Friday Afternoon Delight

I can't recall ever riding with anyone but Rick or myself on my beloved back roads around my house -- until yesterday. Donna made the trek north to the hinderlands to do a little 2.5 hr road ride on our mountain bikes. It was a beautiful, 60ish degree day that we couldn't let slip by. On tap for the ride, was a 5 minute stint at 85% HR, ez spin for a minute, then all-out race pace/time trial effort for 12 minutes. We were bucking a semi-decent headwind to start out, so my planned route was altered to get a break from the headwind. After about a 30 minute warm-up, off we went into time trial mode. I am NOT used to that kind of effort and seriously have to start bucking up now that spring is here and we can get out. It was kinda hard for me. My heart rate was hanging around 170-174 the entire 12 minutes and I can tell it was hard on me because today I feel near dead. Super-duper tired is an understatement. Donna, on the other hand, seemed fresh and energetic, before, during, and after. Damn youth. She suggested getting in on some road rides to help build my speed. I was never a fan of group road riding. Maybe I'll do a couple, just not sure yet. Although... all the really good cyclists do group road rides in their mix of training. Crap... I'm doomed! Today is windy as hell, but I'm going to get out for a two hour endurance spin on the road and tomorrow I'm checking out Weiser trails and hope to get 3 hrs in of more endurance - probably with some climbing. It was a great afternoon of riding - thanks for coming north Donna.