Quote Originally Posted by Crankin View Post
Yes, I do feel the need to keep up, and since the ride was listed to be a certain way, and it wasn't, I can get quite negative in an instant. But, I think doing this once in awhile is good for me. A few things I notice are, that I am better at group rides in the early spring/winter or even fall, when this group is smaller, and even the fast guys slow down. I start feeling burned out with riding by this time of year, but it has to do with the hotter weather. I have a chronic issue (I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia a few years ago, but I don't have a lot of the common symptoms) that rears its head in heat, that is more than heat exhaustion. I push through it, because it's the same every year. I was way ahead in my mileage by the end of June, but I have not ridden that much in July, so it will end up the same. I really want to get to 3K miles this year, and the the years I've done this were years I did this Wednesday ride quite a bit. These people are nice, not typical azzhole riders, so I deal. They are not my best friends, but after 11 years, they know me. And, a lot of them overlap with the group I lead for.
I really wish I had started riding much earlier in my life, like when I started doing aerobics at the gym, in my late 20s/early 30s.
If wishes were fishes... yea, the one thing that will make me all kinds of cranky and negative is a co-opted supposed-to-be-cruising ride, and I *don't* get negative fast.
So... last year "caught up" with you... welp, you're still pretty even though, right? ... I'm reminding myself NOT to be a slave to numbers this weekend because if I ride long I could make up for this week's low mileage but... I wilt in the heat and it's supposed to get to 96 Friday (which since we're on four-day weeks is my "day off - ride long" day). Happily, I *can* tell myself that I am at least a small chunk ahead of last year.
Unhappily, my shoulder is still all tight adn hurting ... I guess I should dig out the heating pad, as absurd as that seems in the heat.
I promised to ride around in a gorilla suit Saturday... I think I'll find my shoulder bags and load them up with ice packs for air conditioning...