OK, I thought yesterday was about as good as it could get for this time of year. I was wrong. TODAY was just about perfect — it was everything that yesterday was, plus about 10 degrees warmer! Gorgeous day to ride!

That’s about where the similarity ends though. Yesterday was a pace I could have ridden for days on end. Today, I rode at a pace that I might be able to maintain for several hours, maybe even a whole day — but not much longer than that! When I ride with Sara, I tend to work harder and as I told her after our ride today. I really appreciate the fact that she makes me ride “honestly” — I give the ride 100% effort and I think the stats wil bear this out.

Sara is in the light blue jacket. (l-r) Me, Leo, Sara and David

The other difference with today’s ride — Sara and I rode almost ENTIRELY on chip seal. UGH! But, it is a route I’ve ridden numerous times so as one of my co-workers if fond of saying… “I’m over it!”  We rode the same route Dave and I took Kane on when he came to visit in October. We rode out 56, hung a right at the stop sign… took our next left and went north to the stop sign. This was new territory for Sara. She had ridden this route in the clockwise direction, but not this way. Not surprisingly, she paced right up the climb and led the way thru the next section that meets up with the hogsback. Both of us are really fond of the hogsback climb and it showed. The climb is anywhere from 1-3% grade and we each found our “zone” and just cruised to the top. The rest of the ride home was rather uneventful — we just kept cruising at between 17-20 mph!!!

I am looking forward to training more with Sara throughout the winter and into the spring. She pushes me — and not only do I like that — I NEED that!  Not all the time, but sometimes. It’s really kinda interesting. I am naturally a competitive person and I chuckle at my ever-present desire to stay up with someone who is riding stronger than me. In this case, it is a very talented rider who is also probably 40 lbs lighter and 20 years younger than me!! That just adds fuel to the fire!

I find, at times, in trying to keep pace that I dig deeper than I would if I were just pushing myself. I achieve more than I otherwise would. That’s certainly one of the benefits of riding/training with others. And, when I get done, I know that I’ve put out 110% and that I will reap the rewards — after a nice hot shower and a nap though!

Stats: (better — today, I think I only missed about 10 minutes of data on the Garmin!)
Time of Day: 11:20 – 1:00 ish
Vetta Computer:
Distance: 23.5 miles  (ODO =739)
Ride Time 1:28:22
Ave Speed: 15.9,    Max: 28.2

Garmin:
Distance: 21.85 miles
Ride Time: 1:19
Ave Speed: 16.4 mph, Max: 28.2
Ave HR: 135
Elevation Gain: 750 ft, Loss: 844 ft
Calories: 1181