As the name implies, this ride is all business. Still, it isn't a race where the riders are going all out. Rather, it is a fast-paced group ride. Neophytes are discouraged (or maybe just told to find another ride, I really don't know).
What with my training and new bike, and the desire to get just a little bit faster before going to Nationals in June, I thought I'd see if I could hang with these guys (and ladies). It's not like this wild idea came out of the blue. Last week's 40k road race at Senior Games State Championships had me going for 24 miles and averaging 18.8 mph. And with this group I could draft the whole way. It was worth a shot, so I dutifully reported at 7:15 and prepared to ride.
The route took us east through Austin and toward Manor, on Manor Road actually. The multiple red lights gave me opportunity to warm up, practice my starts and clipping in, experiment with gears. Going up Chicon was a bit of a challenge, but we weren't pushing the pace, just going uphill. I had a clue then, but didn't pick up on it immediately. My heart rate (HR) was 144 when it should have been 130-132. But Chicon is a series of inclines and a couple of red lights and the HR dropped back down. Then went back up. Once on Manor Road we opened it up a bit and I had no problem sticking in line. But after passing Airport we had a few climbs and the HR was over 150 on each one. For the record, my max HR is 165, so anything over 150 should have had me using lots of energy, not the mild exertion I was doing. At a light or going downhill it should have dropped in the 110 range but it stayed over 120. Any little increase would push it up over 140 when it should have been under 130. At the forty-eight minute mark I pulled the plug (told Dan of my difficulties and I'd be turning around).
This has happened to me before on several BSS rides (See my July 25, 2017 post for the most recent). I haven't been able to zero in on a cause, but I can say on Saturday I was a total couch potato. In any case, once I turned around and had the wind at my back I just started cruising. Still, it took a good fifteen minutes before the HR started showing any semblance of normalcy. Interestingly enough, the relaxed time back was only two minutes longer than going out. I had very few red lights coming back.
Up until I turned around I had no difficulty staying with the group. But drafting is a very important element and I took full advantage. At one time Dan dropped back and in doing so gave an example of proper drafting. So, unless they tell me to find another ride, they can expect me to give it another go.
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