Sure, intervals on the trainer and out solo on the road have their place, but not much compares to the pain inflicted upon you by a good, testosterone-fueled group ride. The current “place to be” on Saturday mornings is the Trinity Ride (named thusly because it meets in a shopping center called Trinity Commons, which is on Trinity Rd.

Normally the pace picks up once you’re out of the city limits, but today, the group was feeling frisky and half-wheeling each other from the first hill. I made it a point to never drop out of the front third or so of the group, which meant snaking whatever gap I could find when the opportunity presented itself. For the first couple of hours, it was a mix of fast pace rotating pacelines and occasional attacks/chases. Unfortunately, as much as I love attacking and chasing, my fitness isn’t quite up to participation level yet, so I generally rode a few wheels back with the chasers.I eventually found myself in a pattern of hammering near the front, imploding, then recovering barely in time/enough to catch the tail of the pack and work my way back up to the front.

Two hours in, the group stops at a store in Galloway. Seeing that my legs were on fire, and I find a 20 minute break in a 3 hour ride to be somewhat ridiculous, I spun up the road a ways, refilled my water from a church water hose, then rode leisurely along the route to Arlington, where I waited to fall in with the group as they slowed to roll through the small downtown area. The remainder of the ride was more of the same, but with less organization, and more people falling apart as they started to tire. Happily, my training is paying off in that I may not feel as fast as the boys, but I feel as though I don’t get tired nearly as easily.

Now, time to eat and lay around more of the day in my compression tights. Tomorrow’s 5 hours solo is supposed to be a windy one…