Mar-27: 55.6-miles today

Longest ride so far this calendar year. 

Also the fastest in-motion avg pace -- marginally, and I mean MARGINALLY, faster than last Sunday's ride. 

Rode approx 28 miles with Gary & Wendy's TLC group ride, at an avg pace clearly less than 13.4-mph.  I know that because after zooming up Virgil Rd at a delightful fast-feeling (unknown avg) pace in the 39/14 gearing, but certainly I avg'd more than 13.4-mph on the 2.1 or 2.3 miles of Virgil Rd -- I checked the distance and avg pace to that point -- 13.4-mph for 30.4-miles -- hmmn, both ending in point-4 seems rather coincidental.  It was at that point, heading slightly downslope on Leesville Rd that I decided I would be more comfortable and faster if I finally-finally shifted out of the 39/14 gear -- [I had not shifted FROM the 39/14 since the middle of November].  Into the 50/14 I went, and kept it there across the remainder of Leesville and all of the downslope Doc Nichols Rd -- I did the 1.9-miles of Doc Nichols in 5m52ec -- I'm confident that I did faster than that years ago, but I'll take that roughly 19.4-mph on DocN.  When I completed DocN, I was avg'ing 13.9-mph since the beginning of the ride.  

Pushed it on the decline and then the incline on Olive Branch Rd to get to NC-98 -- pushed it across NC-98 -- pushed the decline on Kemp Rd and then labored up the Kemp climb to Virgil Rd (with gearing dropping as low as 39/19) -- then zoomed up Virgil again (but not as free-flowing as the first time) -- then pushed across Carpenter Pond and Mt. Vernon Ch Rd to the stop-light and NC-50.  At that point, I had ridden approx 45-miles and the avg pace since the beginning of the ride was 14.2-mph.  

Down and up on MVC to Norwood -- the up slowing me, likely in 39/19 gearing. 

Down and up on Norwood to Six Forks Rd -- the up slowing me, again in the 39/19 gearing. 

Avg pace since the beginning to that point was 14.1-mph.  Distance to that point ~ 50.3 miles. 

I cut through the "Coachman's neighborhood," thus avoiding traffic, but with climbing on short bits through the neighborhood (but a LOT less climbing than if I had taken Honeycutt the whole way).  The climb on Honeycutt from Durant to the overpass atop I-540 was quite hard.  I had pushed the previous ~ 1.3-mile downslope on Durant, but didn't push nearly as hard as I had earlier as described above -- my legs were quite tired -- the "hot interval" having "done them in."  Somehow, even with the last mile on mostly sidewalks, I managed to hold onto 14.1-mph avg pace for the whole ride. 

I won't push nearly so hard in four weeks on Alan's brevet, and with a few more rides, increasing the distance, I reckon I'll be in decent shape to ride slowly and minimize the stoppage time and still get a decent elapsed time.  

Enjoy the ride, 

...Martin