DeadGrandpa

At the risk of saying something you already know, I will offer this qualified advice. Being the new owner of a Novara (REI) Safari hybrid, I feel your pain and frustration in trying to get your speed up. Having only been back on a bike for a month after a long absence, I have gone from 10-12 mile rides to 24 mile rides and a few 34-36 mile rides. My average speed is 12.5 - 13.5, but it is coming up. I find it helpful to go on medium rides early in the week, longer rides later in the week, with rest days in between, and a shorter ride the day after a long ride, to flush the system. Then repeat with medium, and do interval training on the second medium ride (pedal like hell from telephone pole to telephone pole, then relaxed cadence until you recover, then repeat). Resting a day between rides helps. My speed is low, but I am sporting 700x40 tires, which are comfy but slow. Don't rest too much or the return to riding may find your legs sluggish, at least for the first 10 miles or so. I find the progression from medium to longer rides builds my stamina, and rest followed by interval training followed by rest will increase my average speed. Imagine how fast I will feel when I rescue my sport bike from the rain forest sun porch where it hangs among the plants, and pedal a sport bike on 25mm tires. I bought the hybrid for long distance touring, because my sport bikes aren't made for hauling luggage. Or traveling gravel roads. And it was on sale. What's your excuse for owning a hybrid? Maybe you just need to ride with other hybrid riders and enjoy the riding rather than comparing your speed to the road warriors'. You anywhere near me? Congrats on 55 miles.