Winter Training Ride

I went out with the Rhinos this morning on the first "Winter Training Ride" of the season. I showed up a little late, just as they were rolling out of the parking lot. Fortunately, we just do loops around the lake at Stony Creek, so, in theory, all you have to do is go in the other direction to catch the group.

I helped a guy fix a flat, and by the time we were about done, the group had finished their first lap. "Great", I thought, "I'll just jump out on the road and catch them." Well, by the time I got to the road the gap was kind of big (it's a big parking lot). "No problem", I thought, "I'll just have to hammer for a few minutes, it will be a good warmup. They're not supposed to going fast." I did a good job closing the gap for the first few minutes, and then I hit the wall. I managed to keep the gap about the same, but I wasn't catching them any more and I was working way too hard. So, when I was about halfway around the lake, I turned around to pick them up on the other side. At least it gave me a story to tell once I joined the group.

The group's pace was actually right where I need it to be right now. Although, a lot of the guys are riding mountain or 'cross bikes with knobby tires, and I had slick tires on my bike. Hopefully the pace will stay like this for a while (I hear that it does pick up toward March). It's nice to do the longer rides with a group for company.