Went back out Friday and put on 355 miles to the Mississippi River and
back. I tried to pick a destination and then let the GPS pick a "thrill
ride" there and back on it's own. Didn't look too bad so I headed out.
Was going good until I missed a turn and took the next suggested one,
and ended up on 25 miles of gravel road in hilly and twisty conditions.
Not the best roads for an Ultra with a passenger, but it was exceptional
and new scenery. I thought I had that thing set to NOT choose unpaved
roads, but I'm not sure yet if it can always tell if a road is paved or
not. I'll have to check that out.

On the way back it was one winding and hilly road after another. Wife
said she enjoyed it, and so did I, but by the end of the ride I realized
that all the work involved in constant shifting and turning was
apparently wearing me out a little. 355 miles is probably less than I
do on most rides, but that many miles on those kinds of roads wore me
out more than I had remembered before. It's early in the season and I
suppose I gotta get back in riding shape, but I will remember when
setting up routes to add in a little bit more of riding relaxed time.

Last week out riding in a T-shirt with temps in the 80's. Today there
is 2" of snow on the ground and temps about 30F. Damn climate change!