Last Friday I was able to ride with a dear MS 150 training buddy from last year. She went back to work, so it’s been a challenge for us to find ride time together. I knew she would be off work last week, so I arranged a sitter Friday morning and met her where a bunch of cyclists meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
It was a gorgeous day, too- lots of sunshine and just a touch of wind. I was so happy to see her and a bunch of the other cyclists. (I don’t actually know many of the others except a few… I know a few names, and I wish my schedule would allow for more cycling so I could see them more, but, oh well… those are the choice I make. I’m happy for the cycling time I do get.)
Anyhow, I decided to take a quick bathroom break before we got rolling, except it wasn’t quick enough. When I came out of the bathroom, I noticed the group pedaling out of the parking lot. Yikes! I didn’t even have my gloves and helmet on yet! What a start! Fortunately, my friend Deb stayed behind and waited for me to get ready.
At first we tried to pedal like the wind and catch up, but that crew really moves, so we reminded ourselves we were out for a nice ride and a decent workout-we weren’t out there to knock ourselves out trying to catch up with the pack that is much faster than us, anyhow. Had we started with them, we likely would have kept up, but starting a few minutes behind really threw us off.
We did meet up a few miles down the road at a potty break (guess I should have waited). And once the group got going, we did lag behind pretty quickly again.
I’m not such a fan of drafting, so I was hanging back a bit from the cyclist in front of me, which causes a gap and really messes up the whole drafting thing for everyone.
As it turned out, there was a man behind us who finally asked, “Are ya’ll a part of the group?”
“Well, kind of,” was our response. Then off he zoomed and Deb and I just had to laugh.
We had a great ride and great visit, though. Last year I didn’t talk much while training. This year I’ve enjoyed visiting with fellow riders much more. And it was fantastic to catch up- we hadn’t cycled together since the first Saturday in June!
At one point we passed the other group who was waiting while one rider changed her flat tire. But soon they passed us and then we came upon a lone rider from the pack who stopped as he was having some sort of trouble.
We pulled over, explaining we didn’t have much mechanical expertise, but we could offer moral support. As it turned out, Deb did have a tool which he didn’t and yet needed, so I’m especially glad we stopped.
Our new friend had a broken spoke and then even more trouble with his wheel. I was impressed when he decided to remove his rear brakes so his wheel wouldn’t rub the frame. I don’t know that I would have figured that out or known how to remove the brakes.
Anyhow, after about 30 minutes, we were riding again with someone new for conversation. And it was a great ride.
Like I said, it was a gorgeous day. At the end of the ride I almost hated getting in the car and driving off. But I was thankful for the opportunity… for the physical ability to ride, for the weather, for a babysitter and supportive husband, for friends, and for all the cattle, horses, farmland and other beauty that I got to fly by out there. Thank you God, for all of that.
So how fast DID we go? We averaged 15.8 mph for 42 miles. (That’s about 1600 calories on my heart rate monitor, btw!!) And remember… we were the slow ones!
But, even though we were to too slow to keep up, I think we were at the perfect pace for enjoying the ride and the beauty of the day.
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