Weekend, Ap. 25-26 -- Kent State Park, 62 miles; Whirlwind Hill, 36 miles

This Saturday team ride (about 15 of us were there) was really beautiful, set in the Northwest corner of Connecticut (and some in New York). It was the first of two rides designed to model the typical terrain at the Tahoe Century. As such, it included a 3.7 mile long continuous hill, some wicked quick downhills, and ended with surprise rollers at the end. Great day, and our first warm weather ride (temps in the 80s by the end of the ride).
On Sunday, my friend Bruce, knowing I'd just done 62 miles, suggested I ride with him (& Friends David & Grant) early Sunday morning. So I did. These are serious cyclists, and the 36 mile ride had hills, steep hills (Whirlwind Hill in Wallingford) and long straight stretches. On the way home, we were in a four person pace line, doing 27mph down route17. In a pace line, the lead rider "pulls" the others for maybe 30 seconds, then pulls out to the left, and drops to the back, the next rider does the same, and it becomes a continuous circle, with time to recover. The second rider in line does about 30% less work to keep going than #1, the next about 10%, and the fourth about 10% less than that -- all that advantage just because someone has already broken through the air for you. It requires each cyclist to hang about 10-15 inches off the wheel of the bike in front, but this is not as hairy as it sounds, and everyone is aware of the pace and the closeness, so nobody stops or slows suddenly. At 27 I could barely keep up, and when I led, we dropped to 23 or less. At 28mph I dropped back, unable to keep the lactic acid from overwhelming my leg muscles. But my friends slowed, and waited, and the ride was a hard training experience.