Well my very logical explanation of keeping my efforts moderate early in the season didn’t survive my first real group ride of the year. Last year it was sometimes a frustrating exercise to get a group together for a ride, so I started a Columbia County Rides Mailing Listccrides. So far this year it’s batting a thousand — did I mention I love mixing metaphors? Yesterday afternoon I asked if anyone wanted to ride this morning, and ended up joining a group of three friends who were already planning a ride. One of them was supposed to be recovering from a Century they rode yesterday, and another said he’s only been on his bike once a month since Autumn, and assured me there would be slow people there. I had no idea they were referring to me!
I wasn’t really THAT slow, but the pace was higher than mine has been lately, and I put in a hard effort for 33 miles to keep up with them. That last couple of miles I finally dropped off the back far enough they had to wait for me at turns, so I decided to call it a day and take the most direct route back to Patriot’s Park, while they kept going for another 8 miles or so.
On a side note, I sometimes like to snack on Fig Newtons while on a ride. They’re relatively healthy for a cookie, except for their usage of partially hydrogenated oils, which I’m sure they use to lenghten the shelf life. Anyway, I’ve learned from experience, if you like to bring more than one kind of small snack food on a ride, the Fig Newtons should have their own bag. Almonds aren’t very good with a Fig Newton crust.