What should I expect?

smax

Hello all - I think I have a problem which is that I feel too slow...but I don't really know what to expect at this point.

Here's the scoop:

I raced Mountain Bikes in Novice class ending about 5 years ago and have only ridden a handful of times during the last few summers. When I was racing, I always finished top 6 out of 20 to 40 riders in Novice class...Which I was happy with.

So after not really "riding" the last few years - I bought a new Road Bike last month and have been seriously riding with a goal of participating in my first Century on September 20th.

I bought the bike on July 26th and started a progress log of miles/time/average speed a couple of weeks ago.

Date Dist. Time Average Spd.
8/12/2003 12.00 49.33 14.50
8/17/2003 40.06 2.52.28 13.90
8/19/2003 12.16 44.48 16.20
8/20/2003 19.18 1.13.51 15.50
8/21/2003 20.00 1.14.50 16.00
8/22/2003 15.16 1.06.16 13.60
8/23/2003 37.43 2.38.18 14.10 Red Cross - Ride and Stride
8/24/2003 50.65 3.28.31 14.50 Old Mill Century
8/26/2003 20.14 1.15.16 16.00
8/27/2003 21.22 1.17.36 16.40
8/29/2003 46.03 2.55.21 15.70
8/30/2003 63.11 4.15.10 14.80

Now i'm feeling slow on even the shorter (10 to 20 mile) rides with average speeds maxing at 16mph....when some guys I talk to are doing 50/60 miles with average speeds of 17 to 23. And i've riding a short distance with some riders on the local loop and I just can't keep up... Usually if i'm tired at the end of 40 miles I can keep conversation at 17mph - but anything above that is just killing my legs.

So I guess I'm hoping for words of encouragement here ... that in time speed will come, etc...

Thanks for looking at my little rant!!