Well, I hate to break it to you dudes who take joy in passing racers out in full kit, but we really couldn't care less. Some days/some rides are just meant to be at a relaxed pace. In fact, you are well on your way to becoming a real racer when you realize that it's not the hard days that develop your strength; it's the easy days where your body has the resources to be building muscle and aerobic capacity in response to the work done on the hard days. If you don't take easy days, you are merely tearing down your body.

I think it's really sad when someone "drops" a bunch of racers and thinks they've accomplished something. The only time it really matters is in an actual race (which most of these guys would never enter because they just know they will get mercilessly blown away on the level playing field). Most people who ride bikes and who do not race have absolutely no idea how much effort goes into training on the hard days. That's why I no longer race; the training is just so hard, one can only take so much in a lifetime. If you just followed a real racer on one hard training day, you would quickly understand how they can move fast with no evident effort. Now I just go out on long rides and enjoy the cycling.

Luis