February 13, 2010: First Team in Training ride
I found a new love for cycling now with Team in Training. It is kind of weird though. I learned so much this past Saturday about cycling. We had some first discussions about what to do before each ride and also what to look out for. The most that I learned was when I was riding in a pace group. There are a lot of things going on when riding in a pace group. We have to learn to yell out commands to each other while riding.
There are some hand signals that we learn as well. There is this chicken wing thing we do with our right arm to signal the person behind us that we are coming off of the front to go to the back to rest. The person that is behind the first person is supposed to acknowledge them by saying “got it” then the first person can then look over their shoulder to check traffic then back off. Then each person behind them says “rider coming back” till the last person of the group says “last rider” to tell them that there is nobody left. Then when the rider goes to the rear, the rider says “rider on” and they message passes all the way to the front till the first person says “got it.”
We also learned the “pace” and “gap” words to use when somebody is falling behind and there is space between riders. The first one to use is “pace” because it signals the first person to slow down. “Gap” is used when there is a large gap behind.
It turns out that my bike has some issues. I have a wobble and the wheels need to be trued. I have a bad cable on the front shifter and I need a new tire. Man that is a lot of money. I think I need to find a new mechanic.
I was able to get in a run on Sunday for 5 miles with my gf. It was a tough one for here but we got through it! She wants to go every Sunday now so that is going to be something we do together!
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