I was finally able to make the Tuesday night ride with the Velo City group in Holland. Last year the ride was a lot of fun and I knew it would continue to be this year. There were a lot of new faces but the route was the same. I jumped into the Medium group and off we went. Right away I got pushed to the back of the group. I forgot how fast a group can accelerate on road bikes. I have been riding my Defy with the CX tires on it so the acceleration wasn't as fast. The rubber band effect was killing me because I had to accelerate so hard just to hang on.
A few miles in I got dumped out the back on a small climb. The group was just hammering away and my heart rate was sky high. I did what I could but once the gap formed they were getting smaller and I was maxed out. Thankfully the road tipped downhill enough that I hooked back up after about a mile. I moved up in the group a little bit and was a lot more comfortable with the rubber banding.
The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. What I mean is that I was pretty relaxed and just found a wheel to ride behind. 25 miles in I was feeling good and the group just cruised back to the shop. There was pizza waiting for us when we got there, so I grabbed a slice and talked to a few people.
I figured out that I am not in as good of shape as I was last year, but I am also about 10 pounds heavier. I am not sure if it was just being slower or not used to the group aspect of the ride, but I was confident other than 2 hills. Thankfully the group waited for me before taking off or I would have been all alone.
Good to be back riding in a group that fast! Dang it was quick. ha.
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