Monday night rides

Photo grabbed from davidsworld.com

Well, I did it. I bit the bullet, plunked down my credit card and signed up for what I hope will improve my cycling when I take it to the road once the ground thaws. You might recall from my New Year's Resolutions that I wanted to get better on the bike--more confidence and speed would help too--for the 2009 triathlon season. So I registered for the eight-week program, A Taste of VQ, held at Vision Quest Chicago.

VQ was started by Robbie Ventura who raced with Lance Armstrong and raced on the U.S. Postal Service cycling team. Now that's he no longer on the racing circuit, Ventura heads up Vision Quest and has dipped his foot into triathlons--he completed Ironman Canada last August and had a blistering time on the bike pushing that tough course (just take a look at the elevation map and you'll see what I mean).

As for Taste of VQ, I guess you could say it's a chance to ride with the big wigs? That and an improvement on my cycling--the class description boasts that participants improve more than 12.8 percent on average. Just what I wanted for the new year.

Yet why do I have butterflies in my stomach? Why am I second-guessing myself? Why am I wondering what I got myself into as I re-read the class description to make sure I bring everything I need for night one?

I think the baseline test has something to do with it. That and riding for an hour and a half (I'm assuming) every Monday on a trainer when I can't even last 15 minutes in my living room without taking a break. Informative, quantifiable, productive training session. I have to stare down those words, knowing that's the goal, that's exactly what I want and why I signed up in the first place.

VQ, have at me. Just keep me in one piece so I can tell my story along the way. Stay tuned... Posted by Kate