Back in the Saddle

This past Thursday I got back on my bike after three weeks of nursing an injury.  It felt great to get the legs spinning, but damn I am out of shape.  I rode with 3 other cyclists at 8 a.m.--Bob, Bill and Carrie, all of whom are extremely strong and experienced riders.  The pace was mediocre at first, then picked up on the way back to our starting point.  The few weeks off really showed and I struggled to keep up in the last few miles. Normally I would truck along with no problems at the pace we rode, but this day I felt weak.  That 8 a.m. 15-mile ride was a little warm-up  before our 9 a.m. 35-mile group ride.  The group ride was easier than our 8 a.m. ride because there were more people.  This is because of the whole slipstream thing.  The ride went well until the last 5 miles.  I was spent.  My legs felt super-heavy and I was out of gas.  I managed to stick with the fast group and even pulled for a few miles but was glad to see our finishing point.  Although my first day back after the injuries was brutal, I could tell that I'll be back to shape in no time.