The other day I did a 58 mile ride. The first half was up the mountain, but after 20 miles we had only gained about 97 feet of elevation. The incline was 1% or less, does this count? We averaged around 16- 17 MPH. The next portion got a little steeper with the last 1.5 mile at 6%. After a short break we got to go back down, I hooked up with three other riders and did a paceline with them, one of the first times I've done one with more than one person where everyone took their turn. We didn't get organzied until we got down off the steeper slope, then we tried to keep around 21 MPH, with some bursts to 24 MPH. Why didn't it seem as much down as it seemed up going up? There was a slight head wind.

I was the youngest and most inexperienced rider. One of the guys was 20 years my senior and another who was probably close to that. The third guy was somewhere in between. With about 7 miles to go they picked the speed up to 22 MPH and I couldn't keep up. I just smiled as they rode away knowing that I have a lot to learn and I'll still be able to ride well for another 20 years or more!