Hi Ellen, the border collie runs out at me a few times a month, but I keep yelling NO! at the top of my lungs and pedal furiously, so the dog hasn't caught me yet. If a dog continues to bother you, it is best to stop and let the owners know, especially that as the weather warms up there will days where hundreds of cyclists will pass in front of their house.

Regarding your speed, when I cycle with you your low speed is about 12 and your high speed is about 18-19. You must be twice as fast as your friend, because when I rounded the bend in the road and saw you today, you were off your bike and tinkering with the brake, and your friend was still a quarter of a mile further along the road biking to catch up with you. I think for the rail-to-trail ride the four of you are planning this summer, you will need to sit down and discuss things like speed, how often you will stop, if you will bike together as a group, and so on. If your friend is only cycling at 8 miles an hour, I don't see the rest of you cycling that slow for 70 miles, especially when you are used to averaging 14-16 and your husband averages 18-22. For one thing it would take you almost 9 hours of being on the saddle, and that isn't counting the time for the stops.

Darcy