Now, I'm not a big fan of riding with groups. I typically don't like the fact that you have to stick with a certain pace group (this thought is probably due to laziness lol) and some of the riders are snooty. However, the group ride today was a charity ride AND it was for a good cause so I figured why not? Plus, a 40-50 mile ride was on my calendar for today and the extra bonus was that it was completely escorted.
This morning I went with my friend G to the ride. He's kind of my riding friend and I definitely did not feel confident enough to ride by myself. We got there and were kind of unsure about the whole situation. Then as the morning progressed we met some people, laughed a little, and figured we would be okay. As we were lining up to start, the event coordinator told us that it was a no person left behind group. Meaning, they would adjust the pace so everyone could ride together. We figured the pace would be about 16-18 mph which was definitely do-able. We started the ride a little past 9 (it was set for 8:30) and as we started off I felt okay. Scratch that, I felt like I could definitely pull off the ride and at a decent pace. Then as the miles stacked up I felt a little more confident. The group ended up doing about 18-20 mph until the turn around point.
Some of the girls on our group ride :)
A little before 20 miles, we pulled off into the turn around point and took a break. I felt happy that I could keep up and it definitely boosted my confidence. One of my coworkers had come with her dog to meet us there, so it was really fun!! I took a couple of pictures at our turn around point.
Some friends I made along the way! I'm not sure if they were annoyed with me or amused by my commentary.
G and Me
M and Me
On the way back, G and I decided to move up to the front pack. I felt like it would give me the push I needed. We kept about a 19-20 mph pace!! At one point the group started laughing at me saying I was trying to sneak up on them all along. I'm sure without the draft they would have schooled me. Once we finished, the event had started and we got to get some food and hydration (fruit punch lol). Overall, awesome ride. Met some cool people and got some of the confidence I needed for my upcoming race. Tomorrow, I run.
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