Club riding

I now have enough basic fitness to show up for the faster club training rides, which are races by any other name. The fact that that they are "open category" means that I'm riding against a motley bunch mostly younger, stronger and faster. Yesterday, I went to my first Tuesday night ride. About 20 folks showed up. In some ways it is harder to do these rides than races. In a race once you're dropped from the front group you gradually dial back your effort and settle into your own pace. So you are only going at full tilt for as long as you can hold the pace. With a club ride the group stops at designated points and you are then forced pack up to the group pace. Last night was a perfect example. I was the first one shed once the group started attacking on the rollers on Orcutt. I did, however keep my head down and the pressure on the pedals so that I managed to catch and pass three riders before the regroup. The second section I felt better and actually pegged back a couple groups who went off the front. The climb felt OK until the top when the pace went up. I finished about 10-20 seconds back. The pace line back into town against the headwind was very ragged and the constant surging finally snapped my string. I rode in easy for the last 20 minutes or so. If I do very many of these I will be getting stronger for sure.