orange is a lovely colour!

Since beginning our cycling adventures just prior to Christmas we have managed to travel over 500 kms in our first month… okay so we are not up there in the dizzy heights with the Tour de France cyclists yet, but we are pretty chuffed with our efforts thus far!

This morning I sit, reflecting on our very first ride with a group. We were invited to join a group of local riders in their regular trip to Little River/You Yangs. With the eagerness and enthusiasm of those still wet behind the ears (in terms of cycling) we jumped at the opportunity to tag along! Little did we know that we would be riding into a fierce head wind both to arrive at our meeting point and to reach Little River/You Yangs.

Leaving home by 7.30am (on a Sunday of all days! No such thing as a sleep in now we are cyclists!) we were on the road heading to our meeting point, Werribee. Upon joining the group I discover I am the only female rider! Whilst being introduced to the other cyclists I try to block out thoughts like… ‘Oh my god these guys look fit!’, ‘There’s no way I’ll be able to keep up!’, ‘I’m going to slow them down!’, ‘Perhaps I should go home!’…

Well I am glad I managed to stand up to my self-defeating thoughts because I did manage to keep up, even in the strong headwind. You see the beauty of riding in a pack is (and you may already know this) the cyclists at the front make it easier for those riding behind. It was still a hard 18km ride at an average speed of 21km/h to reach the exit but before I knew it the sign ahead read…Little River exit 1km. Soon after, there we were pulling off the freeway, riding over the bridge and into Little River.

Out of our group of 7, 3 continued on to mount an attack on the You Yangs whilst the other 4 (including me and my partner) headed back to Werribee with the wind behind us hitting a top speed at times of 49-50km/h. Wooo hoooo - what an exhilarating experience to be travelling along the roads by way of your own peddling power!  I don’t know why everyone doesn’t just do away with their cars and take to the roads on bicycles!

Upon arriving back in Werribee it was time to stop off, have a hot chocolate and a short rest before riding another 14km home. All in all by the time we arrived home we had completed a 67km ride in 2hours 40minutes, meet a group of very helpful cyclists who were happy to share their knowledge of riding in a group with us to make our first group ride a safe and positive experience. Thanks guys for inviting us and taking care of us too. This may just become a regular ride with a goal of one day mounting our own attack on the You Yangs!