First ride with the local tri shop group last night...PANT PANT

Just wanted to share a first tri-specific group ride experience from last night.

Two groups went out.  The A group was advertised as 20+ pace, but we were hitting 27 in the flats.  The B group had an advertised 18 mph pace.  Two friends and I joined the ride (they've each done it before but this was my first time). 

There are 5-6 miles of warmup, and then the two groups split off.  We did paceline rotation, each pulling up to the front then moving left.  After we had been out for 4-5 miles (after the warmup), right as I was coming to pull on the crest of a hill, I rolled right through a pretty big dip (did not see it until I was in it) and it caused my back wheel(!) to come off the ground!  I stayed with it and no incident came of it, thank goodness.  Everyone maneuvered around the dip behind me (never had a chance to point).

Then, as we turned back toward the store, the pace jumped up another 1.5-2mph, right after I had come off a pull.  I looked over at one of my friends, and he was done.  That was enough for me to throw in the towel too.  He is racing Kure Beach this weekend, so this is a taper week for him anyway.  Thus, he and I soldiered back at 19-20mph, finishing the ride right at a 20.0 avg over 30.6 miles.  Not that impressive, but we had some slow stretches and slower neighborhood riding at the finish.

Fun ride to do paceline in the aerobars!  I rode primarily behind my friends who I trust greatly, and know their bike-handling skills are top-notch.  Not sure why I felt like I had to drop off on the return, because I was feeling pretty strong there, but I think when I saw my buddy drop off, I decided I'd rather bring it home with him.  The B group caught up with us about 4 miles from the ride finish, only to drop us when my buddy dropped his chain 200 ft after we regrouped.  So, he and I finished DFL...

I didn't think I was that tired, but I slept like a log last night, and did not want to get out of bed this morning!