Stapfam,

I can appreciate being out of shape - it's hard this time of year. Starting the hill climbing now is hard but pays dividends quickly as I have found in years past. My riding buddy and I have been discussing Mt Greylock from the North side, about 2700' of vertical with some major steeps at the start - this beginning the training for the Whiteface race (3800') in June.

George,
Great to hear from you again! I am glad you found some hills to climb, this will really help with the speed.

Kr32,
Our B+ group usually logs a 18-19 mph average over rolling terrain with a few good climbs with mid 20's on the flats, I have ridden with them a few times, a good group but I usually can't stay with them for the entire ride. The ride I do with them in the summer covers 85 miles in the Adirondacks, it has 9000' of climbing and the average is usually just over 18mph. There is almost no flat terrain on that ride. No way I could do that this early in the season. I have never ridden with the A group - they are usually on a race formal training program.