185

The scene - Austin, TX; 8:30AM, temp in the mid-80's w/humidity to match (and only to get worse).

The show - A local shop (not owned by the guy who's won 7 TdF's) for what was advertised as:
One of the largest group rides in the country leaves every Saturday from the shop. In a case of dogs and cats living together, you can witness roadies and tri-geeks battling head to head and somehow all getting along. 30 or 50 mile loops. Hope to see you there. Wheels down at 8:30am!

The group - 50+ guys split between high end roadies and TT bikes.

The ride - This is the edge of Texas Hill Country and we rolled out peaceful enough though as road turned up the pace did to. I didn't feel too bad but was surprised to see my HR already in the mid-160's. I was placed near the back of the pack keeping track of things and getting a lay of the land. I was in the gutter of the shoulder swerving by guys who were getting popped left & right. A little gap opened as a couple guys in front of me drifted off the back of the main group ahead. Not wanting to get dropped I was trying to go around and close this one last gap as we neared the top of the climb when I noticed my HR at 185 - the highest I can recall ever seeing on the bike.

The end - And then my rear tire punctured. "Dude you've got a flat" was the call from the guy on my wheel - well no s*%t master-of-the-obvious Sherlock!

I wasn't sure if this was a crushing blow or a huge relief. So after a much too long fix - I continued on solo at a much more pedestrian pace. I never found out whether they did the short (30-ish) or longer (46-ish) mile loop. So I did the long loop. By the end I was totally wasted - probably due to my lack of acclimation to riding that hard in those weather conditions.

It always seems as if/when I go on a ride with a group in territory I'm not familiar with I get a flat. I think this is due to the fact that I don't know the roads and their particular pitfalls. And I can't see the dangers (glass, thorns, whatever) with riders ahead. Combined these with the fact that I'm usually riding far right (in the gutter) to avoid being pushed out into traffic - and you have a perfect storm for punctures.