Inspiration and Speed

I was out on my road bike today, trying to keep a decent average speed.  My legs were pretty stiff from a long run Monday, so it was tough to really push it.  I was about 45km into the 65km route, and had begun resigning myself to the fact that I wouldn't be able to hit my 30km/h target over a pretty hilly route.

And then... inspiration!  Another rider catches me by surprise and passes me.

At first I was just going to see if I could match his speed.  Not drafting him, but just keep the gap steady.  Then we came to a downhill, he stopped pedalling, I kept going, and passed him.  Now I was hammering it trying to stay ahead - but with the uphill Mr. Skinny Dude kicked my butt and passed me again!

I caught back up to him, and on the next long gradual downhill, once again passed him.  Then another uphill, he passed me.  Repeat.  Chatted a bit with him before turning off and going our separate ways.

I looked down and my average speed... nice surprise, I was within a shout of my goal with a few kilometers to make up the rest.  Ended up at 30.2km/h - nice!

Morale of the story:  sore legs are a crappy excuse, there is always more in the tank depending on how badly you want to find it!