Well,9-11-04 was my first group ride and my longest ride to date. The route sheet said 28.5 miles but my bicycle computer recorded 29 miles. Considering how I weaved all over the road going up hill I believe I know where the extra 1/2 mile came from :)

There was some hills. Here is a chart that shows the hills for the metric century guys. The route is the same for the first 18 miles and the toughest hills of the 28.5 mile ride is in the first 18 miles.

http://www.freewheelers.info/paws/pawsclimb.jpg

I started near the back and kept up with quite a few people for awhile. Then I passed a few as I found my legs. However, after a few older ladies passed me going uphill I decided to push it a little. I think I pushed it too much.

I had to though b/c there was this big guy who was dropping me and I had to make sure he didn't. He had huge legs and was about as large as TFS otherwise (big guy). Then I had to hang with this pair of elderly ladies who were flying up the hills. They kept the same pace whether going uphill or on flats. I was humbled by them.

After the first 18 miles my average speed was close to 14 mph. After that I dropped off the pace tremendously and ended up with an average speed of 12.67 mph. Total ride time of 2 hours, 24 minutes and 59 seconds.

The last 10 miles I rode with another cyclist named Michelle. She was a great riding partner and explained a lot about riding in groups. She was patient with me as I was much, much slower on the hills than she was. However, I was able to catch up on the downhills where my girth and gravity gave me an advantage. I really enjoyed riding with her because she taught me a lot and pulled me a long. She has a wonderful personality, an ability to motivate and was very encouraging and helpful.

On the last hill I had to stop twice and there was another guy near us with a blue shirt on like me. She thought it was me and did not notice me stopped but she did wait for me at the end... she was really nice. I am very thankful for the great people I have met so far in bicycling.

It was a long hill and not really tough but I was really pushing the Heart Rate. Overall I averaged 172 bpm which is much too high. I even hit a high of 192 bpm. I think my pushing early caused me to struggle more later and both combined for the higher Heart Rate.

A few things I learned is...

1) I can't wait to lose weight. I know that was a hindrance on the hills. The lighter riders really had an advantage and seemed to go up the hills effortlessly.
2) Recumbent bikers fly downhill. Some of those people were flying.
3) Age is not a barrier. There were quite a few riders older than I by about 20 years who were dropping me easy. They were a great inspiration.

I think I could have ridden better overall if I would have just rode my own pace like I do when I ride through the week. There was only one hill which was killer and the rest were do-able even later in the ride. I just rode ignorant but I did learn a lot.

It is a great goal to meet too. I am very happy I did it. The money went to the humane society and I was able to prove to myself that I can move my life forward. I used to feel life was boring and was very pessimistic but after getting sick last year I changed. Some days I don't feel like I have but other days, like today, I do feel it. I am not going to disrespect those that have gotten sick, do not have the opportunities I have or those whose life has been cut short (like those from the WTC, car wrecks, cancer victims, MS victims, etc) by being pessimistic with my life. I will enjoy my life and overcome any challenge that comes my way.

Next year the goal is to do the metric century. I may also try the TN century next year. It is a full flat century and the record for it is slightly over 4 hours.