1st Long Distance Ride!!! ;)

I am new to exercise (2 1/2 months) and also tri training. I am working towards a tri in October and have been following a nice program that I found online. I have strayed a bit away from it due to work and personal issues that didnt allow me to swim or bike as I didnt have one yet.

I orignally purchased a walmart road bike which I made 2 rides before I couldnt take it anymore. My body was all out of whack on it. I just purchased a Specialized Allez Elite and took it for a 8 mile ride which was wayyyy nicer.

anyways, wanted to give a lil background before my ride I am about to describe. I joined a local tri group which does different distance rides on different days in the week. I was asked to join in on a ride that would be more of a moderate pace @ a distance of 25 miles. Previous to this ride the most I have biked was 10 miles so I was up for the challenge. I got up at 2:30am as i couldnt sleep well due to the anticipation. lol I kept thinking about not knowing anything of riding with others. How do i draft correctly? I dont know any of the hand signals etc.....

I arrived at 645am and got all of my gear ready. I decided to only take one bottle of gatorade due to the shorter ride. We all headed out about 7am into my 1st group session. I got to talking to a few people when the pace was a bit slow. I asked someone where we were going and he told me that they were going to do a 50 mile ride but some are turning around for 30. Hmmm....I was thinking. How cool would it be to do the 50...lol

A few bridges from hell and 15 miles into the ride it was time to make my decision if I was going to turn or press on. I felt great but was concerned about my hydration. someone ensured me that if I felt good then we could stop for water if needed. Of course I had to push on and ride. It's just how I am .

Me and this other guy turned around 1/2 mile before the turnaround mark (25 miles) to do some stretching and then fall back into the group on the way back. Well, I am new to these straps on my pedals. So needless to say when I stopped I ended up laying down on my left side. lol Really impressive I was thinking. I did learn that it would be a nice idea to carry bandaids next time as I was bleeding pretty good.

I decided to start out ahead of the group and let them catch up as I knew my cardio was not as well as theirs and would probably struggle on the way back. It seemed that the wind was in my face both ways. haha!! whats up with that?

3 hours later I arrived back at the club completing my 50 mile ride. I was soooo pleased and thought it was a great accomplishment since I stayed in my aerobic zone for 3 hours. I know it is common with triathletes but this was my 1st time.

It is a weekly ride so I will definetly go out when i can make it. I am sure it will be easier and easier as I go.

Lessons learned: Carry some cash, cell phone, bandaids, energy bar, buy biking pants and take
                            your feet out of the straps before u stop