Went for a fun ride yesterday [long]

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
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So, I got my new (used) road bike a few weeks ago and finally got all the other stuff I needed to go riding (helmet, gloves, shoes, etc...). I have been on a couple of solo rides in the 10-15 mile range but haven't really pushed the envelope. That all changed yesterday...

My local bike shop organizes a group ride on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings. I was led to believe that Tuesday was the easy ride and that I would probably have no problem with it.

I leave my house and tell my wife I will be back in an hour or so. I show up at the meeting spot at 6:00 on the dot and they group is all pulling out - 8 guys and 1 gal all in matching team jerseys. Hmmm... I think to myself.

I jumped onto the back of the line and made a joke about asking if it was okay to not have a yellow jersey on and away we went. They seemed pretty nice and welcomed me into the group. Not knowing how things would go or where we were going, I hung at the back and played remora.

We started off with some flats and long downhills which I was pleased to find quite enjoyable. My bike seems to coast downhill remarkably well and I kept slingshotting forward in the group.

About an hour into the ride we were still heading away from home and I realized that this was going to be a bit of an "expedition". I had yet to get my second wind, and the group leader decided to push the pace a bit up a long gradual hill. I soon got the feeling of impending doom and lo and behold the entire group pulled away from me. Getting dropped slowly but inevitably is the worst feeling ever... :(

About 2 miles down the road, someone came back to pull me back to the group and apologized for the drop. I was fine with it and almost told them to forget about me if it happened again (would have been a big mistake as I was nowhere near where I thought I was at the time). I popped some energy gel and chugged some gatorade and soon my second wind hit. I was back with the group and all was well. I got dropped once more but I caught up at a long light soon after. The rest of the ride was uneventful except for the 2 mile 40mph downhill :D

At the end of the ride I learned we had covered 36 miles at an average speed of about 17mph.

Not bad for my first group ride in 15 years. They even invited me back...



cliff notes: went for a ride and you should learn to read you lazy fvck!
 

blackdogdeek

Lifer
Mar 14, 2003
14,453
10
81
where did you think you were that you actually weren't?

i'm interested to hear the route you guys took.
 

Calin

Diamond Member
Apr 9, 2001
3,112
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Very nice - and the bike looks fantastic. I would like to have such a beast myself (and be able to ride it for miles and miles)
How much did the bike cost?
 

Safeway

Lifer
Jun 22, 2004
12,075
11
81
I have 2 carbon fiber bikes, one Trek and one Specialized. Very nice bikes. My girlfriend and I drove up to Michigan (from Dallas, Texas) to participate in PALM, or Pedal Across Lower Michigan. We took the long route everyday, which was 70-100 miles, for 6 days in a row. I think the total was 510 miles. I was 16 and she was 17 at the time.

I love biking, and in Michigan, the hills are insane. I reached 47 mph on a downhill, but pulled back as I saw my front fork acting strange. No faceplants for me. I am planning to get back in the scene of biking ... road or mountain. I still have both of those bikes, but I may have outgrown them =/
 

guyver01

Lifer
Sep 25, 2000
22,135
5
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Originally posted by: Mwilding
I leave my house and tell my wife I will be back in an hour or so.
...
I learned we had covered 36 miles at an average speed of about 17mph.

So you were gone for 2 1/2 hrs...

i bet your wife was pissed ;)

 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
where did you think you were that you actually weren't?

i'm interested to hear the route you guys took.
I couldn't name all the roads, but we basically rode out to Montville looped around and came back.

 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: guyver01
So you were gone for 2 1/2 hrs...

i bet your wife was pissed ;)
Nah - she was working and lost track of time...

 

Cristatus

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2004
3,908
2
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Originally posted by: guyver01
Originally posted by: Mwilding
I leave my house and tell my wife I will be back in an hour or so.
...
I learned we had covered 36 miles at an average speed of about 17mph.

So you were gone for 2 1/2 hrs...

i bet your wife was pissed ;)

That's what I thought when he said he was gone for more than an hour.

