Team in Training sounds good.
I wonder if they have that in
Southern California? The farthest
I have ridden was 84 miles on my own
but I had enough energy left I could've
done a full century. And that course had
some rollers and a couple of climbs on it.

But I broke my hip when my bike went
down due to a flat tire (with 1/2 mile to
go) in the 2002 Acura Bike Ride prior to
the Los Angeles Marathon that year and
am pretty shy about riding in groups of
people. That and even though I can average
15 miles an hour on some courses, I don't like
the idea of following other people in 'packs.'

I really tend towards 'lone wolfism.'

But it might be nice to find a group I could ride
with. As I get older I might find it more fun.

TNT would be perfect for you . There are chapters everywhere. Do a google search for team in training and you can go to the main website, put in your zip code, and bingo. I had never ridden in a "peloton" until I started with the team. Now, it makes so much of a difference, especially on long rides. Just the fact that you have someone to talk to makes the miles fly by. As to avg speed, they break you up into 3 groups, at least my team does and I'm pretty sure all do the same. You have a Gold Group ( avg 18mph +), a Green Group ( 14-17 avg), and a Purple Group ( 14 and under avg). Most people can fit into one of these categories.
Good luck on the road

waklee... Team in Training sounds so cool. I've looked into it and talked about it a lot, even sent for information, but never took it farther than that. I always felt I was not in good enough shape to do it, or even train for it. I am aiming for next year's Tahoe ride though. (2007) My Mom died of Lymphoma so it's a cause close to my heart.
I see you're from Clovis. I lived in Fresno for a while and was actually just there in January visiting friends still in Fresno and Clovis.

I've continued my spinning class and find I am actually enjoying it. Once I found the balance between a great workout and rupturing quad muscles!

Ride on!
Gypsy

Yes TNT is very cool. I tell people it's like a cult, but in a good way. Once you join, you never really leave because of the experience you've gone through. Even if a person isn't actively riding with the team in a particular season they are always welcome once they've completed their first century. I think that one of the best parts of it is seeing the honories that we ride for, and hearing their stories of going through treatments, hospital stays, surgeries, etc... Any time I felt like giving up I would think of what they went through, and how they had no choice in the matter. And believe me, when I was riding up a 15%grade for 10 straight miles at 300lbs I felt like quitting about every 2 minutes. Completeing that century was a great feeling of accomplishment. Many people would look at me and see a fat guy in spandex, and then they'd find out that I did 109miles in one sitting and their opinion would change.
Anyway, just sign up and ride. It's alot of fun.

Great story, and thanks for the tip.
I will make a point to check out the TNT group.

Just gotta put in a plug for
the Great weather the last
several days in Southern California.

No smog. Blue skys. Snow on
the local Mountains. 65 to 70 degrees.

Perfect for spending the whole day
on a bicycle. Mine are seen below:

Lightning Thunderbolt http://www.lightningbikes.com/thunderbolt.htm
Easy Racer EZ1-SC http://www.easyracers.com/ez_1_sc.htm

The weather on the east coast has gotten a lot better as well.
Went out for a great ride yesterday... saw a ton of other people out as well.

Yeah it went from 75 here in WV yeaterday afternoon to 35 last night,oh well not much longer--JJ

Gotta love California weather. It was pouring down rain on Friday, today as well, but it cleared up long enough on Saturday that I was able to get in a Metric Century. We rode 65 hard miles. Did over 4500 feet of climbing. It kicked my butt as I've been traveling alot for work and not riding that often. Oh well, that which does not kill us...etc.

Last year I put in around 1k for the summer months, mostly street riding, which is stop and go and can get a little dicey. Problem is that after about 3hrs and around 45 miles I get very low on my blood sugar. I havent found a good combination of fuel that can keep me going and alos not upset my stomach.
I generally ride by myself, although I enjoy a pickup ride with one or two other riders, met while out. I generally follow, I'm nervous about having riders behind me, and following motivates me to ride harder.
I've been experimenting with fluids, like fruit juice with a pinch of salt added, usually watered down. That has been working ok for hydration, but I still bonk towards the end of the long rides. My goal is to do fifty without croaking. Come close so far but not there yet. An average ride is 15 to 20 miles during the week, and I try to do a longer ride on the weekend.

I take the Atkins Bars with me instead of any type of power bar. Becareful with them though as some people have a bad reaction. As for drinks I only use water and a small amount, 1/4cup of maltodextrine.(sp) It burns off quickly but gives you a good boost.
Sean
ps., where in nor cal are you at.

Slowrider,

I am somewhat like you. I only ride
alone and I usually ride 15 - 20 miles
a day during the week and longer on
Saturday. I am 55 and am at below my
goal weight but I smoked in my youth
for a number of years so I don't try to
win any races, but I can usually smoke
the average little punks on their BMX
bikes and 19 year olds on mtn. bikes.
But the silky pant penis pinching crowd
can usually out distance me everytime.

I BONK once in a while after about 3
hours if I don't get a Diet Coke (SALT)
and a banana (potassium) or two.
I carry two cokes and two bananas with
me, OR I stop and buy them on the
road for all day rides. Keeps me rev'n
and when I get home I have a Whey
Protein smoothie for lunch or dinner.

I also will take a couple of 500 mg
Glutamine pills when I drink my soda
and that tends to quell any hunger pangs.

And if I ride all day, I usually take a
couple of extra strength Tylenol after
the ride.

Welcome to the forums, oh, and you
can see pictures of my bikes at:
http://www.lightningbikes.com/thunderbolt.htm
and: http://www.easyracers.com/ez_1_sc.htm

Just wanted to say hi! I'm not really a "rider" but due to the purchase of a bike trailer for our baby I ride my bike most days now with a couple of longer rides here and there. Haha for me longer is 2 hours. It's fun!! I'd like to become a better biker!! (maybe one day hit an alp on a regular basis). Right now I have one of those "comfy" though I don't find it comfortable at all bikes that are so popular in Europe where you sit up straight and they have the curved handlebars and the crossbar the curves down really low. We got it as emergency transport for me when we first moved here at 8 mos pregnant and DH went back to the US to work. We dont' have a car I had to buy food somehow!
Anyway, I'm hoping to get a mountainbike like DH's next month so that I can ride on the trails around here with the baby in tow.

That's me!

Hello Meg,

Welcome to the Bicycle thread.
I find bicycling a great low impact
aerobic exercise. In my 30's I used
to jog (I was pretty slow) but I really
enjoy biking as I can cover so much
more territory in the same amount
of time.

Nice looking baby you have there!

Thanks for the welcome Ned!!
Oh the biketrailer has been a Godsend for me. Not having a car I would walk everywhere with the baby in the buggy to do all of my errands. Now I love to hike... I could hike all day in the mountains but walking on pavement was killing my knees. I couldn't work out because my knees hurt too much from walking, I love being able to cover distance and to take the baby into the woods so he can enjoy the trees and serenity - I'd never make it that far if I was just walking with him. Also handy for those times where I notice he's falling asleep and need to kill some time to give him a good nap.