How sweet it is! Today I went out for a normal after-work bicycle ride, and I came back having slaughtered a long term cycling goal I've been going after for the last 2 1/2 years. Ever since I got back on the bike in summer 2013 I have been increasing my pace. From 13 MPH at first and working my way up to 14, 15, 16 and so on. The whole time I always felt like the fast riders are the ones who can get out there and do a solo ride of 25 miles or more at a pace of at least 18 MPH. That has been my personal holy grail of cycling: do a solo ride of at least 25 miles at an average pace of 18 MPH or better. A few weeks ago I hit 17.7 for that distance and realized I could achieve my goal this year. I didn't set out to do it today, but it is how my ride unfolded. Woohoo! I finally conquered this elusive goal. I had given myself until the end of the year and now I have it early. Now I need to start doing it on a more regular basis and reach for a new goal this year: 30 miles or more at 19 MPH. If I can do that, then 20 MPH is next. I'm starting to feel really pretty good about my performance improvements this year.