What constitutes a long ride? I'm sure that many of us would have varying answers, but to me it's all relative to the average length ride you usually find yourself riding, then expand upon that times 2. For me, these days a good long ride is over 2 hours. I know, this pales with epic rides of a century, or that 3 hour plus group ride some weekends or even what a typical race can be, but nonetheless, for me and my schedule a 2 hour long ride plus is a "long ride".
Tonight my neighbor Scott (and urban riding partner) and I were able to get on the bikes around 5:30pm and finish up just after dusk (approximately 7:40pm). We decided to take a few twists to one of our regular routes and mix in a bit of towpath trails along with paved roads.
The weather signified to me the start of fall and this actually as our "first official fall ride" as the cool air and cloudy skies told Scott he better opt for long sleeves; as a seasoned winter rider, I on the other hand will avoid wearing long sleeves or tights till I absolutely have to as I'm in no hurry to begin the winter riding process, thus opted to wear my normal lycra shorts with short sleeve jersey.
This ride was awesome! We felt great, as we took turns pulling each other along the route and each suggesting new segments as we went along. What started out as a typical "one hour quick ride" turned into this 2 hour long one. It would have been longer except that we both forgot and left our lights at home (a big no no at this time of year hey?)
