I didn't like riding with my partner when I started because he has a so much of a better cardio than I do (lots of it has to do with genes, says he). I used to have a cross bike. Now I have this lightweight road bike and I won't let him get one for himself, he's still riding his mountain bike with those big heavy tires. So he'll still be ahead, but close enough to draft me. (But: as I said in another post somewhere he's not that much into riding anymore... that's another story.)

Anyway, I just wanted to say this: when you have just a little time to ride, say 45 minutes including warming up and cooling down, go for hills. I am lucky to live close to a small hill and there's a couple of big bourgeois houses and few cars. The higher I go, the nicer the houses. On top there's a cemetery with a great views, nice quiet pathways and VERY few cars (and slow ones), you can go up and down and up and down again... And if you crash real, real hard on the way down at 50 km/h, you won't have to go a long way to your final resting place......

So, yeah, do hills, get used to them. In a short time, it gives you a great training and builds your confidence too, which is probably the most important thing... At first there were hills I tried to tackle but I would not even build enough speed to actually stay vertical on the bike. Now there becoming kind of doable. There was a thread in April about a "cycling mantra" and some of us suggested a couple of interesting phrases to motivate yourself (such as "this is for your butt, this is for your butt" or something like that ). That helps. Looking at the wheel instead of ahead works for me too...

Enjoy!!