Sunday a group of us went on what was advertised as a long slow ride. It turned out that a long slow ride for that day was 30 miles at 16.5 miles per hour. What makes a ride long or slow is a pretty individual matter. Let's look at these terms individually, shall we!
...LONG....
You'd have to agree that this is a very personal concept. For me LONG comes between "not long enough" and "too dang far". "Not long enough" is any distance where I have ridden to the finish and still have strength and time left over such that I could have still been riding. For me that is pretty much anything up to about 50 miles. Maybe not quite as far if it is windy. "Too dang far" can occur anywhere from 30 miles up depending on conditions. Recently, I rode the Chief Ladiga Trail on a cool, windy day. Up to about mile 35 was terriffic. 40 miles still good. 43 going fine. Then at mile 44, the ride transitioned into a "too dang far" ride. I had to work very, very hard to keep the legs turning for the last 10 miles back to the truck. (That is one feature of cycling that is so very different from spin class or any kind of gym workout. You have to finish the ride.) Another time I was riding strong having the time of my life, when suddenly I went over the mileage limit and rode "too dang far". This time it was my posterior that turned in to a source of agony. At times like that, one's body parts take on personality and ask difficult questions like, "what in the heck do you think you are doing?" I am told that carrying on through difficulties like these builds character. Character building is nice but what about building endurance or a tougher posterior?
...SLOW...
I was riding on a half-century ride with some folks who passed me and exclaimed, "Gee, I didn't know that anyone could go less than 3 miles per hour on a road bike and not fall over!". I guess I impressed them! Slow for me has been that pace where I don't get a pounding heart beat or end up gasping for breath on climbs. Where I can drink from my water bottle and eat a power bar without difficulty. It is comfortable". Over the past year I have no doubt made some (minute) gains in speed. But on the group rides, they seem to be just as far ahead as before. I go a little faster, and they go a little faster. The carrot dangles on a string always just out of reach...
...RIDE...
So, slow and fast are relative terms. Should that keep us away from group rides? No! You just have to "Ride your own ride"... The riders in our groups are polite and wait at intersections. They even come back down the road to look for folks having trouble or keep them company. But don't be surprised if they "light out" to the next intersection leaving the slower folks (me) behind as if we were painted on the asphalt. If you want to become fast and run with the big dogs, fine! Train over time and there will always be someone willing to go faster. But if you want to ride and enjoy being out, come join in. Besides, if it was only about how far and how fast, we'd be driving cars!
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