Out of the Comfort Zone and Into the Fire

Today I embarked on my very first group ride (not including charity rides). I met up with five other riders and headed out for a flat and easy 50 mile ride in the Delta. Having never attempted a ride of this distance, I was a bit apprehensive. Worse, I was riding with much more experienced riders. Not only that, but they were people I had never met. I was more than a little nervous. However, my normally crippling shyness was obliterated once I actually arrived, as they were all very friendly and encouraging.

One big bonus of participating in this ride is that rider #5 was actually in a car following behind us and providing SAG. This alleviated some anxiety regarding technical issues and the possibility that I wouldn’t be able to ride the distance successfully. It also made me feel like a bit of a rock star.

We rolled out at about 9 am. At first, I didn’t have any issues keeping up, but I think the pace was a bit slower than what was originally planned. The morning was brisk with a light breeze that soon turned into a nasty crosswind. I normally avoid wind so this was a new experience for me. However, riding with a group allowed me to use the other riders to my benefit. Regardless, I about pooped out half way through the ride and couldn’t get my groove back. It wasn’t at all a concern with cardio (or the fact that I have asthma), but more that the muscles in my legs decided they’d had enough. It didn’t help that I kept thinking that my seat was too low and my knee was causing pain at one point.

At mile 35, the other woman in the group and I decided that we’d switch out so her husband could ride and we drove the remaining miles back to where we parked. Despite my botched attempt at 50 miles, I feel somewhat accomplished by the 35 miles I did ride since the last time I was on the bike was two weeks ago.

I’m now looking back and troubleshooting my ride. Why was I “too pooped to pop” after only about 25 miles? I have a lot of work to do before I’m ready to attempt a metric century or successfully ride the LIVESTRONG Challenge. Strength and endurance need to be gained, more weight needs to be lost, and I need to acquire some hill climbing skills.