Revelations

I finally made it out for one of the Tuesday group road rides...and what an eye opener it was. As the group was assembling, it was intimidating seeing some of the serious equipment that was being amassed for what was in essence a "fun ride".When I did the TT, there was a fella with a Cervelo P3 Carbon, and the same guy was there for the group ride, and he was sporting a Soloist Carbon...that's almost $7 grand in frames alone, God knows what the complete bikes cost.
Once the ride started it didn't take long to realize that riding in a 'peloton' takes quite a bit of concentration. You're constantly having to assess and adjust your positioning so you don't lose the wheel in front of you, get to close to that wheel, or because of someone moving in on your position.
I was able to handle the pace nicely, and one of the highpoints was taking a pull at the front at almost 30mph. Not knowing the ins and outs of riding in a bunch led to a mistake which resulted in me riding alone for almost half the time. After taking my pull at the front I lingered along side instead of filing all the way to the back of the line. The reason I didn't, was if there was some sort of break, I didn't want to be all the way in the back when it happened. I should've ignored my competitive notions and joined at the rear. As it was, we hit a hill and the peloton had momentum on its side and before I could latch on I had been spit out the back.
I spent the rest of the ride in a no mans land. The only consolation I had was that I caught and passed two stragglers later on.

I can see where riding in a group on occasion can do wonders for your fitness. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get back out there at least once more before they wrap it up for the year. I can tell you one thing though, I won't get ejected off the back like that again. No sir.