I love cycling, but I don't know if I can cycle that far, it's just that I prefer it to walking (even if it is only a couple of hundred meters, I'll take my cycle)
 

blackdogdeek

Lifer
Mar 14, 2003
14,453
10
81
Originally posted by: Mwilding
Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
where did you think you were that you actually weren't?

i'm interested to hear the route you guys took.
I couldn't name all the roads, but we basically rode out to Montville looped around and came back.

how was traffic, specifically how did other cars react to the group? i'm just wondering about how cycling friendly the area is as i've not seen any bike paths or really wide roads(other than ridgewood ave.).
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
Originally posted by: Mwilding
Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
where did you think you were that you actually weren't?

i'm interested to hear the route you guys took.
I couldn't name all the roads, but we basically rode out to Montville looped around and came back.

how was traffic, specifically how did other cars react to the group? i'm just wondering about how cycling friendly the area is as i've not seen any bike paths or really wide roads(other than ridgewood ave.).
Not too bad at all. For the most part the route was on lightly travelled roads and a two abreast pace line in bright jersies can make a very clear obstacle for cars to avoid. Parts of the ride with single file but I never felt a need worry too much about the cars.
 

Blieb

Diamond Member
Apr 17, 2000
3,475
0
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SWEET! that's awesome (and very rare) that they came back for you :) ...

Keep it up! You'll be pulling those clowns in no time!

I'm debating on if I want to go for the balls-up fast ride tonight :\ ... my body is saying no way in hell ...
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: Blieb
SWEET! that's awesome (and very rare) that they came back for you :) ...

Keep it up! You'll be pulling those clowns in no time!

I'm debating on if I want to go for the balls-up fast ride tonight :\ ... my body is saying no way in hell ...
I had a 6:00am ride this morning and have another one tomorrow. I think I will take tonight off. The question is whether or not I go out with the same group again Thursday night. That would put me at close to 100 miles for the week before the weekend hits.
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: PanzerIV
Me thinks you are in better shape than I. Thirty six miles at 17mph!

I may be just getting back into biking after 15 years, but I haven't been sitting around on my ass entirely. I played competitive rugby until I was almost 30 and have been playing soccer for the past few years. I have a lot of "residual fitness" from 10+ years of competitive sports and intense training, so my recent history of sporadic exercise and smoking and drinking on the off days hasn't caught up to me yet... :p
 
Jan 18, 2001
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thats great!

the nice thing about group rides is the 85% reduction in resistance due to drafting.

cheers and glad you like your bike. :)
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: HomeBrewerDudethe nice thing about group rides is the 85% reduction in resistance due to drafting.
No doubt! :D

Until you get dropped and then you are the slow tired guy riding solo trying to keep up with a racing team paceline... :(

 

mordantmonkey

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2004
3,075
5
0
oh man, i've been mountain biking so long, i forgot what a road bike was like. I trained on my friends to help out with a recent race. i have got to get a road bike stat. all that easy speed is seriously addicting, especially now that i can't get out to the trails as often as i used to.
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: notfred
Originally posted by: Safeway
...in Michigan, the hills are insane...

Bwahahahah!

lol - I missed the unintended irony.

To be fair though, it's a matter of degree. My morning ride today was "hills" and I got my ass kicked yet I am no where near the rockies here in NJ... :p
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Wish me luck - It's Tuesday again...

I have ridden another 100+ miles since then including 20 this morning, so I am hoping to keep up a bit better this time around...
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Well, my second Tuesday on the bike was brutal. I started off with a 20 mile 6:00am ride. I have been doing these routinely for a week now so in and of itself the ride did not take a lot out of me, but it was 85 degrees and I was a little tight afterwards. Knowing that I had my big ride of the week later I ate several bananas and drank a lot of water all day. At 6:00pm I was at the meeting point and off we went.

I was feeling a lot more gung ho than last week and kept towards the front of the group. For a few miles, we had a nice paceline going at 24mph. That was fun, but I don't think the racers liked my not quite so steady line... At about mile 20, we climbed a massive hill and I was pretty much done for. I have not yet gotten the legs for the big hills and I was last up it. We cruised down the backside of the hill and the three guys in the back (me included) got dropped at this point. One of the guys was so shattered that we headed home. He was definitely overheating, but we got him home okay.

My net mileage for the day was just about 50. Average speed ~17mph. Top speed 38mph :D

I have come a long way in a week...
 

GasX

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
29,033
6
81
Originally posted by: HomeBrewerDude
good job!

i wish i had time for that sort of thing, but its about all i can do to commute in.
I wouldn't mind commuting by bike, but I don't quite have the right circumstances for it.