but knowing them... I got a bad cold last week that peaked around Tues/Wed of this week - the kind of cold where you zonk out the minute you're not doing anything, and feel generally miserable. It was a sneezing/sore throat kind of cold.

I had planned to do the 50 mile of a local century ride for a while, but I knew I was/am not still better yet. I went to bed last night unsure of if I'd even ride, but when I woke up this am, I figured I'd give it a shot anyway...

Ever the optimist, I signed up for the 50 and off I went. I was riding with a couple I did not know (just met that am at the start), but they wanted to go faster than the 14.5 pace that I was barely hanging onto panting heavily, so I suggested they go ahead. A bunch of other riders passed me as well. This shouldn't have been bad ordinarily, so I sort of knew I might not be ready for this kind of ride at that point. As I started up a long hill a few miles after the 25-50 split, I couldn't get my breath at all, and I couldn't clear my throat from the stuff in it either. Had a moment of uh oh, I might faint on the bike! Ya, it was not optimal. So I pulled over, caught my breath and decided the smarter thing to do was to turn around and pick up the 25 course and not make myself sicker. I also decided it was better to slow down my pace, and try to enjoy it rather than be miserable.

I ended up doing 30 miles in lieu of 50. But I take consolation in knowing that I rode the majority of the miles on my own (not a soul on the 25 mile course, for whatever reason), and I have never done a ride alone! I had a fun (well, to the extent that I was not uncomfortable) ride and I really enjoyed the scenery, thru a National wildlife refuge at one point. I also figure that 30 miles elevated my heart as much if not more than 50 @ normal health... heh.
And finally, I am still hopeful that for next weekend's club ride (different club century) I could go for a longer distance, if this darn thing will go away.

Anyway, not my best ride, but still better than not going. And I learned a few lessons along the way...