Starfish, I'm like you--I would use it on a long stretch of road. I don't cycle around the homes without being on alert status and hands on the hoods. I'm a solo cyclist and would probably enjoy riding more aerodynamically. Right now I keep tucking in the elbows and knees a little.

Why kind of aerobars do you use? Are you happy with what you have?

How long did it take you to build up to 80 mile ride?

As for going uphill, that's pretty impressive. If I attempted that I would look like this--

I'm being a little conservative with my mileage at first because I don't want to overtrain--and I'm bad about overdoing it initially. I try to take days off in between the 15-20 miles I ride. I would like to do 30 tomorrow, weather permitting.