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  1. #31
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    Concord, MA
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    Demoralizing ride experience today, but it turned out OK in the end. The cycling group that seemed perfect for me has been evolving over the past 10 years. There is often a longer and shorter ride, which is fine, but the longer ride is always at a faster pace. I have always been on the edge of that pace, and I have gone out with these guys (some women, too) a few times over the past 10 years. Today I really wanted to do the long ride, as the shorter ride was advertised at a "relaxed" pace, which means slower than the "normal" pace for this group. So, what's happened is longer always = faster. I can't do 42 miles, with 2K feet of climbing at the faster pace, but I started out anyway. My friend, Jack, who I lead with for another club was sweeping and after about 5 miles, I stayed with him. I tried to abandon then, but he encouraged me and also said he'd go as slowly as I needed. I ride with him a lot, and he knows what I can do. But, after about 11.5 miles, I was at the point where if I continued, it was lots of climbing and I just was not having fun. I am feeling better than in the last few weeks, but my immune system is still wreaking havoc on my body, mostly when I ride. Then I get pissed at myself for being lazy. It's true I don't like to "train," and have been able to do what I want in almost every case. And this group (the faster ones) is almost all older than me, or my age... so I told Jack I was abandoning and I actually had a lovely, bit slower ride home. I had ridden to the start, so I didn't have to go get my car. Got in 27 miles, and despite the heat and humidity, most of it was shaded.
    DH is telling me I need to be kind to myself, but it just gets me angrier when he does this, as he is riding more and getting very fast. I don't have time to do all of the modalities that helped me the last time I went through this (acupuncture, PT, massage, meditation), so I think I am going to pick one thing, which will probably be massage. I also don't feel as badly as I did a few years ago, I know I am not dying, and it will pass. It does seem to be related to the hot weather, and always happens near the end of the summer or early fall.
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  2. #32
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Concord, MA
    Posts
    13,394
    I'm a leader for AMC, not this club. There's a lot of cross over between the groups, and I wouldn't have to "pass" any tests. My issue is that today's shorter ride was advertised at a relaxed pace. In this group, this means slower than the established "regular Wednesday Wheeler pace." The people who show up for anything advertised as relaxed tend to have squirelly bike skills and they scare me! I would have gone on the shorter ride, if it had been the regular pace. I am always in the front of that group, mostly because I climb better than a lot of them. Part of the group splitting stems from 2 things: one, a lot of the original people are too old to ride (like 80+ or dead!) and this group of people around my age have become more visible. They do nothing but ride, long crazy rides every day, but they don't want to give up doing this ride. They are very nice and encouraging, but... the other reason is the groups were getting so big, that we have had the police called on us in a few towns. Anyway, next week is just one ride, up the NH/Maine Seacoast, led by 2 women who ride at about my speed. I haven't been into driving far to rides, but, it's summer and I love this ride.
    I really don't want to get involved with leading for another group, but I will mention this to someone who may be able to do something. I guess, if push comes to shove, I could lead a slightly slower paced version of a long ride. I also think i need to commit to getting out with the faster group in the winter, if the roads are OK, or at least start out with them in some of the early season rides.
    Last edited by Crankin; 08-19-2015 at 01:08 PM.
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  3. #33
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    129
    Yesterday was really fun--just errands, checking in at work briefly, feeding my mom's cat, and so on. I tootled along on my single speed bike, which is simultaneously really relaxing to ride (spins out pretty quickly on the flats, so might as well just go a relaxed pace) and a great challenge and core workout whenever there's a significant uphill. I ended up taking some back roads in the city that I hadn't been on in years--one through a beautiful, peaceful greenbelt, another through the increasingly-vibrant neighborhood I grew up in. I was having such a fun time that I completely lost track of time, and didn't get to lunch until 3:00--when I looked at the time, it suddenly made much more sense why I was feeling a little loopy! It was a lovely day, and 21 miles that I did not put on my car...

