HEATHER'S RIDE IN NICASIO

I have never even heard of Nicasio.. and now I can't wait to go back. It was a long drive for me but it was well worth it. It was 83 miles from our house in discovery bay. Nicasio is so beautiful that it didn't even seem like we were working out, the 30 mile ride seemed to short. Today was my first group ride with out Mike. Even though he wasn't with me, he set me up good. Mike had blue all prepped and loaded on the lil ghetto box , all my clothes together, and all my water and nutrition set up for my ride. I'm starting to notice my training is paying off.. I felt really strong on the ride today. I'm starting to climb better, still not the best and have a hard time controlling my heart rate but I'm making it up whatever hill is in front of me. We rode a total of 30 miles today. What a great place to ride. There were groups of riders everywhere, big groups , fast groups , girl groups. Team In Training is going back to Nicasio later in the season when the rides get longer and I can't wait to ride with Mike out there, he had to work today, the one Saturday a year he has to work at Fedex because of the Christmas rush. We practiced pace lining today.. I hear Mike and Chris from Brentwood Bike Club talking about it all the time and how to do it. This is when your group rides in a line about 18 inches from the back wheel of the bike in front of you. Everyone takes a turn pulling (the first rider in line breaking the wind and pulling the group) this technique can make a long ride seem like a short easier ride or a short easy ride seem long if it's not done correctly.
So anyhow, it has to be predetermined how long and how fast each pull will be. So if the pace is 18mph and 90 second pulls, you hold a 18 mph pace and after 90 seconds you peel off to the left and let the group pass you and fall into place at the back. In the back you can relax a little bit and recover for your next pull. This is when you would drink. We have a little practicing to do. I've seen Mike and the club do this out at the dam and wow you can really move working as a team, but you have to be a team and keep the same pace, not drop anybody. The idea behind pace lining is to draft and conserve energy when not doing your pull. I can't wait to get this down it will be fun to do it right and be like a race team... lol. I know it was a great day because I came home and crashed on the couch...Sunday I'm looking forward to our club ride with Brentwood Bike Club ... the Sunday coffee ride, we will probably get another 30 miles in, then Monday will be a recovery day. I want to say good job today Team in Training, today I felt we rode as a team and it felt good, and thank you coach Jim for a great ride. That's me and coach Jim in the picture.