thanks again every one for your replies. to respond to a few points. I'm 52 yo, 5'4", 125#. Losing another 5# wouldn't be a bad thing. I ride a motobecane gigi pro probably more bike than I need. It's fairly light but like someone mentioned it is heavier than my husbands bike. When I say avg speed that is what the bike computer says over the course of a ride. Anything under 40 miles is usually a little above 15 mph. Yesterday on the century I ended up doing 13.6 mph. I felt really good when I was done. I think I'm just going to keep riding and trying to improve and do the best I can. Thanks again