Red Wave

When I started out on Saturday's ride, the heat had already arrived. I wasn't quite sure what my route would be, but knew I needed to ride for five hours and knew I needed to practice riding hills. I started out from my house and immediately saw a group of four riders. "Perfect" I thought, "maybe I can tag along with them." I caught up to them and asked how far they were going, "four hours", this seemed perfect for me. "Do you mind if I tag along" I asked. "Not a problem," I found out where they were going and rode with them for maybe a quarter of a mile, when their pace was just a bit too slow for me. I know Matt says, long and slow, but I think he means for me to be pedaling. I was a little disappointed to lose a potential pack, but it can be nice to be on your own as well. They had me heading South to Mopac so I continued on that way debating what route to take. I was at the Barton Creek light tossing back whether to continue straight to SW Parkway or turn right onto 360, when I sensed riders behind me. I turned around to come face to face with around ten identically clad red-jersey wearing Bicycle Sport shop riders. This made my decision, I had to see how long I could keep up with them. The light turned green and I bolted off charging down the hill. I rode for a bit waiting for the red wave to overtake me, sensing that they had to be right behind me. It wasn't until about five miles later that the first of the group rode on by me. We exchanged hellos and I kept on riding trying to keep up as long as I could, which wasn't much longer, but it did provide some entertainment. I rode to the end of SW Parkway and then onto 71 where I was hoping traffic would be a bit lighter at this early hour. It was lighter than usual, but not as light as no traffic. I felt pretty good so far and just tried to keep the pace, I still had a long way to go. I rode on around the mall and back to Bee Caves and then continued to 360. I made one full loop of 360 and headed home to refill my water bottles. On my way in I came across another rider clad in all white, not my first choice for bike shorts due to sweat making it see through but I guess it's cool. "How long have you been riding?" He asked. "Three hours" I grin. Saying it just seems to make it more real. "You?" "I've gone about two and am halfway there." He responded and then the light changed and we both were off going our own directions. I made it home, reapplied sunscreen, refilled my water bottle and ate half a PBJ then hopped back on my bike again. "Just think of it, like you are just heading out for a ride" I thought. That would have been great, but the temperature was soaring at this point and humidity was really high. I set back out for 360, the road noticeably lighter without as many bikers, but I know that this will help me come July. I make my way through the last two hours of the ride and it went faster than I thought it would although my riding was slower than I thought it would be, I think mainly due to solo riding, but I'm not sure. At the end of the ride I had gone 85 miles, drank 4 bottles of water, ate half a power bar and half a PBJ.