I love finding stuff like this, that helps me improve my performance.

doubling the air speed MORE THAN doubles the Calories expended per mile traveled.

Or how about this one:

Your frontal surface area affects your air resistance. Wind tunnel results show that eliminating the drag created by projecting 4.5 inches of a pencil into the airstream will provide a 158 foot finish line advantage to a cyclist in a 25 mile time trial. That baggy jersey or upright position may be costing you minutes.

I knew there was a reason that I hated riding into the wind.

I'm starting to get pumped for today's ride! ;-)

Now I need to find something about correct breathing patterns for cyclists. I know that "natural breathing" is not the most productive, but I'm having a tough time finding good information on this subject.

OK, I overdid it. The weather was so nice that I just kept going further and further from home. I rode to the furthest side of Westerly (Dunn's Corners), then into Bradford via Bradford-Dunn's Corners Road, then followed Rt. 216 all the back to the end of Rt. 184, and 184 past Art and Sarah's house, past Route 2, all the way home. 38 miles.

For the last ten miles, I was starving. One of my two-years-old sweaty smelly gloves was looking like a juicy (very juicy) Porterhouse. I forgot to have breakfast this morning, and I was paying for it. Lack of food meant lack of energy, which also meant I was really fatigued and having a hard time pushing the pedals.

Five miles from the house, I passed a large group of fully-decked cyclists, stopped on a side street, talking something over. I think there were seven of them. I waved, a few waved back.

Five minutes later, four of them passed me (apparently the original group I saw was actually two). I was only going about twelve mph at the time, they were going twenty.

As you've probably already guessed, I was suddenly filled with energy and able to keep up with them for the rest of the ride home. It felt really good to be a part of their group for a few minutes, especially this group of obviously very experienced riders, riders with bikes that cost two or three or four times what mine did, riders who were each about half my size.

When am I going to learn? My fatigue was in my head! If I could just remember that when I'm by myself, my average speed would be in the 20's already.

I admit that I was drafting these guys, of course. Then again, they were all drafting the guy in the front. When I reached Haley Road (my turn) I called out, "Thanks for the tow home, guys!" The one in the back gave me a peace sign with his right hand (yes, both fingers were up), the others just turned their heads to see who was yelling to them.

Stats: 38.01 miles in 130:10, for an average speed of 17.52 mph. Yes, that's a low average, and no I don't care because this was a really long ride, just about double the length I'm used to.