I want a wine country ride! That sounds like my kind of fun. There's a loop outside St, Louis that starts at the Lau Nae winery in Red Bud, IL and goes to St. Charles, MO. Plenty of wine there! *begins planning trip to see Grandma* Who's with me? LOL

Today I did an old 20 mile loop that I haven't done in about 10 days. I love it when you can see massive improvement in hill climbing/long stretches, today was one of those obvious "hey look, improvement!" days. I'm more of a masher, though I do keep a cadence going most of the time, I prefer to hang out in the big ring. Hills are getting easier, I'm climbing them pretty quickly now and most times, am still in the big ring unless they are steep. I keep adjusting my saddle & handlebar placement, and for the last 2 miles there was a bit of a back ache but prior to that, I felt great. Hoping it's a strength building issue, otherwise, I feel ready to jump back into 40 mile rides again! Woohoo recovery!

Meanwhile, it was HOT... and my puppy thinks i am a big salt lick. Shower time.