Just keep pedalling ...

This morning I joined Camp Mother to take on the Kiwivelo group ride. Last time I joined them for the Christmas ride I was dropped after a mere 10 minutes, admittedly we didn't realise there was a slower group which left at 5.50am.  But from the stories I have heard, keeping up with the "slower" guys is going to be a challenge.  Great, can't wait :)

It's dark (some might say probably dark) with a little chill in the air, for the first time in a while I wore arm warmers and a wind vest.  This route is different to our regular tues, thurs. Predominantly flat with some undulations, no major hill work.  So as expected, from GO it was fast!  Going up undulations was as fast as going along the flats.

I was a pansy on the downhills (I mean downward undulations) and in my defence I think I can be a little cautious when you can't see the road cos it's dark!.  For me it meant I had to go hard to catchup and every now and then I would cop some flak from those behind me, actually nobody said anything but I sense they were near.

Certainly no time to take a sip from your drink bottle, although I desperately needed a sip there was  no way I was taking a risk of getting dropped, that's for sure!  I felt for CM who led the bunch of 20+ most of the way under the watch full eye of Lance, who you would see give a little wave every now and then, indicating to speed up.  I was strategically positioned behind Lance, DRAFTING :) go me!

Going guns, I was chatting to a 72 year old who was cruising along side. I swear my chain jumped off the big chain ring without any influence from me, but it did allow an excellent opportunity to catch a few breaths and fall to the back.  Thanks to tips from Anton I knew what to do, simply changed gear to pickup the chain whilst on the go.

Success! Both CM and I hung with the group for the full ride. Loved every minute so will be back next Wednesday for sure.  I have to admit I was a nana, and had a wee nap on the couch whilst I was eating breaky.