Over the last couple of days, I worked the late shift, so I decided to go for a couple of rides before work, and what a couple of rides they were.
Monday, I did a simple 14 mile route around Harrogate, and according to Strava, gained over 14 personal bests, 2nd and 3rd best times. Along with a couple of This years bests, and top tens.
Some of the best times I had where on the cycle path to Ripley from Bilton. There was a cyclist in front of me, by quite some distance. My competitive edge came out and I just had to catch up. They were going at some serious pelt, and took me almost a mile to catch them up. So that rider improved my time over that segment by quite a margin.
So yeah, I was quite chuffed. Then I got to work and that good mood was quashed quite quickly, but thats a different story..
It was a cracking ride. Tuesday, I did the standard out to Ripley before work, and again gained a good handful of Personal bests and 3rd place times. I normally ride up in the hoods, as the layout of my bike means that this is the easiest way to reach brakes and gears. However I put myself into the drops, initially I never noticed the difference. But on the Viaduct to Bilton segment, I saw my speed was up at around 16-17 mph. Normally, in the hoods its around 13-15 mph for the same sort of effort. That small change in aerodynamics made a huge difference. When I went back up into the hoods for a while to see the difference, the speed dropped down to 14 mph, and back into the drops it went back up to 16 mph. 
Sunday, I did my new favourite course, and set a whole new level of bests. Over 10 miles, I improved by 1m 54s for a new time of 46m:52s, One hour 12.12 miles, 10 miles 46m:52s and 20 km 1h:02m:49s.
So all in all a good couple of days, and I think I’ve earned a rest day today, as my legs are grumbling a little.
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