So I decided to try the Thursday night group ride from Addictive Cycles. The Thursday night group ride is billed as a "nobody gets dropped" ride for folks who have recently taken up cycling. After talking to the Scott Hodge, the owner of addictive cycles, I was pretty pysched about going on this 20 mile ride that was supposed to average 15-16 mph. I knew I was in trouble, however, when I showed up tonight and I was the only rider in the group that had not shaved off all of my body hair! I'm actually pretty proud of myself for hanging with the pack for the first 8 miles of the ride, hills and all. In case you are wondering, our average speed for those first 8 miles was just under 24 mph. After those first 8 miles, my hairy, unseasoned legs just couldn't hang. Not to worry though; Grant, Addictive's co-owner, fell back and nursed me the rest of the way back to the shop, even stopping with me so that I could keep my stomach contents in my stomach. When we finally got back to the bike shop, Scott came over to check out the times on my computer. Turns out that I finished the 20 mile course with an average speed of just under 17 mph - much faster than I'm used to. I just can't wait for next week.