How does that go again?

When I start out my training season, I always stress a little about the first few workouts.  I wonder, "Am I going to hard, to short, to slow, to soon, to pink, to ???".  And all of this is compounded by the fickle winter weather. Do I wear the jacket or just stuff it in my pocket.  Which gloves do I need?  What if it is windy? Rains? Road-gritty?  And it is so hard to get out the door as I try to remember to air up the tires, lube the chain, second-guess the number of Clif bars I have in my pockets, and wonder for the 1000th time if I should try to replace my stolen CPU for my powertap or pick-up the Garmin 305 Forerunner (either way I am out a chunk of change) so that I can at least measure how far I've gone.  

Today, I took Dean outside for the first time this year... actually it's been longer than that, since October.  I forgot how great that bikes is to ride!  I dressed for a light chill... base-layer, jersey, jacket.  My light leg-warmers were plenty, but at the last minute I pulled on the shoe covers and the warmer gloves.  I started out the door into a "moisting"... not a rain, not even a mist... a moist.  I was heading due North to Adair, and the first ride of the Pacific Power/ Blue Sky team this season.  We were decked out in our new team kits; the blue on the jersey is sooo bright that it seems almost fluorescent.  Our ride was to take in the Cherry Pie Road Race course, a fundraising race we put on in less than a month to kick off the Oregon road season.

Ready to ride!

I felt great for the entire 8 miles out to the meeting spot (no surprise) and the first half of the loop (tailwind).  And even the start of the second loop felt good (I jumped in with a group of Cat 3/4 men doing a pace-line into the wind), but then I got dropped on a downhill when the group was jumbled passing another cyclist and I started to hear the fat lady sing.  Fatigue washed over me, and riding into the wind I found that there is no easy gear.  After a brief reprieve, I did manage to gather my scattered energy reserves in order to hang on to a group of stragglers like myself, even putting a little distance on them up the last climb of the course.

After leaving the group, I just soft-pedaled on the way home.  My quads were aching from the added strain on my stabilizer muscles, ones that don't really come into play on the bike trainer (must remember that for later).  I'll be on the foam-roller tonight.  But, I was super-psyched to have been outside in the air and wind.  I think it will be a lot easier to get out the door for my long ride from now on.

First ride.... success!