luvn'Austin, before doing this ride I never done more than a metric century. I did the first 60 miles of the BASH alone and hooked up with some guys about mile 60. Those last 30 miles would have been A LOT rougher without them to draft (They started out drafting behind me, but I'm so narrow, it's a waste of time to try to draft off of me ).

Really, there are people of all stripes and speeds out there. I can see that you may not be up to your best ever speed then. Last year, at the 60 mile rest stop I heard reports of there being people at about mile 20 ! This was a good 3.5 or so hours in . These folks were being swept up into the SAG wagons, as it was clear they weren't going to make Shiner in time.

I've been reading your posts and it seems like you're pretty darn fit and have a good base. Six weeks puts you at what, 1st week of April? Have you done any research into exercise post-hysterectomy? Is your doc sympathetic to or understanding of the needs and desires of a dedicated athlete? You certainly don't want to cause yourself any damage, but a lot of threads here have discussed the difference between finding a doc who *gets it* and a doc who doesn't.

Take care and take it easy and I'll see you on the road soon !