Unlike all of you doing big climbs and 50-100 mile rides, I am just getting back into the season. Even though 12 weeks is not a long time to be off the bike, and I certainly did enough x country skiing/snow shoeing/gym work to stay fit, every year it's the same for me. I have to go through a few weeks of suffering, even on short rides. It's mostly my legs, not my endurance.
Yesterday we had snow showers all day. Today is about 40 and bright sun. Waited until it hit 40 to go out, so a 16.5 mile ride that is sort of flat, except for the beginning and the end, about 800 feet of climbing. Monument St. in Concord is full of dangerous pot holes; the town just fixed these last year, and now it's worse. I am so glad we changed the location of a group ride we lead in early May, because I don't want to take a group of people I don't know down this hill.
Speed was better than Wednesday, but way off my average on this particular ride. I am going to ride to work Tuesday and do a group ride Wednesday.