Don't get too impressed just yet. I haven't done a 4:30. Sassonian and I are talking about what we 'hope' to achieve this year. He 'hopes' to shave nearly 15 minutes off his previous best to achieve that sort of time. My publicly stated goal in other threads on the subject has been sub 5:00, which, barring illness, injury or really bad weather, I'm reasonably sure I will achieve. Inside, I'm thinking that 4:45 is pretty do'able. Beyond that, I have no idea yet. We'll see if I continue to improve over the winter like I have over the summer. Or, if it turns into more of a maintenance season. I know I've improved enough to comfortably ride reasonably competitive events with fellow club members that finish around the 4:40 mark. I'm no wear near 'terrific' shape, but, I continue to work on it. I am in decent enough shape that an anesthesiologist asked me, "Do you normally have an extremely low heart rate?";-) One of the big variables will be weight loss. I know how to do it. The question remains, how much will I loose before November?

The event in question is one the UCI's five Golden Ride events and draws close to 10,000 participants. Groups of 200 aren't uncommon. It's pretty normal to be in a group of 30-60 and any less than 20 would be considered a 'small' group. And, the climbing is my nemesis as well. I need to improve my muscular endurance sufficiently to just stay with the groups through the hills, which are for the most part in the first half. If I can come out of the hills with my legs intact and still with a reasonable group, I'll have no problems on the flats.

And, for what its worth, 5:30 was my finish time last year. So, yes, we're talking about abitious improvements, not what's already been accomplished.