On my training ride yesterday, I learned a couple of invaluable lessons that seem particularly apropos given the "average MPH" thread going on.

Lesson #1: There will always be somebody faster than you.
I was cranking along at just over 18 mph, which is atypically fast for me, and feeling really good about myself. When a flicker in the corner of my eye caused me to look, and see the wiry, 50-something year old gent totally blow by me. I picked up my pace a bit to see if I could catch him, but even at almost 20 mph he was leaving me far, far behind. Rather than feel badly about getting smoked, I instead tried to think about it as "hey, I maintained an almost 20 mph pace for over a mile!"

Lesson #2: The road giveth, and the road taketh away.
I was shooting for 75-80 miles, and I was astounded to discover that I'd managed to cover 41.5 miles in the first 2.5 hours. I had several 15 minute laps where I was averaging 17 mph or higher (significantly faster than my typical pace of 15-16 mph). I kept thinking to myself "this is too easy..." I discovered why it was too easy once I doubled back to make the return trip, and was slammed by a 19 mph gust of wind that nearly threw me from my bike. The entire way home was a giant slog--it felt like fighting through wet sand. I had to work for every mile. Once I got home, I consoled myself with the fact that even after 2.5 hours of fighting the wind, I'd still managed to maintain my standard 15 mph pace over a longer ride than I'd ever done before.

I would say that actually more than the wind, my new saddle was a bigger impediment to my speed and distance goals. I'm testing out the Fizik Aliante, and now that I've put 150 miles on it, I think it's not for me...