I rode about 23 miles with my friends. DH sprained his ankle yesterday, in a stupid yard work trip over a rock and fall thing, so I rode to their house, about 5 miles and then we did 18. It was really nice to be riding on my favorite roads in Acton and Boxborough, but it just feels like a very hard start to the season. I stayed with the male half of my friends, until we got to a hill, but I was able to catch him afterwards. We also had some strong wind gusts here, but the sun was out more than I thought it would be and it was a pleasant 58 degrees. I was on the edge of being overdressed, but I unzipped and dealt with it. When we got back to their house, we were all tired, so my friend went to go take a nap and her DH took me and my bike home in the car, so he could get some ice cream at Kimball Farm.
Debating about A) riding to the gym very early in the AM tomorrow and B) am I up to a 34 mile group ride with some good hills on Wednesday, or should I do the "relaxed pace" 23 mile ride where I know I'll be frustrated at the slower speed? I usually have to do one early season ride where I just make myself suffer and then I am back in the saddle.