Group Ride

Today is Thursday July 17 2025 and yesterday i did a group bike ride.

It's the same ride i've done twice before. This time i did last a little longer before getting dropped. But i still got dropped. Hopefully i'll see the end of this ride at some point in the near future.

Yes i got dropped but i felt much more comfortable than i did on the previous two rides. My body knows that road bike so well but its taking a while to truly get reacquainted with it after spending years and years riding other bikes. Plus that bike needs some major work. The seat post is fused in a slightly too high position. The shifting sucks. i don't like the handle bars, specifically when in the drops.

i need to get off my a*s and take it in for some work... and do a little more yoga / strength training so that i can truly feel comfortable on it... and just ride it more regularly outdoors.

Or not. 

i'm making the rules here.

Regarding strength training, it feels like that's the best opportunity for me to improve my riding quickly. i'm a string bean. No real muscle to speak of. Yes my lungs need some major work (i hit a 191 heart rate on this ride!) and that's probably my biggest limiter but it feels like i could get quicker gains by doing some strength training. The problem is that i should have done that strength training months ago because at this point the races are coming up and i'd prefer to be riding right now and not lifting. 

So its like i've failed the midterm and now i have to ace the rest of the class just to finish with a passing grade. Meaning i have to find a way to work in a little strength training while not damaging the cardio training that my lungs obviously need so that when i show up to gravel worlds i can ride competently.

Or not.

i'm making the rules here.

My number one training indicator is how much fun i'm having while riding and right now i'm having a lot of fun.

We'll see how much fun i'm having at mile 55 of the 75 mile grave race.