Definitely quite a bit of food for thought in this thread. I went in for a 1 hr ride at 5am (workout room was surprisingly busy) to see if I could duplicate the process. The booze/dehydration and some pent up energy must have combined for most of the effect I saw last night.
I simply couldn't maintain the same cadences I was last night at high resistance. However, I still got a good workout and my HR was at normal levels. BTW, next time I travel, I'm not bringing gym shorts. I am not prone to chaffing, but it's definitely an issue on these stationary bikes.