I Think I did ok....

welkman

So I took the plunge this morning and did a bike 'event'. I have been commuting 100miles a week for a year now so I thought It was about time. The route was 50 miles and I managed it in 2:30 hrs with about half of it riding in 'groups' and half on my own. I am judging my sucess purely on the fact that everyone that finished before or with me had shaved legs and full carbon bikes! I was quite impressed with the turn of speed that my Kona Jake running on 32mm marathon plus tyres and touring wheels could manage.

So the question is what next? I really enjoyed riding in the big groups today and quite enjoyed the company. I want to join a club but the nearest one is over 30 mins away.

Anyone been in the same boat?

Oh...forgot to mention, I might have pulled the trigger on a ribble sportive 105 a couple of weeks ago :shock:

cyberknight

is that 30 mins by bike or car?

Either way you can either bung it in your car or mtfu and cycle to the start point, my local club met is 8 miles away and i just cycle to it.

Good time for a 50, was it a flat route?
Just did a 73 mile sportive up around ashbourne /Dovedale and my average was a bit slower

welkman

It was a very flat route. The wind was really strong but that wasn't as much of an issue as I thought it would be. I think I might try doing a training ride with the local triathalon shop, they reckon they average between 16 and 19 mph in a group. Oh and if it had been a longer ride I would definatly have been slower by 1 -2 mph, no way I could have sustained that pace.

cyberknight

20 miles in 2/5 hours = 20 mph average which is really good going !!

I was not trying to belittle your ride it is a very good time , i just wondered on the terrain .

I got spat out the back of the group i was in about 1/2 way round when i got mechanicals and found my bottom bracket was loose and my rear mech rivets were loose which meant i could not get 2-3 gears i needed so i could not keep a decent cadence on hills so i ended up doing a 30 + mile solo at the end with chain drops and miss shifting .

Average was 16.5 total including a food stop

welkman

I was quite suprised how much difference riding in a group can make, especially into headwinds. Was really good fun to ride with that many people. At the start there was a really large group all bombing around at about 18mph, I was just riding along with a silly grin on my face, trying hard not to let on that I was pretending I was in the tour de france.

Think Im going to try a 100km ride as a next step.

W

SimonAH

I think you did very well indeed. Now you've cracked the seal you'll be signing up for them by the dozen.