Todays ride, spinning

Had a good ride today, with a fellow Skylands member, a gentleman named Gene. Gene races, and apparently is pretty strong, so I didn't really know what to expect...I don't usually ride with racers, as they are always "training". Which I suppose I should be doing as well...but it's Thanksgiving, and I just wanted to go for a couple hour ride, have a little human contact, since all of my people are in North Carolina right now, and enjoy the scenery in north western NJ, my favorite part of the state. Still, there's always a little trepidation with this kind of thing, since I don't race, and don't know the guy...is he going to drop my ass like a hot potato? Am I going to be a lead weight that he feels obligated to shepherd along?

Gene had put out an email last night, through the club mailing list, saying he wanted to do a couple hour base ride, and I figured, why not. He said it would be about a 17 mph pace, on flat terrain (in NW Jersey?). Great! I can keep a 17 mph pace on flat terrain pretty easily. And gas prices are low, so it won't impact the old wallet much. So, the plan was in effect. I woke up at 7:30 (ride was at 10), got my shit together, I'm out the door with plenty of time to get there, and, as is my custom when trying to hook up with Skylands rides, I found a way to fuck it up. 10 minutes out of the house, I realized I left my cycling shoes behind. Goddamnit. Went back, got them, got back on the road, and the goddamn GPS was telling me my arrival time would be about 10:15.

Now, Garmin GPS units don't take into account how fast you're going, when it gives you your ETA. It takes into account your position, and the speed limits on your route. So...I knew I could make up time, and I did - I arrived at 10:05, averaging about 12-15 mph over the speed limit. Safe? For you, probably not. But I'm a hell of a driver.

I actually pulled into the parking lot of the school that we were meeting at, immediately after Gene, so it was all good from a time perspective; this may have been helped by me emailing him en route...iPhones are a wonderful thing. We went for a somewhat hilly ride (I know there ain't no flat ground in that area), 30 miles or so, in about 2 hours. So, a little slower than planned, but I don't think I held us back, I think that's just the way the ride unfolded. We did a lot of yakking along the way. Here's the route we took:

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7210726

Pretty good ride, just the right length...my legs were starting to get a little heavy at the end. Made a new friend. What else can you ask for on Thanksgiving?

In other news, I took my first spin class the other day...I don't feel any gayer, but you never know....