Mountain Biker Turned Roadie

The Roadie Group Ride

“Have you seen my legs?”

It was only a matter of time, I had to jump into the mix and join a pure, flat out, all roadie ride. One of my mountain biking friends, Laurie from Life On A Bike (she took the photos in this article!), put in the call to us mountain riders looking for a group to head out on the ride. I was the only one that showed up…and that should have been a sign!

What/when/where on this roadie ride…

This roadie ride left from the Budwiser Brewery here in Georgia on the day after Christmas and twisted around some great north Georgia country roads for a little over 50 miles. A group of around 30 of us headed out on a winter pace road ride in the wet mist of a cold winter afternoon. This was my first road ride with a bunch of dedicated roadies…so of course I had to keep up front at the beginning representing the fat tire crowd.

I learned more about road riding in the few hours of this ride than all of the miles on my Blue Nx7 road bike. Of course, I also doubled the amount of miles on my road bike with this ride alone. I was jumping head first into the Kool-Aid early! (I have since logged in a lot more miles…)

The After Christmas Brewery Ride

I started off the ride very well. I cruised towards the front of the pack averaging around 18-20 mph by just hanging with the draft in the big ring. As I was riding with the rest of the group, I really took note of the other riders and how they interacted with each other. Coming from a pure mountain biking background, it was very interesting to watch the group dynamic. With mountain biking, even though you often ride with large groups…it is still a very individualistic sport. In the first few miles of this road ride, I figured out really quickly that I was going to have to watch what I was doing…these riders work together…

The plan for this ride was to complete a little over 50 miles with a store stop at mile 32. Up until the store stop, it seemed like a perfect ride. I was keeping pace with the front group and really enjoying the roads. Even with the bad weather…it was a great day out on the bike. The Blue Competition Cycles Nx7 was incredibly comfortable and I was clipped in ready to go.

Post Store Stop Disaster

After the store stop, everything seemed to kick into gear for the last leg much like the first started. We started off at about the same pace and the entire group was rolling smoothly. We hit a straight away with a slight incline and that is where it happened. I lost the draft by not paying attention. On the road bike, for a mountain biker, it is very easy to lose your concentration as you look at the riders and scenery around you. I am very used to having to focus on the trail ahead and watch for lines, obstacles and OTB moments. With road biking, you really need to have one very clear focus…DO NOT LOSE THE DRAFT!

Once I lost the draft, everything went downhill and fast. I was fighting the wind all on my own, and my average was down in the 14-15 mph vs. the groups 18-20. After a short period of time…the entire group was out of sight. Normally, for a mountain biker, this isn’t a problem. Just keep following the trail and you will eventually catch up with the group at the next stopping point or at the end of the trail. On road rides…there is no stopping and there is no trail. Luckily for me, the roads were semi-wet that day and I was able to follow the route by the tire marks on the road.

I kept pushing forward. After a period of time, a small group of four riders came up behind me that had lost the group due to a mechanical failure. I was able to piggyback off of this group to keep my ride moving. By this point, after riding alone in the wind, my legs were cooked. We did a series of slingshots (thats Pete giving me a push in the picture) to keep the legs from completely giving out.

I can only imagine the feeling that Laurie had as she looked around the group and realized I wasn’t there anymore. As we came up on a group of riders heading the wrong direction, I saw that it was Laurie, Barry and Alexis (two of our other roadie friends who actually have impressive mountain biking skills). Now…with a larger group of riders, we were able to keep the average pace that we needed. We got to the end of the ride and I was completely cooked…but not cramping.

What did I learn on my first real roadie ride?

1. Drafting is everything…especially when you do not know where you are going. My main focus should be keeping that tire in front of me as close as possible.
2. Losing concentration is easy…so focus! I can’t afford to lose concentration on road rides, so I need to focus on the task at hand. If my mind wanders…then I will lose the group exactly like I did on this ride.
3. Road riding is a group activity. When you are having issues or need to keep the group together, road riders work together to make this happen. Without the group, they are less efficient. I find the opposite in mountain biking. In most cases, the large group rides hold me up in situations like long downhills, and you can get away from the pack with little to no consequence.
4. I have a lot of work left to do. Mainly…I need to learn to shift more and keep my cadence up. Using larger gears and slow cadence affects my ability to go longer distances on the road bike. If I would have used better gear selection, my legs would have been in better shape.
5. My bike rocks and has far more skills than I do. My full Dura-Ace Blue Competition Cycles Nx7 is a sweet ride. It even catches the eyes of all of the roadies in the crowd, and we all know how they are…exactly like mountain bikers…obsessed with gear! Now, I just need to get my road riding skill set up to match the bike.
6. They still let you ride if you wear baggies. That’s right…I did this roadie ride in a set of Pearl Izumi baggies…someone had to rock them, it might as well have been me!

Road riding will never take the place of sweet single track or an incredible downhill run, but it has opened my eyes to another discipline of cycling. I really enjoyed this ride and I am looking forward to the next. My goal is to be able to hold my own during the spring/summer crits, and it will all get logged on this site…through the eyes of a mountain biker.

P.S. – Laurie and I are still great friends! Thanks for the invite!

GPS Stats from the Brewery Ride