So I have had crap luck for riding time since the P2P with Mr. [MENTION=130160]rjones28[/MENTION]. I had the weeks of chest pain, followed by the wife having surgery and me not wanting to leave her solo, followed by working 12 and 14 hr days. So this weekend was my first weekend of back to back rides in six or seven weeks.

Saturday was 55 miles on the SS. The group rode the flatter of our courses out to Skaneateles, so it was no trouble sticking to the pack. But the day was overcast, and we decided to come home the hilly route, which is mostly downhill. I was spun out toast, and lost the leaders early on, but then heroically pursued solo. I would lose grounds on the descents, hold even-ish on the flats, and slowly reel them in on the climbs. I would try to scoop up any stragglers that fell off the group, but no one wanted to jump on to the spirited chase. With about five miles left in the ride, I had finally lost total sight of the leaders, and figured there was no chance of closing the gap. And I was pooped. So I just cruised up to the final big climb before getting home. And lo and behold, I espied the lead guys in front of me, higher up on the 10% grade. And Lord, did I try to catch them. But I didn't. I pushed to hard on the lower part of the hill, and was gassed for the top of it. And they were long gone over the rollers that followed the hill by the time I crested, so it was a mopey tail drag home.

Sunday, I brought gears. We rode essentially the same course, but the opposite direction. The pace was civil, the hill climbs brisk, and it was painful. By the last 15 miles, I was more than toast. I had that same 10% grade to go over on the way back (course starts and finishes on the route), and I had the option to avoid it. But I didn't. But I did use my gears, for a nice 34x21 spin up over the top. Surprisingly, even tired, 34x21 is much easier to climb in than 47x16. Maybe I'll start a thread on that.

So at work today, my legs are sore. But they are a good sore. And I am a happy camper.