I was off the bike for four weeks in later July and most of August. The first week was due to travel and the rest was due to having the flu. I have been riding again for about two weeks covering 62 and 80 miles per week. Today I joined members of the club to check out the metric century route that we will be doing on September 20.
The ride was similar to a ride I did in May, although it was a few miles shorter and just bit less hilly. I survived, but I was exhausted at the end and my legs were fairly sore. I was in better shape in May. I ended up averaging 14.6 mph for the ride, which makes the ride my fastest as well as my longest since my layoff.
The rests of the riders were clearly near their peak conditioning from riding all summer, which kept the average speed up. I would not have gone so fast if I was not chasing them.
I had been well ahead of last year’s pace until I sick. When I got back on the bike I had just about the same number of miles as the year before, but now I am falling behind. I racked up 180 miles in one week in early September, and I don’t think that will happen this year.
