rolling...

The 9am shop rides were always a favorite of mine... where else can you find a group of people who all - love - to ride their bikes. who give up sleeping in on a saturday am to roll down to the shop, for coffee ... and apple cake (today's special)... while the guys have been going out all winter (i presume), i have been slacking... but alas today, i decided to give it a try.

i arrived around 9 - and was the first one there. slowly people rolled in... and slowly i realized that - these weren't my usual compadres that i could comfortably ride with...

soon i recognized that the shop ride - on this day, was a contingent of the "a boys"... the ones who in past years have dropped me within minutes of rolling out of the shop.

i started to panic - as i would have last year... and then i decided that - at the very least - i could try to hang - for atleast a little bit - and then follow my own ride and make my way home.

then came kurt - and paul... and a few others who eased my thoughts... but i had already decided that i would try - to keep up.

we rolled out - at who knows what time - 14 deep - certainly not the designated 9am departure. with the plan of riding to rebersberg (matt and whoever else), penns cave ... or coburn. i was the sole female representative.

riding out brush valley, i always made sure i had a wheel to draft... and i hung on... and on... i road with chip for a while and was so happy to hear that his fight against cancer is successful so far. i learned about mike's experiences with training for PBP - including the 40 hour limit 340mile ride - YES 340 miles in 40 hours. crazy. this was my first time riding with mike. i got my techno-geek fix from todd -talking blue ray and all of the associated technology...

and before i knew it - we were at penns cave. the legs felt ok - so i carried on instead of turning off... and then came coburn. at this point i contemplated going on but... decided to stick with what was left of the group. matt and billy would more than likely hammer their way onward to rebersburg and i would only drag them down.

today, i made it through a ride out of my comfort zone with a group who i never would have thought possible to keep up with for so long. at the end of it all - i hit close to 67 miles - my longest ride of the season so far - and i felt ok.

there's nothing better - there's nothing that can boost the spirits more than a huge group ride like that. so many people - so many conversations... so much fun... and such a confidence builder. i'm looking forward more rides - long rides - and the summer to come.