This is me leaving the 2009 Tour de Camden, a happy man. I rode 62.68 miles in 3:37:31 for an average speed of 17.3 mph. In the greater scheme of things, that's not real fast; a pro-cyclist could do that on a beach cruiser! But for me, that is a solid mph faster than I normally ride! I had set my heart on doing well today, really wanted to make a good time. My brother (more about him in a bit) and I rode together and decided we could do the whole metric without stopping. Almost made it; stopped twice, once to get rid of some water and once to take on water. I think my brother has a bruised and/or broken rib (or two) from his crash nearly two weeks ago, so he was not on his game today, having a hard time taking deep breaths. So, he rode with me. I had my best ride of the year swapping lead with my injured mentor. I'm not that bad, he's just that good.
It was a great experience. I did this ride two years ago, and according to my journal, did it nearly 0.5mph average faster and two minutes quicker. The thing I like though, is this: two years ago, I stopped at EVERY rest stop. The computer I had then would stop collecting data when the wheels weren't spinning, so I could've taken all day and had a great average speed. I rode this year with two stops for minimal time. Of course, I feel like I have been hit by a truck, too. I am becoming a better cyclist, little by little, and I like it.
Be blessed, be safe.
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