Last Tuesday evening (April 1), I did my first Tuesday Night Ride with Idaho Cycling Enthusiasts (ICE), which makes my second event participation with ICE (I did the practice Time Trial as well, previously) . About 5 other folks showed up, one of which I recognized from the practice TT. The majority of the other riders had bicycles with names and features that look rather foreign to me, whereas I was riding this thing:
Oh, yes, I can just hear the oohs and ahs and the smell of green envy in the air. ;-) This is a geniune 2008 Mercier Galaxy made by the good people at the Kinesis factory in Taiwan! If you’re still wondering what the heck you’re looking at, just google around for some of these keywords and you will be enlightened.
Anyway, on my with my story. Yes, I was wearing my baggy windbreaker outfit and riding my rack-sporting road bike; quite a stark contrast from the aerodynamic clothing and carbon fiber bicycles of my companions. But, hey, I’m a newbie and I wasn’t afraid to fit the stereotype :-)
So, the ride began. We were all pedaling along at around 16 mph or so, quick cadence with a light gear. It was easy and I was mainly focusing on practicing my drafting. The lady I was riding next to (sorry, I’m horrible with names) was giving me some helpful coaching which I appreciated. I was told before the ride that the first rides of the year are purposely easy to acclimate the riders for the season. So, I was really glad I got into these rides early. Even though I’ve been riding a lot for the past year and a half or so, I knew that the folks I was riding with had been at it for probably centuries. TEE HEE, I love puns! :-)
Riding along with ICE felt pretty fun and it was interesting to ride with people I don’t normally ride with and just soak in everything about the experience; their clothing, their riding technique, and so on. After we turned around in Inkom, I was shifting gears and my chain fell off. DOH! Yeah, something I must adjust ASAP. So I stopped, fed the chain back onto a chain ring, and by that time the cyclists were far ahead, even though I could tell they were slowing down so I could have the chance to catch up again. As I continued cycling I noticed another rider had stopped and was tried to adjust something-or-other on his bike… this made me feel a little better! I was huffing and puffing to catch up after a while and my good friend Steven Parker fell back a ways and was pushing on my bike to help me catch up, much to my shame! Hehe, yes, I know there’s no shame in accepting help when you need it but… meh. Anyway, it was rather startling at first because no one had ever pushed on by bike before… I thought my rear tire had gone flat or something…. and then I was like … what the heck… OH, HI STEVE!
During the last quarter of the ride, I was really starting to poop out. And then it happened… the steep hill going up under the underpass near Century High School happened… oh, the burn… I felt it… in my thighs… ARGH, THE LACTIC ACID, IT BURNS! On past rides I usually haul ass up this small hill, but none of my past rides were quite as fast as this one. I fell behind. Way behind. Sigh. I eventually pedaled to the Ross Park parking lot, said goodbye to the few riders who were still there, and slowly pedaled home, chugging from my water bottles all the way. I felt pretty dang pooped and almost dizzy. Yeah, I’ll eat more before the next ride. Carbs are good. :-)
Anywho, this is my first cycling blog article and I will try to do another article at least once a week. I hope I give encouragement to other folks who are new to cycling and I’m sure I provide amusement to the experienced people! ;-)
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