My First Group Ride

Yesterday I finally went on my first group ride! I was so nervous going to the bike shop, my hands were shaking. I think I was nervous that I was going to get hit by a car or I was going to just die half way through and someone was going to have to stay with me. Neither of those things happened; thank God (especially the former.)

Since the ride was a beginner, no drop pace, there were two people that were “leading” the ride. One would be in the front of the group and the other would be in the back, to stay with any stragglers. I decided that I would follow the guy that said he was going to be with the stragglers. I figured that I can start with the slower folks and if I could, move up in the pack.

As the ride started, I got more comfortable with the gears, especially on the hills. Before I knew it, I was cruising by other riders on the up-hills. As I would pass, they would say stuff like, “Whoo! Look at you go!” or “Man, you take these hills like they’re nothing!” I’m not exactly sure why I’m so fast on the up-hills. One theory is that maybe I have conditioned myself so well with spin classes, that the actual biking is easier. Another theory is that compared to mountain biking up-hill, road biking ain’t nothing. Or maybe it was a combination of the two. Anyways, somewhere along the ride, five of us got separated from the larger group because we were in the front. This was fine, because the other people in the group knew where they were going.

When we got back to the shop, everyone’s cars were still there. I was surprise; we were the first one’s back!

I really enjoyed the ride, it was exhilarating and fun. I’m excited for my next one.

Update on my swim classes: I finally signed up for swim lessons on Wednesday and my first lesson is on Monday. I can’t wait!