    But tomorrow, more mountains.
    1980-something Colnago
    2010 Jamis Quest
    2013 Wabi Classic

    mebikedolomitesoneday.wordpress.com

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Concord, MA
    Posts
    13,394
    I commuted yesterday. A real lack of traffic, as school is starting earlier here this year, and a lot of people are away. It's noticeable. It was not too hot, but so humid, that when I arrived, my hair was still soaked with sweat in some parts, that I couldn't really get the flat iron to do its magic. This has never happened. I mean, it's only 5.4 miles! I had to make a second attempt after my first client, but I generally ended up having a very bad hair day.
    On my way home, I slowed down for a light that was red, but turned green, when I was the third vehicle back. There is a right turn only lane and the lane on the left goes straight (you could turn left here, but not many do). I was directly in the middle of the lane, going straight when I got the feeling that someone was doing something funky. A woman in a Mini decided I didn't have the right to be in the lane, so she decided to pass me, going into the oncoming lane, over a yellow line. The oncoming car laid on the horn, as I yelled some nice swears. I mean, I was sprinting through the intersection, to move over to the right, but you need to stay a little out in the lane here, as there are parked cars, as well as traffic entering the center of town.
    One of the more egregious commuting incidents I've had.
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  5. #35
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Columbus, IN
    Posts
    216
    Quote Originally Posted by Crankin View Post
    DH is telling me I need to be kind to myself, but it just gets me angrier when he does this, as he is riding more and getting very fast.
    I'm going through this now. A friend that I rode a lot with last year has been focusing on getting faster and faster. Because of various issues, I'm slower this year and I find that riding with him just makes me angry at myself as well as self-conscious. I'm looking for others to ride with, but I'm running into the same problems with the local group ride that you have with this group. I can ride forever, but I'm not fast, especially if you add hills. I'm much faster than the short ride group (not all are on road bikes, its a more relaxed ride for sure) but I'm not fast enough for the long ride group and I exhaust myself trying to keep up. I'm new to this group, and I can't make many rides because of my work schedule so that just adds to my self-consciousness. So I'm riding a lot by myself and I've just resolved to work harder over the winter.

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Upstate New York
    Posts
    25
    I was thinking about this the other day, that I can ride for a long time, I would ride all day if the day didn't get in the way!
    I have also been having vague thoughts lately of maybe joining some sort of group for rides, but I have a hybrid not a road bike and I think all these groups are road bike people and I am definitely not fast enough for those groups and am also slow on hills, so I will stay a solo rider for the foreseeable future. Luckily I think I am pretty good company for myself so I don't mind it haha! :-)
    Trek 7.2 fx wsd x2

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Concord, MA
    Posts
    13,394
    I have steadfastly had the attitude that I don't "train," but since I live in a hilly area, on top of a bigger hill, I am OK at climbing. However, I am content to do my climbing at a slow pace, so I don't blow up on a long ride. I also do boot camp, trail run, and other outdoor stuff in the winter. This strategy worked for me for about 7 years, then I had some health issues, and it took me a year to get almost back to where I was. Compared to other almost 62 year olds, I am no slouch. Problem is, I know and ride with a lot of people my age or older that just do sufferfests everyday. I also have some weird medical issues that seem to be aggravated by riding in hot weather. I have a couple of other friends to ride with, but they are slower than me.
    I am rejoining my old health club in October, so I can take advantage of more spin classes this winter; there are not enough at times i can go where I go now. Although I x country ski and snow shoe like crazy, I have issues making myself get on the trainer at home. I am hoping more spin classes and maybe a bike trip to jump start my season in March will help. I'd like to be just a teeny teeny bit faster, like 1 mph on average.
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  8. #38
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Tucson, AZ
    Posts
    1,973
    Aromig- I am just like that- slow but can ride a long way. I ride with a women's group on Saturdays (club?team?) not sure what to call it but I am thinking seriously of quitting because they are all faster than me. I average about 14 mph on long rides. I can't keep up and I sense certain amount of tension about waiting for me sometimes. A couple of the women will stay back with me sometimes but not always. I might as well ride by myself and not worry about catching up with them....I even used a coach last year and I didn't get faster.

