I have been riding regularly since 2006. Last month I got my wife into cycling and she likes it. Since she is new, she is not fast and not a strong rider. When I ride with her, I ride at her pace. On Saturday, I do a group ride at a much faster pace. Yesterday, I did a 42 mile ride 2600 feet of climb. I was able to hang with the group until I hit the hills at about mile 35, then I got dropped. My goal is to not get dropped on the hills and need to a training program to get faster on the hills. I am actually riding more lately because I am doing several one hour slower paced rides during the week with my wife. Do these slow rides have any impact on my performance?

By the way, after my 42 mile ride yesterday, I was toast. I slept for several hours after the ride on. Maybe I am not taking in enough calories during the ride.