Since I started this topic, I guess I should offer an update. After gasping following a 5.5 mile ride on New Year's Day, I've managed to ride regularly, if not daily. Between work, rain, short daylight hours and life in general I've been able to ride only on weekends.

Today I tried out a flatter route* and was able to easily complete 17 miles, keeping a cadence of probably 75-90. That's a warm-up for more experienced cyclists, but at least it wasn't a wheezer for me - I could have actually carried on a conversation through it all. Actually I did have a little conversation with the guy who blew his horn 25 times and then zoomed around me, although I don't think he heard what I said. But I digress...

Maybe I'm improving after all. Maybe one day I'll get one of them road bike thingies... As an added bonus is the total miles recorded in my log now equal to an afternoon's ride for many of you.

* Louisiana isn't exactly a mountainous place, so "hilly" is a relative term here, but I've noticed that in my current ... ahem ... tepid physical shape, even the little "hills" in our area wear me down faster than just crusing. For now, I want to concentrate on cardiopulmonary stamina and duration, so this perfectly flat 5+ mile loop is great for me to just "lather, rinse, repeat" around.