Today I did my first Tuesday night ride at Fiesta Island. This is a small island in Mission Bay that is popular with the local road cyclist. There are two paved road loops around the island including a nice 4-mile one. Tuesday night is speed night and dozens of cyclist get into a peleton and spin round and round. When I got on the road I could see the riders in the distance. It would have been impossible for me to catch them so I just started hammering around the island and figured that they would eventually catch me. I started up and quickly brought my speed up to 20 MPH. My heart rate rose pretty dramatically since I didn't really warm up before I started hitting it hard. There was a very strong headwind for 1/2 of the 4-mile loop which really made it difficult, especially with no slipstream to ride in.
About 12 miles into the ride, the riders started coming up behind me. I moved aside to let them pass and then tried to jump on. Unfortunately I mis-timed it and they sped away without me being able to latch on. So more round and round. I slowed it down to about 16 MPH to rest up a bit and wait for another pass. Two more laps and here they come again. This time, I start speeding up and time it much better. So there I am, doing all I can to hold on. I was falling in and out of the slipstream and could really feel the difference in effort when I was drafting. I look down and we were cruising at 25 MPH. Wow. This is pretty much my top speed. It was like hanging on to a tiger's tail. We take a hard left turn and I'm too cautious not being very experienced on this route. Next thing I know, I'm 10 feet behind the nearest rider and they are pulling away. I give it my all, put my head down and just sprint as fast as I can and close the gap. I managed to hold on for a few more moments and then get dropped like the proverbial prom dress. The final sprint and the 15 miles of solo riding in a head wind finally take it's toll. They pull away and I'm alone again. I manged to hang on for about 1/4 loop which is pretty respectable for my first time.
It felt great to really turn it loose and I will definitely be doing this again. I did a total of 20 miles with an average speed of 17.5 MPH.
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