My wife and I are training for a century ride (http://www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?key=tntncaJGreen) that'll be in 2 months. We got our road bikes 3 months ago. We started with short rides, under 10 miles, and have been gradually building up. .

This past Saturday I was out of town riding, but brought my bike for a solo ride. I had a 40 mile loop which was quite hilly. The rest of the group at home was doing a 50 mile ride, so I figured I should up the pace to make up for the 10 miles I wasn't doing. I completed the ride in 2.5 hours, stops included. What suprised me was how I rode towards the end. For the last 7 or 8 miles I decided to go balls-out, keeping a pace in the 21-22 mph range on the flats, and staying in the 16-19 range on the hills. About 4-5 mph faster than I usually ride. I couldn't believe how well I was able to ride at that pace. It was almost like the ride was getting easier, even after 30 miles and upping my speed.

Was I just having an unusually good morning, or is that sort of drastic improvement to be expected?

jeff

My wife and I are training for a century ride (http://www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?key=tntncaJGreen) that'll be in 2 months. We got our road bikes 3 months ago. We started with short rides, under 10 miles, and have been gradually building up. .

This past Saturday I was out of town riding, but brought my bike for a solo ride. I had a 40 mile loop which was quite hilly. The rest of the group at home was doing a 50 mile ride, so I figured I should up the pace to make up for the 10 miles I wasn't doing. I completed the ride in 2.5 hours, stops included. What suprised me was how I rode towards the end. For the last 7 or 8 miles I decided to go balls-out, keeping a pace in the 21-22 mph range on the flats, and staying in the 16-19 range on the hills. About 4-5 mph faster than I usually ride. I couldn't believe how well I was able to ride at that pace. It was almost like the ride was getting easier, even after 30 miles and upping my speed.

Was I just having an unusually good morning, or is that sort of drastic improvement to be expected?

jeff
I would guess down wind and/or down hill. :-) TF

With luck you will have many more but you should only expect every ride to be average (whatever your average is) then the great rides are happy suprises.

YMMV

Some days are good, some days are not so good. Nutrition, hydration, fatigue, etc can all affect how your body responds when you push it. I would guess that you were having a good day (body was responding well), AND that you're progressing a bit faster (to this point) than you thought. Nice job on the ride - that's a heck of a pace for a hilly 40 miles.

and staying in the 16-19 range on the hills.
jeff

I wish the hills in my area were as flat.

I have to contend with this stuff:

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=16&n=3974039.00009609&e=533549&datum=nad83