thank you all for the welcome! I have definitely been working on form... especially on pulling and on keeping my back flat... not slouching... I tend to find my back humped as I get tired but have found that if I can look down at my shadow on the ground I can tell how my form is... almost as good as a mirror! Thanks for the reminder about keeping my arms loose... gotta keep that in mind as well...

I'll be doing another 50 miler in April (the Rosarito to Ensanada Fun Ride) and can hardly wait for the time change so I can start getting some real time on the saddle... I hope to begin commuting to work twice a week this summer... 21 miles each way... and also to increase my distance with regularity in anticipation of completing a century...