29.8 kmph

29.8 - the average speed of my first time out on my road bike this year. 22.32 kms in 45.01 minutes.

This is really annoying - 30 kmph as an average speed is somehow a magic number for me. Last year I managed to do a 2 hr ride where I averaged just more than 30 kmph for the whole way. It made my week. These little victories keep you going.

Coming back into my neighbourhood I was at 29.9 so I actually went round the block an extra time, riding hard just so I could get the av speed up to 30. But it stuck resolutely at 29.9 and I was worried the neighbours would be looking at me oddly - perhaps that should be 'more oddly' considering that I was wearing lycra anyway - and the computer dropped back to 29.8 just riding up to the house. Next time... next time.

It's interesting that on a reasonably short ride I saw five other road bikers. When I started riding a road bike in Finland about five years back, seeing other riders hunched over drop-bars seemed quite rare. Now it appears to be increasing in popularity. Helsinki's hinterland in the summer is just perfect for road biking. Quiet, well-surfaced roads; attractive countryside; temperatures rarely too hot, but not too cold either. It seems others are realizing this as well.

My Italian beauty.