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Sure, I was fine... for the first five minutes. After that I was passed in short order by every single other rider. Have you ever seen those cartoons where a ship is sailing away and gets covered up by a wave once in a while? Every time you see the ship between waves, it gets smaller and smaller as it disappears on the horizon? That's how I felt. With every successive hill, those other riders were getting further and further away. I was frustrated, miserable, and - let's face it - angry. Angry at myself, and angry at the leader for abandoning me. I know; he didn't, and it was impossible to get lost. It just really felt like I was left for dead or, at least, impossibly slow.
Today I revisited the scene of my despair. OK, the jeans have been replaced by a cute bike outfit, I have lightened my personal load by about 16 pounds, and the comfort bike has been replaced by a much more appropriate Iron Horse. But still, that can't account for all of this. Let's face it - I'm stronger and healthier.
Then: 9.5 miles with some rolling hills in 50 minutes; average speed of 11.3 mph. (It's also important to note that I was working my butt off trying to keep up with them.)
Now: those same miles in 35 minutes; average speed of 15.7 mph. I may have been able to go a little faster if I really wanted to.
Ah, how sweet it is. After finishing the loop I did back then, I grabbed my camera and rolled back through the loop in the opposite direction, completing the 19 mile double-loop in about 1:12. I'll admit, those hills are still a bit challenging to me, and are even harder from the other side, but I've improved significantly, and now have cold, hard evidence. Yay, me!
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