Saturday's Group Ride

Saturday was a beautiful day for riding!

Temperatures were around 48 degrees F when we started off in Springville. Just a jacket and a long sleeve jersey kept me warm - surprisingly, since I really hate being cold. Sixteen people showed up for the ride, including three sets of tandems.



The group took off, and I was a little unsure of all the rider's abilities. I had advertised the ride as a moderate-paced, no-drop ride. That lasted all of 30-seconds.

The tandems and Best-Draft-Ever (BDE) took off as fast as they could go. I was pretty determined to stay behind BDE, but then I remembered the other eight people I had behind me. I couldn't drop them. So, I let the other seven go and lead out my little group of nine. We decided that we would all stick together, and we pretty much did for the rest of the ride. But, I felt obligated to ride at the back with the slower people.

Let me take you back a few years to my first ride around West Mountain. I had owned my bike for less than three months, and had only ridden it a handful of times when I heard about a group ride around West Mountain. I showed up. So did the hammerheads. I was dropped really, really early. I felt stupid for coming and totally embarrassed by my lack of ability. BDE was on this ride, and he had mercy on me. He slowed the group up and told them that no one was going to be left behind. Well, one hothead would have nothing to do with that, and he took off again. He missed a turn. We yelled and yelled, but he couldn't hear us. We sent BDE to catch him and bring him back. Then, we never saw either of them for the rest of the ride. The rest of us piddled around, waiting for them to come back, and when they didn't, we opted to go back the way we came. The ride was never complete, and it was my fault for being so slow. I've never forgiven myself for feeling like I ruined the group ride.

So, back to Saturday...I wasn't about ready to make anyone feel like they weren't keeping up. So I rode back. Which was totally fine with me. I just wanted to get out on my bike and test the legs out and enjoy the day. Goals met. After the ride I had some people tell me that they felt bad that I couldn't ride harder, but I was okay with it.

At some point, our group re-grouped with the tandem group. From Benjamin back to Springville we killed time by practicing a rotating echelon. It was fun to do with such a big group. Plus, we all got a chance to tease each other as we rotated past each other over and over again. Good times.

After we got back to the meeting place, BDE asked me if I would pace him back to Provo. I told him I just needed to get something to eat and I'd be ready to go. Well, I could see that he was antsy to be on his way, so I made a dumb mistake: I didn't get anything to eat. Here's what I had eaten up to that point: yogurt and some prunes for breakfast, peanut butter and raisins for lunch, and a handful of banana chips mid-ride. Plus, I was only drinking water. Definitely not enough fuel!

By the time BDE and I hit south Provo, I was starting to feel like someone was stabbing my quads with needles or really small, sharp knives. It was all I could think about. I told BDE that I needed some food, but every stop light was green, so we kept riding. Normally, I would just eat while I rode, but I had hidden my food in a place that made it hard to access. Finally, we made it to BDE's house in north Provo. I said goodbye to BDE and stopped and got some food into me. Now that I was alone, I could ride easy again. It wasn't even two miles later that I noticed that my legs no longer hurt. Food was the answer! I'm going to need to spend some time figuring out how to fuel my body now that I'm off all grains and sugar. I can't let Saturday's experience happen again.

59.5 miles in 3:30