Wednesday our group was scheduled for core (which we no longer consider a rest period even though we're mostly on the mats!) and bike! That added several extra levels of preparation to our routine!
One angel has a pick up with seating for 4, and she arrived with about a zillion tie downs and her bike already locked in - she'd even taken it to work with her that day (about 25 miles away) to be sure the system she had in mind for transporting all 4 bikes would hold up! She's riding a mountain bike at present until she gets a new bike - don't remember the name but it had green accent paint and looks pretty nifty! My bike, the small frame Cannondale Comfort 5 (key word there is 'comfort' - the seat is the heaviest thing on it but I love it!), was second in - it's not too heavy and the 2 of us handled it easily! Bike #3 (a nice Schwinn Avenue - light blue paint job is pretty snazzy!) The TREK was last and we about tossed it over the truck hefting it up because it was so light - especially compared to the others! These 4 ladies all stayed in place just fine during the dash over to Vincennes.
Upon arrival we found out our story had been in the Vincennes paper that day and was creating a 'buzz' among the TRY ladies - which was the intent. We'll each have copies tomorrow for posterity!
We got another surprise when we entered the area for core training as the exercise balls were out along with the mats - this was something new for me particularly! I've had only a passing acquaintance with the balls - I see one and I pass on by - so most of my effort was directed to not rolling off the darn thing while getting into position to do ab crunches - surely my muscles were clenched enough to count as exercise! At first I questioned the wisdom of doing so many 'leg' exercises (we did Superman, bicycling, and one move where we laid on our back, with legs up in the air at a 90 degree angle, then dropped some and held, then dropped some more and held, then dropped and held - that was a treat!) but apparently they helped warm our muscles up for the bike ride! The reminders to keep breathing (vs holding our breath) were invaluable!
Another exercise in cooperation followed in unstrapping the bikes, getting them down off the truck bed, getting our helmets, getting my neon yellow shirt so that the cars would see me, loading up water bottles, putting on sunscreen, adjusting stuff, etc., etc. I'm sure we all provide quite the bit of comic relief to the folks who live across from the Y! I stayed at the end of the line so that no one would have to feel bad about passing me - and it doesn't bother me at all to be passed!
Got a little further up death hill than the first time, but at the point I was pedaling, pedaling, pedaling and going about a foot further I got off and walked her the rest of the way up. I made sure to keep the pace at at least 3 mph (doesn't sound like much but you should see this hill!) and made sure to hop right back on at the top. This time we went to the orchard as before, but then took a right and were to proceed down to Kohl's. Not being from Vincennes and never having been to Kohl's (and yet my life is complete!), it was a little disconcerting to not see any of the others right away, especially as there had been some talk about the horrible series of hills to be mastered on that part of the ride. As it turned out, these were not much more difficult that those I already cover on my local training route - so slowly but surely like the little train that thinks she can I made it to the top.
All the riders I encountered (on their way back) had words of encouragement or waved and this was great too! The way back was uneventful except for the ride down the hill of death when my speed got up to 22 mph - I just let her roll as there was no traffic, the visibility was A+, no sticks in the road, and it felt great! I didn't have to pedal for a loooong time along the straightaway! Total distance was 6.86 miles - I forgot to look at the clock when we left so don't know for sure how long it took - but it's not a race and the rest of the group was willing to wait for me, so elapsed time not a critical issue.
Repeated the loading up process and made our way back home - we must be getting into better shape as we were laughing and cutting up the whole way instead of the usual collapsing into a stupor clutching our water bottles and snacks! Unloading was also pretty efficient and I got home all jazzed up and ready to go for another ride - fortunately the wisdom of doing that was questioned and I had melon and a shower instead, which I am pretty sure I needed!
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