More good stuff from you all. Thanks for filling in some of the blanks meanwhile.
OK, the sissy will watch for wx acceptable days and give it a crack. Especially the ones with no wind.
As far as the Ergon Grips, I’m not going to lie, I have no idea what you are talking about but I have the technology (the internet) and I will investigate first chance I get.
For all that have stressed and encouraged me to continue riding and to press the envelope, I am happy to report I just returned from doing the Tour Du Port in Baltimore. I signed up for the 19 mile segment but ended up doing 28.25 miles. Avg speed 10.1, pedal time 2hr 48 min, wall time for the 19 mile segment approx 3hr 15 min-2 stops). The extra miles were riding to and from the event. I stayed at my son’s house that lives near where the event started/ended in Baltimore.
Above and beyond the mileage; at least 4 of those miles had some horrendous hills compared to the flat lands of Delaware and although I had to take most of those hills with the lowest of my 24 gears, I did them without getting off the bike. Oh, and three of those “mountains” included some fairly stiff head winds.
Hey, this was the first organized ride I have ever participated in and I accomplished a lot of thing I thought were pretty much out of my reach. It’s a start. Thanks for all the input. Know that all of it was ringing in my ears the whole ride.