I showed up to the group ride, and it looked like the a typical first group ride of the year. You've got the 2 confident looking guys talking on their uber expensive bikes: they're upperclassmen. They've been riding with the team for years. Then there are the others on expensive bikes and obscure team jerseys who have ridden or even raced before. They're biding their time to show off their mettle. Some of the guys look a little nervous. They might be on steel Masi or Schwinn, maybe a low end Trek. They might have ridden solo before, but this is the first time they've seen so many kinds of jerseys or expensive bikes before, and they're not too sure what they're getting into. Then there's people like Marina. She's the only woman cyclist visible. She's wearing yoga style pants, carries a sports bag for her water bottle, and she's on this nameless semi yellow steel bike with platform pedals and running shoes, and she looks completely out of place. And then there's me, skeptically looking upon this scene. On first glance, I'm sure I would appear like a newbie, in my anonymous blue jersey and performance shorts. Then again, I was riding a Roubaix and Sidi Geniuses (2 years old), but I guess I could be a bad rider who had money. But I'm certain I didn't look nervous on my bike, and that is key.
I strike up a conversation with her, asking if she's interested in racing etc. And she is, but she just got the bike yesterday, and hasn't ridden a road bike much before. Even as we roll out, she jumps toward me and admits she hasn't been on a group ride before, so I start explaining some simple guidelines such as, don't fall behind the group (as she started to trail like 30 feet ...) and the "stop" hand signal. I mean, I've been in her place before sort of, but then her shifter got wonky and she had a hard time shifting until she tightened the lever (on friction shifters). Ruth also noticed her seat was too low by about 6 inches, so we swang by the bike shop where it turns out her tire pressure was about 40 psi ... Ruth decided it might be nice to take her along the bike trail by Monticello, so we did that, but by the time we got back to campus, we had ridden 17 miles in 2 hours. SO SLOW. I hope she keeps riding though. I guess we all have to start somewhere.
I was originally just going to leave after that, but I really felt like I hadn't gotten much cardio, and Ruth was meeting a friend of hers for a 35 miler. I joined, and I had to hang on the back for the most part because those ladies can RIDE. It was also humid and hot, so after passing Bundoran Farm we stopped at the gas station by there to fill up on water and get a bite. On the way back, there were guinea hens running away from us, and we saw a black swallow butterfly. It was a hilly ride with plenty of climbs and fast descents. Ruth mentioned we were going 40 mph at one point. We relaxed a minute afterwards at Calvino Cafe to drink some cappuccinos and recovery smoothies.
50 miles total. I will sleep so well tonight.
You remember we went to Mountprospect for a race knowing little about a race? I still think you did a good job not crashing even once.
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