first "real" road ride

[bounceswoosh]

Are you sure your shoes aren't putting pressure on those tendons? Not rubbing, just pressing. Some of my running shoes do that. I just had to re-lace a pair of shoes because I bruised them pretty hard on my second-to-last run.

It's definitely possible. One thing I didn't mention in my initial post, but maybe should have, is that my right (dominant) ankle hurt much sooner and worse than my left, and that my right big toe is injured -- I went to kick a soccer ball and my big toe hit a girl's planted foot a few weeks ago. So another possibility is that, even though my foot seems fine in the cycling shoe, it may be positioned slightly differently than it normally would be. That could tie to the ankles as well as the knees (although I still think my knees were just arthritis -- that's what it felt like, and we've had the kind of weather recently that tends to make my knees ache.)

Arm fatigue is probably more conditioning than it is form. You should be using your arms when you ride, particularly when you're climbing.

Maybe. It was kind of an ache to the outside of the elbow; I tend to put weight on my hands rather than supporting myself from my core, so I suspect that my arms were too rigid and too weighted.

Descending, you're much MORE stable in the drops. Your CoG is lower, plus you have better access to the brakes if needed.

Better access to the brakes, really? I will have to play with that.

Sounds like you had fun! Yee-ha!

I sure did!