Quantcast

2nd Group road ride...

G-Cracker

Monkey
May 2, 2002
528
0
Tucson, beatch!
Okay, so the first time I did this ride, about three weeks ago, I snapped my chain and was the last rider.

Last night, the weather was beautiful and about 40 riders turned out. There was one recumbant, one mtb bike with slicks and one tandem. The rest were mostly high-end roadies. The moment my buddy and I pull up (he's on a Cervelo and I'm on my 10 year old Cannondale) I notice half the riders look at me and smirk at my Camelbak, muddy mtb shoes and commuter rack. Eh, oh well... I'm here to have fun.

So we all take off. It's such a great feeling riding in a crowd that large and watching people stop and stare! Anyway, I keep with the group along meandering residential streets, but get caught at a stoplight with the back half of the group.

Light turns green and we all take off... and I am slowly being passed one by one until I ride with the back 4 riders. Eventually, even they pull away and I get caught by my lonesome at a stoplight, halfway through the ride (12 miles in.)

Well, that was it... I didn't see anyone the rest of the ride. I'm pushing myself, not trying to catch up, but improve my spinning. Then out of nowhere, bothmy calves cramp up badly and I can hardly pedal. I stretch them still in the saddle and slow my pace until they calm down, and finish the ride.

I pull into the start/finish parking lot of the bar/grill and meet my buddy. We go in have a beer and enjoy the evening. I was pleased to see my average speed was 15.4 mph. It may not be great, but the first time I did this ride, it was only 13.

By the end of the summer, maybe I can hang with these snobby roadies, eh?
 

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
Hey wait a minute... they are snobby because you can't keep up? :p :p :p

I think you are imagining things though - I ride with my mountain pack all the time, my helmet always has mud on it and I don't shave my legs... I have never once felt that any of the big dogs were smirking at me. But then that might be because I carry such a big stick. :cool:

Last week I was pushing very hard at about 24MPH on the flats when one of my calves cramped in the most painful way... I took it as a sign that I was pushing too hard and backed off, I normally do not cramp from riding.

Don't worry too much - most guys who get dropped on group rides never show up again. The fact that you showed up for more punishment says a lot - just remember that every single rider started out just like you.

No one except IndieBoy and Eric ever started at the top. :)
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
There was one recumbant, one mtb bike with slicks and one tandem.
you didn't keep up with them? not even the mtb? hahahaha... just fvcking with you :D There's a few people who toss slicks on their mtbs around here that blow me away.

And I think your pace is quite good.

There could be many reasons for cramping, but if you're not getting enough electrolytes -- sodium, potassium, magnesium -- well, that's an easy fix... bananas, OJ, V8, McDonalds.
 

Heidi

Der hund ist laut und braun
Aug 22, 2001
10,184
797
Bend, Oregon
Why are you wearing a Camelbak? Help yourself out and leave that at home, it's more comfortable to ride without it on a road bike...or any bike for that matter.
 

G-Cracker

Monkey
May 2, 2002
528
0
Tucson, beatch!
Originally posted by LordOpie
you didn't keep up with them? not even the mtb? hahahaha...
LOL... actually I WAS in front of the mtn bike, so that is something I guess! :D But I must hang my head in shame... the tandem kicked my butt. :dead:

Don't get me wrong... I wasn't pissed because I couldn't keep up... hell... I KNEW I wasn't going to keep up. This is a pretty hard-core crowd. Maybe I was just feeling too self-consious (sp?) because the majority of this group has been riding together for 10-15 years and even have matching jerseys. I guess I'm just a little "put-off" by the fact that NO ONE said hi... or welcome.

I'm not going to keep it from me riding with them... I just expected them to do what I would do if someone new showed up... be friendly! :D

Hey, and thanks for the encouragement about the average speed... I don't think it's too bad since I've only been riding my roadie for two months.
 

G-Cracker

Monkey
May 2, 2002
528
0
Tucson, beatch!
Originally posted by Heidi
Why are you wearing a Camelbak? Help yourself out and leave that at home, it's more comfortable to ride without it on a road bike...or any bike for that matter.
hey Heidi... normally I save the Camelbak for my mtb rides, but I left my only bottle at work and didn't want to go without H2O. I plan on buying some extra bottles just to have around but I guess I'm kinda picky... all the bottles I've seen are covered in logos or have a weird top...

I'll shut up... I'm just bitching! :D

I agree that the Camelbak felt strange, especially when I was in the drops. I'll probably leave it at home next time... if I can find some bottles... :rolleyes:
 

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
A good tanden team is a very impressive - I think most people associate with mild mannered middle aged couples. Around town with traffic, lights and turns tandems tend to be cautious but on the open road - you can't touch them.

Originally posted by splat
why ? Tandems are fast!!! I don't understand why people think tandems are slow ? they are not ! if you have 2 strong riders , you are going to MOVE! on my tandem the big chainring is a 56!
 

G-Cracker

Monkey
May 2, 2002
528
0
Tucson, beatch!
Originally posted by Serial Midget
A good tanden team is a very impressive - I think most people associate with mild mannered middle aged couples. Around town with traffic, lights and turns tandems tend to be cautious but on the open road - you can't touch them.
:( Yeah.. I'm guilty of that misconception, too...


obviously.
 

freeride6

Chimp
Sep 22, 2001
11
0
MA
Hey,
I know how you feel....I have just gotton into road riding and I am loving it! It is great to experience different styles of riding, and well as meeting new people, good or bad, nice or mean, happy or angry at the world, they are all out there. i have been riding for about a month and have been going out on rides with my boss (Scott from SCOTTEES WESTPORT BIKE). This memorial day weekend we decided to do a group ride. Thier was a good amout of people there, all ages, and levels, but I still felt like an outcast being new at road riding. We had hit unexpected traffic and arrived 5min. to spare. We grabbed our bikes and headed of. Everyone knows Scott, he is a great rider and allways comes with great riders (not saying I am a great rider but the rest of the Scottees team is allways the front runners), a few people said hi as we started riding (including a very hott chick in spandex:p ) and we rode on. we made it to the front of the pack and were pulling hard. It felt good being in the front but also very akward for me. I felt lost and uneasy but I stuck with it. As we started breaking people off, it came down to 5 of us. An old guy, Scott, two guys that didn't even make an attempt to be nice, a 23mph average, and I. We were really pushing it. The older guy had droped off at about 25 miles, I was feeling good at about 30 miles. And the fro of us were pushing hard. We started climbing some monster hills, and my legs were feeling more and more like 2 giant twislers. At 37 miles I just couldn't make the cut, I fell out of the draft on a steep climb. That was the end of me. I rode 58 miles that day, and my legs were killing me.
So what I am trying to say is don't get discouraged, there are other people in the same boat as you. I am 16 years old and with only 300 miles under me, I have so much to learn.
Ride hard, stay with it, and if anyone makes fun of you...throw a stick in thier spokes:devil:
~Kyle