Regular readers might remember that [I’m riding my bike again](http://www.houseofwarwick.com/2007/06/24/gettting-fit-on-a-bike/) and training for a race. Well, some of that has changed. I’m still riding, but the race is out. I’m too far out of shape to jump from the couch to a “sprint” triathlon in only 8 weeks. In addition, my early discipline was poor so it’s been more like 4 weeks of real training. Yuk.
Today I headed east of Springfield to hit some backroads with a group of people training for our local MS150 fundraiser. I got there late, got lost on the course and finished a hilly 6.5 miles in about a half an hour. I definitely got a workout, but it wasn’t the 24 miles the rest of the gang was riding.
Good things to note:
* I’m riding about 20% faster than when I started
* I’m able to out-ride the gears on my bike on level ground
* I bought “tri-shorts” and they make a world of difference
* I feel great because I’m making a difference in my life.
Bad things:
* I need better gearing on my bike.
* Spandex stuff only looks good on supermodels
* I need places to store stuff when I ride.
Steve Kirks 
Glad you got in part of the ride and for training you can’t beat hills. My motto is “I’ve never met a hill I couldn’t walk” but I try to keep those to a minimum – only did one short one on the Pancake Ride.
For storing stuff you need a bike jersey – I have a couple that I rarely wear so will be glad to loan you one. They have back pockets that are great for sunglasses, gu, powerbar, etc. Or get a little pack to go under your seat for heavier stuff like keys.
I learned a long time ago to eat before I’m hungry and drink before I’m thirsty. If you need another water bottle I have plenty of those too – hopefully you have a water bottle cage on your bike. And I agree about how spandex looks but when I’m biking, I go for comfort and figure everyone else looks as silly as I do! Good call on getting tri shorts.
Enjoy!