Shift early and often

Just got back from a 16-mile loop around Kings, Old State and W. Lydius, at what felt like a very relaxed pace compared to Thursday night's ride. Amazingly, I averaged the same 15.1, but what was missing was the artificial forced urgency about needing to keep up. I was in "touring mode", shifting constantly and expending as little effort as possible. Never once did I push, and it felt good. I'm nowhere near as tired as I was after that other ride. Need to try to keep this in mind next week - start later than the fast group, and do the long ride at my own pace, not theirs.