Am I the first? Yesterday I went for a 6 mile hike on the trail I usually bike (hiking was way easier) with a new friend who is a bike officer for another department, I am trying to get him on the bike off duty (his argument..."I ride 12 hours on duty, why would I ride off?"). So I was dying to get on the bike today to enjoy the weather.
I rode with a strong man and my usual biking partner, who is a bit weaker than I am (but he is a guy). We went pelting out at a crazy pace, and rode the first half at an average of 18 mph (in the city, with stop lights and stop signs, that is fast for me). I rode in his draft so I wasn't working as hard, but we were still hammering along. I was happy to see that he was sweating and working hard, I was having to pedal hard just to keep in his draft, and going down hill I was left (I always have trouble down a hill, I pedal till I run out of gear, but I am way lighter and just don't coast as fast) and had to catch up on the climb or flat.
My usual partner was dropped early, I felt badly about dropping him, but he was happy enough keeping us in sight.
So, 30 miles of hammering, I am way more tired than I am after 50 miles at my own pace!!