I started road cycling around mid-December last year. After riding about 3,000 km, I felt like my basic physical fitness was complete. Since I was tired of riding the same course every time and some famous courses with mixed slopes were difficult to access alone, I participated in two Dossa beginner rides last week and this week.
The first ride started at Wolyeong Bridge, went around Imjingak, crossed Gamak Mountain, and ended at Yangju City Hall for a total distance of 130 km with an elevation gain of 800 m. This week's ride started at Gwangja Gong, crossed Eun-go Pass, and returned via Bunwon-ri for a total distance of 100 km with an elevation gain of about 800 m.
I had experience riding solo for over 100 km with an average speed of 25~27 km/h. I was also familiar with short uphill climbs like Mi-eum Naru, IU, Nam San, and Hu-mi Gae. Since I wanted to challenge myself in long-distance beginner cycling, I participated in the Dossa Beginner Ride. I want to share my thoughts and hear from experienced riders as well. There are no other cyclists around me to talk to except for GPT ㅜㅜ
The Dossa Beginner Ride was more like a controlled pace ride for cyclists with pack riding experience who efficiently cover long distances. I was one of the younger riders in the pack, but there was a rider who looked older than my father. He rode over 100 km at a pace of 29~34 km/h and didn't seem tired at all. When I fell behind on the repeated camelback climbs, he even pushed me from behind.ㄷㄷ
As a result, the priority was riding at a beginner's pace, but due to the lead rider's speed or the atmosphere of the day, it was structured so that we could switch to an intermediate pace at any time. At 2~3% incline or more, a speed of 20 mid-to-late was maintained, and on flat ground, speeds from the mid-to-late 30s to 40 were recorded, which was definitely much harder than the pace I used to ride solo. Around the time we passed the Bunwonri course's 약업힐, 은고개, 염치고개, and 분원리 낙타 sections, my stamina was significantly depleted, and by the time we passed the Paldang TT section and entered Jadoro, marking the latter half of the ride, I was barely holding on with sheer willpower ㅋㅋㅋ Since we met early in the morning, I hadn't slept for a few hours, so my heart rate was already racing from the beginning, but it was definitely a high-paced group.
In conclusion, the pace was higher than I expected, but riding alone was a completely different experience compared to riding with others. There were many things to learn, such as drafting and maintaining pace, which were really helpful. Although there are still many areas where I need improvement, I hope to adapt better next time and ride comfortably until the end. I'm also curious to know how experienced riders think about beginner paces.
