Riding with the Big Kids

Last Sunday, I had a rare opportunity to bike. I queried my posse and was pleased to learn that TG40 and Richard could ride too.

I also invited a new friend from work, Susan. This girl is a serious runner – I’m talking an 8 minute mile marathon pace – who cycles for cross training.

In the meantime, TG40 invited Bethany who brought her husband and another couple. Now TG40 is a serious triathlete who could kick my trash up and down any activity I could imagine. Fortunately she’s also very kind and tolerant of not only my antics but my gradual and continuing loss of fitness. I had never ridden with the others and didn’t know what their patience level would be.

I was a little nervous.

I had planned to ride 18 to 20 miles on Sunday. After all, I hadn’t been on my bike for three weeks nor had I done anything else in the interim. And I haven’t ridden more than about 22 miles in probably a year. But Bethany had other ideas and announced a 28 miles loop.

Now I was really nervous. Could I keep up? I suspected that I couldn’t. Plus I know how mileage counts work – 28 probably meant 30 or 32.

After running through my litany of excuses as to why I would be bringing up the rear, I saddled up and away we went.

For the first few miles, Susan rode beside me and we chatted. That translates to she chatted, I grunted out a few questions while trying to hide how hard I was huffing and puffing. About eight miles in, I turned to Richard and asked whether he was really up for 28 miles. “I’ll do what you do,” he replied.

Not the answer I was hoping for.

Without the contrived excuse of having to turn back because Richard didn’t want to do 28, I had to keep going. Soon after, I wasn’t exactly sure where I was and then really had to stick with the group.

TG40 and two of the guys were pretty far out in front, but they would stop periodically to wait for us. At one point, TG40 warned me of the hills towards the end of the route.

Great.

Shortly thereafter, we hit the hills. I ended up in a no-mans-land all alone. I had tried drafting Susan earlier and frankly she’s so darn tiny that it didn’t offer much. I needed Richard’s tire in front of me. But somehow I muddled through.

We stopped and regrouped for the last push. I was happy to be with part of the group again. I knew the rest of the route and it didn’t seem that we would even hit 28 miles. But we did.

I wasn’t fast and I certainly didn’t look good, but I definitely enjoyed the ride. It was nice to push a little beyond my current comfort zone in terms of distance.

I really need to figure out how to get out there more often.
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