Week 3 Bike - Solana Beach to Carlsbad

This morning I rode my bike 20 miles! I joined the Team In Training for a Saturday bike workout. It was my first since week 1 I was at A Day Out with Thomas the Train and week 2 I was holding the photo fundraiser. We broke into 3 groups, advanced, intermediate and beginners - and yes, I went out with the beginners. We met at Lomas Santa Fe in Solana Beach and rode north on the 101 Pacific Coast Highway through Solana Beach, Encinitas, Cardiff, and Leucadia to Cannon Road in Carlsbad. 10 miles out and 10 miles back at an average speed of 11.1 mph. I was pretty nervous at first as PCH is a busy road and I haven't ridden with traffic before. I was glued to the bike lane until it went away and we had to share the road with the cars. I was also afraid of going too fast down any hills and of taking my hands off the handlebars for any reason. This includes wiping hair out of my face and scratching my nose. For the entire 10 mile ride to Carlsbad I kept my hands on the handlebars. The other difficulty was getting my feet into the pedal cages. We had to stop at every stop sign and red light, which meant getting my feet out of the cages to stop and back in to go. A few times felt like when I was learning to drive a stick shift - I would stop at a stop sign on a hill and roll back so far trying to start again that I would have to re-stop at the stop sign. Well, today I stopped at a stop light just as it turned green, and it took me so long to get my foot in the darn cage that the light was yellow when I finally crossed the intersection. BUT, the ride back was completely different. After an hour on the bike, riding with traffic, being passed by much better cyclists, and not falling while racing down hill, I was much more comfortable. On the ride back I actually took my hands off the handlebars and got the hair out of my face. I was much faster on the pedal cages and even went down an entire hill without hitting the brakes. I was pretty proud of myself. And I enjoyed the ride. Riding along the ocean filled with surfers was so cool. I even saw a few dolphins. Being outside last weekend for the photo fundraiser and riding PCH this weekend has really given me a new appreciation for how lucky I am to live in San Diego - what a beautiful place! Also, on the way up to Cannon Road I rode around a curve with dried brush on the right and yellow and black reflectors along the road. It suddenly occurred to me where I was and Chris and I had a moment. When I finished the ride I felt so good that I really could have run. (However, I went straight home to shower instead). My coach says I'm becoming a triathlete. I think I might make a good biathlete and leave the swimming to someone else. Thanks for your support!