One way to improve as a cyclist is to ride with people who are faster than you are. Its something I try to do regularly. On Saturday, a couple of our elite racers were on the team ride, so I got into their group for the ride back. And I got dropped three times. OK, so yeah, if I got dropped more than once, it means that I caught back up, which is good I guess, but I hate being dropped in the first place. There are three places where the guys sprint. Its always a challenge for me to hang on to the group then, but it was beyond me with the cat 2 riders driving things.

And its SO FRUSTRATING. Which is dumb, because I'm riding with them BECAUSE its a huge challenge and I expect to get my ass handed to me. But each time I lost the wheel ahead of me and watched that gap grow . . . it totally sucked. I have to get better at this. I hate being dropped so much.

I felt bad for the guys behind me. I get gapped and they get gapped too. They let me pull them into the wind at 30 mph until I simply can't keep it up, then they swarm past me up to the group [at my urging]. And I'm so wasted from trying to bridge, that I can't grab a wheel as it goes by and ride back up.

I'm wondering if switching from compact cranks to regular would make a difference. Compact cranks have only 50 teeth [that turn the chain] as opposed to 53. They're slightly easier to pedal -- especially going up hills. The tradeoff is that you don't go quite as fast. I'll be in my hardest gear, my 50/12, and I'll lose the wheel ahead of me. Now part of it is that I need to develop the strength and endurance to pedal the 50/12 faster and longer [yes, yes, that's what she said] -- and that's the real issue. But its still worth having a conversation with my coach, I think.

Must. Get. Faster.