Freaking out a little...

[Sky King]

remember it's a ride, not a race. Ride your own pace and keep smiling

[ride4fun]

I did my first two supported rides this summer.
Before that it was just with my husband and me & sometimes a few of his friends.
I was also real nervous about riding with people I didn't know and not being able to make it.
The first ride was a two day 90 mile mt. bike ride over some big passes. I ended up walking some and getting a lift on the support ATV both days, but in the end I had ridden 84 miles of it ,and found everyone to be real nice and supportive.
The next one last weekend and was on a road bike ( I just got into road biking so this ride really had me nervous ) it was a 14 1/2 mile ride up to Bogus Basin Ski Resort, I made and had alot of fun .(The down hill was a blast)
I learned that I am stronger then I thought and it was fun even though I was the slowest person there LOL
You will do great ,have fun.

[Kathi]

You'll be fine, my memories of that area are the hills aren't that hard, although the farther east you go it gets hillier.

Just remember you only have a limited no. of candles to burn so don't start out to fast. People tend to start when they're ready so you may not have crowded roads.

A funny story, when I started riding many years ago I thought 4 miles was a long ride. One Easter my SO and I camped at John Bryan State Park. I had just gotten my new bike and was eager to go for a ride, so off we went. It was windy and very hilly. I walked alot of hills. The ride took forever. Next morning I could barely walk.

Years later we went back and rode the same route. Not only was it easy, I couldn't find those awful long hills or any hills of conquence but I found out my SO had conned me into a 30 mile ride.

After that day and a few rides around Georgetown, Ky. I decided if I was going to ride in the Ohio Valley I had to like hills and learn how to ride them.

[malkin]

You're going to do great! You know--it's like riding a bike--you don't forget!

Of course in the unlikely event that something crazy happens: a) we'll still love you and b) we will be waiting to hear about it!

[Dogmama]

98% of what I fear never comes true.

Be sure to give us a ride report!

[MichelleOH]

How did your ride go, Owlie?

[Owlie]

I'm back, and have been for a while.

So, the brochure said "rolling terrain." Uh, yeah. If by "rolling" they mean "the first half of the ride contains four Hills of Death," sure. The first was a mile or two into the ride, and I sure as heck wasn't expecting it. I walked about a third of it. The second one, as I later found out, is known to the host club as "Devil's Backbone". I walked half of that one. Apparently someone threw up on it. I walked a fair bit of the third one. (I was not the only one to walk these!) After the third hill, there was some flat ground and the rest stop, where I topped up on Gatorade and water, and a banana, and a strawberry, and PB on bread, and chex mix. They fed us well. Lest you think that the first leg was all uphill (it felt like it!), there were some nice descents. As it turns out, I'm not too afraid of them any more. Just descents on crappy pavement. I hit 35 on one, and that was with me applying the brakes!

Post-rest stop was the last of the Hills of Death. Not steep, just long and the grade kept changing. I walked the initial part that was steepest, then hopped back on the bike and ground out the rest at 8mph. I rode part of this route with someone I met through work. He dropped back, though, because he had some derailleur issues. Lunch was also generous. A hot dog, chips, another banana, salad, a cookie. Picked up a bag of peanuts to go. The last 10 miles weren't bad in terms of terrain, but it was hot and open farmland.

A fair number of the roads, being rural, were chip-seal. If I ever do this ride again, it will be on carbon or steel that fits properly. And I will be much better at hills.

[jyyanks]

Congratulations on your first organized ride! Sounds like it went well despite the "not so rolling" hills. Once the first one is out of the way, they probably won't be so scary (this coming from someone who has yet to do an organized ride).

[zoom-zoom]

A fair number of the roads, being rural, were chip-seal. If I ever do this ride again, it will be on carbon or steel that fits properly. And I will be much better at hills.

NOW you know why I lasted only a year on my aluminum bike. It's really amazing the difference between that frame and my carbon one. I HATED chip-seal. Now I tolerate it...it doesn't bother me so much. I just accept that the ride will be a bit slower. We rode a lot of chipseal yesterday. 2 years ago I would have been in tears by the end of it. Though I will say that my aluminum Redline CX bike seems to mute the vibration MUCH better than my Synapse did. So the actual design of the tubing must play a big role. The Synapse had oversized and thinner tubing than my Redline. Probably a different grade of aluminum, too.

Great job on your ride...you did it!