64 miles with the group, vid on Monday. Nice ride with some strong women! :-O ARTIC train station to Long Beach lighthouse and back.
Started out at 8:30 am, really?! That is pretty early for me but that was the plan. Not really worried about the time but it was chilly today ha ha, that early! Low of 55 but I was actually expecting it to be cooler. I can't really say cold because I have friends on FB that laugh when I say 55 seeing they live in the snow states. But I was prepared, wore 2 underlayers. I didn't want to wear my windbreaker because that makes it hard to grab the gopro from my jersey pocket while riding. It worked thought it was not all the cold.
Started out kind of fast as I'm used to a warmup. As soon as we hit the trail, we were doing like 18. I start at 14 sometimes ha ha! So I just sat at the back for a bit to warm up and let them work the front. I held back half a step after warming up so that Nadine could hold my wheel. Not sure why, but if the group held back for a second, the entire group would be together. Then next 5 miles with Nadine on my wheel, we were only 5 seconds back. I guess I'm a different kind of rider, I dunno! But the times the lead riders pulled over to see where we were, we rolled by them only being a handful of seconds. Of course I could have easily caught up but holding back for Nadine giving her a smooth ride, she like it!
It does kind of suck because I don't get to draft but oh well, I'll do my thing. If I get tired, I get tired but wouldn't be long before we hit the wind ha ha ha, the equalizer! After Moon Park, we hit the little hill. The first 4 riders slowed to look back but Nadine was doing well at this point so we roll right on by.
Then I found myself at the front into the wind. Tim, waited till after the wooden bridge then took off like a bat out of hell. I almost thought he was going to help but nope. He opened a gap of about 50 yards rather quickly. Then the other guy, Rick, took off around us as well. The others stayed behind me so I just put the pressure on ha ha!
I saw Rich fade rather quickly so we gobbled him up right away. Tim was still ahead but I saw him fade after some time. So the last half of the strip, we rolled by him and his little grin ha ha! He said he likes to push it on the 2 mile sprint from the bridge. Then he said he thought he could make but faded like Thor Hushovd ha ha ha! He seemed a little tickled about the situation and getting passed before the end of the trail.
So we headed north on PCH to Long Beach. Checked out the views, had lunch, then headed back. Some cool buildings in LB. Heading south on PCH was a little easier I think. We all did well and this time I had Maria on my wheel. Oh, before I forget, the other gal Shawn was awesome today. Not to embarrass anybody, but this lady was over 300 pounds then decided to do something about it. Now she is way under that, I did not ask her current weight ha ha! She was to strong, might knock me out if she got upset ha ha! But heading north on PCH, she was a bit ahead of Nadine and I, between groups and holding her own very well. I thought I'd catch her quickly but she was strong fighting the wind. Even pulled a way a couple of times.
But heading south, I had Maria on my wheel. Another strong lady. She seemed to like the wheel ride. She kept thanking me over and over even when it was time to leave the parking lot heading home. That's cool! Love to hear people appreciate the wheel. Nice lady, very friendly. I met her on the Thursday night ride couple weeks back. Very friendly and not catty at all. Pleasant lady and a good sense of humor. At one point, someone honked, at us I think, on PCH. I told her that I hated being so sexy because people on PCH honk at me all the time. She laughed and had a few good comebacks ha ha! Love a lady with a sense of humor and can ride a bike well ha ha!
Then we all regrouped at the usual beach stop. Headed back ...finish late, dinner time! :-P
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