In the movie Gattaca, one of the famous lines is, "...I don't save anything for the swim back." This adequately described today's ride. True, I do have the lockout model, but that was not the plan today, and strong headwinds are strong deterrents for the weak. Today was a plunge into deep waters. The plan was the "usual" 40 mile ride doing a loop through Concord. Five minutes into the ride, the Powertap batteries died, so there are not the usual stats today. It was a majorly gusty day with strong winds out of the West probably in the 15-25mph range. This can be a typical scenario when weather systems are moving through. Also, not being able to ride in an aerodynamic position yet, was definitely working against me today. At least, for the swim back, there would be a tailwind even though there's a small hill to be tackled.

I survived the ride, but the ride quality started to diminish around 90' into things, and then further at the 2hr mark where I was dying to make it home and get off the bike. Going up hills was very slow. I did notice my ability to stand and pedal was acquired now, though. I also noted that as I stood to pedal, once I made it smooth, it was like burning a candle at both ends. I imagine that it's very efficient and delivers a lot of power to the cranks, but currently it's at the cost of sustained aerobic exertion.

It was a good ride, but probably should have been a bit shorter as jumping from the longest time on the PCs from 90' to 3hrs is a bit drastic. Needless to say, there was a lot of coasting on the way home. Typically the ride takes 2:30, though, so we'll have to see how that improves over time. I'll keep you posted as to how the pain is spread out tomorrow, though.

Stats:  40 miles, 3hrs time.