyed and urge you should at least try, feeling they were encouraging you by doing that. Other men might be more sympathetic, adaptable, and supportive.
Myself, I consider a 9-13mph pace a "stop and smell the roses" speed. In fact that's my usual average range with hills, ...and I don't even stop to smell anything!
You should decide what is right for YOU and then go with it, whether that means giving it your best shot and working towrards it, or cancelling it.

[lauraelmore1033]

Myself, I consider a 9-13mph pace a "stop and smell the roses" speed. In fact that's my usual average range with hills, ...and I don't even stop to smell anything!
You should decide what is right for YOU and then go with it, whether that means giving it your best shot and working towrards it, or cancelling it.

That is the pace I would consider "stop and smell the roses" too. Actually, now that I've had a chance to reread the leader's response and look over other material about the tour, I think I misunderstood what she wrote. I had written to ask if she would advise against my husband riding his hybrid since we would be going at a "leisurely" pace (which I imagined to be 10-13 mph). She replied that "leisurely" meant something different--depending on your skill and fitness level. She then described these people on the tour who COULD ride a hilly course with an average speed of 14-15 mph. I think I put those two sentences together and skipped the middle bit. I now realize she wasn't saying that these amazing people thought this pace was leisurely, just that they could do it, and that leisurely does indeed mean different things to different people. She did advise against bringing a hybrid, which is probably a good idea.

I think the challenge to be overcome, for me, is a mental one. Low self-esteem has been a stumbling block for most of my life. When I lose my confidence about something....well, the effects are quite dramatic. I have noticed that my ability to climb hills, for instance, has a great deal to do with what's going in inside my head. If I'm relaxed and believe I can do it--by golly I can do it. If I'm feeling anxious about my ability to climb the hill--by golly, I can't do it. At least not without stopping.

With that in mind, I'm going to try the same course again this week and see how it goes before I decide what I want to do. I'm sure my husband would not like to go through a 9 day repeat of today's performance. I imagine he would support (with grumbles) any decision I would make about it. Especially, since I was the one who wanted to come on the tour in the first place.

[mimitabby]

LaurelMoore,
May I ask what tour you are talking about? Perhaps one of us has already done it and can calm your fears?


a lot of people had exciting and important rides today! I'm really impressed! I'm going to go read about the 400k next. My DH did a 300k yesterday and it went well too. Today he only rode 12 miles I rode more than twice that many myself today; so I'm ahead of him, right?