Wednesday, 9/16/09 at 9:44 AM
by Mari Holden
by Mari Holden
My VeloBetty Ride
Yesterday I did a great ride with my VeloBetty training group. We met in the mountains behind San Diego for an early morning ride in the hills. We were a group of about 8 women, and we were tackling the famous “Kitchen Creek” on Mt. Laguna.
I always look forward to our VeloBetty rides because they are such epic, yet social events. We have a “no drop” attitude, and we always make sure that everyone feels welcome. We are starting to look like a real team out there since our new kits finally arrived and look amazing! It is also a total bonus, and by design I must add, that my kit perfectly matches my Giant For Women TCR!
We were a bit concerned with the heat. At 8am it was already in the 80’s and that meant that it was going to be a HOT day. This is always a big concern because dehydration is a big problem in the summer, and there weren’t very many spots to stop and refuel on our route. We loaded up with bottles in the pockets etc. and took off down the road.
I always love the early ride chatter, and I heard a great quote as we started up our first big climb. The group was already split, and I was riding with two women. It was awesome, one of them said that when this happens to them they just make up someone in their imagination and chase that person down…. I laughed at first because it was said in a funny way, but then I started to think about it and it made total sense. It shouldn’t matter how fast you are, or how bad you feel. It’s all about what you can convince yourself to do in your head. It’s the mental game and we all play it. Sometimes it’s with real people, but there is nothing wrong with pretending like you are chasing Lance Armstrong. Games are what make life fun. So, even if you are suffering to just make it up a hill, let your imagination go and use it to propel you forward.
The ride did indeed get pretty warm, but we had plenty of rest and enjoyed the scenery. We saw some beautiful areas that you can only really appreciate on a bike and the ice cream at the one and only market on Mt. Laguna never tasted so good! Remember Giant’s slogan “Ride Life”. That’s what we did and it was awesome!
Best,
Mari
I always look forward to our VeloBetty rides because they are such epic, yet social events. We have a “no drop” attitude, and we always make sure that everyone feels welcome. We are starting to look like a real team out there since our new kits finally arrived and look amazing! It is also a total bonus, and by design I must add, that my kit perfectly matches my Giant For Women TCR!
We were a bit concerned with the heat. At 8am it was already in the 80’s and that meant that it was going to be a HOT day. This is always a big concern because dehydration is a big problem in the summer, and there weren’t very many spots to stop and refuel on our route. We loaded up with bottles in the pockets etc. and took off down the road.
I always love the early ride chatter, and I heard a great quote as we started up our first big climb. The group was already split, and I was riding with two women. It was awesome, one of them said that when this happens to them they just make up someone in their imagination and chase that person down…. I laughed at first because it was said in a funny way, but then I started to think about it and it made total sense. It shouldn’t matter how fast you are, or how bad you feel. It’s all about what you can convince yourself to do in your head. It’s the mental game and we all play it. Sometimes it’s with real people, but there is nothing wrong with pretending like you are chasing Lance Armstrong. Games are what make life fun. So, even if you are suffering to just make it up a hill, let your imagination go and use it to propel you forward.
The ride did indeed get pretty warm, but we had plenty of rest and enjoyed the scenery. We saw some beautiful areas that you can only really appreciate on a bike and the ice cream at the one and only market on Mt. Laguna never tasted so good! Remember Giant’s slogan “Ride Life”. That’s what we did and it was awesome!
Best,
Mari
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