Hot Hot Hot!
I suppose I should have started blogging when I first started taking up road biking to document how far I’ve come ’til now-which isn’t far at all so far. Better late than never, I say!
I’ve only been riding for about 3 months. When I first started, I rode alone by the coast on Pacific Coast Highway or sometimes in the Malibu Canyons. Then I sought out a local cycling group to ride with to have some company. I was always envious of people who rode in groups. That was about 1 month ago. I’ve found from riding with the group that I am REALLY SLOOOW, always bringing up the rear. My gear-shifting, my riding position, and possibly my bike might be jacked! 
So, I have spent the last few weeks and will spend the next few weeks trying to correct all of my problems. The group that I ride with is usually nice enough to wait up for me at different points during the ride, which is encouraging. But I am still REALLY slow and can’t seem to get quicker. I’ve picked up a lot of tips from other riders though through my group riding experience, so I am hoping to improve over time. I’ve just invested in a wireless cyclocomputer (which didn’t work this morning from some reason), to help me gage my speed. Little did I know that I should have bought one with a cadence meter as well… D’OH!… so many things to learn.
Anyways, I started my ride this morning at 8:30am with a group that I had never ridden with before. The group was “supposedly” the “slow group” which I THOUGHT was perfect for me. Oy…. I didn’t get back to my car until 12:30pm, and thought I was going to literally melt away into nothing. MY GOD, it was HOT! I don’t think I’ve ever sweated like that in my life. We started at Thousand Oaks and rode toward Malibu around Malibu Lake. I think it must have been at least 95 degrees. As usual, I was huffing and puffing, and bringing up the rear. (Will I ever get fast enough to keep up with the group?). I ate 3 packets of gu, a power bar, a packet of Clif shot blocks, and 4 bottles of water (which I think equated to about 90 oz. And I STILL needed more water. Maybe I’m just out of shape, it was either just too hot, or both. I think I suffered from mild heat exhaustion as it took me about 4 hours to recover from the ride. My body was tingling, I felt dizzy, I couldn’t stand up straight, I got tunnel-vision, etc.. Note to self - do NOT ride in 90 degree heat..EVER AGAIN.
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