Weekly Beatdown

I call the Reality Bikes Wednesday group ride the Weekly Beatdown, but the name may be inappropriate, as so many things have been getting in the way lately that I haven't done it in weeks. Yesterday it rained, but it looked like maybe it just might be clear enough to ride, so I gave it a shot.

There were a ton of people at the shop, all kitted up, but half of them were there for a photo shoot, and half of the rest gave up when it started sprinkling. The remaining group was small, but still had a couple of strong riders.

I tried to stay on the front as much as possible to control the pace and keep the group together until we got near the end. It sprinkled, then rained, then sprinkled again. Not too bad. Kind of fun actually, but I wouldn't want to do it every week.

I led over Sawnee Mountain and over the subsequent humps. My heart rate was climbing, but I had a ton of energy, so I just kept pushing. Eventually my breathing got erratic, and my chest started to hurt. When we stopped at the light after the sprint line, I checked my pulse and it too was erratic. Other than the slight chest pain, I felt as fine as I usually do after pushing over those hills. It was really weird.

The only thing I can think of is that normally the ride is harder, I'm more tired, and other factors throttle me back before I can push my heart that hard. Yesterday the ride was easier, I was able to really peg my heart rate, and when I did it got arrhythmic. Whatever it was, it was odd, and it went away as soon as I eased up.

We'll see how things go next week.