This week our meeting point was in the East Bay Town of Danville. We were all pleased it wasn't raining yet but the cold and dense fog was not a lot of fun. When we got our ride maps, we found out the route's name..."The House of Pain". It's named after a cycling group in the area that does this 47.5 mile loop regularly, at an incredibly high rate of speed. They are a large group of, wanna be pro-cycling type of "dude" roadies (slang for road bikers).
The first part of the ride began on the training route that The Dynamic Duo (me & Sally) rides every week. Since it was familiar roads, Sally and I headed out quickly. The first 6 miles was just me and Sally riding and talking together. A couple others caught up to us and informed us that we needed to pace ourselves better since we had a long way to go.
Slowing down was especially good advice for me since I woke up with tight right calf muscle. I was hoping that it would work itself out but at mile 10 it let me know it wasn't happy...my first riding cramp...ouch! The cramp hit while I was riding up a slight grade, drinking from my water bottle. My bottle quickly ejected from my hand and I almost took another rider out, when the bottle hit the ground behind me...sorry, James! After electrolyte pills and a lot more water...the cramp seem to work itself out within the next few miles.
The next challenge was just seeing the road...the fog was thick and my glasses were completely steamed up. It was time to ditch the glasses and deal with the wind drying out my eyes...at least I could see better. As the day went on, the weather improved and the fog finally lifted. It is time to invest in some vented glasses, to keep this from happening when it is cold riding conditions.
Riding on the back roads and enjoying the scenery, I got startled by the sound of I could only describe as...a freight train loaded with bees. My coach quickly called out to get out of the way...as a large peloton of riders closed on us quickly. You could feel a slight breeze as they raced by us without saying a word. They were an intense group of focused cyclist riding dangerously and confidently close to one another. They were gone as quickly as they appeared. I later found out they were the infamous, "House of Pain" cycling group.
Finishing the ride, I heard Sally cheering me in...she kept up her rigorous pace throughout the ride and was back early. As usual, everyone was huddled into various groups analyzing the ride and their experiences. Of course, there was also a lot of light-hearted trash talking, laughter and post ride stretching.
Since this was a buddy ride, the groups were scattered more so than with a team ride. Most of us waited to greet the later ride groups and make sure everyone made it back safely. The coaches were already meeting and planning out next week's team ride...which sounds like it will be another tough one! It will be a combination of old and new roads and challenges for us to tackle.
More mileage, more climbs and more pain!
No comments:
Post a Comment