Interesting night of riding

Tonights ride was one of the most interesting rides I've had in a long time. Thankfully it didn't involve any vehicles this time. It starting off as a usual ride that we do during weeknights which is a 36 mile loop. We went tonight because the sun was out for the first time in weeks!

Three of us were kind of cruising along around the scenic Ocean Dr chatting and just enjoying the weather. After reaching about the half way point of the ride, I see a cop on a motorcycle coming slowly around the corner flashing his lights. Uh Oh.... But wait!!! Following the cop were 40-50 cyclists! Well, each year a local bike shop where we live puts on a "Longest Day of the Year" ride which circles around the small island we live on. In total, I think it ends up being a 45-50 mile loop. So after about 30 seconds, the adrenaline kicked in and my decision was made. TURN AROUND! Back the other way we went. The group was kind of cruising as they had just started and the police escort was there to keep the Newport, RI traffic in check as they went around. Looking down at my computer, my average speed over the first 17 miles was about 17.7 mph.

So out of Newport we went... and up went the pace. Soon I had dropped my mates that I was with, but was hanging with the front group. It was kind of cool to go out in a group of 20-30 riders. Gone was the fear of getting hit by a car. Next thing I know, I'm at 37 miles total and my average mph jumped to 20.1 mph. To raise the average that much that quickly gives you an idea of the pace we were keeping.

Unfortunately, staying with the main pack didn't last. Its not that I cracked, its that a small group of us got caught behind a truck that kind of passed us and made a turn just as we were making a turn. That caused the back half to slow down just enough that enough of a gap was opened that we couldn't gap the distance. We (myself included) didn't have enough firepower. We tried with 3 of us, but that became two quickly and all was lost. A hill was upcoming and I had no gas left. I hadn't planned on doing this ride so I had 1 water bottle and no food/gels. Now I had been out for over 2 hours. After 50 miles I was toast. I also had a problem in that my car was on the other side of the island (My house is in the middle). So I said my goodbye's and decided to use the upcoming light to avoid traffic on a road that just should not be ridden by a solo rider. Off I went at a slower pace and cooled down the last 3 miles home.

Final Stats:

• 51.2 miles
• 20.2 mph