Thanks, that was good advise and helped me to evaluate why I race.

For me it's because I like the competition. Someday I want to be strong enough and fast enough to really be competitive. But right now I am still so very new to the sport. This is only my second season even on a bike again. Sometimes I'm to competitive and get depressed when I get dropped. But what I have learned is that most of the women and men I race with have been riding for longer then I have, and they didn't just start seriously trying it this year. I sometimes have issues of wanting it all now.

But everytime I go out I learn something new from a mistake that I have made and how to improve. When I do get dropped it turns into my own race like how long can I go before I get lapped or how few times can I keep from getting lapped right now. In the process my fitness increases and cruise and endurance pace gets better.

Oh yeah having someone to chase down even if I don't catch them motivates me to go faster and raise my heart rate to I get a much better workout.