Resting up vs. pushing too hard

[RolliePollie]

How fast do you ride? My "fast" ride today was 12 miles, with those inclines at 15.5 mph average. My last "long" ride was 25 miles and was a 14.9 average. I'm really motivated to get my speed up. I'm the slowest cyclist I personally know!

Well, now you know a slower cyclist!!!

Around here locally, I average about 12.7-13.7 for my longer 20-30 mile rides and up to 14.3 for my shorter 9-11 mile rides (I just made it to that 14.3 tonight...and strangely, I felt slow tonight!). I don't really know what % the inclines are, but sometimes I'm going about 3.5 mph in my granniest of granny gears. The last time I rode the wonderfully flat bike trail down in Sacramento, I was able to average 16.4. I'd like to get somewhat faster on my local rides but I seem to be pretty well stuck with these speeds. However, my stamina has improved dramatically (i.e. no rest stops versus 1-2 rest stops just a few weeks ago), so I'm very happy about that. What I'd really like to do is conquer a hill or two in my middle ring instead of my granny gears! But heck, that's what those grannies are there for, so I might as well use them, right?