36.4 NORTH RIM TRAINING UGHH!

Don't get me wrong the training was wild and scary at the same time.   The Ugh part was the fact that I was not at the top of my game.  There is a lot of dust and crap in the air and my hubbies been feeling it too, so it's just not me.  I've been having sinus congestion.   See the thing is my legs are fine, my head on the other hand is not.  After a 36.4 mile ride I'm usually fine, not today. I basically rode through the front door and hit the bed.  I ended up getting a terrible headache.  So yeah some things up.   But luckily during the whole session it was at bay.   

 You want to hear how I started out the ride. 
I fell off my bike walking over the small foot bridge.  As I got to the end and was getting to jump back on the bike I caught my foot on the underside of the peddle and boy did I go down and to make things worst my foot got caught underneath the peddle so I was arch over my bike. Yes I managed too fall on my bike.  In the words of Homer Simpson.  D'OH!
So I was hard core today, fell off my bike and kept going.  LOL    hmmmm I going to get some ketchup packets for dramatic effect.   

Wow there was a lot of people riding, in fact so many the leader had to break us into 2 group of 12.   I think there was about 30ish less people, 25 ish.   some where in between their.  

The first think we did was a rotating double pace line.  Which I have done before, but geezz this was kind of scary, usually I can see ahead, this time all I saw was heads of the other riders, I felt like I was riding blind, I really had to rely on the front group 100% and that to me was a little unnerving.  We did this a lot. 

I understand the importance of all our task, but this one made no sense, to me.  Riding with both hands off the bike. (....).   If you can do it great.  Me no.  I can successfully ride with one hand off the bike.  I can successfully get water and food riding one handed.  If I have to do something that requires both hands and I'm in a ride were people don't want to stop, then I've got to ride until the group stops and do what I need.   I want to be safe as I feel I need to be.    
   Next we road in two by two, not a double pace line. We practiced reaching out and putting our hand on our partners side and look back over our shoulder.  I was able to do it very quickly and few time.  The reason is so you don't look back and take out the rider on your side.   
But what a way to meet someone you don't know.  Excuse me while I put my hand on your side and look over my shoulder.   I think I would jump if some one did this out of the blue.   

The guy I was practicing for a while, was telling me how he never rides into the wind and he actually has a app that tell him all all times the wind direction and that is how he plans his's rides.   I was like to my self,  whaaaa???    Wow!  He did a awesome job of doing every thing that was required of him, but he clearly needs to work on stamina.

We then stopped at a park and got cheeky.   We first road side by side touching elbows, fun, then we stepped it up and road side by side touching shoulders. LOL   That was really interesting.  It's like your riding drunk and your like hey do you mind it I lean up against you for a while.....hick.
Yes I did it.  

On they way back I sprinted and passed every one up, but I don't think they new they could sprint, so I kind of left them all behind.
And oh wow what a way to end the ride, a huge hawk was perch ride over us on a low pole, trying to figure out who was the lightest of the group.  Apparently we all made it.    It was so beautiful.  And it was funny because it was eye us like WTF kind of creatures are these.

So getting ready for another day of training tomorrow at 9.