    But I just finished my 4th climb up Mt. Lemmon here since late June- starting at about 2400 feet and riding up over 8000 feet. And I've done several 200k brevets.
    2016 Specialized Ruby Comp disc - Ruby Expert ti 155
    2010 Surly Long Haul Trucker - Jett 143

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Concord, MA
    Posts
    13,394
    AZ, you and I would be perfectly matched to ride together ...
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  10. #40
    Jolt is offline Dodging the potholes...
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Southern Maine
    Posts
    1,668
    Sounds like there are a lot of us here who can ride long but not fast...I agree about it sometimes not being worth trying to ride with others, it can be stressful and take the fun out of the ride. I got my butt kicked Saturday doing the 100k route of D2R2...somebody upthread used the word "sufferfest" to describe some rides and I think that is the perfect description for the day I had. Lots of steep climbing, and a few sections of sketchy surfaces (uphill and down). I definitely wished I had gotten more long rides in before the event...that would have made it more enjoyable for sure. I also should NOT have changed my tires from 1.5" slicks to 1.75" semi-slicks, I think the semi-slicks made me work a lot harder than I needed to and really weren't that helpful for traction. Finally, I should not have carried nearly as much stuff on my bike! My average speed for the ride was something like 8.5 mph, so I ended up with just under 7 hours in the saddle for the 60 miles I rode (ended up taking a small shortcut after making a wrong turn that resulted in a heinous descent/climb on a very poor road right before lunch). I did have a minor wipeout on a curve that came up suddenly on a bit of a loose surface...the rear wheel slid out and down I went. Fortunately the only damage was a little road rash on my left arm. I must say, I have never been so glad to finish a ride! If I do that event again, it will either be the 40-miler if I have only been doing 40-45 mile rides in training, or there will be a lot longer training rides for the 100k. And, I may replace the 26t small chainring with a 22t! On the positive side, the weather held out for us (it didn't rain that day) and the event was very well organized overall. It was also fun walking around and looking at everyone else's bikes--people show up on everything from old mountain bikes, to custom cyclocross/gravel bikes, to one guy on a fatbike pulling his dog in a trailer!! I saw quite a few Surlys too. Word to the wise: if you camp in the big field and stay the night after the ride, try to avoid being placed near the campfire area if you want to get to sleep at a reasonable time. There were drunken shenanigans happening until probably 1 am or so, making it impossible to sleep (I probably should have just joined them!).
    Last edited by Jolt; 08-24-2015 at 05:11 PM.
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  11. #41
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Concord, MA
    Posts
    13,394
    But, you finished, Jolt! That ride has always intrigued me, but it's off the table, as I don't have the proper kind of bike. Certainly not going to do on a road bike with a 34 small ring.
    I haven't been riding much. Did a very short ride Saturday, and this morning, DH and I did a 13.2 mile ride at 5 AM. It's fully dark then, now, so back to the "big light." Also, DH tweaked my Garmin, so it is set a bit differently, as to when it start/stops recording mileage. We had noticed that my average was way slower than his on Saturday, even though we were riding together the whole way. So, this morning, I had a nice surprise of an average of over 15. I was working hard, but since I usually have a very good feel for when my average is say, 14 or 15, today my "feeling" matched the Garmin.
    It's going to rain like hell later today, so no commute, and hence the ride at 5 AM.
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  12. #42
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Tucson, AZ
    Posts
    1,973
    Crankin, when are you coming back to Arizona so we can go for a ride
    2016 Specialized Ruby Comp disc - Ruby Expert ti 155
    2010 Surly Long Haul Trucker - Jett 143

  13. #43
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Concord, MA
    Posts
    13,394
    I honestly don't know. I'd kind of like to do that this winter/early spring. If/when it happens, I will defintely come to Tucson. We only have one relative left in the Valley, but a couple of good friends, too. Of course, there's the matter of having a bike to ride.
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  14. #44
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    129
    Yay! I'm at the airport, and my next August bike riding will be in the Dolomite mountains in Italy! Wishing everyone happy riding!
    1980-something Colnago
    2010 Jamis Quest
    2013 Wabi Classic

    mebikedolomitesoneday.wordpress.com

  15. #45
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Concord, MA
    Posts
    13,394
    Have fun, KHG. Dolomites just sounds really, really hard!
    Did a 29 mile ride with a small group today. It's a ride I designed for my club's rally and now the other club uses it, too. There were 2 really nice women there, my friends Jack and Eli, and one man, who was really elderly. We all went slowly for him, which was fine, until he had a chain problem and we stopped for a really long time, after we had done the biggest climb, where he walked. I had to be back to meet our real estate agent at our house at 3, shower, etc. So I went ahead at 12:15, and made it back to my car at Verril Farm by 1:05. I was so hungry, I ate half a sandwich in the car, and had plenty of time to shower, change, etc. I felt pretty good, even when I was going fast (er) after I left the group, so it seems like my medical things/allergies are all settling down.
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