It’s been a while since I’ve done a group ride. June was a little hectic for me for several reasons, so biking wasn’t the first thing on my mind. This weekend was the first time this summer to actually get a ride in, so I seized the opportunity. I went on the City Bikes Ladies Ride.
The ride starts at 10:30 am, which is, for me, a respectable time to begin. I got a decent amount of sleep, ate a good breakfast (oatmeal with my favorite toppings), drank some water, and was pretty much well prepared when I went out the door and rode to the shop.
There were five of us who rode, including the ride leader. I was keeping the pace and feeling pretty good, until we did a sprint. Even that wasn’t so bad– I was far behind, but I wasn’t out of sight of the front.
Unfortunately, after the sprint, I developed a wicked case of heartburn, which lasted for the rest of the ride and all the way home. It was so bad that I got dropped from the pack and couldn’t recover, and the ride leader at one point had to go back and find me. I think the heartburn was caused by the electrolyte solution I added to my water– I think I put too much in for the amount of water I put in my Camelbak. I’ll measure it out more precisely and put less in next time. At least I didn’t cramp at all!
I was disappointed with my performance, but quite pleased with the ride in general. I felt like the overall pace was manageable for me– just enough to be challenging, but not so far out of my range to be discouraging. And the women I rode with were friendly, too. After the ride, we went to a coffee shop and chatted for a while. That was nice.
I think this may be my go-to training ride for the season.
What was the pace approximately? Am wondering if I can handle these rides. Thanks!
Hi Trish! According to the ride leader yesterday, she said our average speed was 15.5 mph. The rides are supposed to be between 13-16 mph average. They’re really great about regrouping and making sure no one gets left behind, so if you’re interested, you should try it out!
Not to be a nag but get yourself to a doctor to have your heart checked. The Friday Coffee Club wants you back in one piece. Sorry for being a nag.
I went to the doctor 4 months ago when I first had chest pains (see https://ramblingrider.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/health-update/). I had bloodwork, an EKG, and a stress test– everything came back fine. I doubt that they’ll find anything now that they didn’t find 4 months ago.
Which location, and how far did you guys go? I can’t find a darn thing about it on their website. 😦 Thanks!
It’s from the Adams Morgan location– we did about 27 miles that day. I think they try to keep the rides to around 2 hours. There’s also a Saturday ride starting at 9:30 am at the Capitol Hill location. Info is on their Facebook page.
Ah, thank you!
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