Went on a 40 mile club ride yesterday morning. I've been doing a lot of rides in the 30-45 range lately, and last week's 42 mile club ride left me with enough reserve for a good sprint in the last several miles. So I didn't think this one would be any different. It kicked my butt. As I expected, I got dropped early on and rode by myself. The last third of the route was a lot of uphills, against the wind and I took a lot of short breaks. Several faster groups that did the 55 passed me a few miles out from the finish. When I got to the finish, others were also saying this was a tough route, so I didn't feel too bad over my performance.

The great thing is, this butt-kicking ride did wonders for my blood pressure. This morning was the first time since the Doc told me top stop taking one of my BP meds that my BP was under the target of 120/80!

I love my bike.