June 27 2011 Was A Perfect Day to Ride

Here in New England, we don't get many days like today, partly cloudy and 80 deg. I knew I had to make the most of it. So I woke with Eli and got a lift down to Newfields to explore some more of the area around Epping and Lee. After about 6 miles I was in new territory. After crossing NH125 in Epping there seemed to be no amount of level ground anymore. I spent hours climbing and descending the hills. Beautiful narrow roads through farmland with little in the way of traffic made for a great ride. See the route HERE:::. I got back to where Eli was working 2 1/2 hours later. We went up to the Newfields market for sandwiches. Then I got back on the bike and headed home. That was it.

Shifting Riding Styles

I rode 48 miles today from Portsmouth down to Exeter, over to Epping and Newcastle and back up again on the Specialized Langster I assembled last year. That bike climbs incredibly well with the combination of a stiff frame and low weight. But it akes me miss light geared bikes. The fixed gear had me feeling held back, reserved. I wanted to accelerate and keep speeds higher than I was willing to continuously pedal. And climbing later in the ride, like around mile 35 or so, became manageable but more restrictive on the fixed gear. Here's the LINK to the GMaps Pedometer map w/ elevation chart..
So I suppose my riding style might be shifting back to the more traditional geared cycling, trying to bring back some speed that I've let go of the past 4 years or so.