Quote Originally Posted by BarbaraAlys View Post
See, I found it much more demoralizing to have every one passing me! the important thing is to not get hung up in the crowd with everyone, for me. I'm not adept enough to get around a fallen rider quickly.
I had a similar experience on my first organized ride (35 miles). I'd never riden with anyone else than my BF, so I was very nervous when I was surrounded by all the bikes and had a hard time clipping in at the start (started in the middle of the crowd - wrong!!). I'm super slow so everyone kept on passing me - I was very demoralized - I finished the ride but stopped riding after that.

Earlier this year I decided it was time to get back on the bike. Now this time I did it differently, I joined Team in Training and signed up for my first Charity ride. This gave me lots of motivation and the team training I needed. What a difference, I had no idea there were so many rules of the rode, skills, etc. I had some good & bad days but every one of them taught me something. And after 4 months of training I finished my century ride two weeks ago

The things that were most important for me:
1) BELIEVE in yourself (your stronger than you think)
2) Enjoy it and have FUN (you'll be less tense and not so sore)
3) Drink LOTS of water before, during and after the ride
4) Eat a good breakfast (food is your fuel)
5) LISTEN to your body (take care of those aches / pains)
6) You're not alone - listen to the advice from the more experienced riders/teammates. I learned a lot from TE....lifted me up on those low days - thank you !

Now I'm trying to decide what my next ride will be