Woke up early to get in my 3 minute interval work out before the Glider ride. Basically I do a 3 minute burst of harder riding followed by 2 minutes rest then repeat. Last week I did this 3 times, this week I bumped it up to 4. I must say I have been disappointed with my performance. Furthermore I have been feeling generally fatigued on the bike the last 3 weeks.  My legs don't have the snap they normally do. I probably need to back off some and let my body rest over Christmas.

Anyway I did the intervals and mosied  over to the Glider meet up. It was a crazy huge group. We rode out with Boss Hogg leading the way. He had some friend behind him and they were talking about TV shows and their children. The friend was trying to get Boss Hogg to watch Walking Dead and Hell on Wheels. Let me just interject that Walking Dead is the zombie show. It started off kind of cool but has deteriorated into a tiresome soap opera that doesn't feature enough brain eating zombies. And don't tell me that the show is supposed to be a metaphor for the breakdown of post industrial society or whatever. I work retail 8+ hours a day and I don't watch TV to listen to some dopes make ridiculous decisions and moan about their feelings.

So  we turn onto CR 241 and someone in the back promptly gets a flat. Now I am standing there listening to San Diego and 2 others talk about professional football for 10 minutes. Wonderful. For some reason Duetsche Bank and the Dopple-keet decide to ride up the road a ways. Finally we start up again. San Diego and I are in the front. San Diego is giving me all these instructions, like "Ok gradually ease up the pace." Etc. Do I need this? I'm glad that I give off this aura of approachability that people feel so comfortable freely dispensing riding advice and constructive criticism. Meanwhile other people gradually drift off to the side after pulling at the front instead of signaling that they are done so I have to guess what their intentions are and also yell "All clear!" at intersections (which is a big no-no according to the GCC website because everyone is supposed to check for themselves). Of course no one says boo to these people. But any random bike-hole has no problem stepping to me.

We drop back and people are chatting it up. The regulars by this point know better than to strike up small talk conversation with me so I'm just coasting along enjoying the silence. I know I sound like a jerk but Cheese and Rice, Boss Hogg's buddy is back their babbling about Matchbox 20 and the Wallflowers and the girls he was dating when the albums came out and how he is transported back in time whenever he hears one of those songs now. Seriously, that conversation was an aural Ebola virus gnawing away at my sanity.

So now we are heading towards Chestnut hill. There is a tree trimming truck blocking the road. We ascend and I don't go all out. For one my legs are kind of tired. Boss Hogg, Cheese and Rice (yes, I am officially calling him Cheese and Rice as of this moment) and 2 other dudes all beat me up the hill. Let me also point out that primarily due to the flat tire stop, some other random dudes joined the ride in progress. So this ride is inexplicably gaining members as it goes on. It's like the Thriller video where more monsters and ghouls keep climbing out of graves and start dancing.

We are now heading back on CR 241. This flash of yellow catches my peripheral vision. I realize that my brand new Road ID bracelet has come off and is lying on the ground back there. Oh for fuck's sake. Really? I just got that thing and it comes off after one ride? I could go back and get it,, but I'm like screw it.

Anyway we get on Millhopper road. Some other dude is leading up the I-75 hill. Afterward I am up. I go up a little incline, then downhill, then start up the last hill. I'm getting tired and I stand up out of the saddle. As I do Cheese and Rice leads most of the riders around me and I get dropped. It's tough when someone attacks when you're in the front going uphill right after a downhill. I was expending a lot of energy pedaling down the hill while they were just chilling in the draft. When he made his move I didn't have the energy or the will to respond. It sucked because Duetsche Bank and friends all followed and left me in the dust. Eventually 3 other dudes lead by Skeletor caught me and I finished dead ass last. Except for the Ride Captain and the Parakeet, who knows where they were.

So I'm kind of in a transition period with the cycling. Trying to switch up my training to be ready for shorter time trials in the spring. I'm kind of struggling right now with a somewhat new routine and probably trying to do too much. My ego is a little bruised from getting thumped today, but they were the better riders. Nothing I can do but train smart and stay focused on my goal of improving my time trial  rather than get distracted by treating the group ride like a race.

Later I drove back out and found the ID bracelet.