Back on the train

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Another fun Saturday Acacia park road ride is in the books. Despite some darn chilly temps in the morning, the sunny skies and threat of snow swelled the crowd. It didn't seem like that big of a group when we rolled out of Starbucks, but riders kept appearing out of nowhere. The pace on the rollout along Boulder and Plate was pretty chill today - and I was a little more comfortable in the group. That set me up nicely for the first acceleration. I knew it was coming and was ready this time. With a good position in the group and better awareness of tactics, I was able to mix it up a little on the front. Wasn't easy, but I was taking pulls, watching wheels and closing some gaps. I did get a little push once when I wasn't as quick z I needed to be jumping on wheels. I have to admit, I still have a lot to learn when it comes to road biking and large groups. I was sticking with the group, but had my nose in the wind a lot. More then I should have, given the composition at the front.

A momment of bravado just before the left onto Link Rd spat me out the back pretty easily. I knew it when I took off after Jayson that I was gonna pay, but didn't think it though that much. I rode up and over the hill on my own - got to watch the group splinter kn the hill although at a distance. Then started the business on chasing. No way I was gonna catch them, but I wanted to limit my losses. One of the other women in the group, Coach Renee, waited for me and we rode together till the group came back. It was nice, we caught and passed four guys in the road. One tried to pull with us but did a lot of wheel sucking.

Once the group was together again, it was time for some coaching. Coach Adam was in the group and gave me plenty of advice on pulling, positioning and technique. Renee also had some good advice, and she's a badass on the road. As she put it "If you're the only girl pulling in a group like this, that's not a good think. Pick moments and stay out of the wind. Don't waste energy chasing, let the boys do the work!" Yep. I'll remember that! The manual repositioning on the road also help reinforce the message. Dug J with Bandwagon racing also gave some good pointers. He was really helpful in the last group ride and I've remembered a lot of what he said. Hopefully I'll hang with group longer next well!

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