I rode 37 miles yesterday, my longest ride ever by 12 miles. It was on a fairly level railroad grade. I had planned to do 30 miles so I biked 15 miles down the trail and then turned around. I thought it would be a slight downgrade going back. Well, not for the first 8 miles, instead it was a slight incline. The last 7 were a bit downhill but the wind came up and I had a headwind. When I got to mile 28 I was dragging. Then another biker came up along side me. A big guy, about my age. He asked where I was going and how far I had ridden. We started to chat. I said I was dragging in the head wind. But already I was going nearly 2mph faster just riding along with him. He hung with me and we chatted. He has been riding about as long as me. He has dropped 70 pounds since April. He rides a lot more than I do. We rode along, with my now improved pace, and I ended up deciding to overshoot where I had parked and ride with him further. We went several miles together and then he turned off for home. I turned back and ended up doing almost 37 miles. What a difference riding with him made! I wish I had riding partners! He was my angel.

It was interesting to watch our pedaling styles. He most definitely is a masher as compared to me. I pedaled almost exactly twice as fast as he pedaled. He would push hard and coast so as to not overtake me. I just spun and spun.

I still am slow--my average was 10.5mph. But it was 37 miles at that average. I dragged a lot of crap with me, three water bottles, an apple and walnuts, a rain jacket (it was raining when I started) and the tights I wore over my bike shorts for the first third of the ride. There was a convenience store in the middle of no where so if I do this ride again I can skip bringing that much water. The guy I met said get skinnier tires! He had a hybrid that he was running with narrow tires.

It was a good day.