round 2 - bring it on!!!

Believe it or not, we went out riding again. This time around, it was supposed to be with a bunch of Kale's friends for an "easy" evening ride. Since it's fasting month, most of the riders were supposed to have a "handicap" since they haven't eaten or drank all day, and they couldn't drink on the ride. One of the guy's wife (whom I know pretty well) came along for the ride and she was just getting over a bout of pneumonia. But that didn't stop them from dropping me about 200m from the start. Crap.

Anyhow, Kale rode with me till we met up with them about halfway through the ride. They were really nice and waited up for us, but we decided to turn around and go back the way we came while they took the long route back. Turns out that it was a good decision cos both us and their group arrived back at the shop at the same time. Kale says they probably went another 5-10km more than us.

I'm just happy I got back out on my bike. I am a little bummed I couldn't stay on for longer, but oh well, practice makes perfect. Next time my goal is to stay on longer.

I also found out 2 things today -
1) Kale's wonderful to draft behind. Must be that ample Italian caboose.
2) Your mind can totally play tricks on you. I found out that the easiest way to ride up a hill (ok, slope) is to ride behind someone so you can't see the top of the hill. If you just focus on the wheel in front of you, it's easier to make it up the hill. If I can see the top, I inevitably crack right before the top of the hill, and everything simply shuts down. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Man.

Anyway, I'm really hurting. Oww. My palms hurt from my death grip on my handlebars, and my thighs, well, my thighs ache. As expected. Time to go grab some dinner and then pick the 'rents up from the airport. They're back from Chiang Mai tonight.