Memorial Day Pain Ride

Went to Bike World in West Des Moines for the annual Labor Day ride. Morning was a bit humid, but nice. Met Lou for coffee at 6:30. Pete and Pig decided to play in the dirt at the last minute on Saturday. Kelly Mente from PRC showed up, along with about 30 or so others and we were on our way at 7:00 sharp. We headed west on Ashworth at a fairly leisurely pace. Once we crossed the freeway, Lou pulled up beside me and suggested we catch the group at the front. That was to be the start of one of the harder rides I've had recently. With Lou, me, and a couple of others, the front group swelled to about 12 or so people. Some of us were feeling a bit frisky as we headed south towards Booneville and the pace picked up noticably. After the turning west onto Grand we stuck together until the first big hill and then the group started to break in half. After the turn into Van Meter, we were down to a group of seven for the rest of the ride. We rode the normal "short" loop of 45 miles or so, heading north for a ways, and then back east into Adel and then taking the Raccoon River Trail back in to Waukee and ending up at the shop. We averaged close to 21 MPH for this loop, with my heart rate solidly in zone 3 while in the pace lines, and into zone 4 on the climbs and when working my way back into the group. Afterwards, Steve, Ted, Lou and I pulled back into Amici for a quick drink before heading home. A good solid ride, and I was happy to be able to hang with some strong riders on this loop. The Paramount was really the only choice for this ride, and it didn't disappoint. I'm getting to like it the more I ride it.