I compete against myself on a daily basis. It's funny, I will begin my morning ride and say to myself, "Lets just take a nice ride perhaps a recovery day". Before I know it I will be checking the computer and calculating where I stand against my regular performance. Then I think gee, if I attack the next hill and and keep the pace on the flats I might perform to a new personal best. It's a vicious cycle, but in the dark morning it seems to keep me going.
I did have a change up ride last week. I had announced in a thread earlier this month that I purchased a road bike for my son. Last Tues. we joined an organized ride at the LBS just down the hill from us. My pace was fairly slow as I wanted to be certain my son was alright. It was the first real ride on his new bike. Plus it was a beautiful evening. Anyway I found the ride to be very enjoyable even though I rode about 5-6 mph slower than normal. It was fun.