Don't You Love Training Ride Reports?

I'm going to be that girl - the one who details every move of her recent training rides.  I find it entertaining and, frankly, I enjoy rambling so it works for me. 

The last two weekends have been chock-full of awesome rides- two 10am adventures, some intervals at Hains to break things up and two - count them - two Union Bridge rides.  Mileage is really adding up and I'm feeling those back-to-back hard efforts.

The 10am is ... well, the 10am.  Everyone knows it.  I've often been heard saying that all the fast girls ride with the guys, so off I go.  I hold my own most of the time and everyone's friendly, with the occasional exception of an insecure guy who has something to prove.  For the most part, I have a bunch of big-brothers there who are willing to let me hang on as long as I'm willing to suffer.  

This week it was windy as heck - I ran into a few people I hadn't seen in a while and all I could say in answer to "Hey, how are ya?" was ... "just trying to find shelter".  That was the name of the game for me.

I knew I was in trouble when the line I was in started to paceline.  I have absolutely no business taking the front when I'm playing with the big boys - especially when there's a couple dozen guys sitting on.  That said, I took my pull because I'm NOT going to be the "girl" that eff's up the paceline.  Then I silently slipped back a little ways, desperately trying to find the lung that I just lost.  I was in good shape ... until I wasn't.  I somehow found the breath to tell the boy to "just go ... leave me, save yourself".  I'm not sure I actually said all of that - but I was thinking it.  The Artemis boys (who had already done the 7am) immediately picked me up, gave me a second to recover and off we went.  Really, that's what I needed - just a second to recover.  That is more than what's on offer if you want to play with the big boys.

We - the Artemi and I - took the left at Esworthy and swore we'd get caught by the lead group.  We picked up a couple others, played up and down the hills on the way in and made it to Beach/East-West with plenty of time to spare.  In other words, we weren't soft-pedaling in.  I met up with the boy and limped home. 

On to Union Bridge:

The first UB ride (President's Day) was the inaugural ride for the boy and the first time for me in almost a year.  We dragged another couple along for good measure - thankfully, they were up for the challenge.  The general rule on this ride (for me) is that beating the 4hr mark means you're rolling.

As for our guest couple:  The Mrs. loved the hills while the Mr. - kind of new to long-hilly-rides - gets the gold medal for getting through his longest ride to date, with only 23 on the back and even keeping a smile - or was that a grimace?  The boy was awesome, helping the Mr. up the climbs when needed and generally giving tips and being supportive while the Mrs. and I chased each other up and down the hills.  Final ride time - 4:07.  Not too shabby for the first time out!

The next go-round happened faster than even *I* thought.  We decided to head back only 6 days later (this past Sunday - mere hours after the 10am detailed above).  The Mr. and Mrs. were OoT, so we grabbed one of the boy's teammates and off we went.  To be honest, I was pretty tired.  I knew I had to get through, though - I was the only one who knew the route! 

Every time I take someone new on this ride, I hear the same responses when we turn certain corners or something comes into view.  I try to warn people but ... this is one you just have to be there.  When we get to the quarry (it looks like something out of the mad-max film genre), I know I'm going to be ok.  There's a mid-point stop if you want it - if it's super cold or we don't need food/water, I tend to just keep rolling.  The way out is harder than the way back, with the exception of 6 long-ish "sawtooth" type hills that show up (one after the other) with about 17miles to go.  You're already tenderized and enjoying a nice roll back until you turn the corner and see hill #1.  Newbies on this ride usually say "HOLY S@#$" right about this time.  The first one is the worst, with the 2nd hill a close contender (this one even gives you a place to pray for strength at the top - ever notice there's often a church at the top of a hard climb?).  The last two - you see the end in sight and you're just surviving.  Oh, and the last one has -you guessed it- a church at the top!!

I was the weak link in this threesome -again- all the fast girls ride with the guys, right?  That said, it didn't stop me from trying a few sign sprints or charging on my favorite stretches.  I am VERY goal-oriented and our goal was to beat our prior record.  We failed to inform the teammate of this goal - this didn't become an issue until we were still pushing the pace through the neighborhood where normal people would spin a little, cool-down and congratulate themselves on surviving. I heard the teammate say (under his breath) "aren't we going to cool down?" I smiled and breathed "we're trying to beat our last record".  He took it well - or he didn't try to push me off my bike so I assume he took it well.  Final time:  3:50. 

SUCCESS!!  Now - on to beating THAT record.  Maybe after a little recovery.