I went to the beginner's ride at one of the LBS's. I'd last done this ride 3 weeks ago, and I've been putting on some miles since then, so I was ready to go faster and longer than I ever had.

They're all preparing for the Tour de Cure at the end of the month, so they decided to do the part of the route that was nearby--for 25 miles. Previously we'd only done about 20-22 miles, but I was up for it.

For some reason, about a mile out, I found myself out front, because I can coast really fast. I'm not about to slow down to stay in the back when I know coasting will get me up that hill yonder! So, I zoomed by everyone, knowing they'd catch me eventually. Well, this time, only one guy did! I stayed out front for abut 6 miles with him, keeping about a 14 mph pace, which is fast for me. Eventually we got to a long slight ascent and it ended up spitting me out the back, but that's okay. The scenery was gorgeous.

The ride leader (Max) hung back with me as we went on (I think he's GREAT). We were going up and down some rollers and mostly flattish. At about 12 miles I checked my average and it was 13 mph. Five miles later it was 13.5! Then we went down a long hill in the dappled shade on smooth pavement, and in the middle of the road there was a bump that I couldn't see. It was ramp shaped, going long down the hill. I caught AIR with both wheels! Holy cow it scared the bejeebers out of me! But, I didn't fall!

I don't know if the hard landing did something, but later in the ride I stopped being able to use the cogs at the top and bottom of the set. Each time I used the higher cogs on the middle ring the chain would try to jump around. :P Those were the gears I needed to keep up the pace! Max tried to fix it and it worked for a while, but then I ended up walking a hill because I couldn't shift. Then when I got off the bike to walk, my left ham started to cramp. Max worked on the bike again, and while we tried to catch up a little he let me draft off him and we were doing 22 mph! He kept leaving me behind, although we did catch up to the group.

But, for the last 5 miles I had but 3 gears--big, middle, small on the front rings. Everyone left me except the leader and another guy who always hangs in the back. At 2 miles to home he gave us a choice to go one way or another--it was known hills vs. unknown hills (Max knew them), so I had to ride a big hill with only 3 gears, two of which wouldn't have done me any good, lol. But, I did make it up without having to walk again.

Total miles for the day, 28--my longest ride in one sitting (I did 30 on the Katy Trail, but over 8 hours). Avg mph 13.5. I think it was a great day and a lot of the people were full of compliments on my improvement. It's nice when someone else notices, because I'm usually the only one who can tell.

I dropped off the bike at the new LBS for a total tune-up, so I hope that fixes it right up.

Karen