First Training Ride for the Bloomin' Century

Today I went out with my friends Andrew and Tom for a "long" ride.  According to our training schedule, it was supposed to be 15 miles.  We ended up going for just over 21 miles (except for Tom who probably did closer to 29).

It was a little bit slower than what I've done on shorter rides, but that's almost certainly a good thing.  I have lots of evidence suggesting that I'm not great a pacing myself for a longer ride.  I still had more energy by the time I made it home (although the last two hills I climbed did take quite a bit out.

The Camelbak Unbottle that I have attached with straps to the back seat of my bike works quite well.  Since I have been used to smaller rides, I'm trying to get used to drinking before I get too thirsty.

Overall, I've ridden just under 350 miles on my Sofrider.  As you can see below, I've been riding pretty consistently this last month and have been steadily improving.  I am finding the clipless pedals to be very useful and the Sofrider to be what I had hoped it would be.  Onward and upward!